Blaze! Western Series: Six Adult Western Novels

by Stephen Mertz

For a moment they were frozen. She surrounded him, tight and hot and velvety. Then the fires building within him exploded into a raging inferno. He pulled back and slammed forward as far as possible. Faster he moved. Friction mounted threatening to burn him to a nubbin. She rolled back even more onto her shoulders as her ankles locked behind his back. Their two bodies became one. Their souls merged as their senses became shared as one. When he exploded, she was ready for him. Together they clung tightly until the last of the intense sensation had fled, leaving them both filled with a warm muzziness.

  J.D. pulled her close. Kate snuggled down, her head against his shoulder. He felt her warm breath coming slowly, evenly as she drifted to sleep. For him it took longer. His head filled with a dozen different plans. By the time he realized none of them made any sense because he had no solid evidence, he slipped off into a deep sleep, also.

  * * *

  J.D. opened his eyes. Kate still slept quietly, pressed tightly against him. He took a deep breath, caught the traces of vegetation and earth in the air, then gently disengaged and sat up. While she slept, he got his clothing on and went to the cave mouth. The faint glow in the sky hinted that dawn was an hour or so away. Zodiacal lights, he had heard it called. J.D. preferred to think of it as false dawn.

  "We should go, shouldn't we?"

  Kate came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She was a strong woman and squeezed down hard enough to make him grunt. With that hug she told him everything. She wanted to stay here with him, but she knew they had to rescue Jesse soon. If they didn't find him, chances were against them ever finding him. The tracks they trailed was most likely the Blackmun gang. Why they gave up robbing stagecoaches and got into kidnapping was a question worth answering, but J.D. would forgo that if they got the young man back so he could finish his wedding.

  Let the law bring Ben Blackmun and his gang to justice. Their mission was simpler.

  "I don't hear anything below us. I think they gave up."

  "That's one smart gang," Kate said, "posting men above and below on the only way to escape."

  "The marshal might have told us more about the gang. I reckon Blackmun has some army experience."

  "It shows. The only thing that went wrong with kidnapping Jesse was shooting down the parson."

  "That might not have been a mistake. The shot was as good as any sniper ever made. Thinking it was accidental stretches credibility a mite. The parson might have wanted to call off the wedding because he had been threatened. When we made him go ahead, that was his punishment for not doing what the outlaws wanted."

  "You might be right, J.D. Ready to ride?" Kate led the horses from deeper in the cave.

  They saddled and led the animals down the steep trail. Going downhill in the dark proved riskier than going uphill, but they reached the ravine in a half hour. J.D. kept looking at the sky. The tall peaks held back daylight longer than out on the prairie, but when the road agents got to stirring, rescuing Jesse would be impossible.

  He heaved a deep sigh. They had to be sure Jesse even rode with this bunch. In his gut, he knew the bridegroom was farther up the canyon, a prisoner. That felt right. From the tracks, the timing, everything that had happened, Jesse Smith was close by in the outlaw camp.

  "See?" Kate knelt in the ravine and pointed out how the larger rocks had been displaced by the passage of more than one horse. "The sentry who blocked our escape rode up and joined the one upstream. They're back in camp."

  "I wouldn't bet against that," J.D. said. He considered following the ravine, then made his way up the steep bank and back to the trail. Kate joined him. "Fast or slow?" His question caused her a few seconds of thought.

  "Fast."

  They mounted and risked the dark trail by trotting along as quickly as the horses could move. Speed counted for everything. His wife agreed with him. Strike while it was dark. Scout, find the spot where they could pluck Jesse from his captors, escape.

  It sounded easy. It would be hard.

  "There," he said, holding up his hand to slow Kate. Two campfires guttered to extinction, red coals barely visible. The smoke from those fires clung to the air, trapped in a pocket.

  "Horses," she said.

  J.D. heard them, too. More than a few. He dismounted, led his own horse to a spot off the road, then slid his Winchester from its scabbard. Kate did the same with her rifle. He nodded once, twice, a third time. In unison, they levered in rounds. The combined action caused only a single metallic sound to fill the still dawn. How anyone could not hear it was a miracle. Or they were sound asleep.

