Page 36

Chapter Twenty-Seven

F aye glowered at her brother as he untied the cloth from around her mouth. “If you want to kill me, just get it over with.”

“I don’t want to kill you,” Wilson told her.

Faye glanced out of the small doorway and saw that the owner of the place was talking to Lee. “Why not?” she asked. “It would put me out of my misery.”

He pulled up a wooden crate and sat across from her.

“You raised me after Ma died. Pa was too drunk to do anything. You were the one who took in laundry and did the cleaning so we had a place to live and food to eat. You told me stories at night when I had bad dreams. You took care of me when I was sick. I owe you my life.”

The way he had thanked her by going into a life of crime made her laugh bitterly. “I didn’t realize you cared.”

“I do care. I always cared. I care about you. I care about Lee. He was there for me all those years, too. When all the other kids made fun of me, he stood with me. I know where my allegiance is. I don’t sway from it. Now, everyone else…” He shrugged. “I have no duty to protect them.”

She glanced at the owner of the store. Too bad he wasn’t close enough to hear this.

She bet that once her brother was finished with Quartzsite, he would kill the owner and the other two men who had tied her up in here.

She had a mind to warn the owner, but he’d never believe her.

Besides, he wasn’t any better than any other outlaw since he was helping her brother and Lee.

“After Lee and I get the treasure and make sure no one is going to stop us from leaving town, I’ll come back here and let you go,” Wilson assured her. “I only want you out of the way.”

She rolled her eyes to let him know she didn’t care.

She doubted Blaze would be able to take on all five of these men.

If she could, she would warn him that three men had aligned themselves with her brother and Lee.

Then Blaze would be prepared. But she had no way of doing that.

It was very likely her brother and Lee would—once again—get away with their crimes.

And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

“Don’t look so glum,” Wilson told her. “You made an honest effort. No one can fault you for trying.” He gave her knee a comforting pat then stood up so he could tie the cloth back around her mouth.

“I have to hand it to you, Faye. You’re smarter than any other woman in these parts.

I admire the way you take care of yourself.

But then, I shouldn’t be surprised. You were always resourceful.

I know you won’t take any money, so I won’t give you any of the treasure.

However, I do have this.” He dug into his pocket.

She turned her head so she wouldn’t see what he wanted to show her, but he remained in place.

She let out a sigh. Apparently, he wasn’t going to leave until she looked.

She rolled her eyes again then directed her gaze to the thing he was holding.

At once, she blinked in shock. It was their mother’s cameo.

“I found it at a shop last year,” he said. “The man didn’t realize how much this thing is really worth. Sold it to me cheap.”

He hadn’t just stolen it? Faye didn’t know what to think about that. She also didn’t know what to say about the cameo itself. She hadn’t been able to keep any of their ma’s things since their pa had sold everything for liquor.

Wilson tucked the cameo into the pocket of Faye’s shirtwaist. “Ma would want you to have this.”

Despite her best attempts to remain neutral in front of him, a tear slid down her cheek.

“I know,” he whispered. “I miss her, too.”

Then he left.

“Are you certain that no one matching the description of those two people has been in here?” Zeke asked the saloon owner.

The saloon owner shook his head as he poured whisky into a shot glass. “I’m telling you that I haven’t seen the kind of men you’re describing, and not a single woman has been in here. I don’t know where your friends are.”

Zeke held back the reminder that he hadn’t referred to them as his friends.

He didn’t trust Faye to think of her like that.

He liked Blaze well enough, but he wasn’t sure if they were friends.

He had, after all, married the woman Blaze had been betrothed to.

But he had more important things to worry about at the moment.

The sheriff was certain Lee and Wilson would be in town this evening, and the sun was already starting to set for the night.

The saloon owner gave the shot of whiskey to the man a couple of chairs down from Zeke. “You should be able to make it to Granite Wash Mountains in two days if you leave early tomorrow morning,” the owner told the man.

