by Chloe Carley
She smiled when she thought of Gideon--then just as quickly, her happy thoughts gave way to fear. What if Gideon gets shot? If anything happens to him, how would I ever face Pearl or the rest of the family? Coming here hasn’t done anything useful. Roy is still going ahead with his plans and the town is still in danger of being destroyed.
Gideon had been gone for quite a while and she moved closer to the tree as the sun moved across the sky, changing the shaded areas. She was thirsty and sweating.
Perspiration stung her abused wrists as the saltiness hit the torn skin, making her hiss in response. She held her arms up, letting the skin dry in the sun for a moment or two.
The waiting was slowly eating away at her resolve to stay put, and she alternated between pacing a deep path in the sandy ground, and sitting beneath the tree, trying to cool off.
“Riley, you need to sit yourself down before you get sick from the heat. That won’t do Gideon or anyone else any good when the time comes.” She made herself rest in the dwindling patch of shade, and tried to think of anything besides what was happening just half a mile away.
After several long moments, she couldn’t stand it any longer and turned her head toward the town. What she saw had her standing up quickly, ignoring the dizziness this caused, and looking in alarm toward Rio Arriba.
There was smoke rising from the end of town, very close to where the mercantile stood. The smoke plume continued to build, and Riley left the shelter of the tree to watch as flames appeared at the base of the smoke cloud.
She looked at the other end of town and realized more time had passed than she’d originally thought. The dust trail left by the stagecoach was gone, meaning it had arrived in Rio Arriba. She looked back at the burning building and got a really bad feeling in her stomach.
She still didn’t see any movement on the ground. She considered the fact that her current hiding place was less than half a mile from the town. Maybe no one knows the mercantile is on fire yet?
Riley thought about her last visit to the town, with the wooden boardwalks that connected the shops and other buildings. A gentle breeze stirred the hair at the base of her neck and that had escaped her braids earlier that morning during her abduction. She glanced back at the town, a sense of dread filling her breast.
Wind will make the fire spread faster. They won’t have time to put it out. Someone needs to warn them.
Riley took a step forward and then another before pausing. She was only considering the people in the town. But she also needed to consider the fact that Gideon had asked her to stay here. Safe.
But they are setting fire to the town already. That changes things, doesn’t it? The stagecoach must already be there. That means …
Riley took off running toward town. She didn’t want to worry Gideon, but he could be in a lot of trouble and she could help. She needed to help. Her brother had caused all of this. As she ran, she watched the smoke spread, indicating the fire had done likewise.
Please God, don’t let the entire town burn.
Chapter 22
Gideon reached the edge of town. The brothel was on one side, and on the other and down just a short distance was the church. The irony of the two buildings’ locations had been lost on him until that moment.
The sinners and the place where they could be saved, so close to one another, and yet he doubted if any of the women living at the brothel had ever considered entering the church, or if they would even be welcome. The tendency the townsfolk had to judge people and hold their actions against them, was something that needed to change, but Gideon also knew he was the last person on the earth to be telling anyone that.
He rode around the back side of the brothel, slipping off Storm and letting one rein fall to the ground as there was no pommel on the Indian saddle he preferred.
Storm was one of his father’s well-trained horses and would come whenever Gideon whistled for him. He left him waiting and snuck up the far side of the building, keeping his eyes peeled for both enemy and friend.
The last thing he wanted to do was get shot by an overly eager member of the town who thought Gideon looked like he was one of the outlaws.
He spied the hats of two men on top of the feed store on the opposite side of the street.
He sent up a bird call and waited until their eyes scanned in his direction before he stood up and waved an arm. They waved back once, indicating they now realized he wasn’t the enemy and wouldn’t shoot. He squatted back down, his rifle in one hand, his pistol in the holster beside his hip, ready as well.
He could hear the commotion going on further down the main street, the occasional volley of gunfire and men shouting, but their words were carried away on the wind.
He located another good hiding place and quickly made his way around the front of the brothel, keeping low to the ground and using the rose bushes planted there for cover. Luckily, there was just enough room for his body to slip between the thorn-laden bushes and the building, otherwise he would have cut his clothing and hands to ribbons.
He ignored the fact that after his little trek behind the bushes, he now smelled like a woman’s bathwater. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, but not one he wanted to experience often.
There was a wagon ten feet in front of him. He made a quick move to get there and crouched behind the wheel. He could now clearly see what was happening in the center of town and it wasn’t good.
