Outlaw's Lady

by Bobbi Smith

  He looked up expectantly, glad that she'd sought him out. He'd been a bit concerned about being so bold as to kiss her earlier. He feared that he might have been too forward. "What is it?"

  She glanced back toward the outlaws to make sure they were far enough away that they wouldn't be able to hear what she was saying. "While I was alone with Braxton-"

  "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Rob immediately stiffened, ready to do battle to protect her honor. If Slade Braxton had laid a hand on her, he'd kill him.

  "No-no, nothing like that!" She touched his forearm to put him at ease. "It's just that he told me something about himself, and I wanted your opinion on it."

  Rob frowned, worried. "What did he tell you?"

  "He said he was a Pinkerton undercover agent and needed me to send a wire to their Denver office to verify his story. He said he told you, but that you didn't believe him. That you beat him up instead,"

  Rob spoke down to her as though she were a difficult child in need of careful explanations. "Alyssa, I told you what kind of man Braxton is. He's a liar, a thief and a murderer. For God's sake, he's the one who shot your father!"

  She paled at his painful reminder. "I know! Don't you think I told myself all those things? I told him I didn't believe him, but-"

  "But what?"

  "What if he is telling the truth? What if he really is an operative? He said the agency had spent months creating his deadly background so the Dakota Kid would believe it was true and let him join up with the gang."

  "What would you expect a man to say if he thought he was going to be hanged in another few days? Wouldn't you be trying to come up with the best story you could to save your own neck?"

  "Yes, but Rob-"

  He looked at her expectantly.

  "Braxton is a big, strong man. It was just the two of us out there alone. He could have overpowered me at any time and taken the gun, and he didn't even try."

  "All that means is that he believed you knew how to use your gun and that you just might do it."

  "Do you honestly think so, or do you think there's a possibility that he might really be a Pinkerton?"

  Rob couldn't believe that she was buying into Braxton's ridiculous story. "Alyssa, there's only one truth you need to remember, and that is-Slade Braxton killed your father."

  She nodded grimly, annoyed with herself for having been tempted to believe anything the gunslinger had to say. She should have known better. Rob was right. "You're right. I'm sorry."

  "There's nothing to be sorry about, Alyssa. I just hate to see you tortured this way."

  "Good night, Rob."

  "Good night, Alyssa."

  Alyssa returned to the campfire and bedded down for the night under the watchful eyes of Brown and Hawkins. They were relieved and happy that she'd returned to them unharmed. They were going to be very glad to reach Green River and turn over their prisoners to the sheriff there.

  Sleep came quickly to Alyssa, and with her deep slumber came a dream.

  Slade was walking toward her. His expression was serious. His gaze captured and held hers. He stopped before her, and then slowly, deliberately, he bent to kiss her.

  Alyssa knew she should fight him. She wanted him to go away. She hated him! He was a terrible, horrible man! But as his mouth sought hers, the gun she 'd been holding slipped from her fingers. Instead of struggling to be free of him, she lifted her arms to loop them around his neck, aching to be closer to him. She accepted his embrace. She reveled in his kiss. His name echoed in her mind and her heart. Slade-

  Alyssa jerked awake, breathing heavily, trembling from the force of the emotions that her wayward dream-or was it a nightmare?-had conjured up.

  Shifting position, she stared across the fire to where Slade was sleeping. The miserable man slumbered on, completely unaware of the havoc he'd just wreaked upon her peace of mind. Furious at her traitorous dream, she tried to get comfortable again and put all thoughts of him from her. But sleep would not come.

  Alyssa lay restless and awake, staring up at the stars-remembering. She wondered why Slade's kiss was the one that haunted her and not Rob's.

  The Kid, Zeke and Red were ready and waiting. It seemed they'd been frustrated at every turn in their attempt to rescue their friends, but things had finally turned around late the day before. Once the rain had stopped, they'd managed to get ahead of the lawmen and were now in position to ambush them before they reached Green River.

