[Reviews - 135]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2139 times

- Text Size +




STAKE YOUR CLAIM


Chapter 16: ‘Closer to Buffy’


A/N: (of course, tee hee) Anyway, this next chapter is going to be a kind of hard one for me. It might be a teensy-weensy bit far fetched because of the events I have to write about. I hope it turns out okay, makes sense and such. Thanks, Luv, S


Buffy was now untied and free to roam about the cabin, thankfully. Holden’s older sister, Darla, had insisted that she be untied and allowed to move about, under their watchful eye, of course. As grateful as Buffy was, she was also quite aware that this Darla person was not really an ally of hers. No, but she was a female and somewhat sympathetic to her plight. Especially considering that Buffy had to answere to nature’s calling, like everyone.

“Well, Hold,” Buffy heard Darla sigh, “did you happen to think to bring any ‘decent’ food for her to eat?” Buffy saw Darla staring at her, a slightly concerned expression in her weary eyes.

“Jesus Christ, sis,” Holden laughed, “she’s a hostage, not a guest on Holiday. She’ll eat what we all do and like it.”

“I see,” Darla shook her pretty dark blonde head, “you didn’t think this out at all, did you?”

Holden glanced over at Buffy and gave her an ugly smirk, “I thought it out good enough, sis,” he stammered, “we’ll get the money and get the hell out of this Territory. Just think, robbing that Gile’s bunch, and over someone Spike loves. Isn’t that just the fucking end all of revenge?”

Darla shrugged and returned her stare to Buffy, she seemed to be thinking about Holden’s words.

‘How the heck did a seemingly intelligent woman like this Darla get mixed up in this mess?’ Buffy asked herself for the tenth time in an hour. ‘And,’ she continued her musing, ‘why would she bring her own son, a mere child into it?’

“Holden,” Darla growled lowly, “cut out the cursing, my boy is here and oh yeah. Keep that whore of Tucker’s away from Buffy here, and me,” she finished with a stern frown and left the room.

Holden sauntered up to where Buffy now sat and took the seat across from her. “She’s somethin’ isn’t she?” he asked Buffy almost reverently, surprising her by his sincere question.

“Yes,” Buffy answered simply, looking in the direction that Darla had gone, “she seems like a very formidable woman.”

An idea had just taken form in Buffy’s tired mind. If she could build some kind of instant comraderie with Darla, perhaps, just perhaps she could get free of this mess without the Gile’s money or any violence. Holden seemed quite in awe of his big sister, so Buffy knew it would be best to encourage him to talk about her, get him to think she at least respected Darla also.

Buffy thought about her next sentence carefully, “can I ask you a question,” she nodded at Holden who seemed to be eyeing her warily. ‘Yeah, eyeing me warily, that’s it, Buffy,’ she chided herself. ‘Holden isn’t eyeing you in fear, girl. You know that look, he’s sizing you up for other reasons.’

Buffy felt sick, physically, Holden Webster had other things in mind for Buffy, it was obvious, but she would just have to avoid that at all costs.

“Yup,” he responded simply to her request.

“Why is Darla’s son, your nephew, Dalton, here, mixed up in this?”

Holden smirked again and leaned in closer to Buffy, who was already backed against the cabin wall in her chair.

“Well you see, school teacher,” Holden explained with that darn smirk of his, “we, my guys and me, we needed someone that your boy, Spike, would not shoot on sight while we decide the terms of your freedom. We needed a kind of ‘go-between’ that would be safe from the wrath of all mighty Spike Giles and his whole fucking family.”

“ I mean, think of it. Even Spike Gile’s, murdering bastard that he is, would never shoot or threaten and unarmed boy of ten. Especially since that boy is the one who is going to take you down to your freedom. That’s when Dalton, who is a lot tougher then he looks, is going to pick up our money and release you. Works out for everyone this way,” Holden finished smugly, quite proud of himself and his plan, apparently.

