An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book

by Lorelei Brogan

  Nick hated it that they were putting people in danger, but the important thing was to make sure the sheriff saw this. Even if the robbers got away right now, as long as the sheriff and the rest of the town saw it, they could go after them.

  They didn’t have to have a shoot out here with civilians.

  “Go!” Derek nearly yelled, bringing Nick back to the present. He hurried around the bank back to the window and began to thread the rope across the window. He put it back and forth, back and forth until he’d created a sort of web over it.

  Then he pulled up one of the boards he’d brought the night before and began to hammer it into the wall.

  He hoped that because of the commotion inside, no one would notice what he was doing for a while. He could only hope. Their entire plan was hinged on the hope that every other bit of the plan would work out right.

  Chapter 29

  About halfway to the sheriff’s office, Lana’s lungs began to burn. She didn’t exactly run very often.

  She pushed forward though. Nick and Derek were counting on her. She needed to get to the sheriff’s office as quickly as possible.

  When the small office was finally in front of her, she paused for a few seconds to catch her breath.

  It wouldn’t do the sheriff any good if he couldn’t understand her.

  She hurried up the porch steps and then bursting through the door. She wasn’t sure if she should have knocked or not, she just knew she didn’t have enough time.

  She spotted a deputy sitting behind the desk.

  “Howdy ma’am, how can I help you?” The deputy stood up, planting his hands on the desk in front of him.

  “Um, I n-need the sheriff.” Lana felt dizzy and a bit disoriented. She hoped that she hadn’t pushed herself too far.

  “He’s not in right now, but I can certainly help you. I’m just as capable.” The deputy gave her a look that she might have thought flirtatious if she’d been thinking about that.

  “When will he be back? I need to talk to him now. It’s urgent. Where can I find him?”

  The deputy walked out from behind the desk. “I don’t know. It could be hours before he gets back.”

  “Hours? Where is he? I’ll go there. Is he in town?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t say. If it’s something urgent, please tell me so I can help.”

  Lana’s insides quaked. Nick hadn’t told her what to do if the sheriff wasn’t there.

  “I- um,” Lana weighed her options. She could leave the sheriff’s office and go searching for the sheriff on her own. But there was no guarantee she would find him. And if she told the deputy, maybe he could help.

  Nick and Derek could be in trouble and were counting on her to bring help. Hopefully, the deputy would be better than no one at all.

  “Okay, okay. I need help! I was walking by the bank and it’s being robbed.”

  “Are you sure?” The deputy looked doubtful and narrowed his eyes as if he were scrutinizing her.

  “I’m sure. I saw the men go in there with guns. People were yelling and I looked through the window and they were putting money into bags. Come on, we have to hurry before they can get away!”

  To her shock and frustration, the deputy just stood there, stroking his chin as if he were thinking.

  “What are you waiting for?”

  “Are you sure that you saw it being robbed?” the deputy asked again.

  Lana nodded, “Positive.”

  “Who else knows? Was anyone else with you or did anyone else go for the sheriff or notice that it was being robbed?”

  Lana felt so confused by his questions. Why would he care? She felt suddenly uneasy. The deputy’s lack of urgency and doubt made her very uncomfortable. She took an uncertain step back towards the door.

  The deputy matched her step. “Was there anyone else with you?”

  “No,” she lied. Despite not knowing what was going on, Lana felt as if she shouldn’t tell the deputy about Nick and Derek. Something wasn’t right.

  “I’ll just go and find the sheriff myself.” Lana pointed towards the door and took another step towards it.

  “No, actually, I can’t let you do that. You won’t find him anyway.” The deputy crossed the space between them at a lightning speed.

  Lana tried to run but she was too late. The deputy was too fast. He wrapped his arms around her and pushed her against the wall. “You see, I have to make sure that no one interferes with the bank robbery. I wouldn’t get my cut otherwise.”

  “Y-you’re one of them? Let me go. I won’t tell anyone else,” she said incredulously.

  The deputy shook his head with a look as if to ask if she thought he was that foolish. “You would run out of here screaming it at the top of your lungs. I know your type.”

  Lana struggled against him, “What type is that?”

  “The type that can’t leave well enough alone and go on with their lives. You know, it would be a lot easier if you were that type.”