  "They should be showing up any time now," the Kid told his men, as they crouched low behind rocks above the trail.

  Though there were only three of them, they figured they wouldn't have too much trouble getting rid of the lawmen. They would have the element of surprise on their side, not to mention position. The Kid smiled.

  "Why are you smiling?" Red asked. He wondered how the Kid could be enjoying this.

  "I was just thinking how I'm turning the tables on Emerson. He thought he was so smart surprising us like he did in the canyon, and now we're going to even the score."

  "It will feel good, won't it?" Zeke agreed, though he couldn't have cared less about saving Slade's neck. He only cared about rescuing Johnson and Nash. He still regretted that the shot he'd taken at Slade after the bank robbery had missed and hit the old man.

  "It's gonna feel real good." The Kid lifted his rifle to sight down the barrel and make sure he had a clear shot in the direction they'd be coming. "All we got to do is wait. Once they ride this way, it's going to be real simplejust make sure all your shots count."

  "I wish we knew how many deputies were making the trip."

  "I wish Emerson had ridden out with them, instead of staying back at the jail. I'd really enjoy being the one to put a bullet in him."

  "You'll get your chance one of these days. Once we get the boys free, maybe we can pay another visit to Black Springs-and Sheriff Emerson," Red said.

  "I like the way you think." The Kid's smile broadened at the thought of facing down the lawman who'd caused him such trouble.

  They stayed alert and ready as they kept watch.

  Over an hour passed before they heard the first sound of horses nearing. They tensed, expecting the riders from Black Springs to appear at any time.

  "What the...!" the Kid muttered angrily as he discovered the horses they'd heard were coming from the other direction-from Green River.

  He counted close to fifteen men and wondered who they were and where they were going. Just as they were almost out of range, he caught sight of the group from Black Springs coming down the trail.

  "There they are...." he told the others in a low voice, excitement surging through him. Now was the time. He was going to rescue his men.

  "What are we going to do?" Red asked.

  "Nothing for now. Just sit tight until we see what's going on."

  They remained quiet, waiting for the deputies and their prisoners to draw near. The Kid grew furious, though, when the two groups met, talked for a minute, then joined forces and started back toward them and town.

  "What the hell is going on?" he demanded, straining to try to identify the riders from town.

  "Who are those men?" Zeke wondered.

  As the group rode closer, they were finally able to make out the badges on the chests of the men from Green River.

  "Damn! They must have been expecting trouble." The Kid swore violently under his breath as he realized that his chance for a successful ambush had been ruined. "And look! Emerson's with them! The bastard must have hightailed it out of town that same night right after the drunks raided the jail!"

  "We can still take them!" Red encouraged him, seeing Nash, Johnson and Slade among the riders.

  "Like hell, we can!" the Kid snarled. "There's close to twenty armed guards down there and only three of us. We could have taken just the men from Black Springs, but there's no way we can shoot it out with this many."

  He stared down at the small army of deputies passing by, and his hatred and anger grew even more. As they drew ever closer,
he could see that Nash had been wounded. There was a woman with them, too, and that really surprised him.

  "Who's the woman?" He looked over at Red.

  "She must be the lady judge they had in Black Springs."

  "A lady judge?"

  "Her name's Alyssa Mason. From the talk I heard in the bar, her daddy, the local justice of the peace, was the man we killed during the robbery. She was the one in town who knew the most about the law, so they picked her to fill in for him. She's the one who held the hearing and everything."

  "Ain't that something." He watched her pass by. "A woman bound my men over for trial. I think I'm going to find a way to pay her back, too."

  Zeke looked back down at the female and suddenly began to swear.

  "What is it?" The Kid looked over at him, puzzled.

  "That woman! I recognize her! The night before the robbery, when we were casing out the town, Slade went up to where a dance was going on. I know for a fact that he damn well danced with her that night!" Zeke remembered that night far too well, and now that he'd found the woman again, he just might finish up what he'd wanted to do to her in the first place.

