Sunrise Ridge (Redemption Mountain Historical Western Romance Book 3)

by Shirleen Davies

  “Doing it your way means bringing in the sheriff. I don’t want Evans involved. This will happen my way. You can either go along with it or pack up and leave.”

  Dirk narrowed his eyes, frowning at Tolbert. He knew the man held little value for legalities when it came to his own brand of justice. In this instance, Tolbert had a choice which could mean little chance of losing men while capturing the cattle rustlers. Nothing about Tolbert’s decision to confront Drake at his camp made sense. He couldn’t stay and be a part of the man’s madness.

  “You’re a damn fool, Tolbert, and I won’t be a part of leading your men to possible slaughter.” He spun away and grabbed his gear. Within minutes, he’d secured his belongings and took off in the direction of Splendor, hoping to find Gabe and obtain help before Tolbert made a terrible mistake—one that would cost lives.

  Tolbert paced around camp. He’d never expected Masters to take off. Few men defied his orders, most deciding to do what he required and keep their mouths shut. Now he had one less man to confront Drake and return the stolen cattle.

  He glanced at the men sitting around the fire, knowing he had nowhere near enough to do the job without some of them dying. Still, he would not change his plans. A few losses were nothing compared to letting a man like Drake roam freely, stealing and killing. Someone needed to take care of him.

  “We’ve located Drake’s camp and found where he’s holding the cattle. Tomorrow, we go after him and his men. I want you ready to leave at dawn.”

  “What about Masters?”

  “He won’t be going with us.”

  “We’ll camp here, then split up in the morning.” Gabe nodded at Noah and the others for confirmation. He’d already explained how they’d continue their search, each group returning to this spot at nightfall. “If what Cash and Beau have learned is accurate, Drake has close to twenty men riding with him. Remember, we want to locate him, then plan how to confront and arrest them. No heroics, understood?”

  “Understood, Gabe.” Bull wanted to get the man who’d almost killed him months before, but not if it meant any of the men around him would be hurt…or worse.

  “Good. Get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.” Gabe unsaddled Blackheart, placing the gear under a nearby tree, leaning his rifle against the trunk, then turning at the sound of footsteps.

  “Mind if I pack down here?”

  “Not at all, Noah.”

  They lay out their bedrolls in silence, each grabbing jerky and hardtack before resting against their saddles. Noah took a long swallow from his canteen, glancing up at the bright stars and almost full moon, wondering about Abby and missing her.

  “How’s it going with you and Abby?” Gabe asked, as if reading Noah’s thoughts.

  “Good. Slow, which is as it should be.” Noah tore off another piece of jerky, chewing slowly, wanting to get the search over with and return to Splendor. He’d decided to talk with Tolbert about the property above town now, rather than wait for fall. If Tolbert agreed to sell, Noah could start designing the house he planned to build for Abby…and him.

  “Do you plan to add onto the cabin?”

  Noah’s gaze shifted to Gabe. “Nope.”

  Gabe’s lips twitched. He knew Noah well enough to know he had plans, but wasn’t quite willing to share. “That so?”

  “Yep.”

  “Let me know if you change your mind. I might be able to arrange some time to help enlarge the place.” Gabe tipped his hat low over his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Within minutes, Noah heard soft snoring. Gabe had always been able to sleep anywhere, while he’d be more apt to lay there for hours, his mind refusing to shut down.

  He thought of Tolbert searching for the same man, believing if he found him, Drake’s chances of ever making it back to Splendor for trial would be small. With a jury made up of his ranch hands, Tolbert’s brand of justice would be swift.

  Noah rested an arm over his eyes, sending a silent prayer they’d find Drake, no one would die, and he’d be in Splendor by sundown.

  “I spotted close to fifteen men in camp. Not good odds, boss.” Mal Jolly, one of the newer ranch hands, reported, believing Tolbert would call off the raid.

  “Surprise is our chief weapon. We focus on Drake and capture him, then the others will surrender.”

  “And the cattle? We can’t get the prisoners back to Splendor and herd the cattle at the same time.”

