The Unexpected Champion

by Mary Connealy

  “Get in line,” Cam said, sounding like the whole idea suited him perfectly.

  “You know, Raddo killed Abe and Delia,” John said softly. “He’s the one who left Maddie Sue without guardians and little Ronnie without parents. Luther hasn’t really done anything to the two of you. When you got Raddo, you got justice for the crimes against you. Trace is the one who should be here.”

  Penny gave John a disgusted look. “Then why’d you send him to the sheriff?”

  “I already told you why. I just said that because I want you to go in calm, thinking sharp. Don’t let anger get the best of you.”

  Penny nodded. “Good advice.”

  “We’ll come in from two directions. Penny, you stick with me.”

  She obeyed him because he made sense, not because she liked taking orders. But refusing to obey for no good reason made her stupid, and she wasn’t. She slid along behind John. Crouched low.

  Cam led the way, and when they were close to the window, Cam said, “Give me a few minutes to get around back.”

  He went on ahead to find another way in.

  John looked at Penny. “Are you ready?” His hands were fisted until his knuckles were white.

  “Yes, and don’t you dare give Luther even one chance to get the upper hand. If ever a man was completely ruthless it’s Luther Payne.”

  “We agree, then.” John looked all around, alert to any danger, then put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close.

  “This isn’t the time or place for anything but focusing on taking Luther prisoner, or stopping him however we have to.”

  Penny knew John was saying they might come to a shootout, and they didn’t dare hesitate. They didn’t dare give Luther a chance.

  “But, Penny, go in there knowing—that is—I want you to—” John didn’t go on. And she knew what she wanted to hear . . . words of love . . . words of how he wanted them to be together forever. She didn’t push him. She was afraid she’d hear that he wanted her to stay outside and take cover or run for help or some other half-wit thing like that.

  “Let’s go, John. We can talk later when we’ve got Luther and both of those awful Chiltons tied up and draped over a saddle. I’ll enjoy that.”

  He shook his head just a little as if she was the one around here who was ridiculous. “Your brother’s had enough time. Let’s go.”

  John turned to the window, small and about shoulder height. It was locked. He pulled out his little metal tool and had it open in a few seconds. “Maybe we should have gone with Cam and made sure he could get in.”

  “He’ll get in. He can’t pick a lock, but he can put his boot through a door.”

  “I was kinda hoping to go in quiet.” John hopped up, going headfirst into the window. Penny was anxious while he was out of her sight.

  She scrambled after him. The window was higher on her, but before she could begin to struggle, John reached out and dragged her through.

  She looked around as she righted herself. “What kind of stupid room is this?”

  “Billiards. A piano. I think those tables are set up to play poker.”

  “He lives alone. Who does he play poker with?” she whispered. Luther was an idiot.

  “I reckon he saw a fancy room like this somewhere.”

  “He’s short a few dancing girls, or it’d make a nice saloon. All the red and velvet puts me in mind of that.”

  “Probably just what would appeal to him. He had a greedy urge to put one in his own home. Get moving. We can take a tour later.”

  The room was bigger than Penny’s whole cabin would be. Carpeted floors, high ceilings, chairs and lamps. Red flowers on the wallpaper. Red velvet drapes. Gaudy.

  John crossed the room, Penny on his heels. She said, “It’s just starting to occur to me that we might have trouble finding Luther in this huge place. Can you imagine going into Cam’s cabin and having trouble finding someone in there?”

  “Shhh.” John opened the door a crack and looked out. Then he swung it wider and looked in both directions. He caught her hand and pulled her out of the room. They were in a huge entry hall. A stairway was at Penny’s right hand. It swept up with shining oak banisters, to an upstairs hallway lined with doors.

  John didn’t go up.

  He crossed the huge entrance and looked into a room with double doors, wide open. A fancy room full of overstuffed couches and chairs. Penny saw another set of doors that must lead into the far wing of the house. John looked but didn’t go in. Moving along the entry, he came to a second room, this one with its door closed. He leaned close, listening.

  He looked at Penny and barely moved his lips. “Someone’s in there.”

