In Danger's Shadow: Cassandra Wilde Western Adventure (Half Breed Haven Book 2)

by A. M. Van Dorn

  The charging bandits immediately saw her as another threat and one raised his dragoon pistol to shoot. His arm never had a chance to fire, however. Instead, he felt the sting of Catalina’s bullwhip wrapping itself around his wrist and the sudden jerk as she pulled the whip back toward herself. His gun fell away tumbling in the dust.

  He looked around in surprise. These female hellions were just full of tricks. He had known they were pursuing them but hadn’t realized they had closed the gap to come within striking distance. The women could have shot them dead and yet they hadn’t much to his puzzlement.

  He didn’t have long to work through the mystery as Cattie rode up beside him, and before he knew what was happening, she had replaced her bullwhip with a lasso and began twirling it in the air.

  At that moment one of the bandits just ahead of the man looked back to see that his friend was about to find himself on the wrong end of a lasso. Without a thought, he yanked his horse bringing it around to charge back to help his comrade. As he was drawing his gun intent upon ventilating the Mexican bitch with the rope, the other woman, the Asian-looking one put her heels to her mount and with a burst of speed headed right for him. He only had a moment to blink as his mind processed something was flipping end over end at him through the air.

  Lijuan had seen Catalina’s peril and had thrown her trusty hammer and curled her lips back in satisfaction as the bandit screamed in pain as iron collided with bone, breaking several ribs. The two swept past each other and yet through his agony he managed to pull his horse around once more back towards his original direction and fired unsteadily at Lijuan who was now ahead of him but the bullet went wild. Twisting around in her seat she drew her Colt .45 unleashing a single bullet into the man’s chest, relieving him instantly of the pain of broken ribs.

  Meanwhile Catalina had successfully dropped the twirling rope around her quarry’s torso. Being as young and as strong as she was, Catalina had no problem giving a mighty yank to the rope tugging the man right off his horse. His body slammed against the canyon floor in a bone-jarring impact.

  As Lijuan joined her, Catalina gave her a jaunty wave while shouting she, too, would catch up. Lijuan just gave her one of her eye rolls as she saw Catalina was bringing her horse to a stop where Melinda was standing, mouth open in astonishment.

  “You have her go back and get my hammer, you hear? And you’re welcome, by the way!” Lijuan shouted through a tight grin, but was gone before Cattie could respond. The Mexican beauty turned her attention to Melinda.

  “I saw what you tried to do! That was some brave shi-that was brave,” she handed the rope off to her. “Now you truss him up good, go find my sister’s hammer, and catch up with us!” she told the startled girl, giving her a wink before charging off on Pretty Feet leaving Melinda in something akin to stunned wonder.

  Ahead at their end of the canyon Cassandra and Novack were charging out from behind some massive boulders they had been hiding behind ready to put the final part of Cassandra’s plan into play.

  Catching sight of the pair the remaining and increasingly desperate Blue Masks fired their guns, so Cassandra and Novack returned fire.

  “Just remember we have to leave some of them alive. Especially the big bulky one!” she shouted to him, and he nodded as she continued fire. Cassandra watched the one take a bullet to the shoulder, but he kept riding despite the comet’s tail of blood streaming behind him. Good, good, she thought. Novack kept shooting above their heads until his ammo was spent. They swept in close and as Novack passed a man whose gun had also been emptied, he leapt out of the saddle to tackle the desperado off of his horse to the ground. He was ready to give some much-needed payback. Cassandra meanwhile put fire to Lily to continue the chase. Behind her the two men thudded to the ground rolling around, each trying to best the other.

  Ripping off the blue mask Novack recognized the man as one of the prison guards who went by the moniker Brutus. He was a big man, but Novack was bigger. Novack also had more to lose, which gave his struggle an impetus that the other man lacked. Novack had just raised his right arm, fist doubled, to deal a punishing blow to Brutus’s head one of the man’s flailing hands swept by and landed a hard blow against his Adam’s apple, momentarily stunning him.