  “I said nothing of transporting prisoners to town.” Tolbert spun around, facing the other men. “I want Drake. Nothing else matters as long as we get him.” He pulled out his revolver, checked the cylinders, then snapped it shut. “Let’s go.”

  Mal’s stomach clenched. He’d fought as a Union soldier, never retreating. The word coward didn’t figure into his vocabulary, and no one would ever describe him as one, yet his mind whirled at the insanity of Tolbert’s order. Neither Drake nor his men would go down easy, which meant some of the men before him wouldn’t make it home. He guessed Dirk came to the same conclusion. No matter, though. He’d signed on to do a job.

  Mal and the rest of Tolbert’s men positioned themselves as instructed and waited for their boss’ command. Drake’s men moved about, appearing restless, as if they’d stayed too long in one place. Not a good sign in Mal’s opinion.

  He’d chosen higher ground with a view of those milling around the camp. Settling between two boulders, he watched Tolbert, who took a spot across from him, his gun pointed toward Drake. He glanced away, noting the positions of the other men, and grimaced as another internal warning pierced his gut.

  An instant later, gunshots blazed from all directions, bullets missing Mal by inches as they slammed against the rocks. Movement to his left caught his attention. He aimed and fired, hitting one of Drake’s men in the chest. The cocking sound of a gun had him spinning to the right in time to get off another shot, this one planting itself in a shoulder, knocking the man to the ground. Mal grabbed the extra weapon and ducked behind the rocks, turning toward Tolbert’s last position at the same time he realized the shooting had stopped.

  He took small steps backward, leaving the protection of the rocks in an attempt to get a better view of the camp. What he saw turned his stomach.

  Tolbert knelt before Drake, falling one way, then another, as the man hammered him over and over with the butt of his gun.

  “Stand him up,” Drake ordered. Lem and Archie grabbed Tolbert under each arm, steadying him. “You always thought you were better than the rest of us, old man. Guess it’s not true. Before I’m finished, I’ll own your ranch and your daughter. A shame you won’t be around to see any of it.”

  With those words, Drake lifted his gun, centered it on Tolbert’s head, and pulled the trigger.

  “Did you see anything?”

  Gabe held Tempest’s reins, waiting for Noah to return from scouting the edge of the canyon. It had been slow going through thick shrubs and rocky terrain. If Noah didn’t find any signs, they’d need to head back.

  “Nothing. Thought I heard cattle. I must be losing my mind.” Noah swung back up on Tempest.

  “Sounds carry out here. You may have heard something, just not in that canyon. We’d better start back. Maybe the others have had better luck.” Gabe turned toward the two men who rode with them. “We’re going back, see if one of the other groups found something.”

  Fat drops of rain fell as they retraced their route to camp. Freak summer storms happened without warning, then disappeared. This one lasted not ten minutes before it gave out.

  They entered camp, the last group to arrive, and could tell the others had no better luck. Noah knew they’d be going further north tomorrow, making gradual sweeps until they located the cattle or had to ride back to Splendor for more supplies. Giving up would never occur to any of them. The threat was too great.

  Mal hadn’t waited when Tolbert’s lifeless body crumbled to the ground. While Drake’s men focused on the carnage in their camp, he slipped around the rocks, past stands o
f tall pines, moving in silent steps toward his horse. Uninjured, he still felt the pangs of fatigue as he dragged his body into the saddle and grabbed the reins.

  What he’d seen sickened him, but he let his mind go blank as he reined his horse around, riding through the trees before hitting open ground. He’d go south, then cut east and north toward Splendor, hoping to avoid any further contact with Drake. Finding the camp again wouldn’t be hard. First, he had to convince Sheriff Evans to gather enough men to risk their lives by riding out to confront the rustlers. Mal shuddered at the vicious attack by Drake. Even during the war, he’d never seen a man destroy another without remorse.

  By nightfall, he felt safe enough to rest. He’d been in the saddle for hours, traveling further south than intended in an effort to hide his tracks. Standing in an open circle surrounded by pines and low shrubs, he caught the aroma of burning wood and turned. Smoke wafted upward from beyond the trees on the north side of the opening.