Buffy just stared at him in shock, barely able to believe that this monster would subject his own nephew to such danger and that his sister, Dalton’s mother, would ever allow it.

By the time Spike, Rupert, the Gile’s boys and a good thirty men and horses took off from the Ranch, it was already sunset. The black night would soon envelope the empty prairie that lay between the Gile’s Ranch and Webster’s cabin, where Buffy was.

Spike felt a very bad feeling in his gut, they would not be able to do anything about Buffy tonight. Holden would wait until daylight to even send someone down the bluff to discuss Buffy’s release and then God only knew what would happen.

‘At least we can be at the bluff tonight,’ Spike had reasoned with himself. When he had suggested that the combined posse from Cheyenne and the Ranch leave immediately for the bluff, not one man, including his Father, dissagreed with him.

“Sooner we get there, dark or not, the sooner Webster’ll know we mean business.” Everyone involved agreed and after throwing together supplies for two days and guns, of course, from the Ranch, they rode off into the prairie and to Buffy.

Spike and Riley had almost ‘had words’ again, at the Ranch no less. Old Forrest Redfeather, the best tracker in miles, had been brought out to go with them. Connor was riding with them also, much to his Mother’s dismay, but Dad had insisted. Young Ford was coming with them and of course that fucking fool Finn was upset by it.

As he rode along, galloped really with the posse, Spike thought about the little scene back at the Ranch and shook his head.

‘Should of just shot Riley back in the beginning,’ he mused, ‘when he first made a move on ‘my’ Buffy.’

“You can’t be serious,” Finn had growled back at the Gile’s place. “Bringing along an old man like Redfeather and that upstart Indian brat you took in!”

Spike had to fight the urge to pull his gun and just end Finn’s worthless existence right then, however, he remembered that he’d be hung if he killed a Deputy. Now what good would that do, to go save Buffy then be executed, probably right in front of her? No, he held his temper, at least enough to just ‘warn’ Riley, quite amicably, to shut his fucking mouth about Forrest and Ford.

“You don’t like the company, Deputy,” Spike had growled with menance in Finn’s stupid face, “then don’t join us. But Forrest is the best man for tracking, and after what Buffy did for young Ford, outside the schoolhouse? Just try and keep that boy from going with us.”

Riley had backed down, red-faced and sulking like a child, muttering something about ‘if we get Buffy back. I’m the one that’s going to marry her, Giles.’

Spike had stopped in his tracks, turned about and glared at Riley again, “you mean ‘when’ we get Buffy back. And as for the rest of your fucking remarks? Don’t bet your job on that part, Finn. Oh,” and Spike added harshly, “just stay out of my way while we’re out. Wouldn’t want my gun to accidently go off and blow your worthless head off, would we?”

Although Holden Webster no longer sat right across from or near to Buffy, she was more then aware of his intimidating presence. Holden had been sitting on the other side of the room, smoking and talking to some man named Lindsey? However, it was apparent, to Buffy anyway, that Holden was not the least bit interested in what this Lindsey was saying.

Buffy was painfully aware that Holden was watching her the whole time, much like a cat watches and stalks a mouse. It was making her iller by the minute.

‘He’s just sitting there, eyeing me like I am his next meal,’ she thought fearfully, ‘those eyes of his, they look just like when he robbed us on the train, took my lock of hair.’

Suddenly, Holden stood up and swaggered back over to where Buffy sat, she trying to ignore his movement, but failing. ‘Spike,’ she gasped silently, ‘please come get me, please and soon.’

Holden sat back in the chair he had occupied earlier, but this time he scooched it much closer to Buffy then before. Way, way closer, she noticed, too close. He sat eyeing her for a moment or two, a leer on his stupid mouth.

“What?” Buffy hissed, scowling at this man and wondering how in the hell she ever thought he was even remotely good looking.