  “You’re a deputy! How can you do this to your town?” Lana’s voice broke as he pulled some rope from a nearby chair and began to bind her hands together.

  “But was it ever my town? You see, I was never really a deputy. This was my first job.”

  The realization hit Lana. They hadn’t thought about the possibility that there were more people on the inside than just Jake.

  “What are you going to do with me?” Lana’s mind went back to Nick and Derek. What would they do when she didn’t show up with the sheriff?

  Would they keep the robbers there longer? Would they fight them themselves? Lana didn’t know. She just knew that she had done what she had feared most; failed.

  She hadn’t brought the sheriff. No, she had even put herself in harm's way. Had she been the undoing of them all?

  “Please, let me go!”

  “You know, I’ve gotten to know Nick in the time I’ve been here in town. He is a good man. I thought that I wouldn’t get to know or like anyone in this little town.”

  “You could stay. You could be a real deputy and protect the town the way they are expecting you to do.

  The deputy threw his head back and laughed. “I am no deputy, my lady. I am a thief and a bandit. Your town has only not found out because they don’t pay attention to all of the wanted posters.”

  “But you have the chance to change.” Lana hoped that she could change his mind. Maybe she could convince him to become a better person. After all, people could change, couldn’t they?

  “I do not have a chance to change. I never had a chance to change. I was always destined to be the man I am today. I was destined to be a criminal and that is what I am.”

  For a moment it almost looked as if the deputy was sad, but he shook his head and the expression vanished. “You know, I am getting tired of hearing you speak. Tell me, does Nick know you are here?”

  Lana’s mind froze. Would he believe that Nick wasn’t here? She may be in danger, but she had to protect Nick while she still could. “N-no.”

  “Are you sure about that? You hesitated and now that you mention it, I haven’t seen you in town without Nick before. Did he send you?”

  “No.” this time, Lana was sure that her voice gave her away. It trembled and it broke as she said the word.

  “You’re not telling the truth, are you? I’ll tell you what. I will consider leaving Nick alive, just because I’ve known him to be a good man.”

  Lana fought tears. “Leave him alone. He didn’t do anything to you. You killed his brother-in-law and it wasn’t Nick’s fault.”

  “That’s where you have it wrong. He has done something wrong because he’s gone after Jake.”

  “How do you know about that?” As far as Lana knew, they had kept their pursuing of Jake a secret.

  “I know. You don’t think that we don’t keep track of the things going on around town, do you? That’s what Jake and I are here for… to make sure we know what’s going on.”

  “Where is the sheriff? If he c
omes back and finds me tied up, he will know you aren’t who you say you are.”

  The deputy shook his head and chuckled. A sound that made Lana burst with anger and desperation.

  “The sheriff won’t be coming in today. He’s a little… let’s say, tied up.”

  “What have you done to him? Where is he?” Lana’s heart sank. She had been doomed to fail the moment she had walked into the sheriff’s office.

  “Originally we were going to play it by ear, and no one would be involved.

  But because of you guys poking around, we decided it would be a little safer if we got the sheriff out of the equation.”

  “Why are you guys doing this?” Lana struggled against her restraints. Maybe she could escape and turn this situation around. The deputy pulled out a pocket watch and checked it.

  “Why does anyone rob a bank? For the money, of course.”

  Lana stopped talking and focused on her task at hand. The deputy had started to pace and sometimes disappeared into the adjoining room, leaving her alone, tied to one of the jail cells.

  He didn’t seem worried about anyone finding them. Maybe he was going to kill anyone else who came in. Maybe he was planning on killing her too. Lana twisted and pulled at the ropes and they began to rub her skin raw, making it bright red and burn with pain.

  She paused for a break and took long deep breaths.

  When she looked up, she found the deputy standing near her, peering at her with a strange look. “It’s no use, you know. You’ll never get out of those ropes. You’ll just make this harder on yourself.”

  Lana’s cheeks burned red. He knew she was trying to escape and yet didn’t seem worried in the least.

  She did her best to turn away from him. He pulled his pocket watch out again and looked at it. “It’s actually time we get going.”

  “Going? Where? Just leave me here. You’ll be long gone by the time someone finds me.”