  The Kid smiled at the news. "I wonder what our lady judge thought when she found out the man she'd danced with was Slade Braxton?"

  They found the thought most amusing.

  "I bet Slade enjoyed it, too," the Kid remarked.

  "What are we going to do?" Zeke wondered.

  "Right now, there's nothing we can do, damn it! Whatever we do, it'll have to be in Green River."

  "I sure don't like trying a jailbreak in that town," Zeke said.

  "You think I do? But we can't just stand by and let them hang the boys!"

  The Kid immediately began trying to come up with a new plan to save his friends. There had to be a way, and he was going to find it.

  "It's good to see you," Rob said, grinning at Steve Jones, the sheriff from Green River. "How'd you know to come meet us?"

  "Judge Banks told me what was going on. He thought it would be a good idea to give you an escort into town." He looked back at the three outlaws.

  "I appreciate it."

  "You did a good job."

  Rob grunted, still a little disgusted with himself. "If I'd gotten the Dakota Kid, too, I'd be feeling a lot better right now."

  "Yeah, but you got Braxton, not to mention Johnson and Nash, and the others that you shot during the ambush. A lot of people are sleeping easier in the territory these days now."

  "That's my job."

  "We'll do some celebrating tonight, what d'ya say?"

  "That sounds real good. I could use a little relaxation. With the Kid still out there, I've been worried he might try something on our way in."

  "That's what Judge Banks was thinking. We can't be too careful right now, but once we get them locked up nice and tight, it'll be fine."

  "I'm looking forward to seeing them behind bars again."

  Alyssa was riding farther back with Deputy Brown. She was feeling uneasy, and she wasn't sure why. They had a large force escorting the prisoners now, and only the Dakota Kid and two of his men were still running free. Yet even though everything seemed fine, for some reason she felt as if someone was watching them.

  Looking around, Alyssa tried to see if there was anything unusual going on, but all seemed quiet. Finally, she told herself she was just tired and overreacting. They were safe now that the other lawmen were there. Everything was fine.

  Even as she told herself that, though, Alyssa found herself looking over at Slade. She tried to put all thoughts of him out of her mind, but his nearness was a constant reminder of the forbidden kiss he'd given her the night before. Even though she knew Slade was a liar, some of what he'd said to her had been true. She considered what it would cost her to send the telegram to Denver and wondered if she should. She was certain his story would turn out to be a lie. Surely, there was no one there who could vouch for his being a Pinkerton. She was almost positive he had made the whole thing up. But could she live the rest of her life knowing that she hadn't at least tried to verify his story?

  It was that question she had to answer before the trial ended.

  The man appeared very much a dandy as he climbed down from the coach in front of the stage office in Black Springs. He was sporting spectacles, a derby hat and a tailored suit, and he looked completely out of place in this dusty Western town.

  "Here's your bag!" the driver called as he tossed a small valise down to him.

  The man caught it deftly, belying his outward appearance of being uncoordinated and ill at ease. "Which hotel is the best?"

  "There's only one, Mr. Wiley, so I guess it's the best," the driver said drolly. "It's Becker's, one street over."

  "Thanks."

  Bag in hand, Ken Wiley, also known as Ken Richards, started off in that direction, taking careful note of the lay of the town as he went. The hotel was small, but that didn't matter to Ken. He hoped he wouldn't be there long enough to worry about his accommodations.

  "You staying long, Mr. Wiley?" the lady at the desk asked after he'd signed the register.

  "I don't rightly know, ma'am," he said in his most courtly manner.

  "Well, welcome to town. If you need anything, just let me know. My name's Maisie. I'll be glad to help you with whatever you need."

  What he needed and what she could give him were two very different things. "Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate it."

  Ken went up to his room and stayed there only long enough to leave his bag and check his appearance. After all those hours on the stage, there was no telling how well his fancy-dude clothes had held up. A quick check in the mirror over the washstand told him he was still passable, so he was ready.

