Standing behind the deputy with his gun held more like a club than a pistol, Caleb kicked the gun away from the unconscious lawman’s hand and said, “I hope you two are happy. I just did more than enough to land me in jail.”
Doc smirked and replied, “Only if they catch you. My vote is to put this town behind us.”
“I’ve got horses waiting nearby,” Kate said. “Let’s go.”
The three of them rushed down the stairs and out of the hotel. Although the fire was mostly out, everyone in the vicinity was watching the smoking heap of wood too closely to notice Kate leading Doc and Caleb around to the opposite side of the building where three horses were waiting.
“I hope I got it right,” Kate said to Caleb. “If that’s not your horse, we’ll be wanted for horse theft.”
“You got it right, Kate,” Caleb said as he rubbed Penny’s nose.
Doc wrapped his arms around her again and dipped her as if they were on a dance floor. “She sure did. I didn’t even own a horse.”
Letting out a tired sigh, Caleb was about to hurry the two along when he saw three figures on horseback who weren’t so transfixed by what was left of the scorched outhouse.
Dave Rudabaugh already had his gun drawn and ready to fire. A few paces away from Dave, Samuel and the man with the scar on his chin were also taking aim.
There was a split second before a shot was fired. For Caleb, time seemed to grind to a halt. When he tried to take a shot before Rudabaugh or the others fired at him, Caleb’s gun arm moved as if it was trapped in cold molasses. Within that fraction of a second, Caleb realized he wouldn’t be quick enough to shoot first.
A shot blazed through the air, but it wasn’t the shot Caleb had been expecting. Instead, it was fired from the rifle of another man who’d gone unnoticed until this very moment. Rather than waste a second in looking for the source of that shot, Caleb brought up his own gun and fired at Rudabaugh.
The outlaw flinched in his saddle and fired over his shoulder as he pointed his horse to the south and snapped the reins.
More shots were fired by Samuel and the scarred gunman, creating another round of confusion in an already tumultuous night.
Caleb and Doc returned fire. Even Kate sent a few pieces of lead through the air. Before long, the gunman fell from his saddle, leaving Samuel alone.
The man who’d fired his rifle at Rudabaugh rode forward in pursuit. Rather than rush off after the fading sound of hooves, Wyatt Earp pulled back on his reins and took stock of the situation. “You folks all right?” he asked.
Without saying a word, Doc raised his gun, aimed, and fired in a motion that was almost too quick to see.
Wyatt brought up his rifle out of pure reflex, but realized he hadn’t been hit. Glancing behind him, Wyatt found that the man with the scarred chin had been one twitch away from putting a bullet into Wyatt’s back. No longer possessing the strength to pull his trigger, the scarred man dropped his gun and fell from his saddle as blood spread from the fresh wound in his chest.
“I think we have this well enough in hand,” Doc said as he spun his pistol once around his finger and dropped it back into its holster.
“All right, then.” Tipping his hat to Caleb and Kate, Wyatt added, “Best of luck to you. And you, ma’am.” After that, Wyatt snapped his reins and headed south after Rudabaugh.
Doc and Caleb strode forward. Kate kept one arm wrapped around Doc’s midsection and her other hand tightly clenched around her gun.
Watching them approach, Samuel shook his head frantically and then threw his gun so far that it disappeared into the night. “I surrender!”
“Too late for that,” Caleb said in a low, growling tone.
“But I’m just a partner,” Samuel insisted. “Dave’s the one you want! Even Brad spilled more blood than me and you got him already. Please . . .”
“You made all the arrangements for that blood to be spilled,” Doc pointed out. “You may not have fired every shot, but you sure as hell made certain the guns were aimed in the right direction.”
Slowly reloading his gun, Caleb asked, “If we let you go, will you just convince someone else to come after us?”
“N . . . no!” Samuel whined. Waving toward the man that Doc had shot from his saddle, he added, “That fellow there already had a grudge against Mr. Holliday. He would have come after you whether or not I arrived.”
“And what about Ed Bailey?” Doc asked.
The confusion on Samuel’s face was too thick to be anything but genuine. “Who?”
Doc glanced over to Kate. “You wicked girl.”
She shrugged and showed Doc a sexy, if somewhat apologetic, smile as she climbed into her saddle.
“Surely there’s money to be made in coming after us somewhere along the line,” Caleb continued. “After all, you know not all of that gold went to Farnum.”
Samuel kept shaking his head. “That’s over now. We’re square.”
“He’s lying,” Kate said with disgust.
“I know he is. He couldn’t even fool those vigilantes and they were itching for an excuse to string us up.”
“Forget about the gold,” Samuel pleaded. “There’s no more debt between us.”
“Oh, you’re right about that,” Caleb snarled. With that, he sighted along the barrel of his .44 and pulled the trigger.
That single shot caused the pistol to buck against Caleb’s palm and punched a hole through Samuel’s head.
After wavering a bit in his saddle, Samuel slid off one side and landed in a heap.
Doc let out a low whistle. “My goodness, that surprised me.”
“Why?” Caleb asked. “I’ve lost track of how many times that asshole tried to get us killed. He only would have tried again some other time.”
“Not that,” Doc added as he fixed his eyes upon Samuel’s lifeless body. “I thought I’d be the one to shoot the little weasel.”
Gripping his .44, Caleb pulled himself onto Penny’s back as more commotion reached his ears from the town behind him. “Sounds like those vigilantes have gotten to their horses.”
“Or it could be the law,” Doc added with a gleam in his eye. Beside him, Kate showed that very same gleam. “What do you say, darlin’?” Doc asked. “Shall we take our leave of this town? There was plenty of action to be had in Kansas.”
“I’ll go where you go,” she replied.
Caleb rolled his eyes and shook his head. “How about we just go before we get shot down or strung up?” he asked impatiently.
“A splendid idea,” Doc grunted as he mounted the horse Kate had stolen for him. “I believe I’ve enjoyed about as much of this place as I could stand.”
With that, the three of them snapped their reins and dug their heels into their horses’ sides. It was a long way to Dodge City.
The Accomplice: The Silent Partner Page 25