  This gave Brutus the chance to throw Novack so that now Novack was on the ground and Brutus was above, one hand seizing him by the neck and the other raised high preparing to deliver the blow that Novack had intended for him. But with lightning speed, Novack kneed the guard in the lower abdomen, causing him to grunt in pain and loosen his grip on Novack’s neck. Novack rolled and pushed Brutus off of him, leaped to his feet and jerked the smaller man to his feet. Holding him by the neck, the former prisoner drew back his fist and slammed it into his left temple. Hard.

  Dazed, Brutus tried to wriggle free from the iron grip of the bigger man but failed. Novack’s fist pummeled him again, this time catching the lower edge of his jaw, driving his head backward. That blow proved successful, and the guard slumped to the ground in an unconscious heap. Novack quickly dashed to his horse, which was pacing nearby, for some rope and had him tied up in short order, secure in the knowledge that would keep him subdued after he came to.

  ***

  Cassandra continued her dogged pursuit as she and the men she was pursuing left the confines of the canyon out onto open countryside. Greasewoods and mesquite trees swept by on either side but her focus was on the men.

  They were firing back on her, but she kept swerving, zigzagging all over the place, and they had no chance to hit her save for the luckiest of shots. She drew close, and she knew it was time to do what must be done. Raising one of her Colts she took careful aim. It would so easy to end this the simple way but she stood for justice, and she was going to see it happen the right way.

  “Here’s a little something to remember me by,” she said through gritted teeth and fired just as Catalina Wilde rode up next to her, her wavy black hair glistering under the sun. Lijuan was not far behind her.

  “You know anyone watchin’ from a distance would think you missed,” her sister said, placing her hand on her slender waist. “I know better, though. You hit just what you wanted, didn’t you?”

  Cassandra turned her head and regarded her sisters. It was always so good to have them with her. Catalina was her youngest sister, but with her brown eyes and well-endowed hourglass figure, she had undoubtedly become a fully-grown woman. Lijuan, of course wouldn’t have anyone doubting her womanliness either. She was petite and had an enthralling, narrow face. Her tiny waist was quite seductive, coupled with the shapely hips and her lush red lips.

  “Damn straight I did, Cat!” she answered as Lijuan approached on her other side.

  “So, your plan is going to work?” she Lijuan asked as her hand fell to where her hammer usually rested. It was an old habit and she felt strange to have it not on her hip.

  “So far so good. We won’t know for sure until we get to the prison. Hey, where is Honor Elizabeth?” she asked in alarm.

  “She’s fine. Honor stayed behind to look after Quillan. One of the Blue Masks didn’t take kindly to the notion of a black man not afraid to speak his mind.”

  “Hopefully, he’s got a nice suit to be buried in if Honor had to teach him a permanent lesson!” Catalina laughed with her seemingly perpetual good cheer.

  “Come on! Let’s get back and see what the situation is in the canyon,” Cassie ordered, and the trio lost little time galloping back into Cobalt Canyon. Arriving they found Novack had regained his horse and Melinda was dashing in their direction, too, on foot and holding Lijuan’s hammer.

  “I tied up the man I took down, but his horse spooked after I got the rope from the saddle horn. The other dead man’s horse took off, too, so we are short one.” Novack pointed out.

  “About that…” Catalina began as Melinda ran towards the mounted her. Lijuan brought her horse Kong around to intercept her and simply held out her hand, saying nothing as her prized hammer was return
ed to her and once more secured on her hip.

  “No problem with the horses. You’re ridin’ with me, beauty!” Cattie said, reaching down to tug Melinda up behind her. They shared a grin, bonding already. “Make sure you hold on tight!” Catalina told her new passenger with a casual wink “It’s all starting to come together, Cass. The dead man and the prisoner are guards I know well from my time in prison,” Novack told her. She nodded in understanding.

  “It is time to get going. The riskiest part still remains to be done,” she told her team.

  “I still can’t believe I’m going to be riding back to the prison!” Novack said as he leaned forward in his saddle. Cassandra chuckled, looking around at the same time to see that Honor Elizabeth was still down at the opposite end of the canyon by the stagecoach talking to Quillan.

