by Jenna Brandt
“How are you doing, Joe?” she asked, coming to place her hand on his shoulder. “Do you need me to help you with anything?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Quit talking to your husband and get back to work, Mrs. Ringer,” the saloon owner yelled from the door to his back office.
Nadine glanced over at Mr. Weston, then back at Josiah. She leaned down and whispered, “If you need me, I’ll be in the back.”
“Don’t worry about anything, Sugar. Just get back in the kitchen and cook the men some food,” he ordered, slapping her bottom, hoping it would distract everyone and keep them from realizing their odd interaction.
The men cackled around the room, and Nadine’s eyes grew wide with shock. She scurried off, and he hated that he mortified her in order to protect their cover. Josiah went back to dealing cards until the round was done. He decided he better go check on his wife. She was probably furious with him.
“If you will excuse me fellows, I need to visit the outhouse,” Josiah said, standing up and gesturing for the other card dealer to take over his table.
“Or the back. I’m sure you want to get a piece of your little filly while you’re on break,” one of the old cowboys said with a toothless grin. “I would if I were you.”
Josiah winked at the old man, trying to stay in character. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do that, too.”
This caused the group of men around him to laugh even harder. Josiah made his way to the back. He owed her an apology and explanation.
Nadine was angrily stirring food in a pot, mumbling under her breath how stupid she was for taking this job. She looked over at Josiah when he came to stand beside her.
“What do you want?” she snapped. “I’m really busy.”
“They’re here,” he said, knowing she would understand exactly what he meant.
She stopped stirring and turned to face him. “How many?”
“Two, that’s why I did what I just did. I needed to sell the idea that we’re a normal married couple working at the saloon.”
“Well, at least that explains your behavior. I had a good mind to slap you across the face again.”
“Thank goodness you didn’t. That would have definitely blown our cover. I could just see all the other agents back at the office ridiculing me that my cover got blown because my wife smacked me in front of my target.”
“What are we going to do?” Nadine probed. “Should we follow them tonight?”
He shook his head. “You’re going to stay here. It’s too dangerous for you to go on a stakeout. I’ll take the other two agents with me.”
“You mean the two male agents,” Nadine said with bitterness. “Haven’t I proven myself capable enough to warrant seeing this case through to the end?”
“You have, but I can’t imagine what I would do if something happened to you,” Josiah revealed. “I need to know you’ll be safe in order to do my job properly.”
Nadine let out a heavy sigh. “You’re the senior agent; I really don’t have a choice.”
“I’m going to go to the outhouse, since that’s what I said I was going to do, then I will pull the other agents outside to tell them what is going on.”
Nadine nodded. “Be careful,” she said. “It goes both ways. I don’t want anything to happen to you, either.”
He wanted to reach out and kiss her, but they hadn’t discussed what happened the night before. He didn’t want to kiss her without doing that first. Instead, he took off out the back door and headed to the outhouse next to the makeshift jail. When he returned, Nadine was nowhere in sight. Had Mr. Weston forced her to go into the saloon to serve food again? The man sure had rotten timing. Josiah didn’t like the idea of Nadine in there with the gang members present.
Josiah entered the establishment and glanced around the room. She wasn’t there. He glanced at the table and noticed Griffin and the other man were gone, too. He rushed over to the agents and asked, “Have you seen my wife?” The men shook their heads. “What about the men that were sitting right there?”
“They took off through the back door,” Park said with a puzzled look. “What’s going on?”
“They’re part of the gang. I was coming to inform you after I told my wife, but now I can’t find her. I wonder…”
A horrible thought took hold in Josiah’s head. He rushed through the swinging front doors of the saloon. In the distance, he could see two men on horseback riding away, and one of them was holding Nadine roughly by the waist. She was struggling against the man, and he could hear her screams that were becoming more and more faint the farther they got away.
“They have my wife,” Josiah shouted at the other agents who had followed behind him. “I need to go after them.”
“You can take my horse,” one of the regular cowboys said coming out and pointing to his horse that was tied up to the hitching post. “No one puts a hand on our cook. Mrs. Ringer’s the best one the Long Reach has ever had.”
Nadine was also the best partner Josiah had ever had. He didn’t know what he would do if something happened to her. He mounted the loaner horse, with the agents doing the same on two others nearby. “We’re coming with you. You’re going to need back-up.”
Josiah didn’t argue. They were right. He was going to need all the help he could to save his wife. Fear took hold of him, knowing no good would come of Griffin taking her. The gang would either use her for bait, torture her for information, or kill her outright to make a point not to come after them again. Any way he sliced it, Nadine’s life was in danger. He had been so thrilled to finally get the lead they had been waiting for, he had broken his own rule and not made sure the area was secure before talking to her about the gang. His mistake might’ve cost him the most important person in his life. He knew in that moment, he was in love with Nadine, and he was going to do whatever he had to in order to get her back unharmed.
Chapter 7
How could she let this happen? Nadine was smarter than this. Josiah had warned her the gang members were inside the saloon. She’d just never thought they would come into the kitchen and take her.