  A gunshot exploded in the back of the house.

  Right where Cam should be. And it wasn’t Cam’s gun. Penny recognized a different weapon. She took a step toward Cam, and John grabbed her wrist, pulled her back, and pressed her against the wall, his body shielding hers. Footsteps pounded from behind the door.

  Penny shoved at John. He met her eyes, then moved away. They both had their guns out and aimed.

  Luther burst out of the room, and John grabbed his right wrist, the one holding a pistol, and twisted it with brutal strength. The gun in Luther’s hand went clattering to the floor.

  Then Luther came up slashing a knife. Without one second’s hesitation, the man stabbed at John.

  John went from still to a madman in the wink of an eye. His arm lashed out and blocked the descending knife. He kicked at Luther’s knee. Punched him, left and right, then brought a fist up so hard into Luther’s chin that the man went down backward into the room he’d come charging out of. Luther hit the floor. The knife skidded right to Penny’s feet. Penny snatched it up. She wasn’t sure how to use it in a fight, but she tucked it in her pack for safekeeping.

  John charged in swinging his fists. Luther had the vicious fighting skills of a dockside ruffian. He rolled over on his back and jumped to land his foot square in John’s gut. John dodged and grabbed Luther as he came in and the two went flying. John landed a fist that stunned Luther, who collapsed on the floor, taking John with him.

  Penny had her gun aimed at the scuffle, but a hard arm wrapped around her neck from behind before she could swing her gun around. Her attacker roughly grabbed her arm and knocked her gun to the floor.

  “Get off of him or she dies.”

  John was on his feet and had taken a step toward Penny when the pistol cocked and jammed into her temple.

  “I mean it. I’ll kill her and then you.”

  The utter panic and rage in her attacker’s voice must’ve been convincing because John stopped.

  “Edmond Chilton.” John stood, staring, shaking his head, arms at his sides, those whip-fast fists relaxed. But Penny saw the cool light in John’s eyes. “I didn’t think you’d even carry a gun, let alone know how to use it. I figured you for the closest to innocent in this whole mess. Let her go, and we’ll forget this. You can run, and I won’t chase you.”

  Penny thought John sounded completely truthful, which just proved what an excellent liar he was, because she knew him well enough by now to know he’d never let any of these criminals roam free. If he had to let Edmond leave Luther’s house to defuse this mess, he’d go after him again.

  “No. I won’t let her go, but if you are really careful, really obedient, when we lock you up, I won’t shoot. It’ll take a long time for you to get out. We’ll collect our grandson and leave the area.”

  Edmond tightened his grip around her neck until she couldn’t breathe. At odds with his violent treatment, he said, “We’ll be good to Ronnie. You have our word. You knew Delia.” Edmond jerked at Penny’s neck to make her realize he was talking to her. “She was a good woman, and we deserve credit for that. Ronnie will be treated well, and none of you gets hurt.”

  John looked at Penny, and she braced herself, preparing to shove at that gun.

  It was time.

  “Another Scott. Good.” Florence came down the ha
ll with a gun held steady in her hand.

  John froze an instant before he’d’ve leapt at Edmond. He’d’ve gotten Penny shot, and himself, too. Now their chance was gone, and the odds were much worse.

  Then Luther groaned and rolled to his side.

  “I shot her brother coming in the kitchen window.” Florence came down the hall from the side of the house where Cam had entered. “I heard what Edmond said. It’s true. We just want the boy. Your brother is unconscious. He staggered into the hall, which made it easy to shove him into that locked closet right off the kitchen. My bullet won’t kill him . . . if he’s lucky.” Florence moved closer until the hallway was clear. Her gun was aimed right at John’s belly.

  “Head down this hall.” She gestured with her head. The gun didn’t move. “You and Penny will go in there with Cam, and we’ll ride away. Everyone lives.”

  John wasn’t sure where Luther Payne came in, as far as killing witnesses. But Edmond and Florence might consider their promise of safety to be only for themselves. Whatever Luther did wasn’t their problem. Right now he was still out of the fight, but John didn’t figure that would last long.