  “Wait here,” she told them and trotted along intent on getting Honor’s attention without being too intrusive. She could guess what they were talking about and as she got closer, she heard she was correct.

  “Thanks for the information on the sheriff, Quillan. You really should come courting more often at Cedar Ledge,” Honor told the man.

  “Yeah, Cass said as much, but you know why I stay away. As long as we are on different paths, it can never be,” Quillan replied. Honor looked wistful and Cassandra called out before Honor could respond.

  “Honor!”

  Her sister obviously was resistant. She looked right at Cassandra and then back to Quillan. Honor was wildly attractive too, so Cassandra wouldn’t blame Quillan for still being so taken by her. She was a fine beauty after all, from Honor’s creamy mocha skin, to her balloon-shaped breasts and seductive hazel eyes.

  “Again, I thank you and you keep staying safe, Honor Wilde,” Quillan admonished with a sigh, his thoughts echoing Cassandra’s.

  “And you keep being you, Quillan Dodge,” Honor echoed him in return before she trotted her horse past the dead man and over to Cassandra and they both headed back to the group. She glanced back one last time though, watching as Quillan whipped his reins and took his stage back onto the road and off to finish his schedule as planned.

  “You should know Quillan told me that Sheriff Teal is going to be at the prison delivering a new prisoner,” She informed Cassandra, finally getting Quillan out of her mind as they all started riding.

  “All the better,” Cassandra responded.

  “You really went out on a limb for me, Cassandra. You and your family. I’ll play it your way and take my chances!” Novack told Cassandra.

  “Thanks, Brent. Just let me do the talking and be ready to back anything I start,” Cassandra told him in return.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  * * *

  “Damn! Cover those people and grab their guns,” one guard said as Cassandra and her group rode through the gates of the prison.

  The rest of the guards obviously weren’t prepared for any action. They stared at each other indecisively, wondering if they really had anything to worry about with Cassandra’s sudden appearance. Her group had strategically positioned themselves around her and at various edges of the old prison wall, in case anyone decided to be too forward. The sheriff must have gotten notified of the situation for he hurried into the prison hall from an inner office, with a grim look on his face as soon as he saw who they were.

  “Miss Wilde, I sure hope you came to give yourself up. This is going to break Judge Wilde’s heart seeing you in irons. I never thought I would see the day you went dirty,” he called to Cassandra.

  “You haven’t seen it, and you never will. We came to expose the Blue Mask Bandits, Sheriff. This prison is about to have a serious manpower shortage. Some guards are lying dead out in Cobalt Canyon and others are trussed up awaiting arrest. Now the rest of them are right here!” Cassandra told the man.

  “Are you loco, girl?” the sheriff asked in surprise.

  “Not by a long shot, Sheriff. The Blue Mask Leader is the warden, and the rest are made up of guards,” Cassandra told him as she dismounted. She saw the warden push his way through the men around the sheriff.

  “Of all the crazy lies! Close in and get their guns men!” he called to his guards.

  “Try it before Cassandra is done talkin’ and you’ll get a fatal case of lead poisonin’!” Catalina told the guards pointing her gun down at them from the back of her horse. Cassandra turned back to the sheriff. He was the one she had to convince.

  “You look around this prison and you’ll find a man wounded by my gun. Not only that but you’ll also find some very winded horses the warden and his boys rode back on after trying to rob the five o’clock stage and a lot of missing guards, as I said.”

  “There is a wounded man, alright, shot at by another escaped convict that managed to get his hands on a gun! Those missing men are still out looking for him. The rest of us just got back from chasing him, to see to the man’s injury—at least that convict was smart enough to run away from a prison and not to it!” Carrington hissed, eying Novack.

  “Not a bad lie but it will only buy you a short amount of time. Just find those horses, Sheriff. I plugged one of the saddles with a special bullet coated with red paint. If you find red flecks of paint on the bullet I put in that man’s shoulder or in the saddle, you’ve got your proof that it was me doing the shooting, out in Cobalt Canyon, not some phantom runaway prisoner!” Cassandra told the sheriff showing him a handful of red bullets she had retrieved from her pocket.

