The Escort

chapter 9

Angelina sat at a table, staring at her menu, but not seeing it. Her mind was occupied with other, more important matters. Outside her window the barren hills of eastern Montana had long since rolled by, replaced by the mountainous terrain of the Rockies. The train chugged slowly up the steep grade of the eastern slope of Lookout Pass. A porter had cracked the window beside her table. The morning air became chillier by the minute, its sweet alpine scent mingling with the breakfast fragrance of the dining car. Little clumps of dirty snow, hanging tenaciously to life in the shade of sturdy evergreens, began to appear as the train made its way up the mountain.

Angelina wore the traveling outfit Tonio had bought her in Chicago. Her small white hat was pinned slightly askance shading one side of her face. The casual observer would have mistaken her expression for serenity, seeing nothing of the turmoil and apprehension that knotted her stomach. Sometime early in the afternoon the train would descend Lookout Pass and cross from Montana into Idaho, arriving in Wallace within the hour. She had just that long with Tonio. Then he would walk out of her life.

She picked up a spoon and toyed with it as she sat, then set it down and readjusted the napkin next to her plate, wondering for the hundredth time if she had the courage to live by her honor and meet her husband. Or, if she had the courage to ask to run away with Tonio. She was fairly certain he would refuse her. He'd said almost as much. So maybe it wasn't courage she sought but resignation. She played with her grandmother's necklace.

She looked up in time to see Tonio enter the room. His dark good looks caught the attention of two ladies at a table in front of her. They buzzed in quiet conference, but Angelina knew what they discussed.

"Good morning." She smiled her finest for him.

"Playing with your cross again. Soon, you'll have a different one to bear. One that may weigh more heavily around your neck than that delightful gold one." He smiled as he seated himself in the chair opposite her. "Have you ordered yet?"

A waiter appeared. Angelina ordered in the slow, correct English Tonio had trained into her in their diction lessons. Gone were nearly all traces of her accent. He smiled in approval. It buoyed her confidence to realize that she had a gift with language. Concentrating on her English soothed her. She must appear calm and assured. Tonio ordered and the waiter disappeared.

"Today is the day you meet your white knight, is it not?" Tonio asked. "Savior from spinsterhood, great protector and all that."

"I hope. If he has received Mario's wire, he will be waiting for me."

"Then it will be your wedding day as well. The old man will probably squire you right to Cataldo Mission so you can be married legally and before God. The Mission is the only Catholic Church in the Valley. He's no doubt making elaborate plans even as we speak. I hope he gives you the fairytale wedding you deserve. And let's not forget the wedding night."

"My marriage bothers you. Tonio—"

He shook his head. "Don't say it, Angel. I told you I'm not the man for you. But to answer you, it's the idea of these mail-order, arranged marriages in general that I disapprove of. Have you forgotten where I came from?

"My parents were a mail-order couple. My beautiful mother was from Milano, and of course Papa was a Torinese. Growing up in their home, I saw how wonderfully the arrangement can work." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "What did my lovely mother get for her end of the bargain? My ass of a father and early death. Wonderful things, those. And of course, me."

"Not all arranged marriages turn out badly." She wanted to believe that.

"For your sake, I hope that's true. But I fear, well, never mind my fears. Here." He shoved some papers her way. She'd been so preoccupied she'd been unaware he'd been carrying anything.

"What are these?"

"I've written down the address of the boarding house that I stay in when I'm in Burke. The second one is the location of the mine, the third, our mine's office, and the last one is the Halls' address in Wallace. I live with them from time to time. If you ever need me..."

I always need you, she thought.

"If you can't reach me, go to May Hall. She has a heart of gold." Tonio cocked an ear. "Sounds like our engine's having a tough time of it."

Almost as soon as Tonio spoke, the pitch of the engine whine changed to an efficient hum and their speed accelerated as the train reached a plateau.

"Is this the May that Maria told me about, the one with so much influence over you?"

The train engine whined as it continued up the steep grade.

"Is that what Maria said about May?"

"Yes, and I have been secretly jealous for some time wondering about her."

He shook his head and laughed. "Don't flirt with me, Angel. Now is not the time. Once you meet May, you'll see that she's not my type. And like others I know, she's a married woman." He took a sip of coffee. "She has a mind all her own, campaigns for the suffragettes, and takes in any stray she finds. Big hearted. Al's a lucky man." He looked straight at her.

