by My Desperado
It would not be much longer now. Silver Ridge lay ahead, less than an hour’s ride, he was sure, and yet his ribs did not hurt. But then, he had been warned of impending danger for years. He could not expect to be warned of his own death, not when he knew it would come.
It was a long, winding descent into the valley. Before them, Travis could see the lights of the boomtown’s nightlife. They will stop soon, he thought.
But they did not. There was just the four of them. Katherine and himself, Delias and the man called Cory. Travis had killed the other two, very silently with his knife. His only regret was his inability to kill Delias before he had given up his weapons. For now it would be harder.
They rode down the quiet backstreets of the city. A dog yipped, announcing their arrival, but no lights were lighted in the nearby houses.
Up ahead a tall white structure could be seen in the darkness. Shutters framed the windows, appearing as black holes in the building’s wide expanse. Grey’s house. The horses were halted.
“Get the woman,” Delias ordered. “All right, Ryland. End of the trail.”
Soldier braced himself as Travis dismounted and fell, unable to balance without the use of his hands, which had been tied behind his back.
Katherine fell from unconsciousness as Cory pulled her from her mount. Travis heard her gasp of horror as the nightmare of reality found her again.
Cory chuckled, drawing her against his chest and crooning, “There now, lady. No need t’ fret. I’ll give y’ what you’re needin’ soon enough.”
“Cory.” Travis kept his tone conversational, though his muscles ached with the effort. “Touch her and I’ll tear your heart out.”
“Big talk from a man who’s about to die.”
Travis watched him in the darkness. “I’m already dead.” Quiet settled in around them. “It hasn’t stopped me from killing yet.”
For a moment there was no sound. And then Delias laughed.
“Enough of your lies!” Cory yelled, but he had moved away from Katherine and kept the distance.
They were prodded down the walkway to the front door, where Delias rapped loudly. The portal opened, emitting a gruff voice. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Delias!” He pushed the door wide, knocking the stunned guard back with the movement. “Tell your master I’m here bearing gifts.”
It took only moments for Grey to appear. His silver hair was mussed, and as he hurried forward he tied a quick knot in the belt of his brocade robe.
“What the devil are you doing here?” he hissed.
“Brought you a little something to help you sleep better,” Delias grunted, pushing Travis forward.
Grey took a quick step back. “What happened to your shoulder?”
“Just a little misunderstanding.”
Grey grimaced, dragging his gaze from the bloody hole in the other’s jacket. “You shouldn’t have brought them here, for God’s sake. I told you to meet me out at the old mine.”
“I wasn’t in the mood for waiting,” Delias explained, drawing his revolver and taking two steps to the side to sit on a plush, tasseled settee. “Besides, you and me, we’re partners, so I knew you wouldn’t mind my coming straight in.”
“You’ve got to get out of here before someone sees you,” Grey ordered, but Delias only shook his head.
“I come up with a new plan, Tommy. It’s real good. You’ll like it. We’re going to say Ryland here was the one that stole the payroll at the outset. I heard he was using my name to do his dirty deeds, so I hunted him down and brought him to the good people of Silver Ridge.” He chuckled. “It’ll do wonders for my reputation. Folks won’t hardly blink when you and I are seen together.”
Travis watched Grey scowl. “Where’s Red?”
Delias smiled again. “Ryland here killed him.” He held his gaze steadily on Grey. “Ain’t that right, Cory?”
Behind Katherine, Cory shuffled his feet nervously.
“Ain’t that right, boy?” Delias repeated.
“Yeah. That’s right.”
Grey’s gaze skimmed from Delias to Cory, finally resting on Travis’s face, and for a moment Travis thought he might question the truth of that statement, but he did not. “We’ll have to go down to the jail.”
“Not her,” Delias said, watching for Grey’s reaction. “She’ll stay with me.” His narrow eyes shifted to Kat, then to Travis. “We got us some unfinished business.”
“See here, Delias, I’m sure we can convince Miss Simmons to see things our way. I won’t have her hurt,” Grey said.
