“What about the guards?” Clint asked.
“There’s more than enough of them to do their job. Normally, I’d say we could get through them without a lot of trouble, but since you don’t want to scratch a hair on their little heads ...”
“I said I didn’t want to kill any of them.”
“Are you still sayin’ that?” Ed asked hopefully.
“Yes.”
“Well, then, you think of a way around ’em. I’ve done my part for a while.”
“You’re doing a great job, Ed. If you do know a route through the swamp, that’ll come in real handy. It would come in even more handy if you set something up to try and give us some extra breathing room while we’re on that route.”
Ed’s eyes widened like a kid who’d just caught sight of his Christmas presents. “You mean more traps?”
“Nothing deadly.”
“I can think of a few things. In fact, I wouldn’t even mind sloshing through that shit to go set something up. All I’d need to do is dig a few holes and string a few low ropes between a couple trees.”
“Actually,” Clint said, “why don’t I do that?”
“Honest?” Ed asked. “I thought you didn’t want to get your hands dirty.”
“I’d like to see your route firsthand before I put it to the real test, and I was headed back to the prison soon, anyway. I can set some things up while I’m out there, and you can kick your feet up for a bit.”
The fact of the matter was that Clint knew all too well how much Ed disliked lawmen. Trusting him to set up traps that didn’t hurt or kill the guards was like trusting a starving kid to wander through a candy store without taking his hands from his pockets.
Whatever Clint’s reasons might have been, Ed didn’t seem to mind one bit. He let out a breath and surveyed the saloon as if noticing all the temptations inside for the first time.
“I just need to know one thing,” Clint said.
“What’s that?”
“I need to know that Liddell is going to be worth all the trouble we’re going through to get him.”
“He rode with Brewer for a good, long while,” Ed replied confidently. “He knows where Brewer hides. He knows how Brewer thinks. He knows what Brewer likes to eat for supper. Most importantly, he hates Brewer’s guts after being stuck away and forgotten inside Callahan. Trust me, Clint. Men like this are what make jobs like mine a whole lot easier.”
“And you’re certain nobody saw you when you were crawling around in the mud?”
Ed shook his head and replied, “I am genuinely offended by that.”
“You’ll get over it.”
When Clint saw Ed get up and grab his beer from the table, he asked, “You’re leaving?”
“Nah,” Ed told him. “I’m just going to collect a little more information.” With that, Ed wandered over to where the off-duty guards were standing. As he got closer to the bar, the stagger in Ed’s step became more exaggerated. By the time he made it up to the guards, he seemed to be just a bit drunker than they were.
Shifting his eyes away from Ed, Clint saw a much prettier body settling into the chair Ed had left behind.
“I want to have a word with you, Clint Adams,” Patricia said.
Before he smiled too widely, Clint noticed the derringer in her hand.
TWENTY-FIVE
“You want to talk?” Clint asked. “Then talk. What do you need that gun for?”
“It’s to make sure I can say what I want to say without being interrupted. Let’s take a walk outside.”
Clint didn’t put up any fuss as he stood up and walked to the door. Although he didn’t put his back to her, he allowed Patricia to stay beside him and far enough away for her to feel comfortable. When they got outside, Clint stopped and turned to face her.
“What now?” he asked.
“Go around back,” she said while motioning toward the saloon.
Since there weren’t any lanterns to light the street, the back of the saloon was just as dark as the front. In fact, it turned out to be slightly brighter since there were more flaws in the walls around back, which allowed light from inside to spill out.
As soon as Clint found a good spot, he turned to face her again.
Patricia held the gun in a steady hand and said, “I know why you’re here and I know you’re working for Brewer.”
“What?”
“He’s sent plenty of men to come bring me to him, and I’ll tell you the same thing I told them. Leave me the hell alone or I’ll shoot you right here and now.”
Clint didn’t flinch. In fact, he shook his head slowly as he told her, “You’re not going to shoot me and you don’t believe a word of what you just said.”
“You think so?”
“If you don’t want to go along with whatever we’re doing, that’s fine,” he said. “If you want me to go and never say another word about this, that’s all right. There’s no need to point a gun at me.”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked Clint up and down. “You’re wearing a gun too. And don’t think I’m stupid enough to believe you couldn’t draw that gun at any time.”
“Sure I could. Instead, I’ll toss my gun aside as a show of good faith. How’d that be?”
A silence fell between them, which even seemed to block out the voices and music coming from within the saloon. Clint slowly lowered his hand to the buckle of his gun belt and stopped as he saw Patricia lunge forward.
After taking a quick step toward him, her arm extended just far enough to jam the derringer’s barrel against Clint’s stomach. Her eyes were still on his gun hand, but slowly worked their way back up to his face.
“You didn’t move for your gun,” she whispered.
“I said I wouldn’t.”
“That’s what the others said.”
“What others?” Clint asked.
Patricia eased the derringer back so she could tug on the buckle of Clint’s gun belt. “The other men Brewer sent to bring me to him. They all found me and said plenty of sweet lies, but I could sniff them out. Of course, they tried to be a bit sneakier than you.”
