Rexes & Robbers

by Kendra Moreno

  “What about airships?”

  “I never saw any airships.” Ro looked toward Clem. When she shook her head, Ro pursed her lips. “The sheriff never mentioned them, but we should be on guard just in case.”

  Some towns had airships at their disposal to chase down bandits. While there hadn’t been any airship docks in Embertown—there weren’t many in the West anyways—they couldn’t discount that they had a small one for such things.

  “The law is made up of Sheriff Bennett and Deputy Rogers. I never saw anyone else. Sheriff Bennett is the biggest threat. Rogers is human. The bank has an accountant who is never actually in the building. I’ve only seen King at work, and I think he prefers his solitude. With any luck, he’ll be alone when we enter the bank.” Ro jumped down from the grub wagon and dusted herself off.

  “Get prepared. We leave in twenty minutes.” Clem pointed at Theo. “You’re going with us this time, Theo. Gear up.”

  Jiminy made his way over to Ro with a grimace on his face. His limp was getting worse, Ro noticed, and that was never good. He was leaning far too heavily on his old cane. She handed him the new one she’d made sure to purchase and he took it in appreciation, testing the strength before tossing the old one away.

  “You sure this plan is gonna work, girl?” He kept his voice low.

  “No,” Ro admitted. “But it’s the best I got.”

  “Are you prepared to shoot?”

  Ro frowned. “I’d shoot if my family was in danger.”

  “Are you sure?” Jiminy came closer. “I see it in your eyes. You’re already feeling guilty, girl.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Ro replied, her voice firm, but Jiminy was always too wise, too perceptive.

  “It always matters, Rowena.” He touched her on the shoulder. “Always.”

  Then he turned and hobbled away to pack up his belongings like the rest of the camp. Ro watched him go, concerned about his words and what they meant. Would she be able to pull the trigger on Boone or King?

  She didn’t like the answer that flitted through her mind.

  “Someone find me a hat!” she shouted, before preparing to ride back to Embertown.

  King knocked on Ro’s hotel room door, waiting for an answer. When none came, he frowned. Steps behind him drew his attention and he watched as Boone came forward, holding Ro’s red hat in his hands.

  “What are you doing here?” King asked, lowering his brow.

  “I could ask you the same.” Boone glanced at the door. “I’m bringing her hat back. She not answering?”

  King shook his head and glanced around. He grabbed hold of the knob and turned, surprised to find it unlocked. He stepped inside and sighed, glancing at the too clean room. Boone pressed in behind him, growling under his breath.

  “Where is she?” he questioned.

  “Apparently, she left.” King frowned and ran a hand through his hair. “I need a drink.” He watched as Boone stepped forward and set the red hat on the bed, as if he expected her to come back, as if she didn’t take off in the middle of the night as quickly as she came. “Come on, sheriff. I’ll buy you a drink.”

  They closed the door behind them and left the hotel.

  Eighteen

  SIX YEARS AGO

  Ro took off the black hat from her head and used it to fan her face, the heat almost unbearable where she crouched behind a large boulder.

  “How much longer do we gotta wait around?” she growled over at Les. They’d been waiting for hours. Apparently, their information had been wrong. . .

  . . .or not.

  “She should be coming around the corner soon,” Les replied, calm as ever, but his eyes portrayed a sharpness at Ro for questioning him.

  “Well, my damned calves are burning,” she grumbled back, rubbing the muscles. Les refused to let any of the crew relax and sit down for fear they wouldn’t be ready when the steam train finally came around.

  The steam locomotive they were expecting should have passed by an hour ago. It was loaded full of aristocrats from the East, eager to see what the West had to offer. If the train came, it wouldn’t offer much. They would be robbed blind.