  From where Mal stood, he couldn’t tell the distance. Worse, there’d be no way to identify who sat around the fire—friend or foe—until he rode closer. Bone tired, the thought of another skirmish held no appeal. He hadn’t eaten since morning, and hadn’t even thought about it until now. His stomach growled as he reached into his saddlebag, grabbed some jerky, and bit off a hunk.

  The sun disappeared as he finished the last bite. He needed to make a decision. Ride toward the smoke, which continued to spiral upward, or stay put until morning.

  “Hell,” he mumbled to himself and stood. “No sense staying here alone when there could be hot food and help not far away, right boy?” He stroked a hand down his horse’s neck, then mounted.

  To his relief, the smoke led him to a campsite not far away. Better still, he recognized several of the men.

  “Stop right there.” The stern voice came from the other end of a rifle pointed at his chest. “Who are you?”

  “Mal Jolly. I work for King Tolbert. Aren’t you one of the Pelletiers?”

  Luke lowered the gun and stepped forward. “You with the group Tolbert took out to find Drake?” Luke glanced behind him at the sound of footsteps to see Noah, Gabe, and Dax come to a stop beside him.

  “All right if I get down? I’ve been in the saddle most of the day.”

  Luke nodded, letting his rifle drop to his side as Mal moved closer.

  He walked up to Gabe and held out his hand. “Sheriff, I’m glad I found you.” He glanced around at the others. “We located Drake’s camp.”

  “And?”

  Mal pulled off his hat, pushing his fingers through his hair. “It’s not good.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Noah let out a string of curses as Mal finished his story. “Damn that man. Why couldn’t he have waited, ridden out with the rest of us?” He didn’t know how he’d break the news to Abby. Her disagreements with her father, although frequent and severe, never impacted the love she held for him. The ramifications of the man’s death would be widespread, but to Abby, the loss of her father would be devastating.

  Gabe watched Noah walk away, knowing he was thinking of Abby and how to tell her what happened. They couldn’t dwell on it now. They had killers to hunt down.

  “Anyone else get away besides you?”

  “I don’t believe so, Sheriff. It all happened fast.” Mal scrubbed a hand over his face. “If I could’ve talked him out of it…”

  “Don’t dwell on it. Tolbert never listened to anyone’s counsel but his own, and now he may drag good men down with him. I doubt Drake would leave any of Tolbert’s men alive. Be thankful you got away.”

  Cash’s jaw hardened at the amount of carnage the man had caused. He’d gunned down Cash’s relatives in Louisiana, then continued west, killing at will without regard for consequences. “It’s time we stopped that son of a bitch before he murders anyone else.”

  “We’ll get him this time, Cash. Drake won’t be leaving Montana.” Beau clasped his friend on the shoulder.

  “Can you lead us to the camp?” Luke leaned against a nearby tree, arms crossed. He never cared for Tolbert, didn’t trust the man, but no one deserved the death sentence Drake imposed.

  “I believe so.” Mal stood and paced a few feet away as he looked up at the sky. He thought of the circuitous route he’d taken to get there, calculated the distance and how long he’d been riding. He faced Gabe with confidence. “Yes. I can take you to them.”

  “Good. We need as much information as you can give us.”

  Noah stoked the fire several times while Mal talked of the number of men, camp layout, and location of the cattle. He accepted a cup of coffee, sipping it, watching hot embers spark, then swirl into the air, trying to erase the image of Tolbert’s death from his mind.

  “Mal?” Noah asked when he didn’t answer him.

  “Sorry. I, uh…” He took a deep breath to clear his head.

  “I asked if you know how many men guard the cattle.”

  “No. Dirk Masters scouted the herd and camp, but he took off before we went after Drake.”

  “Masters didn’t go with you to the camp?” Noah had met Tolbert’s foreman several times. Toby had taken the order for new tack from him. He’d impressed both of them.

  “He and Tolbert had a falling out. Dirk took off…”

  Gabe slapped his hands on his knees and stood. “He cannot get away from us this time. We leave before dawn. I want to be there when Drake wakes up.”