  John started forward. Edmond tightened his grip on Penny’s neck. She grabbed at the choking hold to loosen it—she needed air.

  “I’m cooperating. If you strangle her, she can’t walk.” John’s voice snapped, and he fought to remain calm so he could think clearly.

  Edmond relaxed his hold by the tiniest bit, but it was enough. John saw her drag some air in.

  John went ahead of Edmond and Florence.

  “Hold up.” Florence’s cold voice froze him in place. She took his gun from the holster but didn’t search him beyond that.

  He had gotten most of his hideout weapons back from Cam, but he didn’t dare use them. Not now. John’s mind rabbited around, trying to be his usual smart, fast, and sneaky self. All his plans ended with Penny getting shot, probably himself, too. Cam left to bleed to death.

  He walked ahead of them until he reached a door that stood open to see Cam, sprawled on the floor, bleeding from a bullet in his back, in a closet barely big enough for the three of them. He went in and knelt by his brother-in-law.

  Cam lay facedown, unconscious. John reached for the wound just as Edmond shoved Penny forward hard enough that she fell over John’s back.

  He twisted and caught her before she hit the floor. The door slammed shut, plunging them into darkness.

  Penny hissed, “I have my pack. Florence took our guns, but she didn’t search the pack.”

  “I have come to love that bag you carry around.” John couldn’t see, but he heard her rustling around. A few seconds later she struck a match.

  In the dancing light, Cam’s eyes flickered open.

  Penny took one quick look at the blood, then jumped to her feet and turned to face the back of the closet. She found a stack of cloths on a shelf, grabbed a couple, and tossed them at John. “You bind up his wound, and I’ll do everything else. This is a storage closet. I see a candle up there.”

  John went to work while Penny lit a candle.

  Cam started to come to his senses. “Fl-Florence Chilton shot me.”

  “Yep,” John said. “And Edmond got the drop on us.”

  “John knocked Luther out,” Penny added. “We were so sure the danger came from him.”

  “I wouldn’t count him out yet,” John muttered.

  “Save your strength, Cam. We’re getting out of here soon.”

  Cam’s eyes fell shut.

  “I can’t believe I let Edmond get the drop on me,” Penny said. “I took him for a soft, spoiled layabout. I didn’t think he had a dangerous side.”

  “Maybe the West has changed him. One thing for sure, this solves any dilemma I had about who gets Ronnie. I’ll be his champion, protecting him from those two.”

  Penny glanced over her shoulder and said, “I’ve known you’d side with us almost from the beginning, but it’s nice to hear you say it.”

  She added, “How fast do you think they’ll leave? Then you can pick the lock and get us out of here.”

  “We’re not waiting.” John tore the towel into long strips and used them to stop the bleeding. “They might be right outside the door with a gun trained on it. But they probably think they have things under control and won’t stand guard. If we wait too long, Luther will come around and get back in the fight. I bested him, but he didn’t expect me. This time he’ll be on guard. I hit him hard, though. He’ll be addled for a while.”

  John finished tying off the wound. Then he looked at the bandage on his own arm. “Your brother and I match.”

  “I thought after I bandaged you up, I might be cured of fainting at the sight of blood, but nope.”

  “Let’s go. Cam, can you get on your feet, or do you want to stay here and we’ll come back for you?”

  Cam gathered himself, got as far as his hands and knees, then collapsed again.

  Penny gave him a long look, as if she was being torn in two. But she had to leave him. “Hang on, Cam. We’ll get these fools under control and be back to get you to a doctor.”

  “Be careful, Penny. Both of you be careful.” Cam’s voice was no more than a whisper.

  John was already working on the door. It wasn’t a fancy lock. “Do you want me to lock it behind us?”

  “No point. They’ve got the key.” Cam tried again to stand and slumped flat on the floor.

  A few seconds with that lockpick tool and Penny heard a low snick.

  John opened the door a fraction of an inch, then looked back at her and nodded. “I can hear them talking back in the room where we left Luther. Have you got your pepperbox?”