“So, you’re the Pinkerton’s little woman,” the man with a jagged-scar said, coming into the kitchen, with the man beside him.
Nadine immediately recognized him as Marsh Griffin from her file on the Wilkins Gang; however, she didn’t want him to know she knew who he was. “I’m not sure what you’re prattling on about,” Nadine said, gesturing to the stove in hopes she would convince them they were mistaken. “But as you can clearly see, my husband and I work here at the saloon.”
The man tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes in a way that made it clear he didn’t believe her. “You’re a convincing liar, I’ll give you that, but I heard the end of your conversation. He’s definitely a Pinkerton, not to mention the other two suits out there at the bar. I’m not sure why he would bring you along on his case, but it was a mistake.”
“Like I said, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you better get out of here before my husband or boss see you bothering me. I have a lot of orders to finish tonight. Hungry men are counting on me.”
“Come on, Griff, quit toying with her. Grab her already,” the second man said with irritation.
Nadine eyes grew wide and she realized she was in a bad way. She went to scream but before a sound could leave her throat, the man called ‘Griff’ had one hand around her midsection and the other covering her mouth. He pulled her back hard against his frame, causing her to start thrashing, but before she could get a kick in, the other man grabbed her legs.
They dragged her out of the kitchen, pulling her towards the hitching post. The second man let go of her legs to grab their horses, and Nadine knew this might be her only chance to get away from them. Remembering her training from Amos, she lifted her boot high and slammed it down on the man’s instep. He yelped in pain, loosening his grip on her for a moment. She pushed her body ba
ckwards, causing him to stumble. She let out a scream, but the noise in the saloon was so loud tonight, she wasn’t sure if anyone heard her. She ran towards the front of the saloon, but before she could reach the doors, the second man grabbed her. He placed his hand back over her mouth.
“Sh, now girl, before I put this knife in you to make you be quiet.”
Nadine went stiff, feeling the tip of the blade in her side.
Griff mounted his horse and reached out as the second man handed him Nadine. The man shoved her up on the saddle where Griff wrapped his free arm around her waist tightly.
“I wouldn’t advise you trying to escape again. Next time I’ll kill you. I’d like to keep you alive, but if you become too much trouble, I’ll kill you and leave your body to rot as a warning to your husband.”
Nadine wasn’t sure how much time passed or how far they traveled. All she knew was that her body was exhausted from the fast pace and bumpy conditions of the terrain. The further they got from Rockwood Springs, the more she worried. Would Josiah be able to find her? Her husband had a reputation as one of the best trackers in the agency, but if these men were good at covering their trail, it might not be enough.
They told her not to try to escape, but they didn’t say anything about her talking. Perhaps she could reason with them. “Look, mister, I’m just a naive girl from Boston, who got mixed up with the wrong man. I’m a victim in this situation. You can just let me go.”
“That’s not my decision. I’m taking you to Wilkins. He’ll decide what’s to be done with you.”
“I can promise you I’ll keep my husband from coming after you,” she pleaded.
He shook his head. “Like I said, it’s not up to me.”
Realizing pretending to be in a delicate condition had worked on Mr. Breecher, she wondered if it would have any sway with this man. “Can we stop for moment. I think I’m going to be sick.”
“If you need to puke, do it over the side. Just don’t get any on me,” he ordered.
She shook her head. “All of this can’t be good for the baby.”
The man snorted. “Man, I thought you were a good liar before, but this takes the cake. Look, even if you are pregnant—which I highly doubt since your husband was letting you work in a saloon—it doesn’t change anything. As a matter of fact, you can save all your pleas and lies because nothing you say will change what I’m doing with you. You’re going to be delivered to Wilkins and that’s final.”
The three Pinkerton agents tracked and followed the men from a safe distance. The last thing they wanted was to alert the men to their presence and end up in a shoot-out—or worse, have them harm Nadine.
With each passing moment, Josiah became more anxious. He worried about her and what was going to happen. If they weren’t careful, she could get hurt; he could never live with himself if that were to happen. He had to handle this perfectly so he could make sure she escaped unscathed.
In the distance, Josiah could see a wooded area coming up. He wondered if the gang had been hiding out somewhere in there. It would make sense since the agency had been looking for them in saloons and abandoned farms. If they were hiding out in the woods, they would be much harder to find.
There was a soft orange glow coming from the woods. Josiah assumed it was from a campfire, most likely being used by the gang. The agents slowed up their horses, knowing there was a possibility that the gang had lookouts walking the perimeter. The agents took their horses and tied them to a couple of outlying trees.
“What’s the plan?” Park asked as he pulled out his revolver and checked to make sure it was loaded. He slipped the cylinder shut, then placed it in his holster, then did the same with his other gun.
“We need to sneak in and see what we’re up against,” Josiah explained, grabbing some rope off the horse. “The Wilkins Gang is reported to be made up of five men, but that could have changed. I want to make sure we don’t walk into twice that many.”