  "No sentries?"

  He shook his head. The way Blackmun operated, he had lookouts posted. At this time of the night, they might have dozed, but the sentries were somewhere between them and the camp. He advanced without giving it much thought. Keeping a sharp eye out had to suffice since there wasn't enough time to properly reconnoiter. Less than a dozen yards up the trail toward the camp, J.D. spotted the first sentinel. He tossed his rifle to Kate, drew his knife and boldly advanced on where the man had wedged himself between two rocks. The guard's rifle leaned against the boulder beside him. His head sagged, chin onto his chest. His soft snoring became uneven as J.D. approached.

  "Wha—"

  That was the last sound he ever made. J.D. brought his knife up in a hard thrust. The blade vanished into the man's throat. Blood bubbled out and onto J.D.'s hand. He held the knife long enough to be sure the guard wouldn't raise an alert. Only when he was sure did he pull it back. The man slumped forward and lay on the ground. It took J.D. a few seconds to clean his knife, grab the sentry's rifle and return to where Kate knelt as she studied the camp.

  "One other sentry." She pointed high in the rocks above the camp.

  J.D. dismissed this one. Not only would they never be able to get to him without going through camp, the man had positioned himself where he couldn't see clearly. His field of vision was restricted, as if Blackmun had posted him to watch over his own men and to hell with anyone sneaking up on the camp.

  J.D. held up his captured rifle. It never paid to leave firearms behind when they could be used in a fight. He let Kate keep his Winchester as they quietly moved forward. They froze when they saw Jesse Smith sitting by one of the dying fires.

  "He's not tied up," Kate said. "He's not trying to escape, either."

  J.D. pointed to the sniper in the rocks above the camp. It made sense now. The guard watched Jesse, not for anyone approaching the camp.

  "That doesn't make sense. Why not tie him up?" Kate sounded miffed. J.D. wasn't sure who she turned her ire on.

  "Why was he snatched? Until we figure that out, we won't find out what's going on."

  "The only way," she said, "is to get him out of camp."

  "That means I have to take out the guard. He's not likely to be napping."

  "I'll get a horse for him, then go through camp and by then you'll be able to join us."

  J.D. saw the problems with his wife's plan. He also saw that bold action was necessary. Dawn was touching the tops of the peaks to the east. It looked as if the pines were on fire as the sunlight caught their upper branches.

  He took Kate by the arm and turned her around for a quick kiss. Then he watched as she and her broad smile entered the camp, she stepping over the sleeping outlaws and heading directly to the rope corral on the far side. J.D. saw that Jesse never looked up from his study of the dying fire as she passed behind him.

  Skirting the camp, he made his way to a game trail leading up into the rocks where the lookout sat. Shooting the man would be easy. The sound would bring the entire gang rushing. With Kate in their midst, she would fall quickly. With a long stride, he made no attempt to hide his approach. He kept his head down so his hat brim hid his face and muffled his words.

  "Come to relieve you."

  "I got another hour."

  "Boss' orders."

  As the words left his mouth, he knew something had given him away.

  "The Major'd never—"<
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  That told him his mistake and verified his guess that Blackmun ran his gang like a cavalry troop. They addressed him by the military rank, not something as ordinary as "boss."

  J.D. ran forward, flipped his captured rifle around to hold it by the barrel and swung it like a baseball bat. The stock bounced off the rock and up into the sentry's thigh with enough power to knock him down. He lost his grip on the rifle barrel. The sentry dropped his rifle, too.

  "My leg. You busted my leg!"

  J.D. reached up and dragged the injured man off his perch. They landed in a heap. The sentry finally realized he was in a fight for his life—too late. Again J.D.'s knife drank outlaw blood. He wiped off the blade on the dead man's shirt, looked for either of the rifles and didn't see them, then rushed back down into the camp.

  Kate had a horse saddled and was ready to lead it back through. J.D. signaled for her to skirt the camp and that he and Jesse would meet her on the trail leading out of the canyon. He made a beeline for the youth slumped forward and not moving. J.D. slowed as he approached Jesse. Not being tied up meant he wasn't a prisoner. Not exactly. He dropped down on a log and sidled close. Jesse never looked at him.