The man nodded his thanks and picked up the shot glass. “The mining out there is producing such great results, I have to deliver more dynamite to blow up more holes into one of the mountains.”

“Where did you put the dynamite?” Zeke asked the man.

The man finished swallowing his whiskey and blinked at him in surprise. “It’s in two of my barrels on the wagon. Why? Is there a problem?”

Zeke hesitated for a moment then decided he should issue a warning.

Besides, the sheriff was already going around town telling everyone to stay indoors in case there was a shootout.

He pulled his deputy’s badge out of his pocket and slipped it in place.

“I’m Deputy Zeke Ritter from Flagstaff, and I have good reason to believe Lee and Wilson will be in town before the day is up. ”

A silence fell over the saloon as the men who were playing cards at a nearby table looked his way.

“Are you working with the sheriff?” the owner asked after a moment.

Zeke nodded. “Sheriff Hoff noticed my badge when I came into town. We worked on a plan to apprehend them.”

“Why not just shoot them on the spot?” one of the men from a table called out. “They’d hang before a judge anyway.”

“The lawman’s job is to bring the outlaws before the judge,” Zeke pointed out. “The court is where justice is served.”

Another man scoffed. “Sounds like someone is yellow.”

“I’m not yellow,” Zeke argued, thinking that—of all places—Quartzsite should be safe from ridicule. Pushing aside his irritation, he added, “I’m a lawman. I’ll shoot if I have to, but I prefer to keep things peaceful whenever possible.”

A couple of the men rolled their eyes.

“Leave him be,” the saloon owner told them.

“I know Hoff, and if he’s working with Hoff, I want to help.

The last thing I need is for Lee and Wilson to come through here and shoot the place up.

” His gaze went to the man at the counter.

“You should move that wagon full of dynamite away from the saloon.”

“Alright.” The man hurried out of the saloon.

The owner asked Zeke, “Is there anything you want me to do?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get up on your roof and get a look around town,” Zeke replied.

“You’re welcome to it.” The owner led him toward the back of the saloon, opened the door, and pointed to the ladder that would take him to the roof. “I hope you and Hoff get those two. Arizona will be better off without them.”

“We’ll do our best.”

The owner shut the door, and Zeke climbed the ladder.

Fortunately, the saloon was taller than most of the other buildings in town.

It was also on the corner of the street, which was why the sheriff had selected it.

At the rear of the saloon was the path that led to the schoolhouse.

Behind the schoolhouse was the cemetery Sheriff Hoff had told him about.

Unfortunately, the back of the schoolhouse wasn’t in his direct view. That was a shame. He had no way of knowing if someone was already back there or not.

Zeke crossed the roof until he was looking at the businesses that lined the dusty road across from the front of the saloon.

To his left was an adjacent building with a lower rooftop.

No one was on it. To his right was another street, and the bank was on that corner.

The roof of the bank was as high up as the saloon’s roof.

Zeke heard a man calling out for someone from below to watch where he was going.

Zeke’s attention went to the street in front of the saloon.

He saw the man moving his wagon with two barrels of dynamite powder to a dress shop that was directly across from the saloon.

The man pulling the wagon was being yelled at by a man riding a horse who was in his path.

Zeke considered calling out to the man who was riding a horse that he should get indoors, but the man urged his horse to go at a faster pace down the street and was soon out of sight.

The man pulling the wagon parked in front of the dress shop.

Zeke groaned. When he’d told the man he needed to move the wagon, he’d meant for the man to go a lot further away from the saloon than that!

Zeke thought about issuing another warning, but he caught sight of a man moving on top of the roof of the dress shop. Zeke crouched behind the parapet on the saloon roof so the other man wouldn’t see him.

After a moment, Zeke peered around the parapet and took another good look at the man.

He had seen him before. It took a moment, but then Zeke remembered where he’d seen the man before.

That man had been one of the two men who’d been in the store looking at a catalogue while Faye was buying those small knives.

The man, thankfully, had not noticed him.

The man’s attention was on the schoolhouse.