  Glad that he'd finally reached Black Springs and hoping he wasn't too late, Ken quit the hotel and headed straight for the sheriffs office. In his guise as a reporter for the Denver Daily News, he hoped he could contact Slade when he found him. He could imagine the mood his operative was in right now, and Ken was certain that he didn't know the half of all that had happened.

  The newspaper report he'd read on the ambush of the gang by the sheriff of Black Springs had been short and scant on details. All it had relayed was that Sheriff Emerson had trapped the Dakota Kid's gang and brought in Braxton, Johnson and Nash for trial. It had reported that some other members of the gang had been killed, but the names of the dead outlaws had not been given in the article.

  Ken glanced through the window of the sheriffs office and was surprised to see a pretty young woman dressed in black talking to the man sitting behind the desk. Taking care to stay in character, he entered the jail and looked expectantly at the lawman.

  "Are you Sheriff Emerson?" Ken asked eagerly.

  Deputy Clemans and Emily both looked up at his interruption.

  "No, I'm Deputy Clemans. Can I help you?"

  Clemans was irritated by the man's intrusion. He thought Emily the loveliest woman within a hundred miles, and the fact that she'd come to the office to speak with him and to ask him if there'd been any news from her sister had bolstered his self-esteem quite a bit. He'd been enjoying having her all to himself for a little while, and now this man had shown up and ruined everything.

  "My name's Ken Wiley. I'm a reporter with the Denver Daily News. I need to talk to your sheriff."

  "That's not possible, I'm afraid."

  "Why not?" he pressed.

  "Because Sheriff Emerson is not in town right now."

  "But I've come all the way from Denver to cover your big story about the Dakota Kid's gang."

  "You're too late, Mr. Wiley," Emily said, insinuating herself into the conversation. She'd been intrigued by this man when he'd walked into the office. He looked very much like an Eastern gentleman, and they were a definite rarity in this town.

  At her words, Ken knew a moment of fear. He turned toward her, the distress in his expression real. "I don't understand, ma'am."

  "My name's Emily Mason. My sister, Alyssa, was the j
udge who-"

  "You mean they've already been tried and hanged? But I just heard about the arrests! I hurried straight here and promised my editor I'd wire him a followup story as soon as possible."

  "No, no," she said. "They haven't been hanged yet.

  "It's like Miss Emily was telling you," Clemans put in. "The preliminary hearing was held here. Judge Mason bound them over for trial, so right now Sheriff Emerson and some of the deputies are escorting the gang members to Green River."

  Relief washed through Ken at the news. He pulled out a pad of paper from his vest pocket and a pencil, presumably to take notes, and looked at Emily.

  "Well, thank heaven. This trial is going to be the story of the year, you know. I'm glad I didn't miss it. Can you give me details about the hearing? You say your sister was the judge? Isn't that highly unusual?"

  "Not in Wyoming Territory," Emily told him. "We've had female justices of the peace for years now."

  "I see." Ken pretended interest, although he really just wanted to get to the bottom of what had happened with the gang. "How did the hearing go?"

  "It was very difficult for us.... Tragic really," Emily explained.

  "How?" Ken wondered at her involvement.

  "You see, my father was the justice of the peace in town and he was killed in the robbery that day. My sister had to preside over the hearing."

  "That must have been very difficult for her-and for you."

  "It was," Emily agreed.

  "My sympathies on your loss."

  "Why, thank you, Mr. Wiley."

  "How did your sister hold up going through such an ordeal?"

  "Alyssa is well versed in the law and she did not let her personal feelings interfere with her job."

  "So there were no problems at the hearing?"

  "No. None."

  "It went fine," Clemans added. "We had eyewitnesses who saw the three of them rob the bank, and one man-Les Anderson-swore under oath that he saw Braxton kill John Mason."

  "This Anderson says he saw everything and swears that Braxton was the one who killed them?" Ken repeated, shocked, and knowing immediately that for some reason Anderson had lied under oath.