by Reina Torres
“Come on, hurry up.” He jerked on her arm so hard she almost fell down to her knees. “You want to help your father, don’t you?”
She stopped short, digging her heels into the ground. “What have you done to my father?”
“Nothing, but if you don’t hurry up, we’re going to hurt him.”
“Who’s we?” She fought past the fear, her gaze casting about for someone to help. The Assay office was closed for the day and the piano was playing in the Crystal Dawn loud enough to wake the dead. There were only a few buildings looming up ahead. She knew what was there. The housing for miners and other workers. Maybe, just maybe if she saw someone, she could call for help.
But she was walking again, her momentary lapse of concentration had given him the edge to pull her off her feet. She continued to walk, because she felt fear and that overrode the guilt. “How does this help my father?”
“It’ll keep you and him alive.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, pretty girl, that if we have you, Ellis does what we tell him to.”
She stumbled again, trying to shake free of his hold. “What are you doing to Ellis?”
“We’re not doing anything to him. We just need his help. Once we’ve got what we came for, you can go on your way.”
“No, no, take me to Ellis.” She tried to pull away, but he held tight.
“You’re going to keep quiet and you’re going to stay put until we’re done, or Ellis won’t have anyone to find when this is over.”
With tears in her eyes she followed him, keeping perfectly quiet as she prayed.
Ellis turned over on his bunk, leaving the others to talk around the table as they finished their meals. He had to get to sleep early so he could be up on time to take the ride. It had taken days to set things up and make sure they had everything in place. And after his final meeting with Virginia’s father he felt that everything was going to be just fine. He just had to keep focused and get his rest.
He had to have a clear head because everything depended on this ride. All he’d set out to do for the last few days was to decide how to best protect Virginia and keep her unaware of the dangers crowding in on her.
Ellis had every confidence that in less than a day, everything would have resolved, and he could tell Virginia all about it.
It gave him his first sound night of sleep in years.
Chapter 14
He woke up with a start as the bunkhouse door banged against the wall. Levi strode across the room and bent down beside Ellis. “Son, I need you to wake up.”
Ellis blinked into the blinding light of the mid-morning sun. “Yes, sir.” He swung his feet off the edge of the bunk and sat up with a little assist from Levi. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
“Son,” Levi’s tone was calm but there was a deep note of concern, “would you happen to know where Virginia Halston is?”
That woke Ellis right up. Surging up on his feet. Ellis was headed toward the door when Levi’s hand closed around his arm. “Let me go, sir. I have to go and look for her.”
“Son-”
“If she’s missing, then something is wrong. Did she leave her father a note?” He didn’t need to wait for an answer, the look in Levi’s eyes was answer enough. “Then they’ve taken her! If this was just her going on a walk or visiting, she would have told her father or left a note. I have this horrible feeling inside.” He set the hand over his heart and looked at Levi. “What are we waiting for?”
Levi let go of Ellis’ arm and crossed to his trunk. Lifting the lid, he pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants and held it out to the younger man. “Put on some clothes and come to the house. Her father is here.”
When Ellis presented himself at the Hawkins’ front door, he was still buttoning his shirt. Through the screen on the door he could see Marshal Halston pacing through the kitchen, his face set in a hard mask of concern.
Levi saw him first. “Come on in, Ellis.”
Ellis forced himself to meet the Marshal’s eyes and walked toward him with his stomach in knots. “Sir, I am so sorry-”
“No, son,” Marshal Halston clapped his hand down on Ellis’ shoulder, “this isn’t your fault at all. It’s mine.”
Ellis found it difficult to breathe.
“I should’ve told her. Explained things to her or told her something was planned and that she should stay put.”
Some kind of pain shot through Ellis’ chest.
“And last night I was so busy with everything that was happening I didn’t think to caution her.”
Ellis fought down the rising wave of panic that nearly robbed him of his breath. “No, sir. I should have asked to tell her what was happening. I was just so afraid to see fear on her face and know that I put it there. So, you and I can share the blame, sir, but what I’d like to do is focus on finding her. And, bringing her home.”
Olivia set down a tray on the table. Four piping hot cups of coffee wafted up the hearty scent of hope. “Here you go. If you need anything, let me know.”
Levi reached out and squeezed her hand as she walked past him. She leaned in and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “When Virginia comes home, we’ll have a dinner party for everyone.”
Ellis felt the knot in his throat expand. He wanted what they had. He wanted love and respect and he had to believe that he’d have it.
As soon as he had Virginia safely back home he was going to get down on one knee in front of Virginia and her father… and anyone else who cared to watch, because he was never going to let another day go by without announcing his intentions and hopefully gaining her heart.
“I can’t believe they took her,” Ellis huffed out a breath. “I gave them what they wanted.” He met Levi’s curious look. “What went wrong?”
Levi answered. “We thought we had this all figured out. If they were so determined to steal the mail, we were going to let them and catch them in the act.” He shook his head. “This is horrifying.”
Marshal Halston seemed to shrink before his eyes. “If I had just kept a tighter hold on Virginia, they wouldn’t have had a chance to take her.”