“Hurt? You talk like I’m some mad dog, Tommy. I won’t hurt her. Just give her what she’s been asking for.”
“I make the decisions here.”
Very slowly Delias turned his gun toward Grey. “I got me a stake in this, Tommy. We wouldn’t want folks saying you had something to do with the loss of your workers’ money, now would we? The woman’s mine.”
Hope exploded in Travis’s mind. With a roar he charged Delias, who rose, swinging his gun to bear. But too late. Travis’s shoulder hit his midsection and bore him to the floor.
Dellas’s elbow smacked against the hard tile, sending his gun flying.
Hands still bound behind him, Travis brought his knee up hard between Dellas’s legs. There was a sucking gasp, but already Travis was on his feet.
But there were no weapons so Travis drew back his booted foot, aiming for the other’s head.
It seemed he heard the crack against his skull more clearly than he felt it. Darkness swelled upward, drawing him down, but he grimaced, fighting it back as he twisted about.
Another blow came, full in his face this time, with something hard and flat, and he fell, hoping Katherine could hear the apology he tried to force past stiffening lips.
“Wake him up so he can see what I do to the woman!” Delias ordered, and clawed fingers reached for his revolver, but Grey scooped it out of his reach.
“Are you insane? She’s our security. As long as we keep her safe, he’ll do what we say.”
“I’ll tell the truth.” Katherine could barely hear her own words. She had tried to reach Travis, but Cory held her from behind, and so she locked her gaze on Grey. “I won’t let you get away with this, not while there’s a breath in my body.”
“Ryland is a wanted criminal, Miss Simmons. He’ll die one way or the other.” Grey watched her solemnly. “He knows he won’t live through this. You saw how he attacked Mr. Delias. He’s prepared to die. But you don’t have to. Let him claim the crimes. Let him save you. It seems that’s what he wants.”
“Never,” she whispered.
Grey merely watched her. “Cory, put Miss Simmons in the cellar. Lock her in and guard the door. Web, you and Delias and myself will take Ryland to the jail.”
Chapter 34
“Where is she?” Travis gripped the iron bars with both hands as he stared through them at Thomas Grey. At least his hands were no longer tied.
“She’s safe.”
“Damn you to hell,” Travis cursed quietly.
“And she’ll remain safe,” continued Grey. “Just so long as you do as you’re told.”
“You’ll forgive me for not trusting you.”
“I never wanted any of this to happen, Ryland. But my mines were failing. I couldn’t afford to pay my employees and start up new operations. So I devised a way to rid Colorado of two killers.”
“Me and Delias.” Travis supplied the names without emotion. “But what about Mayor Patterson?”
“He was a lazy drunk who fought progress at every turn. Silver Ridge is better off without him.” Grey scowled. “But I didn’t plan on Miss Simmons. I fear she’s being difficult.”
“Harm her and you’ll die in pieces, Grey.”
“I have no wish to hurt her. She’s an intelligent woman.” He paused. “You’ll have to convince her to act intelligently.”
“She’s never listened to me yet,” Travis said.
“Then you better try harder, Ryland
. If she plays along, she’ll be sent back to Boston. But if she doesn’t…” He shook his head, looking genuinely sorry. “It seems Delias holds a grudge, and he’ll be the one guarding her when you make your statement this morning.”
“You’re not wasting no time.”
“I can’t afford a lengthy trial. And luckily for me, the people of Silver Ridge won’t want one. They’ve waited a long time to see you hang.”
“Where will Katherine be?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, but she’ll be close by. Close enough for Delias to react immediately if you cause trouble.”
“If you let Delias guard her, all bets are off.”
“I’m afraid you have little choice in the matter.”
“I’m telling you now, Grey, if you don’t want me spilling the truth, you won’t let Delias ever see her again.”
“Convince her to keep silent, and I’ll swear on my father’s grave to protect her.”
“And she’ll be sent safely back to Boston?”
“You have my word.”