  Ro preferred targeting the rich. It made it easier to deal with the guilt afterwards. She also never drew blood unless she was attacked. Les did a good job of making sure she wasn’t anywhere near the actual bloodshed. Her job always dealt with the haul, making sure they got everything they could. She’d slowly earned more trust from Les, until he gave her more sway within the crew, but Ro knew that she was on borrowed time. Les was growing increasingly more forceful when it came to urging her to follow his rules. She didn’t agree with all of them, and she wasn’t sure how long she could maintain a place in the Band of Misfits before Les decided she wasn’t worth keeping there anymore.

  She had one advantage, and she was certain it was the only reason she hadn’t been tossed in a canyon somewhere.

  Les “The Croc” Chambers had handed her his heart. He’d made a ceremony out of it and everything. To this moment, Ro can still remember the scent of the human heart he’d placed in her hand when he’d declared that he loved her. She had no idea whose it actually was, but Les had said it was symbolic.

  The heart had still been warm.

  She’d scrubbed her flesh time and time again, but when she went to sleep each night, she still saw the heart. Sometimes, the blood covered her all the way up to her elbows. Other times, her own hand was buried inside a chest.

  Occasionally, the heart was still beating.

  The reason she was still alive, and the reason Les put up with her attitude and disagreement, was because she warmed his bed each night, and like an idiot, she cared for the bastard.

  But those feelings were starting to wear off, especially when she watched him murder innocent people. He had no idea, but she’d started to secretly try and save those he targeted. Only one other in the camp knew her plans.

  Jiminy the cook was on borrowed time just like Ro. Each day his limp grew a little more pronounced, and Ro watched Les eye her friend like a predator, sensing the weakness. She’d warned Jiminy to be careful, and in return, he’d become her partner.

  Ro didn’t want to tell Les that the steam train they were waiting for wasn’t coming. No, the train conductor had received an anonymous telegram that those tracks were dangerous and to take another route. Ro wasn’t looking forward to the moment Les realized his info was wrong.

  “Boss, I don’t think it’s comin’,” one of the men said, staring off into the distance.

  No steam cloud broke the horizon. No whistle rent the air. The desert was still except for the lone tumbleweeds and their movements.

  “It’s comin’.”

  “Steam trains aren’t hours late unless they aren’t comin’,” another man added.

  Ro winced, sensing the growing storm.

  Les stood from his position, and even though he’d been crouched for hours just like Ro, he didn’t even stumble and his knees didn’t pop. Ro figured she’d need help when it was time to stand with how stiff she felt.

  “You got a problem with my plan, Stevens?” Les challenged, his voice more threat than curiosity.

  “No, boss. I’m just sayin’—”

  “I didn’t ask you to say nothin’,” Les snarled. “We wait here until I say otherwise.”

  “Yes, boss.”

  The man, Stevens, had been with the crew longer than Ro had. He’d never been friendly toward her. Still, she didn’t wish for him to suffer the wrath that was coming. Because Les didn’t forgive easily. Betrayal was something he took seriously, and betrayal came in many forms. He’d once shot a man for telling him something tasted good when Les didn’t agree. He’d counted that as betrayal.

  Stevens didn’t even stand a chance. Les gave him no warning. He slammed his fist against the back of the poor man’s head, his face turned away to scan the horizon again. There was a sickening crunch that made Ro’s stomach roil, and she covered her mouth when she saw the fist-sized
divot in Stevens’ skull. He crumpled to the ground, his eyes open, his mouth working like a goldfish. He reached slow fingers toward Ro and she stumbled backwards onto her ass, trying to scramble away.

  Les stared down at his crewman, his face expressionless, before he leaned down and wiped his fist on Stevens’ shirt. The next time he stood, he scanned the horizon, and when he saw nothing, he motioned for the others to stand. Ro stared as Stevens stopped breathing altogether, her eyes wide in horror, before she met Les’ gaze. He was looking at her with those cold eyes, and when he offered her his hand, there was really no option. Shaking so badly she felt cold, she lifted her hand. He didn’t wait for her to grab his. He clamped his fingers around her wrist and yanked her to her feet. Her legs felt like rubber and when she stumbled, he stooped and picked her up, cradling her against his chest.