The light dimmed and a shadow fell over the table as the train entered a tunnel. Seconds later they emerged on the other side, racing along at top speed.

Tonio reached to catch a pen from rolling off the table as the train rounded a narrow bend. With his free hand he reached to clasp hers. "Angelina, I have a proposal to make to you—"

He didn't finish his sentence. He was interrupted by a loud thud that resonated like thunder. In the instant before she understood what was happening, Angelina looked out the window to check the weather. The sky was clear. With a confused look, she turned to speak to Tonio. Then she screamed as the table slid across the floor.

A series of smaller thuds reverberated from the front of the train in rhythmic succession. The screech of metal slamming against metal roared through the rail car. People screamed as furniture slid and crashed to the front of the dining coach. Angelina's head was thrown back by the sudden jolt of the dining car smashing head-on into the coach in front of it. A loud release of air came from the accordion vestibule as it collapsed and the two heavy rail cars collided.

For a brief moment it seemed as though the dining car would remain upright and intact on the rails. Moments later the illusion was broken as a jolt from behind sent the dining coach shimmying off the tracks. It balanced upright precariously for a second and then toppled sideways into the hillside bank to the right of the car. Glass flew as rocks and trees covering the embankment shattered the windows. Angelina fought to maintain her balance as she was thrown sideways into the wall between two windows.

As suddenly as it had begun, it was over. Angelina uncovered her eyes and stared into the wreckage around her. A chair was pushed over on top of her, but she was too weak to push it off. To her right a large rock protruded through the shattered remains of a window. To her left a sad fir, snapped off a few feet up its trunk, oozed pitch and emitted its rich life's essence, its top hanging limply to the side. Everywhere at her feet were the smashed remains of white porcelain dishes and drinking glasses.

Her cheek stung and her right arm seared with pain. Coffee stained her sleeve. She stared at it, dazed. Still making no move to push the chair off, she picked up a napkin that had fallen next to her and dabbed at the stain as if she were still seated and had clumsily spilled on herself. The normal action was horribly misplaced in the wreckage that surrounded her. She winced the moment the napkin touched her sleeve. It took a minute for her to realize that her arm was burned, and the coffee stain was somehow responsible. Unable to cope, she closed her eyes.

Suddenly, the weight of the chair was lifted from her. She opened her eyes to find Tonio standing over her, his eyes dark with concern. She held her arms out to him. He lifted her gently and enfolded her in his strong embrace.

"I can't get the stain out."

"It's all right, Angel." His voice was soft and comforting. She thought she felt his lips brush the top of her hair. "We'll get you a new shirtwaist. Don't worry."

She clasped his neck as if it were life itself. "It hurts."

"What? Your arm?"

She nodded.

"I'd say it's burned. Just another bad cup of coffee."

She laughed. It brought her back to reality. She lifted her face to look at him. "You're bleeding." His cheek was bruised. A gash ran the length of his chin. Blood oozed out through the torn skin, peppered with the dark stubble of his beard. She dabbed at it with the napkin she still held.

"So are you." He took it from her and wiped at her cheek.

She felt weak and dazed and her head pounded from the bump it took when she hit the wall. She wanted nothing more than for him to hold her forever. It seemed to her that they were the only two people in the car. Somehow her mind blocked out the screams and cries of the other passengers. Tonio tried to right a chair for her to sit on in the ridiculously sloping car. He gave up and set her on the floor, but she refused to let go of him until he commanded her to so that he could scoop some snow from outside the broken window to put on her burn. He was carefully applying it when the thud of a metal rail car door slamming shut sounded out. Several people screamed, including Angelina. Tonio looked up, his eyes wide, a distant look filling them.

"Shit! The dynamite!"

Angelina's throat closed in horror as the same thought occurred to her. He scooped her up with lithe grace and strength, carrying her to the edge of the car where he kicked at an exit door on the uphill side until it swung open. He paused a moment on the edge, checking the jump, then plunged off with her still cradled in his arms. They hit the ground upright. Tonio ran toward the freight cars shouting. "Get everyone out! Evacuate! We're carrying dynamite!" He didn't think to put her down, though she could have run for herself, and she didn't think to ask him.

Mercifully, there were only two freight cars attached to the train. Tonio swung her down as he reached them, dragging her with one arm encircling her waist. The freight cars stood upright amid the tangle of cars on the tracks. Two crewmen were already unlocking them and swinging the doors opened as they reached them.