  “I think it’s a damn fool idea. It won’t take long before Tolbert and his men are reported missing. Then the sheriff will have the entire town looking for him.” Archie finished rolling a cigar, then lit it, inhaling a deep breath.

  “We’re changing nothing. With Tolbert out of the way, we have a straight path to his cattle. Hell, we can take more than the paltry thirty or forty we planned. We can take the whole herd and there’d be no one to stop us.”

  “I agree with Archie. We need to get out of here—drive the cattle over the mountains and into Idaho before anyone finds out about Tolbert.” Although Lem held no love for Tolbert, he disagreed with Drake’s cold-blooded killing. The man had changed since they’d served together for the Confederacy. He’d become obsessed to the point of being maniacal about taking over Tolbert’s ranch. Now he talked of taking Abigail as his wife, securing his ownership of the ranch and other holdings.

  Drake rounded on Lem, grabbing him by the collar and hauling him close. “You want out?” he hissed.

  “No…of course not.” Lem choked out the words, losing his balance and falling to the ground when Drake let go.

  “Don’t ever cross me, Lem. You either, Archie. Now, where’s that bottle of whiskey? We should be celebrating our coming prosperity, not fighting each other.”

  Lem and Archie stared at Drake’s retreating back.

  “Whatever’s going on with him is getting worse. He’s talking crazy, Archie. It makes no sense to stay around any longer. We’ve got to get out of here before he gets us all killed.”

  Archie leaned toward him, glancing around. “Keep your voice down.”

  “But we’ve got to do something before he drags us down with him.”

  Archie nodded at Lem’s comment, already working through a plan to take what he owed them and head for Idaho. They’d talked of it before, figuring the time would come when they’d leave their increasingly deranged partner behind. The two might be killers and thieves, but even they had their limits.

  Mal led the posse up the steep terrain until it leveled out into a wide, flat expanse of open land. The moon provided enough light to get this far, but it wouldn’t be long before the sun replaced it. They had to be inside the camp, guns ready, when that happened.

  Another hundred yards and they’d disappear into the pines. Within those trees, they’d find Drake’s camp and Tolbert’s body. Mal reined up and twisted in his saddle, motioning for Gabe.

  “Not long now. The camp is about a hundred yards past the edge of those trees. Several rock formations rin
g their camp, providing cover. We should split up as soon as we’re in the cover of the trees.”

  Gabe nodded, then signaled the others to come closer. They once again reviewed what each man would do, making sure there’d be no confusion once they reached Drake’s camp.

  “Be careful, and remember—it’s Drake we want.”

  Gabe rode alongside Mal, the others following in single file until they disappeared within the trees. Several yards later, they slipped from their saddles to continue on foot.

  Reaching the first of the rock formations, Gabe signaled for them to split up and surround the camp. They’d yet to hear a sound. So far, it had all gone as planned.

  The closer Noah got, the more his gut squeezed. The plan had been to arrive before the men woke up, trapping them in their bedrolls, yet something seemed amiss. There should be sounds, even from a sleeping camp. Snoring, coughs, the sounds made when people changed positions, yet he heard nothing. He reached the point where he could lean around the rocks to see the camp a few yards away. His eyes narrowed as his brows knit together.

  Noah moved a few feet closer, seeing Bull and Luke appear directly across the camp, Dax and Gabe to his right, and Mal with several others to his left. All froze at the sight before them

  “Holy hell,” Noah murmured as he continued to look around, confirming they didn’t walk into a trap. He saw no one except the one person they most wanted.

  Coming from all directions, the posse converged around the naked figure tied to a stake, his hands and legs bound, a bandanna in his mouth, eyes blazing as he recognized those circling him.

  “I’ll be damned.” Luke stared at Drake, then glanced at the others. The thought of what he’d done to Tolbert was all that stopped him from bursting into laughter.

  “Should we leave him here?” Dax asked, not taking his eyes off Drake.

  “It sure would spare the town the cost of a trial and hanging.” Beau lowered his gun, still glancing about to make sure no one else had positions around them.