  “Shh, it’s alright,” he cooed, staring down at her.

  Ro couldn’t look at him. She felt so frozen her teeth started to chatter. Les was getting worse. When would she be the target of his wrath?

  “Everyone move out. It looks like we got some bad information.”

  The five other men with them glanced at the corpse they were leaving behind, but no one moved to pick up the body and take it back to camp. They left him there as food for the vultures and the coyotes.

  “Shhh,” Les cooed again, and Ro’s blood ran cold.

  Nineteen

  Embertown rose in the distance like a mirage, glittering in the dying sun. The sky was painted in vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges, almost like it was showing off for the town. King would still be in the bank, but Boone was the real threat. She’d left his bed in the middle of the night and absconded town. He could be thinking anything, that she left, that she used him, or that someone took her. Hopefully he’d be in the jail and he’d forgotten all about her.

  Ro pulled the brown hat she’d borrowed from one of her crew low over her forehead. She already wore a red bandana around her face. The material helped to keep her from ingesting too much dust that was kicked up by Clem and the others. Alongside her ran three other dinos, each with their own passengers. Theo galloped nearby, and while he kept his pace just a little slower than Clem’s, it helped everyone keep their energy high. In total, they were planning to take Embertown with eight people. It was a heavy risk, but necessary. If they rode in with an army, they’d be spotted long before they got near Embertown, especially when they were on high alert for The Croc from the other direction. This way, they’d be dismissed as nothing more than wild dinos in the distance, or a small band of travelers.

  Ro had made sure to change her clothing, and while she still wore a coat, Clem and her had doused themselves with citrus juice to mask their scent. Dinos weren’t fans of the acidic smell, and it helped. Of course, it didn’t work if someone got too close. She’d worn a skirt in an attempt to hide herself even more. Neither man would expect it from the woman they’d met. Ro had the most risk of being discovered, since both King and Boone knew her scent more intimately. If she got too close, they’d know immediately who she was.

  As they grew closer and closer to their destination, their pace slowed until only a small cloud was kicked up by their feet. When they were just outside of town, they stopped completely, and Ro waited for everyone to shift back to human form and dust themselves off. They checked their weapons, making sure everything was intact, before they huddled together.

  This part of town was mostly quiet at this time of day, since people were either at the saloon or home. Only King worked longer.

  “Y’all know the plan?” she asked, meeting their eyes.

  “By heart.” Clem grinned. “Let’s just hope everything works how we want it to.”

  Ro would walk inside the bank first, draw King’s eyes to her. The moment he realized what was happening, she’d have her revolver trained on him and the others would follow. Theo was on carrying duty. He was the most capable of hauling gold, and they planned on taking as much as possible. Wayne, an Ankylosaurus, was the next hauler, since his armor plates were perfect for such things. He was slower with a load, but he was relatively young and strong enough to handle it. They’d tested him at the camp to make sure. Besides them, they also had Danny. He was no match for a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but he’d help in a fight. Carnosaurs could be lethal in combat if they were smart. He was only instructed to fight them if it came down to it, but Ro hoped to avoid that. The only reason he would need to fight is if King went feral or if Boone showed up. He was only to battle to get to the others. At that point, it was his job to put everyone on his back and run if all hell broke loose. That was their escape plan if they couldn’t get the gold.

  Ro nodded her head and adjusted all her clothing. She disliked the skirt around her legs, but she knew it was necessary to maintain her cover. If they ever wanted to own land here, settle down, then they couldn’t know she had a hand in the robbery.

  “Alright. I’m going in. Remember, wait until I have my revolver trained on him and I hoot, and then follow.” Ro left the bandana around her face, but she raised her goggles up to her hat. They made it hard to see indoors so they’d only be a hindrance if she used them for further camouflage. It was risky to show her eyes, but since they were brown, she hoped they were ordinary enough to prevent recognition.