"Careful!" Tonio called out. "There's live dynamite in there." He turned to her. "Stay here and take cover if anything goes wrong." He left her rooted in place about twenty feet back from the cars. She watched as he talked to the men, then peered into the freight car. She could see his shoulders slump in relief. He jogged back to her.

"Thank God, Angelina! The crates are undamaged and the cars seem stable. We could've had a hell of an explosion on our hands."

People swarmed the rail bed and surrounding forest as the crew evacuated the train. Rumor spread quickly. The engineer and two crew members were buried alive in an avalanche of snow. The engine was completely buried. No one else appeared to be seriously injured. Tonio threaded his way up the tracks toward the engine, pulling Angelina along with him. A crowd gathered as they curved around the bend. Tonio stopped short at the edge of the crowd and stared over the heads of the people in front of him.

"Damn."

Angelina couldn't see a thing. "What?"

He held her up under her arms to give her a peek over the crowd. The train looked as if it had never had an engine. It was just…gone. Buried in a white blanket.

"They'll suffocate it we don't get them out." Tonio's eyes had a wild, dangerous look.

A man next to him replied. "They're organizing a digging crew. They need every available man."

"Won't be enough. There's no way they'll reach them in time. I'll bet they don't have enough shovels to outfit ten men." Tonio paused, his eyes scanning the disaster. He looked as if he were making calculations. At last he spoke. "I can blast them out."

She grabbed his arm. "No! No!"

"I have to. It's their only chance." He pulled her arm away and pushed his way through the crowd to the crewmen at the crowd front who stood watch.

He returned minutes later with the fireman and several other crew members in tow. "I'll set the charge downhill from the engine. With luck we'll clear enough snow from the downhill side to reach them."

"You could set off another avalanche," the fireman argued.

"The mountain looks clear up above." Tonio nodded uphill. "I doubt that the engine was buried by an avalanche as it passed by. More likely we rounded the corner and plowed into it. Probably happened days ago. Did you notice the pack of the snow? It's hard, like it has melted and froze again. It'll be nearly impossible to dig through by hand."

"We've sent a scout group back to the last town we came through. They're going to send for the plow and a rescue train."

Tonio shook his head. "We passed the last town twenty miles back. The rescue plow will have to come from Wallace on the other side. It'll be too late, if it isn't already. Those men are either going to suffocate or die of exposure."

The fireman didn't have a choice. "Get your dynamite."

"Move the crowd back," Tonio said. "I'll set up immediately."

"How are you going to ignite the charge?"

"With a fuse."

"A long one, I hope."

"Don't worry, I can run like a son of a bitch." Tonio laughed.

Angelina stood at his elbow, staring at him as he argued with the fireman. He sounded arrogant and reckless. And she was afraid. "Please don't, Tonio."

He turned to her as if he'd just realized she was there, bent to kiss her lightly on the lips, and started forward. She grabbed his wrists to stop him as he moved away from her. She felt his pulse beating wildly and knew that his excitement was not caused by her but by the thrill of the power he was about to unleash.

"Worried?" He looked solemn for the first time, as if gauging her concern for him.

"Yes."

He seemed to like her answer. The spark returned to his eyes. "Good. Cheer me to victory. We're going to save those men."

He jogged off after the fireman, leaving her standing at the edge of the crowd, trying to sort through the tumult of her emotions. Did she love this man, or was it merely fear that set her heart at a tilt?



He was only a tiny, bent figure in the distance as she watched him from the safety of the crowd, crouched beneath the trees for protection. She couldn't take her eyes from him as she watched him light the fuse. Terrified of what she might witness, but too morbidly riveted on him to look away and give up what might be her last glimpse of him.

A small spark flamed to life. He straightened and watched it. Her whole being screamed at him to run. But he stayed for an endless, agonizing moment, making certain it would remain lit before he backed away and ran. He moved with grace, as beautiful as any athlete she'd seen. His arms pumped in time with his long strides as he sprinted across the edge of the slippery white mass. His stride picked up as he ran off the snow and onto firm ground.

The fuse grew shorter and shorter. The man grew larger and larger. Her eyes bounced between the man and the fuse. The blast went off. Snow spewed into the sky. She saw it before she heard it. A thunderous roar broke loose. He ran with his head bent, arms over the back of his head. Snow rained down on him. She pulled away from the crowd to run to him, ignoring the people that implored her to stay covered.