“Smart, plus we might be able to see what weapons they have on them, and how they have their camp set up,” Jack said as he placed his own guns back in their holsters after checking them.
Josiah did the same with his guns before they all made their way toward the light. As they got closer, several male voices could be heard, along with a woman crying. Instantly, Josiah knew it was his wife. He had to resist the urge not to barge into the middle of the camp and open fire on the criminals who were upsetting her. But that would likely be signing her death warrant. If they didn’t kill her outright before he could get to her there would surely be a gun fight, and she could be caught in the crossfire. He had to be strategic about his actions, and wait until he could get to her in the safest way possible.
“Listen, girl, I’m tired of listening to you say you’re just a cook. You’re married to the man for goodness sakes; you had to know he was a Pinkerton Agent. You must know how much he knows about me and my gang.”
“No, I had no idea,” Nadine protested, sniffing with a hitch in her voice. “He tricked me just like he did everyone at the Long Reach. I didn’t know anything about him working with those people until I was taken tonight.”
Josiah had to see what was going on. He got down on his belly and crawled closer, making sure to remain quiet and stay out of sight.
“Maybe we need to do a little bit of convincing to get you to talk,” Wilkins threatened as he reached out for her hand. “Let’s start with the fingers.”
“No, please don’t,” Nadine cried out as the man yanked her arm up. He twisted her hand back and forth, looking at something. Josiah realized Wilkins must have seen her wedding ring. “I’ll just be taking this,” the leader said, slipping the ring off. He was about to put it in his pocket when he growled loudly and held the ring out to her. “You’ve been lying this whole time. This proves it.”
“What…what?” Nadine squeaked out.
“Your ring has the same initials inside as the ring we took off that other Pinkerton Agent after I put a bullet in him a couple of months ago. I told the boys to stay away from Rockwood Springs, that it was crawling with agents, but they didn’t listen. Now, it seems we’ve caught ourselves a female one.”
“Why, I never thought I’d see the day; a female Pinkerton Agent,” one of the other men said with dismay.
Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head. “You’ve got it all wrong. Those initials are from a wedding vow we made each other.”
“Oh really, what does PNDA stand for then?” Griffin asked with disbelief.
“Promise New Days Always. We wanted to remember that even if we had a bad day or ended up in a fight, we wanted to give each other a new day to make up for it.”
“You’re right, Griff; she is a good liar,” Wilkins said, almost as if he respected how good she was at it.
“Told you so.”
“Look, girl, your lies might work on a novice, but I’m a better liar than even you. You probably don’t even realize this, but your lip twitches every time you lie. I’m betting that PNDA stands for Pinkerton National Detective Agency.”
“Look, my husband gave me that ring and told me that was what it stood for. You can think what you want, but that’s the truth.”
“Boss, I’m getting tired. Can we go to sleep and deal with her in the morning?” one of the other men whined from his spot on one of the fallen logs nearby. “She’s not going anywhere all tied up like that.”
“I guess you’re right,” Wilkins relented. “Maybe a few hours like this will loosen her lips.”
Josiah was relieved that at least they didn’t hurt her like Wilkins threatened. He wouldn’t have been able to sit there and watch them torture his wife without intervening.
The gang, except one man who stayed on watch, settled down on their mats for the night. It was hard for Josiah to wait, but he wanted to make sure they were good and asleep before they made their way inside the camp. Their first priority was to take out the guard, then they could worry about the rest.
Josiah
gestured for the other two agents to approach from behind while he went from the front. They were so quick, the watchman barely had time to grunt before they knocked him out and tied him up.
Each of the agents moved onto the next nearest gang member, knocked each one out with the butt of their pistol, then tied him up with the rope they brought along. They finished off the last two before securing all the weapons and anything of value.
Josiah made his way over to Nadine’s side. When he put his hand on her shoulder to wake her, her eyelashes fluttered until her eyes locked with his. “Josiah?”
He nodded, lifting her up and making quick work of the binds around her. Once she was free, she threw her arms around him. “You came for me.”
“Of course I came for you. I love you, Nadine.”
“You do?” she asked, the doubt in her voice making him ashamed he’d ever done anything to put it there.
“Let’s grab these guys and tie them up to each other so we can get out here,” the tall agent said. “I don’t like being in these woods. It gives me the creeps.”
“Are you ready to go?” Josiah asked Nadine.
She nodded. “I can’t wait to get back to my bed at the saloon. Never thought I would miss it so much.”
The group made their way over to the horses. Even though they had gagged the gang members to keep them quiet, a couple tried to talk through them. Hearing the grumblings got on Josiah’s last nerve. As the other two agents tied the men to the saddles, he decided, rather than listen to them mumble against the gags, he would pull down the gag of the leader to hear what he had to say.
“What is it?” Josiah questioned in an irritated tone.
“I just want to know; how does it feel standing next to the man who killed your brother and not be able to do anything about it?”
Josiah narrowed his eyes at the other man. “You should shut your mouth, before I shut it for you.”