But, only moments later, he knew that wouldn’t be necessary. Jim came into the stable, leading a spooked Cinnamon. Her bridle had been put in place, but not the saddle. His gaze once again went back over to the barn and a cold chill swept down his spine. If she was hurt because of those brainless cowards, he’d kill every single one of them.
“Let’s get a man at every door of the barn. We can only assume Campbell came with his men and we can’t risk any of them getting out,” Cas ordered.
“We have to get in there.” Hunter muttered, staring toward the cart that rested just outside the stables. They used it to carry seed and occasionally water barrels out into the fields. It was heavy and, if they loaded it down even more, it just might break open the barn doors.
“What are you thinking?” Cas asked.
Hunter nodded toward the cart. “The feed should load it down. We get it heavy enough, we can push it right into the barn doors, splinter the boards.”
Cas nodded his agreement and they quickly set about getting it filled with the bags of feed. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but he couldn’t sit around while Emmy’s life was on the line. The longer they waited, the more time it gave the Campbells to come up with a plan. Or to at least take high positions in the loft in an attempt to start picking them off with shots so they couldn’t approach the barn. They had to get in there fast.
* * *
Before Emmy could reason out why Ship was there with a gun pointed at them, Pete wrapped an arm around her shoulders, positioning her in front of him as a shield, and then pulled out his own gun, ramming it into her ribs. She shrieked in protest and struggled until he pushed the muzzle against her even harder and barked a warning in her ear. Ship didn’t say a word as he wrapped the reins of his horse around a hook, pulled the door closed behind him and latched it. Smith made a move as Ship was throwing the board leaned against the wall into the block, but Ship yelled for him to stand still, then drew his other gun once his hand was free.
A shaft of moonlight came in through windows tucked in just under the roof and glinted off the barrels of the guns he held in each hand: one aimed at Smith and the other aimed at her and Pete. As he walked toward them, she noticed that he looked haggard, as if he hadn’t bathed in weeks. His normally well-groomed, salt-and-pepper hair was in disarray and there was a gray beard on his usually clean-shaven face. A body was tied across the back of his horse. It was a young man with dark hair whom she assumed to be Miguel, but if he was alive or dead, she couldn’t tell.
“Ship! You’re alive.” Too relieved to see him to heed Pete’s warning, she pushed at her stepbrother with her elbows. “I was so afraid Pete had done something awful.”
“Shut up, Em!” Pete tightened his grip and glared back at Ship. “How’d you get here?” He glanced to the closed door behind them, the one they had just come through, as if to make sure it was still latched. “What’d you do to Rowly, old man? You kill him so you could take that boy from me?”
“I followed you. Rowly outlived his usefulness the second he ran off with you, so I thought I’d put him out of his misery. What you’re doing ain’t smart, Petey. Nobody takes over my gang. Nobody.”
Pete laughed in her ear. “You ran ’em off yerself, you yellow coward, when you wanted to trade that Mexican for the girls and give up that money.”
“They’re your sisters.”
“Who gives a damn? You know how much we could get for that boy? Reyes has money. Maybe we would, too, if you weren’t so chickenshit. You ain’t in charge no more.”
“Not your choice, Petey.”
“The hell it ain’t. We don’t listen to you. Not now. Rowly and Smith left with me because they know I can get us where we want to be.” He jabbed the gun into her ribs again, making her wince. “I hoped you’d come to your senses, but get the hell out if yer here to cause trouble.”
“Not gonna do that. Reyes has Ginny and Rose. We’re giving Miguel back to him.”
“Yer a stupid coward, Ship. Take the money. Let him have those brats.”
“They’re family. That’s important, something I guess you know nothing about. I failed with you, boy.”
Pete cursed and tightened his grip on her. “Last chance, Ship.”
“I ain’t letting you do this,” Ship warned.