  "We have less than a minute to get out of here. Let's go."

  Jesse jumped as if he had been stuck with a pin. For the first time he saw that it wasn't a member of the gang beside him.

  "You're Abigail's friend. You sat on my side of the church and—"

  "Let's go. You're not shackled?" J.D. looked to be sure Jesse didn't have leg irons holding him to the spot.

  "Not with iron. I—"

  "We leave now or we have to shoot our way out." J.D. grabbed him by the arm and got him to his feet.

  "There's a lookout in the rocks positioned to watch me."

  "He's looking at the Pearly Gates now." J.D. snorted. "More likely, he's getting ready to start shoveling coal into Hell's furnaces." He lifted on the man's unresisting arm, forcing Jesse onto his toes. This way he stumbled along out of camp.

  All around them, outlaws began stirring. The dawn was only a few minutes away from lighting the camp. Fifteen at the outside. Less if he misjudged. J.D. fool's rushed Jesse out of the camp to where Kate waited. She had fetched their horses. With a quick toss, she transferred the reins of the captured horse to Jesse's hands.

  "That's his horse." Jesse held the reins but made no move to mount.

  "His? You mean Ben Blackmun?" J.D. laughed harshly. "My wife's always had a good eye for horse flesh."

  "And other flesh," she said so only J.D. heard.

  "If you don't ride, they're going to shoot you down. And I swear, if they come for us now, I'll consider shooting you myself, just to vent some of my choler. Step up and let's ride!"

  Jesse pulled himself up onto the stallion. J.D. admitted it was a fine looking chestnut. Quarterhorse, strong, looked as if it could run all day. If they didn't shake a leg, that horse would never get the chance to run more than a few yards. Someone in the camp stirred already. From the sounds, nothing unusual had been noticed. The dead sentry hadn't been discovered and Jesse wasn't missed. Yet.

  They started on the trail in single file, Kate leading, followed by Jesse with J.D. bringing up the rear. He heard increasing activity behind, but no outcry.

  Then the alarm was raised and all hell broke loose.

  Chapter 5

  "I cut the tethers on their horses. We might catch some luck if they have to chase down the entire remuda. Half were horses they'd stolen in town, so those will get spooked even easier." Kate looked satisfied with her silent activity.

  "We can't have much of a start on them. All they need is one or two on our trail to slow us until the rest catch up." J.D. kept looking over his shoulder. "I can hold them off for a spell. You and Jesse get on back to Wilderness and—"

  "No! I won't leave you." Kate was adamant. J.D. knew better than to argue with her.

  "How likely are they to chase you to the ends of the earth, Jesse?"

  The man's shoulders slumped a bit more. He rode with his head hung down as if his dog had just died. J.D. prodded him a bit more.

  "You were valuable enough for them to kidnap out of a church. How long will they stay on your tail?"

  "You askin' if you can discourage them? I don't know. I doubt it." Jesse straightened a bit and asked, "The parson, he's dead, isn't he?"

  "We don't have time to reminisce," J.D. said. He pushed against Jesse's horse. That stallion looked capable of running all day and half the night. He wondered where the horse thief had stolen such a fine animal. From what he had seen of the stock around Wilderness, it hadn't been one of those stolen after the wedding had been shot up.

  "That means Parson Thomas is dead. He was a brave man, braver 'n me, that's for certain sure."

  "What do you mean?" J.D. picked up the pace more as they reached a widening in the trail. From here they had several possible ways to ride. Straight back to Wilderness looked the least attractive, being an open road. The outlaws could spot them a couple miles off.

  Staying in the hills afforded better cover. If they erased their trail, found a place to hole up for a day or two, the outlaws would give up. They had to know that, even if the town marshal wasn't after them, other lawmen were. The sheriff, federal marshals, a company of cavalry—all had seen the wanted posters and the hefty rewards. If the telegraph operator had an itchy finger, others might know of the gang. Newspaper editors paid the telegraphers for every tidbit of news they passed along. Word that the killers of a deputy federal marshal were in the area would bring headlines. That would draw bounty hunters like flies to shit.