  The hallway was full of shadows. Night had finally fallen, and none of the lanterns along the wall had been lit.

  Penny nodded, then produced another gun. “You take this. It’s the match to your peashooter. It was in my bag. I’ve got the derringer. Let’s go.”

  John smiled. “You’re a handy woman to have along.”

  He pulled a gun from his boot and gave it to Cam. “Quiet now, and when we get in there, be mindful of Luther.”

  They inched down the hallway slow enough to hear the Chiltons.

  “He’s got a fortune in gold in his desk.” Edmond’s words were accompanied by the soft thud of bags, no doubt heavy with gold. “We tie him up and leave him here, then hit the trail for San Francisco.”

  “He’ll come after us,” Florence whined.

  “He might.” The thuds kept on.

  How much gold was Edmond finding? “Maybe we should kill him. That’d stop him from hunting us.”

  “If we leave him tied up, the law will handle things.”

  “Maybe. But he was going to kill us, Florence. Are you so stupid you don’t know that?”

  Edmond had always been the weaker of the two. Somehow since the last time Penny had seen them, Edmond had grown a backbone. A crooked, evil one, but he had one.

  “Leave him alive, Edmond. So far, we haven’t done anything worth hanging over.”

  “You just shot Cameron Scott.”

  “He might live. If we run, neither Luther nor the law will come after us.”

  “All right.” Edmond sounded disappointed. “Let’s go. Did you get the key to the gate?”

  A low groan told Penny that Luther was still only partly awake.

  “Yes. It was in his pocket.”

  “We’ll steal a couple of horses and be over the Sierra Nevadas by morning. We’ll ride straight through to the coast and take a ship around South America. I think we should head for England, maybe Paris. Luther may dodge the hangman’s noose, but he’s still a man of the West. He won’t want any part of Europe.”

  More thuds clinked. They sounded like the pouches of gold Raddo had in his saddlebags. “That’s the last of it. We should swing by and nab Ronnie, so we can get his inheritance, but I don’t want to stop in Philadelphia to claim it. Besides, that boy’s bloodline is tainted. I’d’ve taken him in
for the money, but I see no reason to worry over him now that we’re rich.”

  Penny wanted to shove a fist into Edmond’s nose. How could someone so vile talk about someone else having tainted bloodlines? She gripped her little gun tightly. She needed to get close to use this, and though she sure as certain didn’t want to kill anyone, if she had to fire, she didn’t want to miss.

  Footsteps approached.

  When they came near, John stepped into the doorway and said, “Drop your guns.”

  He stepped in and to the side. Penny came in right behind him, her eyes on Florence, the old witch who’d shot Cam, hounded Abe and Delia, and paid the Pinkertons to kidnap the grandson she’d always ignored. All for money.

  She remembered Edmond and his new fierceness, but she could only look at Florence.

  “Drop it right now!” John’s voice cracked like a bullwhip.

  Florence’s gun hit the floor.

  Penny hurried to get her hands on Florence’s gun. And to get close enough that hers had some use.

  Edmond’s gun hand came up, and Penny leapt at Florence and drove her backward into her husband. The gun fired as the three of them went down in a heap.

  Florence shrieked and clawed at Penny’s face. Penny wrestled with the screaming woman, getting tangled in Florence’s skirts, and a hank of her hair was pulled nearly out.

  John was on Edmond. With those same wicked punches he’d used on Luther, John knocked Edmond out cold. Then he had Edmond facedown and tied up.

  Penny wrenched away from Florence and fought her way out of the woman’s billowing skirts.

  Edmond was bound tight. John turned to truss up Florence but stopped.

  Penny got to her knees and her eyes followed the line of his gaze to see a pool of blood forming beneath Florence.

  Dropping beside her, John lay his hand flat on her chest.

  “She’s dead.” John rose to stand beside Penny. “Edmond shot her.”

  Penny turned away from the sickening sight, her head spinning. She spent a few seconds letting her belly settle and her narrowing vision clear. Then she stood on unsteady feet . . . to look right into the evil eyes of Luther Payne, standing with a gun leveled on them.