Reaching across the table, Ellis covered the Marshal’s hand with his own. “We’ll get her back, sir. I know we’re going to get her back safe and sound.” Sitting back, another thought crossed his mind. “I thought they’d both be there on the trail for the robbery, but I don’t think they’ll leave her alone now that they have her. He’s likely to leave Jed with her, we just need to figure out where they’re holding her and make sure we have a plan to get her back.”
“They have to be holed up in a place in or around town. I can’t imagine them trying to take her out of town.” Marshal Halston picked up a cup and set it down before Ellis. “Well, let’s see what we can figure out, son. I can’t wait to get my girl home.”
By the time Ellis hit the trail after packing up his false shipment, his hands were itching, and his heart was pounding in his chest. He did everything he could to calm down. If he passed out from lack of air he was going to hate himself forever.
And that only added to his stress.
He followed the trail, taking his time with Freedom to eat up the miles under his hooves but not over-tire the horse. He would need to get back just as fast as he left. Freedom had it in him to run like the wind when there was a need. Ellis was only saving it for the next step.
It was almost a relief when Cal rode out from behind a number of tall trees along the trail, with his gun held in his hand, pointing straight at Ellis’ chest.
The thief didn’t bother trying to hide his surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Keeping up my end of the bargain.”
“How do you figure that?” Cal jeered at him.
“The riders are trained to defend themselves against theft. If anyone else would have come on this ride they’d have taken shots at you. You could have been shot and then you’d never give the all clear for Jed to let go of Virginia. I wasn’t about to
let that happen.”
“You weren’t going to ‘let’ that happen?” Cal’s eyes narrowed on his face. “You seem to think you’re in control here.”
Ellis shook his head and he meant it. “I don’t care about having control. I want Virginia back home and safe. And whatever I need to do to make that happen is what I am going to do.”
“Then get down off of that nag, put your gun on the ground, and hand over the letters.”
Nodding, Ellis lifted a leg over the saddle cover and jumped down to the ground. He took his sidearm and started to set it down on the ground at his feet.
“No, sir. Toss that away.”
Ellis held his tongue and threw the gun a good ten feet away and saw the way Cal flinched as the gun hit the ground. Ellis knew what Cal was worried about. The other man didn’t realize that the riders kept their guns on an empty chamber. It was a lot easier to pull back the hammer to shoot than to worry about shooting off your toes.
Having that thought over on the other man gave Ellis a little bit more control over his feelings. So, with his back teeth grinding together he reached up and pulled the mochila off of the wooden saddle frame. “Here.” He turned around and walked over to Cal, ignoring the gun pointed at him. “Take the whole thing. I don’t have a key for the locks. You’ll have to open it yourself.”
With his free hand, Cal gestured for Ellis to move closer. When he was near Cal’s leg, he looked up the barrel of the gun and knew that he was staring down death. He was going to be the patsy and the accomplice of this man twice in his life, but he wouldn’t regret any of it if it meant saving Virginia’s life.
“Well, go ahead,” Cal urged him, “hand it up here so we can get this finished.”
Ellis’ thoughts crawled along as he worked his way through the tenuous situation. Any lapse in judgement. Any bump in the road would put him in even more danger. “Here.” He folded the saddle cover and handed it up to Cal who laid it over his lap. “Now tell me where she is and go.”
“What makes you think that we’re done here?”
“You wanted the shipment. You got it. Give me Virginia’s location.”
Cal pulled back on the reins with a vicious tug and his horse reared back, putting him off balance. “Again, remember that you’re not the one in control here. Don’t worry about your sweetheart. Jed’s keeping her company. It would serve you right for keeping us waiting if we kept her and got a second shipment out of this.”
“You know I can’t do this again,” Ellis argued back. “Being robbed once is bad luck. Over and over and they’re going to know.”
“That wouldn’t be my problem, boy.”
“She has to be somewhere in town, right? You have to keep her close, so you can know where to go and get Jed and share in the money. So where do you have her?”
“We’ve got her where she’s safe and under Jed’s watchful eye. Now, you’re going to stand right there until I get around the bend up ahead and I know you can’t catch up. When I’m safely away from here I’ll send word to Jed and he’ll release your girl.”
His words made no sense. No, he wouldn’t chance coming back into town.
“You’re not going back, are you?”
Cal’s jaw tightened. “Watch yourself, Cooper.”
“If you go back into town to signal him, we could find you both. You’re taking the shipment and leaving.”
Ellis reached his hand toward his hip and stopped. His gun lay a good distance away in the dirt.
“I have my ways,” Cal replied, “but let’s put it this way, old friend. If you manage to find your girl once you get back to town, she’s all yours if you get rid of Jed for me. He was getting sloppy and unreliable. I don’t need his kind weighing me down.”
There. Something in Cal’s eyes burned with triumph and he gave Ellis a big, satisfied grin. “You still that dumb, aren’t you? I would say it’s all the girl’s fault for making you fall stupid in love, but you were always a trusting soul. Maybe you’ll learn your lesson someday.”