The outlaws weren’t even trying to conceal themselves, riding their horses into town and shooting anyone who tried to stop them.
So far, one man lay on the hard ground, having been shot while on the roof and fallen off it to land in a crumpled position. Gideon couldn’t tell who it was, but he sent up a silent prayer that the man was only injured and not dead; unfortunately, if the bullet hadn’t killed him, a fall like that probably had.
The outlaws were using wagons for cover. Gideon did a quick count, but only came up with six men. He’d counted more horses than that leaving the abandoned homestead, so that meant there were others to contend with, somewhere.
He took a closer look and saw Slim, but not Roy or the man’s second in command. Ollie was as bad as they came and if he wasn’t waiting for the stagecoach’s arrival, he was up to no good elsewhere.
Seconds later, Gideon heard shouts as word spread amongst the townsfolk that the mercantile was on fire.
At the same time, he heard the thunder of hooves and the rumble of the stagecoach’s wheels as it made the last turn into town, travelling at full speed. There were two mounted riders, one on either side, but they weren’t prepared for the ambush waiting for them.
Gideon yelled out, even firing a warning shot over the top of the stagecoach, but the man closest to him didn’t have a chance.
One of the outlaws shot him, knocking him off his horse and to the ground. He was now unprotected, injured, and the outlaw was bearing down upon him. Gideon knew he didn’t have a choice when he raised his rifle and killed the outlaw before he had a chance to shoot the stagecoach rider a second time.
The other rider had his own hands full. The gunfire had spooked his horse and he’d toppled to the ground. He was now engaged in hand-to-hand combat with one of the outlaws. Gideon couldn’t intervene without risking shooting the wrong person. Two of the townsfolk could be seen running to the rescue of the rider and Gideon wished them well.
The stagecoach driver, upon seeing that he was under attack, attempted to stop the team of horses and turn them around. The only place wide enough to do that was the city circle, the same place where half a dozen outlaws were ready and waiting for him.
Gunshots rained down on the approaching outlaws from the roof of the feed store, but all of the bullets ended up in the dirt and the outlaws never even paused from the pursuit of the stagecoach.
More gunshots rang out from further up the street, but Gideon’s attention was on the panicked stagecoach driver and the team of four horses which were rearing back and screaming in fright as the outlaws rode close, br
andishing their weapons and shooting into the air.
Gideon moved toward the battle, noticing there weren’t any outlaws at this end of the town. He had a clear path to where the action was currently taking place; his only concern was the men on the roof of the feed store accidentally getting him confused with the outlaws. They were busy trying to even the odds for the stagecoach driver by eliminating some of the outlaws.
So far, they’d knocked two of them from their horses. One man was hit, but not killed. The other hadn’t moved in several minutes and Gideon assumed he was most likely dead. Both men’s horses had bolted toward the opposite end of town.
Gideon took another look around, to make sure there weren’t any outlaws hiding in the wings waiting for the townsfolk to show themselves. It was slightly confusing that this end of town was so quiet.
If he had been wanting to rob the stagecoach, he would have had his men hiding in the cliffs just before the stagecoach came out of the canyon. He would have stopped the coach before it even reached the town. It was the safest way to get what one wanted as it involved the least number of people.
So why did Roy, or Tseena, boldly ride into town and make sure everyone was involved? There would be dozens of witnesses.
Gideon had always assumed that the burning of the houses and buildings was in response to the fact that the outlaws had been seen and could be identified. But this time, being seen by the people who were being victimized seemed to be Tseena’s goal.
I guess I just wasn’t a mean enough criminal to intentionally destroy people’s lives and any chance they might have of recovering from my actions.
Gideon was about to make his way to the next building, however, a bullet flying past his ear caused him to hunker down where he was.
He looked to see where the bullet had come from and after only a moment, spied the outlaw crouched on top of the saloon. There were several cutouts along the front of the building, providing perfect places to hide. Shawn was supposed to have made sure there were several men up there from the town.
Gideon knew if there was an outlaw up there instead, they would most likely be finding a few bodies. He offered up a silent prayer that they were only injured and not dead.
God, protect the men of this town.
He hadn’t seen Shawn or his pa yet, and that made him a mite concerned.
Sara Jane was supposed to be inside the jail with the sheriff, and Shawn, Pa, and Jace were supposed to be hiding inside the saloon, across the street from where the stagecoach was supposed to stop. Seeing as how the coach had already been commandeered, it looked like their plans needed adjusting, but the outlaws stood between Gideon and the others.
