Mail Order Bride: Journey's End: A Mail Order Brides Western Romance (Love On The Line Book 2) Read Free Page B

minute."
    Seeing a nearby shop with sacks of vegetables stacked outside its door, Elizabet led her friend there and sat her down on them. Looking around she said, "Take your time and get your breath back. I doubt anyone will try anything in the open-"
    "You have heard of crimping, haven't you?"
    "What's that?"
    "You know taken and put on a ship against your will."
    Elizabet looked around to see if they were being watched. "You think anyone would do that?"
    "This isn't the best neighborhood we're in. And the way our day's been going, who knows," Alice replied and patted a spot near her. "Sit down for a moment."
    Elizabet sat down and turned to her. "What's up?"
    "We haven't talked about my moment back there."
    "What's to talk about, you saw an opportunity and you took it. Heck if you didn't, we'd still be tied up or maybe even worse."
    "I'd rather you didn't say anything," Alice said. "You still got the gun?"
    Elizabet felt the heavyweight and nodded.
    "We've got to get rid of it. Whatever way you paint it, I murdered that man back there. Having that gun on us isn't doing us any favors."
    Elizabet nodded her head. Running around with a murder weapon probably wasn't the cleverest thing she'd ever done.  Seeing a nearby storm drain, she walked to it and bent over pretending to fix her shoe. Checking that no one was looking and getting a thumbs up from Alice, she flicked it inside. Going back to her shoe, she stayed there working at it for another few moments before re-joining Alice.
    "Well?"
    "Nice work, didn't know you had it in you."
    Looking around her nervously, Elizabet said, "We better get moving. I feel worse now not having it for protection."
    "Wouldn't have mattered much anyway. It was empty."
    "Come on, let's get out of here."
    "One more thing—and you've got to promise me something."
    Impatient to get going Elizabet asked. "What, what is it?"
    "Neither of us speaks a word of what happened back there. If anyone asks, we were tied up somewhere around here and broke free before our captors came back. Agreed?"
    "Agreed," Elizabet said, pulling her friend to her feet. "Now lets the hell out of here."

Chapter 5
    Elizabet threw herself into Tom's embrace and held him as tight as she could, feeling him try to peel her away and ask what her what had happened, she ignored him and kept holding tightly. Waiting until she felt safe and secure, she took her head away from his chest and looked into his eyes. Now able to talk about their ordeal, Alice got there before her. "It was Charles—he had us snatched off the street."
    Looking to Alice for a second, Tom turned back to Elizabet and asked. "He did what?"
    "We set out early this morning, I wanted to get Alice a little keepsake—then there was this little kid and-"
    Tom let her go. "I'll going to kill him. Where is he?"
    "Please Tom, I don't want you to get hurt," Elizabet begged and held tight to his arm.
    "I'm sorry, Elizabet, but that man's going to pay for what-"
    "She's right Tom."
    Elizabet watched as John came over and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know what you're like, let me get the local law-"
    Tom took his brothers hand away. "I'm sorry, John. But I won't rest until that scum—who the hell does he think he is coming here-"
    Seeing him angry and fearing that he'd do something foolish, Elizabet grabbed his face and muffled him with a kiss. Kissing him hard and not letting him go, she felt his tense body relax a little. Lifting her head away, she said, "Don't, Tom. Listen to John, he's probably on the run now-"
    "But Elizabet-"
    Elizabet held his head in her hands and looked deep into his eyes. "He's lost, Tom. He knows he'll never have me-"
    "Plus if you hurry up and marry her, she won't be a single woman anymore."
    Elizabet turned to Alice and smiled. Turning back to Tom she added, "She's right—unless you'd rather run around the city instead of marry me."
    "But, Elizabet, I need to-"
    Leaning in close to his ear, she whispered into it. "There's only