Pete laughed, but it was nervous laughter. Smith hadn’t drawn his gun and from what she could remember, he wasn’t a very good shot. There was no way out for Pete. Ship would kill them both before she even hit the ground and then the whole place would be swarming with Hunter’s men, alerted by the shooting. The very thought made her close her eyes, her mind racing for a solution.
“The difference between us, old man, is that you think family is worth something. You won’t shoot me, but I’ll sure as hell shoot you. Now put down yer guns and get the hell out of here. Smith warned me you’d try to mess this up. Put down the guns and I might even share some of the ransom. Hell, I’m feeling generous. This bitch brought money of her own. You can have some of that.”
“Ten thousand dollars!” Smith chimed in, as if proud to have something to add to the conversation, but he kept his arms out wide, away from his gun.
“Yep.” She could hear the smile in Pete’s voice. “Stole it like a good little whore. Just like her mother.”
A look of pain crossed Ship’s face. He glanced at her for a moment as if to determine for himself if that were true, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he said, “We already lost Hardy to Reyes’s bullet. Rowly’s dead. You’ve only got Smith left and we both know he’s smart as a rock. This ain’t worth it. The gang’s gone.”
“It ain’t gone, you just ran most of ’em off years ago. I’ll round ’em up, get us going again. Yer gang is dead. Mine is just starting,” Pete spouted back.
“You think you can outsmart Reyes? He was running the border towns while you were still pissing your britches. Even if you ransom the kid back, Reyes won’t let you get away. You expect to get out of here alive? Even if you do, he’ll hunt you down just to make an example out of you. You took that kid back in Crystal City and wouldn’t listen to me when I said to turn him loose, but this ends now. The kid goes back and we take our girls and walk away. That’s it.”
“See, this talk is why you lost yer gang.”
Before Ship could reply, the sound of a pair of boots running by outside reached them. “Goddammit, they already know we’re here.” His voice lowered.
Emmy hastily did a count in her head to figure out how many men Hunter might have with him. Besides Hunter and Castillo, there were the men who worked the ranch. She wasn’t sure how many men, at least ten, but she’d seen most of them wearing guns. Castillo had probably brought some of the gang back with him as well. It was impossible odds. This wouldn’t work out well for Pete.
“There are at least fifteen men out there, all with guns.” She turned her head to look at Pete, because clearly he was the irrational one here who needed to be made to see reason. “You won’t be able to outfight that many.”
“Shut up, Em. He don’t know we’re here.”
“Listen to her, boy. She’s been with him, she knows how many men he has,” Ship advised.
“Yeah? If he has so many men, how’d you manage to get away?” All three of them looked at her when Pete asked that.
How could she tell him the truth? He’d never understand what she had with Hunter. “It was easy. They don’t really need me since they have the children, so I wasn’t tied up. I ran as soon as I could after I heard the details about the exchange.”
The fact that Pete could so easily believe she’d abandon the children was more a testament to his character than her own. He gave her a nod of respect and glanced back to the door. Ship still studied her closely and she wasn’t entirely sure if he didn’t believe her or if he was simply disgusted that she’d leave the girls.
“Don’t you dare move, either one of you,” Ship warned, still holding a gun on Pete and a gun on Smith.
“Dammit, old man, yer going to get us killed.”
“No, you’re going to get us killed. You never think before you act!”
They never got to finish that argument. Before either of them could say another word, the barn doors nearest them crashed open, wood splintering from the weight of a wagon barreling through it.
Chapter Twenty
Hunter would never forget the sight of Emmy standing there with the muzzle of Pete’s gun pressed against her temple. It was a memory that would haunt his nightmares for years to come. He never wanted to see her sweet face so pale with fear again and he vowed that as long as he lived he’d do everything he could to make sure it never was. The problem with that vow was that it depended solely on the outcome of the next few minutes for it to mean anything.