Oh, how Ellis wanted to say something, anything to let Cal know exactly how he felt, but he had more important things on his mind.
As Cal sank spurs into the side of his mount, Ellis stood stock still until the very moment he saw the horse disappear around the bend.
Then, satisfied that Cal was too far from town to signal Jed, even with a pistol shot, Ellis ran back to pick up his gun and jammed it back into his holster.
Wasting no time. Ellis leapt and vaulted over his horse’s rump and landed square on the saddle frame.
The jolt lanced through his body and he knew he’d have a score of bruises come morning, but that was the least of his worries. Picking up the reins, he turned the dark grey Appaloosa around. All he had to do was touch his knees to Freedom’s sides and the horse lurched into a run.
He tucked himself as tight as he could, letting the air rush over his head and down his back, as his eyes searched for the signs in the landscape to tell him how far he was from town.
Time was of the essence. He’d spent hours pondering over every possibility and once they’d settled on a course of action, he’d been sure of the plan. That was until the day actual came and now he worried that they had misread the signs.
Now all that was left was some faith.
Cal felt an odd thrill warming his middle. He was so close to that pile of money that Pierson had promised. All he had to do was get away clean and wait for Pierson to come and join him and make the exchange. From there he was heading south for a change of pace and to find fresh prospects to fill his pockets.
He almost felt a little guilt for leaving Jed behind, but the other man was more of a liability than he was worth. And it was just easier to make a new start on his own.
“Hey!”
Cal sawed on the reins and reached for his gun as a horse stepped out onto the trail from a rocky outcropping. “Get off the trail!”
The man on the horse didn’t look that big, but what size he had to him looked like it was all muscle and the hand that held the gun pointed at him looked mighty steady.
“Throw down your gun!”
The second voice came from behind him and Cal turned around. A second horse and rider blocked the trail and his retreat back to Three Rivers. He was trapped.
Still, he had the gun in his hand and the knowledge that they were either robbers just like he was, or a posse eager for the rush, but inexperienced and likely slow to the trigger.
“I’m an Express Rider,” he called out. “Let me pass.”
Someone laughed and Cal’s hand twitched as he inched it closer to the grip of his gun.
“I wouldn’t do that.” The man closer to town pulled the hammer back on his pistol. “We know you’re not an Express Rider. You don’t have anything to do with the Pony Express except that you’re trying to rob it.”
“Who do you think you are?” Cal felt the crack in his voice.
The first man spoke up again. “I’m Ransom McCain. I work for the Express. The man behind you? That’s Wyeth Bowles and he works for us too. You’re just a thief and a kidnapper and we’re going to see that you’re brought in and face justice.”
“No fancified messenger is going to take me in,” Cal scoffed. “I’m not going to let you.”
“Well,” it was the second man, Wyeth, that spoke up, “we’re not going to let you get away. So why don’t you toss your gun down and hold out your wrists. We’ll take you in and you’ll get a fair trial. That’s more than you gave Ellis.”
All the pieces were falling into place for Cal and he knew that everything was going against him.
He looked down at the pouch in his hands. He had no idea what kind of money or other things were in that pouch. He only had the assurances of a man who couldn’t be bothered to do his own dirty work.
And that was worth about as much as he could expect. He certainly hadn’t done anything to earn a break in his life.
“I don’t think I want to go in, I don’t think I’
d like your definition of fair.”
The man who called himself Ransom didn’t do much more than shrug. “It’s better than yours, I would think.”
Cal shook his head, an inch at first, and then wider and wider. “Yeah. I think that’s going to be a no, but good try, huh?” He spared a look back at Wyeth. “But you did better than most. That should be a comfort.”
Before he could change his mind, Cal reached into his waistband and pulled his gun free, swinging up his arm to point it at Ransom.
The first bullet lifted him up in the saddle, but his boots caught tight in the stirrups. The second caught him in the shoulder, dropping the pistol from his hand.
He died with a wide-eyed stare on his face.
Chapter 15
Ellis rode back into town, ignoring Luke as he tried to wave him down. Slowing to the barest of walks, Ellis looked down from Freedom’s back. “Cal has the shipment. Any word?”
Luke pointed toward the north end of town. “They figured out that the two rented a room at the miners temporary housing. The Marshal’s trying to talk the other man into surrendering, but things are going south.”
Reaching down his hand, he helped Luke up onto the horse behind him.
Leaning forward, he pressed his knees into Freedom’s sides, and they were loping forward along down the road.
Luke continued to fill him in. “Levi told me to wait for you. He’s hoping you can convince this man to come out. The standoff has been gathering an audience and only some of them are sober.
“You wouldn’t think that a possible gun battle would bring people out of a saloon.”
Ellis nodded and turned back to talk to Luke. “Generally, the fighting happens in the saloon.” He sighed. “Has anyone seen Virginia?”
Luke got quiet.
“Tell me.”
“He held her in front of him when he opened the door. He wanted the Marshal to see his daughter. I thought you should be prepared, but it’s not easy to say.”