Travis glanced toward the window. Dawn was approaching. Impending death felt strangely painless, but the thought of her made his heart ache. “Send her in.”
“Travis.” She whispered his name through the bars.
“Don’t talk.” His hands felt warm as they covered hers. “Just listen.”
“Travis,” she began again, but he gripped her fingers tighter.
“Just this once, lady, please listen. I’m going to die.”
“No!” The word was a sob, but she could not help it.
“Yes, I am. But you’re not. You’re going back to Boston, where you belong.”
“No.”
“All you have to do is be silent. That’s all.”
“I won’t!”
“Please, Katherine,” he whispered. “Please. For me. Don’t die. Give my life some purpose.”
Her throat felt raw, and her eyes stung. “You never knew how good you were.”
“I wasn’t good, Katherine. Not without you.” Releasing her hand, he reached between the bars to touch her cheek. “All the men I’ve killed…” He shook his head. “Let me save someone worth saving.”
“Don’t!”
“Let me die loving you, Kat,” he whispered.
And she closed her eyes and wept.
They’d cut his arms loose, fed him a decent breakfast, and retied his hands in front of his body. The sun marched up the sky, announcing the coming of the end.
Travis paced the length of his cell. He’d imagined dying, but somehow had not expected it to happen like this—confined to a cage before being hanged by his neck. The townspeople were already beginning to gather. A scaffold could be seen from the narrow barred window. It was around that structure that the crowd milled.
Travis drew a deep breath. Katherine would be safe. Grey had vowed, and it was the best he could hope for. And yet his heart ached. His ribs, however, were strangely numb, as if it was past time for premonitions.
He paced again, wishing that he had lived his life differently. But how, he didn’t know, for it seemed life had a way of leading a body, not letting it choose.
“Come on out.” Cory grinned at him. “Grey, he’s got him a gift with the people, don’t he? He’s made them think he’s a damn saint, and that you’re a devil.” He laughed. “Time to make your speech and die, Ryland.”
“Where’s Delias?”
“It’s none of yer concern.”
The key grated in the lock, and Travis stepped forward, bound hands clenched to fists. “Goddamn it! Where’s Delias?”
Cory’s gun came swiftly up to settle against Travis’s throat. “I wouldn’t mind pluggin’ you right here and now!” he threatened. “You move out nice and quiet.”
Uncertainty caused Travis’s chest to ache. Fear was a stranger that came late to visit.
“Are you ready?” Grey stood in the doorway, looking flushed, as if his speech to the citizens had exhilarated him.
“Where’s Delias?” Travis asked again, unmoving.
“He’s with my personal physician,” Grey said. “It seems his wound has become infected and he’ll need a high dose of morphine to have it treated.” His gaze caught Travis’s.
“Delias won’t be bothering us again. My word is good Ryland.”
Travis held his gaze, searching for lies, but he could not tell. “So is mine, Grey. If she’s hurt, I’ll find a way to do the same to you. Hell won’t be hot enough to hold me. I swear it.”
“From what I heard, I didn’t think you were the kind to fall in love. Not with a woman like her.” He shrugged. “But she’s safe.”
Travis moved slowly through the doorway. The sun was bright, shining hot against his shoulders and the back of his head. Innumerable faces stared at him, their expressions taut and expectant.
They marched him straight to the scaffolding. It was made of graying wood that was crossed and recrossed in back but open in the front, leaving a clear view for the spectators that crowded the street between the buildings.
He was stopped not far from the structure, and silence settled over the crowd.
“All right.” Grey’s voice was quiet. “Tell the people what you wanted to say, Ryland.”
Travis’s gaze caught on Grey’s. In the end the words were hard to force from his lips, but Katherine would live.
“It was me that stole the money.” His eyes were still locked on Grey’s, searching endlessly for a flicker of dishonesty.
“What?” a voice yelled from the crowd.
“Can’t hear.”
“Get him up on the gallows. He belongs there anyhow.”
“Get him up there! So’s we can hear ‘im.”
