Her eyes drifted to Juanito and to Sikes, then back to Emmett. “Can Juanito and Sikes walk with us to where we talked last time? Up L Street?”
Emmett turned to his friends questioningly. He felt bad calling on Sikes to hobble any distance on that crutch, but before he could even ask, the Englishman spoke up.
“I’m tired of sitting and lying down,” he said. “It’s all I’ve done for the past two weeks. I’m ready for a walk. How about you, Juanito?”
“Sí, siempre.”
“Thank you,” Li said, turning toward L Street. She took a couple of steps, then hesitated, waiting for Emmett.
Emmett eyed his friends and nodded thanks to them. Considering the circumstances, he was happy to have them along—packing iron at that. He strode briskly to Li’s side and then did something that seemed to catch her by surprise. Ignoring all the folks going about their daily business on Virginia City’s busy streets, Emmett took Li’s hand and looped it through his arm.
She paused, looked him in the eye, and let a hint of a smile show on her otherwise solemn face. From that point on, he paid no attention to whether the citizenry stared at them, ignored them, or completely missed the fact that he and a Chinese girl were walking down the street arm in arm.
Although they set a slow pace in deference to Sikes’s bad leg, they gained several yards on their escorts as they walked along.
“I’m happy to see you,” he said softly.
“Me too,” she said.
“We had two unexpected visits inside the saloon today.”
“Oh?”
He nodded. “The newspaper man from Reno came. He said he has it from a reliable source that McIntosh’s men are planning to gun us down as soon as we leave Virginia City.”
He felt Li’s hand tighten on his arm.
“I’m not surprised,” she said.
“And then as soon as the newspaperman left, two of McIntosh’s boys had the nerve to walk up and tell us that they’ll be seeing us again soon.”
She turned to face him. “Did one of them have a bushy mustache? And was the other one missing a tooth in the front?”
Emmett stopped in his tracks. “How’d you know that? How long were you standing outside the saloon?”
“I got there just before you walked out. The same two men came to the Golden Dragon.”
“What?” A jolt ran through him. He glanced at Sikes and Juanito, then back at Li.
“They didn’t hurt us. It seems like they just wanted to scare us. This time anyway.”
Before Emmett could respond, a devilish grin appeared on her face. “I nearly pinned the one named Zeke’s hand to the wall,” she said. She patted her wrist, and Emmett noticed for the first time that she was wearing a pair of leather cattlemen’s cuffs. On the underside of the cuffs, there were custom leather loops to hold in place the metal throwing chopsticks she and her father had made—four per cuff.
“Well, I’ll be…” he said. Then he frowned. “And your father?”
“He’s OK. He even told me to come find you.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t come himself.”
“He’s busy going to the other community leaders to tell them that the McIntosh drama isn’t over yet.”
Soon they were out past the last of the buildings on L Street. Sikes and Juanito took up watch several yards away.
Emmett faced Li and took both of her hands in his. “It’s going to be dangerous getting out of Nevada, but I think it’s time for us to go. Today proves it. Us staying here is only going to draw in more trouble from McIntosh and Blaylock.”
“None of this changes anything I told you before, Emmett.”
He looked away toward Mount Davidson—that huge brown rise just north of where they’d been ambushed. Returning his gaze to Li, he said, “I hope I’ve proved this much to you: I don’t fear anything anybody might say about me being in love with a Chinese woman.”
She bit her lip and nodded.
“Once McIntosh finds out I’ve gone back to Texas, peace and safety may return to Chinatown. I don’t know that for a fact. But one thing’s for sure—he won’t leave you alone as long as Juanito, Sikes, and I stay here.”
Li looked at their entwined hands. “That’s pretty much what Zeke said.”
“So here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to cause your family great pain by taking you away from ’em. If it was just me, I’d take you with me in a heartbeat, but…”
She squeezed his hands tighter and peered deeply into his eyes. “Like I told you, I don’t want to marry any of the young men I know of in Virginia City. When my parents try to arrange a marriage for me, I’ll refuse. That will cause them pain. So whether I stay or leave, I will cause them pain. I don’t like that, but it’s just the way it is.”
Emmett wanted to concede the argument, kiss Li right there on the spot, and get ready to leave that afternoon. But this decision was big. And it was irreversible.
“You say none of the young Chinese men here catch your eye—”
“It’s more than that,” she said.
Emmett put up a hand. “Your parents may go to Dayton or Truckee or even to Sacramento to find you a fella if you give ’em a chance. He may be the finest man you ever met.”
She stamped her foot. “Emmett Strong, you just told me that if it was up to you, and you alone, you’d take me with you in a heartbeat. Now is that true? Or are you just trying to end it all, saying things to make me believe you love me when in fact you really don’t?”
He gazed back at her, admiring her soft, dark hair tossing in the breeze, her flawless skin, and her mysterious, deep-brown eyes. He thought about how courageous and intelligent and talented she was.
“You’re only the second woman I’ve ever loved,” he said. “I never dreamed anyone else could capture my heart the way Gabriela did. I don’t want to compare the two of you anymore. I just wanna give in to the fact that you have my heart now…completely.”