  “I can't do that. See, if something went wrong at the bank, you’ll do for some nice leverage. I’ve seen the way that Nick looks at you.”

  His words caught Lana off guard. Nick didn’t look at her in a particular way, did he?

  She opened her mouth to protest, only to see the deputy’s hand coming towards her with a square of white cloth in it.

  She screamed and struggled, but there was nothing she could do. His hand clapped over her mouth with a cool cloth on it over her lips and nose.

  She struggled to breathe but couldn’t. Her vision slowly blurred, and it was hard to think. Nick’s face materialized in the blackness. He was smiling at her, telling her everything was going to work out fine.

  She tried calling out to him, but it felt as if her mouth and throat were full of cotton. He began to get further and further away.

  He was telling her how much Ginger would be looking forward to having dinner with her and how he was counting on her to succeed.

  She wanted to tell him how she had failed. She wanted to let him know that everyone was in danger. But she couldn’t utter a single word. Now her dream world also began to collapse on itself. She sent out a desperate prayer asking God to save them.

  Images began to disappear; Nick disappeared. She was fading into black and even though she was struggling against it, she couldn’t keep it from coming.

  She felt her body falling and every bit of her go limp as she lost control of her mind and her consciousness. She had no idea where she would wake up or if she would wake up.

  But her safety was not what worried her. What worried her the most was Nick and Derek’s fate. She only hoped that despite her failure, they would somehow succeed and bring these monsters to justice.

  If they were paid with justice, her capture would be worth it. As the last bits of conciseness escaped her, she wondered if the sheriff was still alive and if she would ever see Freddy and Lydia again.

  Chapter 30

  Nick glanced toward town once more. Where was Lana? She should have been back with the sheriff by now. Had something happened to her?

  The gang had become aware of their predicament and were banging on the window and the door simultaneously. It was only a matter of time before they banded together to find a way out of the bank and he and Derek wouldn’t be able to stop them.

  “Where is she? She’s certainly taking her time.” Derek called to him from the corner of the bank.

  “I don’t know.”

  The sound from the window had ceased and it had moved to the door. All three of the men were working on the front door.

  The wood was flimsy and their restraints wouldn’t last.

  “Come on, we need to hide. I have a feeling this is going to go south.”

  “What about the robbers? We’re just gonna let them get away?” Derek looked disappointed.

  “What do you want us to do? If they get out here and find us they’ll probably kill us on the spot. We’re no match for them.”

  Derek looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him and Nick felt the same way. Their plan had failed. He didn’t know yet why and he was beginning to really worry about Lana.

  She wouldn’t have given up easily. He knew that much. “Come on, we still have a little time. We’ll hide nearby and hope that Lana makes it in time. We can watch them leave and see where they go.”

  “Fine.” Derek scooped up their things and they ran back to the building where they had hidden earlier. “Do you think this is far enough away?”

  “They didn’t see us when they came. They’ll be so eager to get away, I doubt they’ll care much who locked them in there at least for now. Knowing what Jake Gold has done before now, I wouldn’t put it past him to come after us as revenge later if he finds out it was us.”

  “Oh, great, that’s super comforting to know.” Derek shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the building.

  “Maybe I can catch up to Lana and bring the sheriff back in time.” He glanced toward the sheriff’s office.

  “I would tell you to go for it, but if something goes worse here than it already has I might need your help.”

  “I know,” Derek ran his hands through his hair nervously. “How did this get so messed up? How hard could it be for her to go and get the sheriff? That was the easiest part of all of this. I told you we shouldn’t have included her.”

  “Whoa, I am sure she did her best. There has to be some sort of explanation. We don’t know what happened. We shouldn’t judge until we talk to her.”

  “What could have happened to her, Nick? Going to get the sheriff was the simplest part of this entire thing.”

  “I don’t know. I’m beginning to worry. What if there were more of them in town or something and they figured out that Lana was going to tell the sheriff?”

  “You mean,” Worry filled Derek’s face. “You think she might be in trouble?”

  “I don’t know, I just don’t know.” The two of them turned as a loud noise split the evening.

  The front door of the bank burst open and little splinters flew in all directions. Now that Nick thought about it, they shouldn’t have counted on the sheriff in their plan. They should have created a foolproof plan where the robbers were detained.