“I wasn’t being sneaky.”
Nodding, while unbuckling his belt, she said, “But I still needed to be sure. All of those others strutted like they were such big men, but they all wound up calling me the same names when I called them out. They all made the same threats, and every last one of them started to follow through on them. You didn’t.”
“I’m not one of those men,” Clint told her. He felt the gun belt loosen and drop to the ground. “You still don’t believe me?”
She smiled and looked him straight in the eyes. “You may not be one of Brewer’s assholes, but you still carry a gun, and I think you know how to use it. Why would you let me get this close and stick this gun into your belly?”
“Because I could tell you weren’t going to pull that trigger.”
“I sure would have if you made the wrong move,” she replied.
“And I wasn’t about to make the wrong move. You’re being careful. That’s all.”
The longer she looked at him, the more Patricia smiled. Finally, she dropped her gun and leaned in to kiss him passionately on the mouth. She pulled back for a second to catch her breath, but quickly moved in again.
Clint slipped his arms around her and kissed her back out of nothing more than reflex. When that second kiss was through, he asked, “What brought that on?”
“All those others who tried their luck with me talk tough and try to push me into doing what they want. Do you know how long I’ve waited for a real man to come along?”
Before he could answer her, Clint felt her pull open his pants and reach inside for him.
“I’m sick of waiting,” she whispered.
TWENTY-SIX
With the saloon behind him, Clint could only see shadows and starlight behind Patricia. Her black hair almost seemed like some of those shadows had reached out to caress her, just like he was caressing her now.
Clint’s hands moved along her wide, rounded hips and worked their way toward her nicely rounded backside. She’d already pulled his pants down and was stroking his cock until it was rock hard. In the next moment, she dropped to her knees and placed her soft lips around him and slid them all the way down to the base of his penis.
Feeling her lips move up and down along him took Clint’s breath away. When he felt her tongue glide along the bottom of his shaft, he was forced to lean against the wall behind him for support.
Patricia sucked him for just the right amount of time. It seemed as though she could feel him drawing closer to his orgasm, but didn’t want to push him all the way over the edge just yet. Instead, she got to her feet, locked eyes with him and hiked her skirt up around her waist.
She wore a long, black skirt that was almost the color of her hair. The thin cotton slid up to reveal a pair of slender, shapely legs. One of those legs came up so her foot was up against the wall next to Clint’s hip.
When he looked down to notice the dark hair between her legs, Clint pointed out, “Not wearing anything under your skirts? Looks like you were planning this.”
Patricia reached between her legs and ran her fingers over the lips of her pussy. “I was hopeful.”
Unable to control himself for one second more, Clint pushed her arm to one side and moved in closer to her. Patricia’s eyes widened with excitement at the show of strength, and her mouth opened a bit when she was grabbed by the hips and held still while Clint eased his cock into her.
He was so hard that neither one of them needed to guide him in. Clint’s rigid penis found her wet pussy and went in with nothing more than a push of his hips. Patricia kept her leg braced against the wall and allowed her skirts to fall and cover them both below the waist.
As Clint began pumping in and out of her, he wanted to get his hands on her naked skin. Soon, he began to like the way her body moved under her skirts. Patricia’s buttocks tightened in his hands and ground in little circles after he thrust all the way in and stayed there for a moment. When he ran his hand along the leg that was bent against the wall, he caressed the taut muscles in her thigh and calf.
Clint pumped into her once more with a powerful thrust. As their bodies slapped together, Patricia let out a little moan and quickly bit down on her lower lip to keep from making any more noise. As he grabbed her backside with both hands, Clint nibbled along the base of her neck and drove into her with shorter, quicker thrusts of his hips.
Suddenly, Clint moved in even closer so he could lift Patricia off her feet. She responded by wrapping her legs tightly around him and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck as well. Clint only had to keep her up for a few seconds, as he turned so her back was to the wall and then let her rest against the saloon.
Her arms and legs were still wrapped around him as Clint started pounding into her again and again. Patricia arched her back as much as she could, but was only able to straighten herself against the wall. That allowed Clint’s erection to brush against her clit as he continued thrusting between her legs.
The longer she felt Clint inside of her, the more Patricia gave herself over to him. Her climax was drawing closer with every thrust. As it got closer still, she clenched her legs so tightly around him that she only needed one arm to keep herself off the ground. His strong hands weren’t about to let her go, and feeling them on her was enough to send shivers through Patricia’s entire body.
When Clint grabbed her tightly and pounded into her so hard that the wall creaked behind her, Patricia let out a breathy moan and felt an orgasm pulse through her. Clint could feel it as well, since every muscle in her body tensed and her fingernails dug into his shoulder.
Clint slowed himself down and watched her face as Patricia fought to keep herself from screaming with pleasure. There were folks moving in and out of the saloon, but none of them were headed around back. Even so, the sound of them so close by was enough to make everything feel better and more intense.
“Can you stand on your own?” Clint asked.