She landed in his arms. He was safe. He kissed her with a passion that nearly swept her away. The crowd cheered. He turned back to look over his shoulder. The snow slid away from the downhill side of the engine. It came into view, whole and intact, covered in a sheath of ice. A team of men raced toward it to rescue the men trapped inside. She heard someone shout, "They're alive! I can see them moving!" She wouldn't let him go.



"It was a brave thing you did today." Angelina leaned back against Tonio's shoulder and stared out at pinpoints of light from other campfires that dotted the rail bed and surrounding forest. They camped in privacy, well away from the others, in a secluded spot that Tonio had selected. The night was clear and surprisingly temperate. A soft, warm Chinook wind blew from the west. Tonio predicted rain by morning. A circle of towering white pines surrounded them in a chimney around the open sky above their campfire. The breeze rustled the trees creating a calming background to the day's events, occasionally carrying whispers of other voices and conversations their way.

Nearly all the passengers were forced to camp out for the night. Most of the rail cars had toppled or were unstable. The few that remained upright were reserved for the most severely injured. The three men, including the engineer, were housed in one, attended by a physician who happened to be traveling home to Seattle. They were alive, thanks to Tonio and his dynamite.

The moon rose big and full, casting its pale silvery light over their camp, blending with the golden hues of the campfire that Tonio gently coaxed. They sat together, Angelina leaning back against him, he with one arm around her, on a wool blanket spread over a soft, spongy mound of moss.

"Don't get any romantic notions of bravery and white knights about me, Angelina. I did what had to be done."

"You like blowing things up."

"I like what I do."

"I think you like it too much. It scares me." She took a deep breath. "You scare me." She didn't know why she said it.

"It's a good thing to be scared once in a while." His mouth curved in a careless smile.

She expected him to ask why he scared her, but he didn't. "You seem at home in the forest."

"I should be by now."

"Why is that?"

"Where do you think the mine is?"

She twisted back around to look him in the face. In his eyes, passion shone unveiled. Hard, intense, confusing. Intoxicating in its full magnitude. She stared at him, trembling on the verge of something too deep to understand. His next words made no sense.

"You've been given a reprieve, Angel. Use it to your full advantage." His lips fell on hers. With the smoothest of movements he pulled her into his lap, facing him as he continued with his caressing kiss. His mouth warmed hers. With one fluid movement he fell back into the soft folds of the blanket, pulling Angelina on top of him. Her skirt billowed around him as she kissed and was kissed with an intensity she'd not known was possible.

He unbuttoned her coat and slipped his hands in to caress her curves. The warmth from the fire seemed to leap into his hands as he touched her. Carelessly, sensuously he pulled her ear to his mouth and licked and kissed lazily, slowly.

His kisses traveled softly down her neck as he pulled her blouse free and unbuttoned her shirtwaist until it hung loose and open, revealing her chemise. His hands were steady as he untied the neck of her chemise.

Her breasts fell loose and free above him. He arched, pressing his hips firmly against hers. A warm masculine hardness met her.

"Make me a happy man," he whispered before taking her breast in his mouth.

"I will," she whispered. Sensuous tingles such as she'd never known shot through her, starting between her legs but ending in the remotest tips of her toes and fingers. Her breath caught and she closed her eyes so that nothing disturbed the rushing excitement that overwhelmed her. She opened her eyes, looking down to see him framed between her breasts.

He spoke, "I'm alive—"

She couldn't hear the rest clearly. It muffled as he pressed his lips between her breasts. She thought he said, "For the first time in years."

"We're both alive, Tonio."

She balanced over him, braced against the ground with her palms, her long hair loose and spilling over him along with her grandmother's necklace. He reached up and grasped her face firmly between his strong hands and looked her in the eye. "My beautiful, innocent babe. I've never wanted a woman as much as you."

He leaned up again and licked a wide circle over her naked nipples. In the cool night air they beaded into tight, dark buds of arousal. She pressed her hips tightly down against his and threw her head back.

Tonio pulled her down, kissed her, rolled them over, positioning himself in the commanding top position, bracing himself over her, the Chinook rustling his hair. He came down on top of her, kissing her open mouthed with a wild dance of flitting tongues. One hand caressed and kneaded her breast, tugged at the nipple until it pointed firm and long. He rubbed his chest against her.