When the wagon crashed through the doors, Angel and Eduardo both moved ahead to take cover behind the stack of crates that flanked the entrance. Hunter stayed so that he had the most direct view from behind the wagon, though it had tipped forward, spilling some feed bags onto the floor. He held his gun aimed straight at Pete, while Cas had his on Campbell. The moment Pete saw them, he tightened his grip around her shoulders and tucked her tight in front of him. He backed up so they were partially hidden by a stack of crates, but the angle didn’t hide them completely. Hunter could still shoot the bastard if he wasn’t so damned worried about hitting Emmy by mistake.
“Don’t shoot!” Hunter yelled the order to his men.
Campbell didn’t know who to hold his guns on. He kept one firmly on Pete, but the other wavered among the group, going from Hunter to Cas and back again. Smith had moved so quickly he’d managed to draw his own gun, but Angel and Eduardo had him in their sights. Hunter hoped no other men from Campbell’s gang were hiding, but he couldn’t take his eyes from Pete and his gun to look for them.
“That’s right. You shoot and she’s dead,” Pete yelled back. “Don’t even try and pretend you don’t care. If you didn’t, we’d all be dead by now.”
“Even if we don’t want her dead, you won’t get out of here alive,” Cas growled the words.
“I will. You’ll let me walk out or she’s dead.”
“She gets hurt, you die.” Hunter’s voice was strangely calm, even to his own ears.
“Is that how you found that money, sis? D’you make ’em like you? Which one, Reyes or his brother? Or both?”
“Stop, Pete.” She wiggled against him, twisting to try to get away. “It’s over. Give up now while you’re still alive.”
“Don’t move, Emmy!” Hunter yelled in alarm. He could just imagine Pete overreacting and pulling the trigger. “He’s desperate and stupid. Don’t push him to react.”
“Listen to Emmaline, son.” Campbell broke his silence and spoke to Pete, though he didn’t move his eyes from the men staring them down. “It’s over.”
“Like hell,” Pete spat. “I ain’t giving her up. I give her up and they kill me. This is what’s going to happen. I’m walking out of here with her and that satchel on the floor and nobody follows us.”
“You won’t get two steps out that door, boy.” Campbell shook his head in warning.
Without moving his head, Hunter glanced to the crates and then the loft, looking for some way to make this turn out in their favor. About a hundred different scenarios played out in his head, but none of them could guarantee that Emmy wouldn’t be hurt so he discarded them as quickly as they came to him. If there was just some way to get her out of the way so he could have a clear shot. A movement toward the other end of the barn caught his eye. It was one of the stable hands walking around the outside, his boots visible just under the locked doors. It meant they’d found the ladder and would now be climbing up to the loft. If that were the case, it’d be best to keep Pete talking so he wouldn’t notice them.
But as soon as he looked back down, his eyes met Emmy’s and he knew she was planning something. She tried to gesture as gently as possible so as not to arouse Pete’s suspicion and Hunter shook his head once, hoping she could read on his face that he didn’t want her to do whatever it was she was planning. If Pete got spooked and shot her, he knew that he’d lose his mind.
Dammit! Her eyes became solemn and determined and he knew she was going to act. Hunter took a few steps to his right to work his way closer to her, but Campbell noticed the movement and moved his gun from Cas to Hunter, so he paused. At that exact moment, Emmy jerked on her bonds, but they held tight on her wrists. The struggle made Pete loosen his grip, just enough to move his hand intending to get a firmer grasp on her shoulder. She took the opening and leaned her head forward as far as she could, then whacked it backwards, catching Pete in the nose. He yelped in pain as she fell to her knees and then her belly.
Hunter was moving the second after she did. As soon as she fell he was on top of her. And just in time, because the world exploded in gunfire. Cas shot Pete before he’d even raised his hand to his bloody nose. At the same time, Angel and Eduardo both shot Smith. He wasn’t sure where Campbell had gone, because he’d been too busy shielding her head, with his own head, shoulders and arms. But as soon as the gunfire stopped, he looked up to find out.
Angel had already found him cowering behind a barrel and had his gun aimed right at him. “Hand over the guns.”
After a moment of hesitation, Campbell complied and just like that Hunter’s heart settled back into his chest. He took a moment to relax against her as he caught his breath, breathing in her precious scent.