  Stepping from behind the building, Ro slowly made her way around and to the front of the bank. The place they’d chosen to meet was behind the bank and to the left, close but not dangerously so, not when no one knew they were there. She tried to look casual as she took the few wooden steps up to the door, and when she grabbed the handle with her left hand, she kept her right on the revolver inside her coat.

  The door opened easily and she was relieved to find it wasn’t locked. Going from the brilliant light of the sunset into the bank left her vision a little black for a moment, but when it cleared, it was to see King with his back to her, shuffling through some papers in a filing cabinet.

  “I was just about to lock up,” he said over his shoulder, hardly sparing a glance at Ro.

  Ro left the door open behind her and took three steps in, her boots giving off a dull thunk on the wood floor. She didn’t wait for King to turn around. That would have been stupid. The revolver slipped from her holster as she raised it and trained it on a man she actually liked. Her heart beat a rapid rhythm inside her chest, the guilt clawing its way out.

  No, she thought, it’s a necessary evil. It has to be done.

  King didn’t turn, didn’t even pause in what he was doing, until he heard the click when Ro pulled back the hammer. Slowly, he swiveled on his feet, his hands open at his sides in surrender.

  “You’re picking the wrong bank, woman.” His voice was calm, Ro would have thought him unaffected if it wasn’t for the glimmer in his eyes. He was angry alright. He was just hiding it well.

  “Don’t move,” she growled, attempting to keep her voice more gravelly than usual. She nearly cursed when his eyes narrowed, but he didn’t comment on it.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  He smiled, and Ro nearly dropped her weapon. Instead, she gave one single hoot and the others filled the doorway behind her. King’s eyes catalogued each and every single body. When he took a deep sniff, Ro hoped the citrus juice did its job. His eyes flicked to her again, even though it was Theo who stepped forward and motioned toward the vault.

  “Open the vault,” Theo ordered.

  King didn’t move, and he didn’t look away from Ro. “I don’t take orders from Trics.” He was so matter-of-fact, it almost felt like a rule. “Besides, I’d like the lady in charge to issue the orders.

  Ro’s hand began to shake, just the tiniest amount, and she nearly snarled in frustration. She hadn’t been affected like this in six years. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t she stay calm?

  “I speak for her,” Theo stated, trying again and glaring, but the effect was a little lost with the bandana covering his mouth. It muffled his voice. “Now, open the vault or I’ll
shoot.”

  King’s eyes remained trained on Ro, and with no other choice, she spoke again.

  “Open the vault,” she growled, her voice so much deeper than she normally spoke. It didn’t matter. King’s eyes glimmered and she realized he knew.

  Ro glanced over at Clem. Her partner hadn’t seemed to realize it yet, and Ro risked a glance out the door. So far, no one seemed aware of what was happening, but it was only a matter of time before someone came looking. God forbid one of them fire a gun. The whole town would know they were there.

  “As the lady commands,” King purred, practically bowing to Ro.

  She gulped, and the shake in her hand got a little worse. This is all going to go wrong, she thought. It already had.

  She’d never be able to come back and settle in Embertown. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d come with only a small crew. The others would still have a chance if they wanted. It was over for her, but it didn’t have to be for everyone.

  Virgil King had always been smooth as butter to her, always the gentleman. Even held at gunpoint, his manners didn’t leave him. “You’ll have to move back,” he instructed Theo. “The door is rather large.”

  Theo narrowed his eyes, but he followed King’s directions. King inserted his key into the lock without resistance. Then he carefully plugged all the numbers on the combination, moving agonizingly slow and precise. The rest of the crew started to get uneasy due to how calm he was, but Ro knew different. She didn’t know him, not really, and yet it seemed she was able to read him far better than she expected. King was coiled tight, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness, and he’d probably already figured out that Ro was the weakness. They needed to move faster, get out now.

  “Hurry,” she ordered, almost forgetting to force a growl into her voice. King stopped for a second, but he started turning the handle, and before long, the door opened on silent hinges. Ro kept her revolver trained on King as he stepped aside, and her crew moved toward the vault.