Eager for the feel of his bare skin, she pushed his chest up away from her and fumbled with his buttons until his shirt fell open, still tucked into his pants. She ran her fingers over the coarse, curling hair. Brushed her fingers lightly over his nipples, then tugged at them as he had hers, then released them at his hard grunt to circle his waist with her arms and impatiently pull his shirt away from his pants with one yank.

"Too many clothes." He rolled off her, sat, and slid to her feet. "You still have your shoes on. She braced on her elbows and watched as he tugged off her ugly work shoes, then pulled off his shirt and his own boots and impatiently cast them aside. He rubbed her feet and kissed her ankles, then licked the little hollow beneath them until she shuddered.

He stood and unashamedly pulled off the rest of his clothes until he stood naked, profiled in the moon above her. The sight of him overpowered her senses. Her eyes traveled down him. She shuddered at the sight of his long, hard length. Then he straddled her on his knees, shoving her skirt up and touching her through her pantalets. Long, sweet ecstasy coursed through her.

"Please, Tonio…" She hadn't realized that pleasure could be so impatient.

He pulled her pantalets off and threw them aside. Still straddling her, he kissed the hollow of her neck. She braced on her elbows with her head thrown back.

Suddenly, he stopped. "You're a virgin. Angel, I can't take that from you."

She put a finger to his lips to silence him. "I don't expect a commitment from you, Tonio. I know what this means. I'll go to my husband. I'll fake being a virgin. Maria told me how. But today, we almost died. I want to live. I need one time with you, Tonio. Just one to last me a lifetime. Maybe then I will be able to go on."

She arched up to meet him. With one, long hard thrust he was in her. The physical jolt pushed her back on the blanket, rubbing her elbows across it. A scream of pleasure and pain escaped her.

Tonio paused long enough to cover her mouth with his hand. "Quiet, love, they'll hear us."

Then they arched together in unison. Without thinking, she grabbed handfuls of the blanket to steady herself, but the attempt was futile. The blanket scooted and bunched beneath their rhythmic motion until her legs rested in the moist moss beneath it. The pleasure built with the pain until she screamed out in final completion, the sound muffled in Tonio's hand. Seconds later he shuddered and stiffened, grunting something unintelligible into her ear. Then he relaxed on top of her.

He whispered English words into her ear, but dazed with the enormity of what they'd just done, she couldn't bother trying to understand them.

He lay on top of her, still inside for a long time. The fire crackled beside them, and it took her a moment to realize that the side of her body away from it felt as warm and comfortable as the side that faced it. Finally, he pulled away from her and rolled off.

Her legs trembled, unused to mating, reminding her of his presence. She sighed, trying to capture the moment for eternity. Something warm and sticky oozed between her legs. Blood, she thought.

Finally he spoke. "Your marriage is so illegal, you probably don't need one, but if you want an annulment, I will help get one." He kissed her lightly. "May can help you find a job. Probably hire you on to do the baking for the Colonel. May's one good cook but a lousy baker. Colonel probably be glad to have you."

He ran his fingers over her cheek. "Angel, I'm in the middle of something you don't understand. To involve yourself with me would be too dangerous. I can't promise you anything—"

"Tonio, nothing has changed." She reached for her camisole and began dressing. "I have broken my vow of honor for this time only. But the disgrace of breaking my vow to marry Signor Allessandro would be too great for my family to bear. I have no way to pay him back for my passage. I will go to him."

"Angel—"

She pulled on her shirtwaist and buttoned it with trembling fingers. "Don't say it, Tonio." She stood, searching for her discarded pantalets.

Tonio tossed them to her and pulled his own pants back on.

When they had finished dressing, she turned to him, not knowing what to say. At last, she pulled the heavy gold cross over her head. She was as big a fool as her grandmother. She kneeled by Tonio, took his hand, and dropped the necklace into it. "I don't need this anymore. I have found what I was looking for. You take it."

"I can't take this. It's your heirloom. It's too valuable."

She kissed his cheek. "Then keep it safe for me, in case I ever need it." She stood and grabbed her bags.

"Where are you going?"

"To the camp. I can't stay here. There will be too much talk. Signor Allessandro will not like it. Goodbye, Tonio." It took all of her will to walk away. She kept her back straight and proud, but her spirit sagged and tears blinded her as she headed toward camp.