It was over and she was safe. He was never letting her go.
* * *
As quickly as it had started, the shooting stopped. It hadn’t even been that many shots. Three or four, she couldn’t be sure because of the ringing in her ears. The ties on her wrists fell away after Hunter cut them free and then he was turning her over and hauling her into his arms. She melted into him. She couldn’t help it. As Pete held the gun on her she’d been so sure that she’d never feel Hunter’s arms again that she couldn’t let him go. Her arms went around him, holding him so tight that she shook.
“Jesus, Emmy, I was so afraid. Are you hurt at all?”
She kept her eyes closed for a little longer to savor how good he felt. “I’m not hurt.” Then she pulled away just enough to look for Pete, but Hunter stopped her by cupping the back of her head.
“Best not to look. Pete and Smith are both dead. Do you know if there were any others?”
“No, Rowly was killed and that was the last one I knew. Castillo already got Hardy back in Crystal City. I’m not sure who he sent after you back at the cavern.”
Hunter nodded and she could see the tension drain out of him.
“What about Ship?” He probably deserved punishment, but she didn’t want him dead. He hadn’t been the best father in the world, but he had kept a roof over their heads. She couldn’t hate him, no matter how she disagreed with the way he lived.
“He’s alive. Over there.”
She looked where he indicated to see Angel helping her stepfather to his feet. Eduardo was picking up the two guns Ship had been holding before he had dashed for cover behind the barrel. “Please don’t let them hurt Ship. He didn’t take Miguel. It was all Pete’s idea. That’s what they were arguing about when you came in. He wanted to give Miguel back in exchange for us, but Pete just wanted the money.”
Hunter looked horrified at the suggestion, so she pressed. “Please. He’s a horrible person, I know, but he isn’t all bad. He did his best to take care of us. I know he never would’ve taken Miguel without Pete. It was all Pete’s idea and he’s dead now. Killing Ship won’t help anything. It’ll just be revenge,
but the wrong kind because none of this is his fault.”
“It’s all his fault, Emmy. Do you think Pete could’ve done any of this if his father hadn’t raised him to do it?”
“I don’t know, Hunter. But it’s not right. He can’t hurt us...now.” She hesitated to even say the word because she wasn’t sure there was an us anymore. Part of her expected him to walk away from her now that this was over.
Castillo, who had run past them to Ship’s mount at the other end of the barn, called Miguel’s name, drawing their attention. The horse was accustomed to gunfire and had managed to keep relatively calm throughout the shooting, but Castillo still had to calm him down before the horse would let him get close. As soon as he could, he cut the ties holding Miguel down and pulled him onto the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief when the man immediately roused, rolling into a ball on his side and groaning as he regained consciousness.
“What the hell did you do to him?” Hunter demanded.
Ship actually managed to look a bit sheepish and shrugged. “He put up a fight after I took him from Rowly.”
They all watched silently as Miguel roused. His skin looked pale and wan, but soon he was sitting up on his own and rubbing what was probably a knot on the back of his head. Castillo rose and stormed back over to them toward Ship. She was so worried that he might just pull his gun and shoot her stepfather right then that she actually tried to intercept him. Hunter tightened his arms around her waist to make her stay by his side.
“Please, Castillo. Please let him go.” He paused just as he strode even with them and looked over at her. “Pete had taken over the gang. Ship had nothing to do with him taking Miguel. He was trying to convince Pete to give him back. Please don’t hurt him, he won’t bother you anymore.”
“You don’t know that,” Cas scoffed.
“It’s over,” Ship said. He looked defeated, his shoulders slumped forward and his eyes downcast. “My men are all dead. My s-son...” He paused and took a deep breath. “My son is dead. Charlotte is dead. My girls were taken because of the things I’ve done. I’ve nothing left. Not a damn thing. I can’t do this anymore.”
The Innocent and the Outlaw (Outlaws of the Wild West) Page 22