She tried to speak, but didn’t have enough breath, so Patricia lowered her legs and leaned back against the wall. When she felt Clint’s hands on her hips again, she followed his movements immediately and turned around so her back was to him and her hands were flat against the wall.
Clint pulled up her skirt with one hand and slid his other hand along the firm line of her backside. The curve was a smooth, round slope which became even prettier as Patricia arched her back and spread her legs a bit more. All Clint had to do from there was ease his cock into her wet pussy, grab on to her hips and pump forward.
Patricia lowered her head and let out a gasping breath. She tightened around Clint’s penis as another orgasm immediately crept up on her, and she tossed her head back as that orgasm hit with full force.
Now Clint had both hands on her hips so he could guide her movements while also keeping her skirt up. The flowing black fabric framed her ass and legs perfectly. After positioning one hand at the small of her back, he reached around with the other to cup one of her large breasts as he continued pumping in and out of her.
With Patricia still trembling from her climax, Clint felt his own pleasure rushing toward its peak. This time, he did nothing to slow it down and instead drove all the way into her again and again. Her buttocks were smooth and firm against his lower abdomen as he buried himself deeply inside of her. When his own climax finally came, Clint wasn’t able to keep as quiet as she’d been.
“Jesus!” Clint said as he exploded inside of her.
She brushed her hair back and straightened up so her back lightly touched his chest. Reaching around to play with his hair with one hand, she whispered, “I know just how you feel.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Clint rode to the prison and walked right up to the guards without a hitch. Luke was posted closest to the door and he waved Clint forward. As Clint walked, he could hear the sounds of heavier steps closing in around him, and he did a good job of looking surprised when he found himself surrounded by more guards.
“Go on in and have yer visit,” Luke said as he patted Clint down and took the Colt from him. “But this is the last time for another week.”
“Much obliged,” Clint said with a tip of his hat. He was going to mention how grateful Liddell’s family would be for the kindness, but it was obvious the guard wouldn’t have cared to hear it.
Inside, the place was just as Clint had left it. That was the thing about prisons when compared to jails: Jails were smaller and had bad men coming and going all the time. They got dirty and were cleaned up. They were sometimes noisy and sometimes quiet. Prisons, on the other hand, never seemed to change.
A prison was like a grave. Once someone was put inside of it, they disappeared and were forgotten. A grave didn’t change. It was always the same. It was a pit and nothing more.
By the time Clint walked to Liddell’s open door, he was aching to get back outside.
Liddell was leaning against the bars behind the wooden door, waiting anxiously for Clint to arrive. It was a struggle to keep his voice down when he asked, “Did you see her?”
“I sure did.”
“She’s a beaut, ain’t she?”
“I won’t argue that,” Clint replied. “But why did you want me to see her?”
“Didn’t you talk to her?” “I know she and Brewer were together for a bit and Brewer let her go. What else was I supposed to find out?”
Liddell stared directly into Clint’s eyes and spoke like a dying man describing a steak dinner. “You had to see her to know just how bad Brewer’s got it in for her. The few times he came by to check on me, she was all he could talk about. He said he was gonna try and take her out of here.”
“He did try,” Clint said. “And you’re right. After seeing her, I don’t blame him one bit.”
Still nodding with that hungry look in his eyes, Liddell asked, “What did she say to you?”
“I don’t think I have a lot of
time here, so I’ll keep it short. She’s not about to help Brewer unless it’s to guide him over a cliff.”
“Do you think she’d help set him up for a fall?”
“Maybe.”
“Y’see, I can get you pretty close to Brewer, but there’s no way in hell you’ll get right up to him. How long ago was that business with the marshal you were talking about?”
“About a month and a half ago.”
Liddell winced and said, “It’ll be close, but it may be too late. He’s smart enough to lay low after trading shots with the law, but he ain’t the sort to hide out for long unless he thinks the heat’s on him.”
“He knows someone’s after him,” Clint said. “In fact, he knows at least one bounty hunter is nipping at his heels.”
“Then he might still be in Old Mex, but we got no time to waste.”
From the other end of the hall, a gruff voice shouted, “Say what you gotta say and be quick about it!”
“Where does Patricia figure into this?” Clint asked.
“I could show you how to get within a mile or so, but she can get right up to Brewer’s face. He’ll take any explanation she gives as to how she got that far, but he’ll just be happy as a pig in shit that she’s there. After that, she can get Brewer off somewhere, you snatch him up and that’s that. It’ll be rough, since he won’t go without a fight, but there’s no two ways around that.”
“All I need to know is if you’ll take me to him without a fuss.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Liddell asked. “I can’t lift a finger against that asshole from in here, and you’re the best bet I’ve got. Breaking me out of this hellhole is just icing on the cake.”
Clint’s nod was so slight, it could barely be seen.
Backing away from the bars as the approaching steps got closer, Liddell asked, “When should I be expecting you?”
“When I get here, you’ll know.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
The explosion rocked the prison gate and echoed throughout the entire swamp.
One Man's Law Page 9