He was prodded from behind. Not by Cory’s hands now, but by many others.
The steps sounded dully beneath Travis’s boots. Below him the crowd became hushed again as he turned. The sun was to his right, seeming strangely bright and warm.
“What’d you do with the money?” someone yelled.
Within the midst of the crowd Travis found Grey’s face. It looked suddenly more strained and wary.
“Where’s the money?”
The crowd went silent.
“I spent it,” Travis said, lifting his eyes to the masses before him.
“And Patterson, you kill him?”
Travis waited, wishing he could hold her, just once more.
“Yes.”
“No!” Katherine tore the gag from her mouth to scream the word. “No!”
Delias spun about, the devilish light in his eyes bright, his hand uplifted. Kat screamed again, yanking hopelessly at her bonds and twisting about in her chair.
Pain shot across Travis’s ribs, but not for himself. For her! He knew it! Katherine was nearby, and he felt her danger. Grey had lied!
“Katherine!” he yelled, his gaze darting to every door.
“Hold him!”
“Watch him!”
“Katherine!” he wailed again, and at that moment he saw the hound. He was pressed against a doorjamb, with one paw lifted to scratch the wood.
Faces lurched toward him, but he was already gone, launching himself from the scaffolding to soar to the ground. Three men went down with him. Travis rolled, braced his weight on his bound hands, and scrambled to his feet.
Bodies surrounded him, but from somewhere guns were fired, scattering the crowd. Women screamed, and men yelled, ducking for cover. Travis lunged forward, all concentration focused on the door ahead. It gave way beneath the pounding force of his shoulder, and he bolted inside as a gun exploded nearly in his face.
Katherine screamed again, but already he had collided with Delias. Their bodies were crushed together with a revolver in between.
“Damn you!” Delias cursed. Swinging his left hand, he tried to knock Ryland aside, but in that moment Travis twisted the gun backward and fired.
Dellas’s mouth fell open. His hands went limp, and he staggered back a step, dropping his
head to gape at the red circle spreading across his middle. “Damn you,” he swore again, but weakly now.
Men swarmed into the building.
“Get Ryland!” someone said, but from outside a quiet voice objected.
“I don’t think that would be wise, gentlemen. Grey here has something to tell you.”
Into the doorway stepped Thomas Grey, and behind him came Cody Blackfeather.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Grey asked, glancing over his shoulder, but perspiration had appeared on his forehead and his face was pale.
“Tell the people the whole story, Grey.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Delias stole my payroll. I hired Ryland to get rid of him, but he killed Mayor Patterson and stole the money.”
“‘E’s lyin’,” came a Cockney voice, and Daisy elbowed her way through the crowd.
Chapter 35
“It seems we owe you an apology, Mr. Ryland.”
Katherine watched in silence as the man with the walrus moustache spoke to Travis. It was strange how life went on, even when it seemed certain it would not.
Her gaze shifted to Delias’s body, and she shivered, turning back to watch Travis. He was silent and large, looking miraculously unscathed despite it all.
“The citizens of Silver Ridge would like to make amends.” Walrus Moustache cleared his throat, seeming to find it difficult to meet Travis’s gaze. “We’re in need of a sheriff. And we’ve ahh…talked it over amongst ourselves and thought you’d be a good candidate for that position.”
“No!” Travis said stiffly.
“But we’re in great need, Mr. Ryland. Surely you can see that. What with no mayor, no law enforcement, and now Mr. Grey being incarcerated….” He shook his head.
“My brother and me would like the job.” Jacob Jameson stepped into the room. “We ain’t had a heap of experience, but we’ve learned t’ be honest and we’ll uphold the law. We can promise y’ that.”
Moustache skimmed his gaze from Travis to Jacob to Luke. “Do you know these men, Mr. Ryland?”
“Yeah.” Travis nodded once toward the two brothers who must have ridden like hell to reach Silver Ridge in time to cover his exit from the scaffolds. “They’re your men,” he said, and turned.