Her eyes grew moist.
“We cannot elope, though, Li. We can’t just disappear into the night. It may hurt them, but we have to tell your parents so they’ll know for sure where you’ve gone.”
“Emmett, even if they gave me away to Qiang Choi, he could decide to move away any day. Maybe even return to China to do business there. A married woman leaves her parents and goes where her husband goes. They know I may not be nearby forever.”
Emmett caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Maybe the visit by the two McIntosh men today will help them accept the decision,” he said. “They may take comfort knowing that, for us, escaping Nevada will mean escaping the likes of McIntosh and Blaylock.”
She swept her hair from her face. “Maybe so. Just let me be the one to do the talking, OK?”
He nodded, then after staring at her for a moment said, “Let’s get going. Don’t wanna keep Sikes up on that bad leg too long.”
They started toward Juanito and Sikes.
“When will we leave then?” she asked.
“The sooner the better, I think. But there are a couple of things I want to do to make the trip easier on you.”
She tilted her head as she looked at him. “Like what?”
He grinned mischievously. “Give some thought to Seth’s woman, Ettie.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
McIntosh’s men, Zeke and Jim, watched from across the street. Zeke felt confident the stacked rows of wooden barrels outside the cooper’s shop hid them well enough.
Jim leaned out from behind the casks just enough to see the livery stable. “They ain’t gettin’ their horses now.”
“No,” Zeke said. “Could be payin’ for another week. Could be makin’ arrangements to get their things and leave right after supper.”
“Think we oughta telegraph Mr. Blaylock?”
Zeke shook his head.
“Not just yet. He’d be madder’n a wet cat if we got everybody all geared up for a fight tonight when them Texans ain’t leavin’ for several more days.”
“Chinaman down at the hotel didn’t say nothin’ about ’em leavin’ directly.”
“Nope.”
The two McIntosh hands shadowed Emmett and Juanito from the livery stable down the busy street for a good thirty minutes. Despite the number of folks out during the last business hour of that warm afternoon, following the Texans unseen wasn’t easy.
“Looks like they wanna stop in at half the stores in town,” Jim said.
Zeke milled in front of a hardware store. “Maybe we oughta put Seth on alert after all. It’s beginnin’ to look to me like they are gearin’ up for travel.”
He wavered, looking up and down the avenue. “Jim, you keep followin’ ’em. I’m gonna go back to the Comstock Queen. See if that Chinaman can tell me about any change of plans them Texans might’ve had. Meet me over at the Lucky Strike in an hour.”
Jim nodded. “Easier to go unnoticed alone anyways.”
Zeke beat a path back to the hotel. Again he avoided the front entrance. But this time, instead of waiting out back, he let himself in through the kitchen door.
A heavy fellow with a cigarette hanging from his lips stirred a pot of some kind of soup. He eyed Zeke with a frown. “Who you lookin’ for?”
“Chinaman that works here. Fella named Ching. You seen him?”
“Chin works up front,” the heavy fellow said. “What you want with him?”
Zeke shook his head and pushed through into a hallway. At the far end, he spied Chin rounding the corner.
When the Chinaman spotted him, he held up a finger and hurried to meet him. “I check Emmett Strong’s room. Little while after you left,” Chin whispered anxiously. “His things all gone.”
“And the other rooms?”
Chin shook his head. “All gone, all gone.”
“Tarnation!” Zeke said. “Telegraph office. I gotta get there fast.”
“Faster out front door. Go left. Over by railroad station.”
“Obliged,” Zeke said, already on the move.
But by the time Zeke covered the four blocks to the telegraph office, the place was buttoned up tight. Not a soul around.
Blast it! he thought. If Emmett Strong and his boys get outta here clean tonight, I’d better ride hard for Utah and not look back.
The full moon had passed its zenith and was halfway to Mount Davidson. In the deep shadows of the small yard behind the Golden Dragon, Yong Xu and his wife, Xiulan, struggled to stifle their sniffles.
Emmett, arm around Li’s shoulders, felt a lump in his throat. “I know it’s not what you wanted, Yong,” he said.
After a few seconds, Yong wiped his eyes with his shirt cuffs. “No, it’s not. But you are a good man, Emmett. I know you will watch over Li. I fear I cannot protect her from men like the ones that came into the café yesterday.”
Xiulan could no longer hold back her tears. Li left Emmett’s side to embrace her mother once again.
“Shhh,” she whispered, “We have to keep quiet, Mama. No one can know we’re leaving.”
The woman gathered herself and whispered back, “Your father is right. Those men may never leave you alone here. We don’t have time to wait and see whether the Choi family will approve your marriage to Qiang. We could all be dead by then.” She sniffed again. “This is for the best.”
Li squeezed her. “Help look after Ping,” she said. “She’s the one who’s in love with Qiang. Help arrange their marriage. Let them be like a son and daughter to you.”
Emmett turned to Yong Xu and extended his hand.
Yong bowed from the shoulders, then clasped Emmett’s hand. “The world needs more men like you, Emmett Strong. Thank you for what you did for my people.”
“They’re our people,” Emmett said.
Yong nodded. “Now go. Quickly.”
