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his cigar to the ground before cuffing a hand around her elbow.
    As she was led a way from the crowd, Mercy was tempted to slap the smirk off of Spencer McCabe’s handsome face. Instead, she clamped her lips together, holding her ire in check as Spencer dragged her across the farmyard.
    “Unhand me!” she cried once they were out of earshot, unsuccessfully trying to pull herself free from his grasp. “I have to go back to the house! My mother’s upstairs.”
    “Dewey will keep an eye on her.”
    “Is that supposed to comfort me to know that my mother will be ill-treated by an acquaintance rather than a total stranger?”
    “Dewey’s not like the rest of them.”
    “But you are, aren’t you?” Spence r didn’t as much as glance at her, his disdain further enraging her. “We invited you into our home and gladly shared our supper table with you. And this is how you repay us.”
    At hearing that, Spence r came to an abrupt halt, swinging her around to face him. “Spare me the sermon, Miss Hibbert. Before I left, I told you to clear out of Marion County. None of this would have happened if you’d taken heed of my advice.”
    “Oh? So all of this is my fault, is it?” Mercy shot him a disparaging glance. If it was within her power, she would’ve cast Spencer McCabe into the fiery pits of hell. Right there on the spot. “You are the one who led these vile men here, not I.”
    “What do you want from me, an apology?” His lips twisted into a sneer. Gone the charming rogue, the southern snake charmer of the prior visit. “In case you’re interested, sweetheart, I led these ‘vile’ men here in order to save your Yankee ass. Since this farm is being used as Ned’s headquarters, you and your family should be relatively safe.”
    “‘Relatively safe?’ You, sir, are an evil and godless man!” Mercy hissed, utt erly appalled by his insolence.
    “And I’m warning you to keep a close watch on that uppity tongue of yours . Otherwise I might be forced to behave like a ‘vile’ man.”
    “I can defend myself against the likes of you.”
    “So I noticed. Just what the hell do you think ol’ Ned was planning to do back there?”
    “Being the despicable outlaw that he is, I suspect that he was planning to shoot me.”
    “Yeah, he would have eventually gotten around to that . But not before he jammed something else into that pretty little mouth of yours.”
    “How dare you!” Incensed, Mercy raised an arm to strike Spencer across the face. Only to have her wrist captured in a bone-jarring grasp.
    “Don’t push me, girl . Or I might just give you what you deserve.”
    “Oh? And what might that be?”
    Too late, Mercy realized her mistake. Quick as summer lightning, Spencer released her wrist. Grabbing her around the waist, he yanked her against him.
    “Do you really want to find out?” he husked, his arms tightening across her backside, smashing her breasts against his chest.
    Mercy’s breath caught in her throat, her heart beating out of control. Frightened and confused, she’d never known that a man’s body could be so hard . So unyielding.
    “ Please . . . let me go,” she pleaded, her voice little more than a strained whisper.
    To her surprise, Spence r obeyed without argument, taking the unasked measure of stepping away from her. Even more surprising was the way that his chest rose and fell, his breath, like hers, coming in deep, uneven measures. The thought came to her that despite his cruel taunts, there was still some shred of manly decency left to Spencer McCabe. And for that she was grateful. Particularly since her fate, and that of her family, now hinged on whether this taciturn, menacing man would continue to defend them against his fellow bushwhackers.
    “Just feed ‘em when they’re hungry and stay out of their way the rest of the time. If you do that, you stand a chance of coming out of this alive,” Spence r rasped just before he strode toward the house.

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