  “The game’s up! Shoot your way out, boys!” The warden shouted as beaded sweat broke out on his forehead that had nothing to do with the hot Arizona sun. As he drew his gun, members of his gang went for their side arms as well. Without blinking, Cassandra shot Carrington in the hand, making him drop his gun in an explosion of blood. A strangled cry bellowed from the fat man’s throat. From her horse, Catalina clipped one guard in the leg, dropping him to the ground. A blast from Honor’s gun hit one in the shoulder spinning him around and he pirouetted to the dirt of the prison yard groaning.

  Lijuan aimed her gun but suddenly froze as she looked into the face of the man she was about to shoot. The guard was a handsome, blond-haired man, and his blue eyes flashed with intensity. It struck a chord within her, giving the man a chance to cock his own gun and raise it to shoot her, but with a flash of her gun, Honor easily put a bullet in his right arm. Firing at the same moment, Cassandra hit his other arm and Catalina clipped him in his right leg; a split second later, Lijuan regained her senses and shot him in the left leg, making sure he wasn’t going anywhere. Two other men simply dropped their weapons rather than risk maiming.

  “Jehoshaphat!” The sheriff cried out at the sudden violence.

  “Ooh, I guess we were all thinking the same thing at the same moment. I almost feel sorry for this here, polecat,” Catalina said, looking at her sisters with their guns still smoking.

  “Don’t bother,” Novack said to them. “He used to take pleasure in spitting in my food…maybe worse I didn’t see.” he told them.

  Cassandra looked to her left at Lijuan and asked with inquiring eyes what had happened. Though she had her suspicions as her eyes lowered to the man writhing on the ground. Just her type, Cassie recognized taking in his familiar look, and darkly she knew why that was.

  “I don’t know. I guess we all can’t be a quick draw like you,” Her sister responded defensively.

  “You’ve never had a problem before…” Honor began, but fell silent as Lijuan shot her a look. Cassandra thought about pushing the issue further, but knowing Lijuan’s tendency to go volcanic when pressed, she decided it would be best if she didn’t. Looking around instead, she saw Carrington about to be hauled away.

  “Just one thing, Carrington. Now that the jig is up,” she asked, “why frame Brent?”

  Carrington spat on the ground in Novack’s direction as a first response. “Because he’s a Novack,” he said. “Years ago, his papa stole away the one woman I ever loved. He could have been my son in a different life. I’ve hated t
he sight of him since I first saw him. I figured we’d best give the law a member of the Blue Mask Bandits so they would stop looking for us after we pulled the Rio Verde stage job. That’s why I put one of my own men on that last stage the rest of us were going to rob. I wanted him to finger Brent as one of the robbers. What better patsy than a man I’ve always hated? Him and his whole family! I’m glad your folks died as early as they did!” he ranted.

  Novack walked up to him. “That’s why you always gave me those dirty looks and robbed me of the past year of my life. Well, know this. My ma…she never mentioned you; not once! Not once in all the years she was alive. That’s how little you meant to her! “He finished by returning Carrington’s earlier action, spitting at the disgraced warden’s boots.

  The sheriff decided he had seen enough at the time. “Come on,” he said. “We got to get that hand looked at by the doc before we slam the door of a cell behind you. Men!”

  “Hey, girls, what do we say to Warden Carrington?” Cassandra excitedly called out to her sisters as Carrington was about to be hustled away.

  “We Wildes always get our man…one way or another!” They all sang in unison.

  Melinda laughed, impressed all through with their skill and agility and delighted by their saying. She clasped her palms together excitedly just as the sheriff came over to stand beside Cassandra, who was also watching the prisoners being hauled away to the cells and the wounded-guards-turned-bandits also being hustled off the prison doctor’s office.

  “Well, Cassandra, you sure hit this one right. We’ll clear Brent’s name right away and find some honest prison help to guard these ruffians,” he told her.

  “The prison made a fine hideaway for them,” she told him as Novack leaned over to her, thanking her with his eyes first before his words complemented them.