After Li embraced her father one final time, Emmett and she hurried into the alleyway alongside the Golden Dragon.
Just before they reached Union Street, he whispered, “You OK?”
Li sniffed, then nodded.
“Walk beside me now,” he said. “And walk like a man—toes out a little, arms loose.”
Again she nodded.
Emmett smiled reassuringly. He liked what he and Juanito had bought for her that afternoon. Taking their inspiration from the by-all-accounts-beautiful woman who rode with Seth Blaylock, they’d gotten Li a disguise for traveling. The low-crowned black Stetson and dark-brown duster would transform her silhouette. Beneath the long coat, she wore a new vest, shirt, and trousers—all trim fitting. They were particularly pleased that the new boots had worked out so well. Ill-fitting boots could be crippling. Juanito had guessed right.
And it wouldn’t do for her to ride out unarmed. Sikes had chipped in more than he should’ve to buy her a gun belt. In its holster she carried a Remington Police Model revolver—smaller and with less kick than a Colt.
Emmett and Li walked with purpose as they headed for the livery stable, but not so fast as to look as though they were fleeing. They kept just off the center of the street.
“Do you think we’re being watched?” she asked, keeping her voice down.
“Do you feel watched?” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as his gaze swept left to right and back again.
“It’s probably just my imagination.”
“Won’t be long now,” he said. “Sikes should already be sitting saddle when we get there. Juanito will help us with anything that may come up last minute.”
“Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me,” Li said.
“What do you mean?”
“Sometimes the shadows seem to be moving.”
He gently grasped her arm and drew her to a stop. Hand near his holster, he made a slow turn, scrutinizing every porch, alley, and even rooftop. He strained to listen for footsteps or even the rustling of clothing.
“Let’s go,” he murmured.
The big barn door on the street side of the livery stable was open about three feet when they got there. Lamplight poured out onto the dusty street. Once Li ducked inside, Emmett stood with his back to the door, searching the darkness for those moving shadows she had feared.
The stirring of horses, the creaking of saddle leather, and the hushed voices of the stable owner and Juanito inside made it impossible for him to pick up on any sounds that might suggest they were being followed. A dog barked a couple of blocks away.
At last Emmett stepped inside. He shook the stable owner’s sizeable hand. “We’re much obliged.”
“Not at all,” the man said in a bass voice. “Glad to help.”
Emmett rubbed the nose of the smallish mustang the stable owner had located on short notice for Li. “Healthy-looking animal. Are we all squared away? Everything paid up?”
“All paid.” The stable owner looked at Li. “You like him?”
She glanced shyly at Emmett. “Yes. I do.”
“I meant the horse.” He grinned
Li blushed. “Oh. Yes. I like him too.”
Everyone chuckled quietly.
“Guess we’d better ride then,” Emmett said.
Juanito grinned. “Good to be going home.”
They left in single file with Juanito leading and Emmett bringing up the rear. Moonlight bathed the streets in a soft blue glow—a marked contrast from the blue-black shadows cast by the various businesses and homes. All was quiet except for that same dog persistently barking several blocks back.
Emmett wasn’t about to take the same mountain pass where they’d been ambushed. Instead he and his compadres had determined to ride parallel to the railroad tracks, south as far as Mound House. Then they’d cut across the valley to the base of the Sierra Madre.
He touched spur to his horse’s flanks and pulled up alongside Li. “They want to gun us down at one of the railroad stations on our way out of Nevada? We just won’t catch a train till we’re already out of the state.”
“How far will we ride then before getting on a train?” she asked.
“At least as far as Truckee.”
“How many days is that by horse?”
“Three. Or two hard days. Sikes may not be well enough yet to do it in two, though, so we’ll plan on taking it slow. Let me know if you get too tired.”
She smiled and nodded.
The foursome made it no more than a hundred yards past the last buildings on the outskirts of Virginia City when Emmett tensed and turned in the saddle. From out of the darkness behind them, hoofbeats were closing in fast and frantic.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Emmett wheeled his horse and drew his Peacemaker.
“Three riders,” he said. “Looks like they mean business.”
Juanito neck-reined his horse and rushed to Emmett’s side, Winchester in hand.
“Li, stay behind us,” Emmett said.
He’d been hesitant to fire—until he saw that the riders wore neckerchiefs over their faces. That was reason enough to sling some lead.
“Where you going?” he yelled, squeezing the trigger. Don’t want any of these fellas telling Seth Blaylock where we’re heading.
His first shot had barely sounded when three shots from their pursuers cracked the air.
He and Juanito both took aim. One of the three pursuers fell. The other two reined in but continued to return fire.
“Stay here,” Emmett said to Juanito.
He spurred his horse and charged the two who remained. A few yards out, he fired again. A second pursuer’s body jerked before slumping and falling from the saddle. The third rider turned and gigged his horse hard.
No, Emmett didn’t want to let him get away to tell Blaylock or McIntosh. But neither did he want to shoot a man in the back. And neither did he want to wake up half of Virginia City. They had been looking for a quiet departure.
Strong Convictions: An Emmett Strong Western (Emmett Strong Westerns Book 1) Page 28