More gunfire drew his attention to the coach where the driver was now on the ground, his rifle in his hands as he attempted to defend himself against the man stalking him with an evil grin.
Bullets continued to hit the ground on either side of the downed man. Either someone was a terrible shot, or this was all part of their game. Gideon knew the man as Roy’s second in command and he quickly raised his rifle, hoping he didn’t miss.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Ollie taunted the coach driver.
“Look, you’ve got what you came for. Here, I’ll even get rid of my rifle.” The stagecoach driver was panicked and scrambling backward, but his retreat was pointless as the outlaw stalked him.
Gideon steadied his rifle on his arm and leaned over the barrel, squinting to better line up his shot. He pulled back the hammer and his finger hovered over the trigger. He took a calming breath, but before he could pull the trigger and save the stagecoach driver, he felt the barrel of a gun press into the back of his head.
“Carefully remove you finger from the trigger and put the hammer back,” a gravelly voice commanded.
Gideon’s heart sank as a voice from his past registered. Roy. “Alright, I’m putting the gun down,” Gideon said quietly.
“Look, you’re the cowboy my sister seems to have grown fond of.”
“I—” Gideon started to protest the man’s assumptions.
“Don’t bother denying it. Slim told me everything I have no desire to shoot you and break her heart a second time, so I’m going to count to three and give you that much time to hightail it out of here. If you agree, I’ll even tell you where she’s being held.”
Gideon turned his head and feigned surprise. “Held? What do you mean?”
“Slim kidnapped her earlier this morning.”
Gideon didn’t have to pretend to be furious, just thinking about how scared Riley had been when he’d found her was enough to get his dander back up. “Why would you have your own sister kidnapped?”
“She was interfering where she didn’t belong.”
“She only came here to try and save your sorry—”
“Yes, I’m very aware of what Riley was hoping to accomplish by coming here. Turns out, I can’t be saved.”
Gideon frowned at the resignation in the other man’s voice. “You seem sad about that?”
“I am. I never meant to disappoint my sister this way. I’ve let her down on every front. But she’s young and she’ll recover.” Roy paused and nodded at Gideon. “Get up and get out of here. You’ll find your sister at an abandoned homestead a few miles east of here.”
“Who’s with her?” Gideon played along perfectly with his questions.
“No one. But don’t worry, she’s okay. Scared and mad at me, but she’s alive. I figured if I left her out there, she’d find a way to wind up here today.”
Gideon nodded. “She did try to convince us that she could be some help. But you didn’t need to interfere. She was content to stay at home and wait for our return.”
“I didn’t know that. Doesn’t matter right now. We need—”
The sound of a rifle firing stopped Roy’s speech and Gideon swung around just in time to see the stagecoach driver take his last breath. He clenched his fists, anger making him blind for the moment.
Roy let out a string of curses that had Gideon raising his brow and called out to his second in command, “Ollie?”
“Yeah, boss man?”
“Why did you kill the driver?”
“He had a rifle—” Ollie began to justify his actions.
“I saw the whole thing. He threw his rifle down.”
“We never leave witnesses behind,” Ollie hollered back.
“What does it matter since we’re all done after this time?” Roy called back.
“It matters because it’s the way we’ve always done things,” Ollie fired back.
Gideon looked at Roy and watched a myriad of emotions cross the man’s face. When Roy jerked his head toward the edge of town and growled, “Get outta here,” Gideon didn’t stick around to ask any more questions. He retreated to the side of the brothel and led Storm down the backside of town, stopping when he was as close to the jail as he could get without being seen. There was no backdoor on the jail so he would still have to take a chance at being seen, but if he waited until the right time, that risk would be minimized. He hoped.
Chapter 23
Sara Jane was trying to find some redeeming quality in the sheriff of Rio Arriba. After spending the last several hours with the man, she was beginning to think the task impossible.
Sheriff Parmele seemed to be taking the threat against the town only with half a heart. Instead of wanting to make sure his town was safe, he’d been trying to lecture Sara Jane on the finer qualities a young lady should possess. Wearing boy’s trousers hadn’t made his list.
Sara Jane repeated his list in her head, mentally sticking her tongue out at him after each point. She should know how to cook. Be able to plant, tend, and harvest a garden. A man didn’t mind hunting the meat, but he expected his wife to be capable of cutting it up and processing it. Yuck.