  "Nuthin'. I didn't mean nuthin'."

  "He knew something was going to happen at the wedding, is that it?" Kate rode on the far side of the boy.

  Jesse looked at her sharply, then sagged even more. He nodded a couple times. For the world he looked dead in the saddle, ready to keel over and fall to the ground.

  "How did the parson know?"

  "Ben Blackmun. He warned him a day before the ceremony. Ben, he told the preacher not to marry me and Abigail."

  "Is the outlaw sweet on her, too?" All J.D. got in answer was a dispirited shake of the head.

  "J.D., this way. Across the meadow and into the woods yonder," Kate said. "We can hide our trail going in, and they might miss us entirely."

  "I'll do what I can."

  J.D. jumped to the ground and used his knife to cut three large bushes. By the time he dropped them behind each horse, Kate has sliced off lengths of rope. He lashed the bushes to the ropes, then handed them up to Jesse and Kate. Now as they rode, the bush would bounce along behind. If they stayed on rocky ground and avoided soft earth that took hoofprints, it might look as if they had floated on up into the sky and disappeared.

  "Ride," he said.

  J.D. had to tug some on the rope to get his bush directly behind his horse. He thought they had succeeded in reaching the woods when a shot sang through the air. It never came close and kicked up dirt a dozen yards behind, but the sudden sound spooked his horse. Bolting, the horse plunged into the woods. The bush caught on a knot of tree roots and yanked itself apart.

  "They spotted us," Jesse said. "Let me give myself up. There's been enough killin'. You and your missus been real good tryin' to save me, but I don't think it's savin' I need."

  "Why weren't you tied up back in the outlaw camp?"

  "J.D., not now," Kate chastised. "We can find out the details later. If we don't get away from them, the entire gang's going to be on our necks in nothing flat."

  "How many of them?" J.D. repeated the question to shake Jesse from his depression.

  Jesse lifted listless eyes and said, "I didn't count but there's more than six of them. Six and Ben."

  "I saved two of them from lives of crime," J.D. said grimly. Both carried deep knife wounds in their throat and belly. "So we have five on our trail."

  "Might be more. Ben always has scouts out, lookin' for trouble to get into."

  "
They don't matter. Only the ones behind us matter. What do you think, Katie? You both ride on and let me ambush them?"

  "Too many," she said quickly. She pointed across a small clearing to even denser woods where they might hide.

  J.D. herded Jesse ahead of him. They slipped into the cool darkness just as three outlaws burst into the clearing.

  "You gonna shoot 'em down? That one in the lead. That's Ben Blackmun." Jesse pointed to a man wearing all black. The early sun caught a silver concha on his hat, making him an easy target.

  J.D. pulled out his rifle, then paused when two more outlaws joined Blackmun and the other two.

  "We can do it between us," Kate said. "You start on the left, I'll work in from the right flank."

  "Take Ben first. He's the son of a bitch that's like the head of a snake to that gang. Cut it off and they'll die by sundown." The bitterness in Jesse's voice added to the mystery of why the outlaws had grabbed him.

  "Might be good advice," J.D. allowed. He snugged the rifle to his shoulder, then lowered the weapon when the outlaws galloped away, two back the way they had come and the rest straight ahead.

  "They spotted us," Kate said. "They think they're going to fool us and come up from either side."

  "And one or two from our rear," J.D. finished. He had the same idea. The riders had looked in every direction but straight at them. Missing their hoofprints in the grass meant they were all as blind as a bat, and he didn't believe that. Instead, they proved themselves to be too smart by half trying to appear that they were on the wrong trail.

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Keep up with us." J.D. considered handing his six-shooter to Jesse, then found himself having to keep up with Kate.

  She spurred her horse from the woods and back along the trail they had already ridden. Blackmun and his men thought to circle them. The only place not guarded by the gang was the spot where they had split up prior to their flanking action. J.D. quickly came even with his wife. She turned, flashed him a smile, then put her head down. Her blond ponytail flapped with the speed of air rushing past her head. For his part, Jesse followed only a few yards back. J.D. worried more about where they rode than he did about losing the young man again.