“I was wondering,” Holden purred silkily, “if I ask ‘you’ a question or two, would you answer me, honestly?”

Buffy looked away from the man and just shrugged ‘go ahead, ask away’ at him.

Webster leaned in closer (as if that was possible) and whispered lowly, “you must be givin’ it pretty good to Spike Gile’s huh, school teacher? I mean I know, sure as the sun comes up tomorrow, that the fucking bastard is already on the way here with my money, for you. So, you must really be a hell cat in bed, get a man so worked up over you, right?”

Buffy felt like spitting in this asshole’s face, but she swallowed hard and just shook her head, “Spike loves me, simple as that.”

If Holden caught her drift, he didn’t act like it, instead he grinned widely and asked Buffy the next question.

“Is it you like Gile’s so damn much, Buffy? Or his name and money,” he chuckled as he reached out to brush a strand of her golden hair from her cheek.

“Then maybe, when I get all that money, from lover boy, you think you might like me too?”

Buffy cringed and pulled away from Holden in disgust, “I wouldn’t like you if you were a millionaire, Webster. You make my skin crawl.”

The man before her reared back, visibly stung by her harsh words. He shook out of his stunned daze and grabbed her roughly by the arm, “we’ll just see about that bitch!” he growled.

“There’s an empty room right over there, why don’t we go and check it out, little one. I think once you give me a tumble, you’ll just change your pretty little mind about me.”

He pulled her up violently and began to drag her to the bedroom.

“I wouldn’t let you touch me, ever, you son-of-a-bitch,” she rasped as she struggled to free herself from him. Even if you were the last man on earth and the continuance of mankind meant we…”

“Holden! What the hell are you doing?” Darla’s excited voice halted Buffy’s tirade. Apparently, the woman had entered the cabin again, unnoticed by Buffy or Holden and sized up the situation quickly.

“I’m just having some fun, sis,” Holden tried to defend his actions, “why shouldn’t I take Spike’s woman if I want to. Might even keep her with us when we leave, wouldn’t that just piss the whole fucking Territory off?”

He laughed heartily, sending a shot of pure fear right down to Buffy’s toes, ‘God, I’m in such a hard, hard place now,’ she groaned, trying not to cry in front of these monsters. Buffy looked at Darla, silently pleading with her for support here.

“Let her go,” Darla ordered her brother firmly, “you touch her like that, take her as you put it? What do you think Spike Giles and the rest of those hypocrites down in Cheyenne are going to do you, and all of us? There won’t be a corner of this Country or the world that Gile’s won’t scour to find and kill you. He’ll probably cut your balls off first, though, slowly, I’m sure.”

Buffy looked at Darla thankfully then dared a glance at Holden. The man seemed to be seriously pondering his older, wiser sister’s warning.

“All right,” Holden finally sighed and let go of Buffy, only to shove her back into her chair, “but I still think…”

Darla shook her head in exhasperation, “that brother of mine, has always been your damn problem. You ‘don’t’ think.”

With that, the older woman sat down in the chair Holden had once occupied and proceeded to stare out of the little window next to her and Buffy.

‘She’s as hard as nails,’ Buffy thought with more then a little awe of this tough prairie woman. ‘I wonder, just what her story is?’

Suddenly, some man, one that Buffy had not noticed in the cabin before, came bounding in from the black night outside. He was exicited and animated, hardly stopping to breathe before he exclaimed wildly, “they’re here. Down at the bottom of the bluff. The Gile’s and dozens of men, Hold, and they are setting up for a long, long stay.”


A/N: Well, did anyone see that thing with Holden coming? (or not coming as it turned out, thank God! Tee hee) No, I wouldn’t do that to our Buffy or Spike and now maybe I’ve answered the question asked ‘why is Darla in this scenario?’ She is the voice of reason (?) for Holden…Okay, enough of that. Thanks for reading, please review, any constructive criticism is always welcome. Luv, Spuf





You must login (register) to review.