by Rue Allyn
“Because there are witnesses who might stop her. You and I were in the mercantile when she was.”
“True, but if she wanted to steal the parcel, she could have come back later when no one was around. Instead she uses those to pay.”
Ev tucked the earrings into his shirt pocket then shrugged “She’s a woman. Who knows why they do the things they do? ‘Sides, why don’t matter. If you break the law, you pay the consequences. If you’re accused, you go on trial until your guilt can be proven.”
But Boyd’s doubts only echoed what Ev thought all along. Doubts about the Wildcat’s guilt lingered, nagging Ev into wondering exactly who and what kind of woman she was.
CHAPTER THREE
As the moon emerged from its cloudy curtain, Boyd held his gelding to a walk beside Ev’s big bay “I thought you said they were going to head west.”
“Are all of Big Si’s hands as talkative as you?” asked Quinn for the umpteenth time, wishing he’d left the man behind at Brown’s camp. Boyd’s interest in Kiera Alden was clear from the sheer number of questions he asked. However, Ev hadn’t figured on holding conversation for days on end with a man who was more of a greenhorn than Ev expected of a hired gun. Which — much though Ev might wish otherwise — made him think having the other man ride along could be more help than hindrance. Of course, without someone to show him how to go on, Boyd just might hurt himself.
“Nah. I’m just curious by nature.”
“Could you be curious and silent?”
“Sure, when the occasion calls for it, but this isn’t one of those occasions.”
“Says you.”
“Yes I do. Now tell me why we’re going east, if you think the Wildcat is headed west?”
“‘Cause even though Clem Salter and his buddies are snoring, someone else who isn’t might have seen us leave and could tell the Salter posse which way we went. We’ll circle back around west soon enough.”
“D’you think the Wildcat will thank us for keeping the reporter and his friends off her trail?”
“Doubt it. She’s gonna be spittin’ mad when we clap her in irons. The fellas who didn’t catch her aren’t gonna matter much.”
“Too bad. If she was grateful, she might be more cooperative.”
“Woman like that isn’t a biddable woman, so she isn’t the kind you want being grateful or cooperative. She’ll cooperate you right out of your weapon then turn it on you. B’fore you know it, you’ll be taking the manacles off of her and putting them on yourself. Then she’ll throw away the key.”
“That’s a pretty sad way of thinking about women. ‘Sides, didn’t you say the Wildcat was raised genteel?”
“Don’t generally think that way about women myself. But the Wildcat’s not just a woman.” Ev refused to think of her as some young lady who’d gotten herself into trouble. “She’s a suspect in a murder investigation, and I’m going to treat her like one until I can question her. You should too. Safer that way.”
“You think she’ll shoot before we get around to asking questions?”
“I would.”
“She ain’t you.”
You can say that again — and again and again. No, the Wildcat was all woman. He’d seen that right off. During that tussle a month ago and again when he’d gotten a good look at her in the photographs provided for identification by Pinkertons and the government’s survey team. Disguised as a man, she’d worked as one of the team’s photographers — lord knew where she learned that skill — and how anyone could be fooled into thinking she was male was beyond knowing. She’d walked so close to him in the mercantile that he could smell how soft she was, like fine cotton drenched in sunlight. And wasn’t that just about the stupidest thing a man could think. That a hardened criminal smelled good. Who cared what she smelled like, certainly not Evrett Quinn.
• • •
The rising moon gave just enough light for Kiera to place her saddle and bags on the ground in the shadow of a deep, rocky overhang. She unstrapped the buffalo robe she used as a bedroll and spread it out foot end toward the fire Muh’Weda was building. Five days on the trail and one more to go before she could rest her aching backside on a bed of soft furs at the Shoshone community on the shores of Lake Yellow Stone.
“You found us a good campsite.” She had her back to her friend.
“You’d have found it if you were the one looking. I’ll take the horses to the creek for a drink then hobble them for the night.”
Without turning around, she nodded. She didn’t have to look to know that Muh’Weda had left. The man had taught her how to walk silently at all times. Because of other lessons from the Shoshone she felt secure being alone in the wilderness as she’d never felt in either San Francisco or Boston.
She knew how serious her situation was, given the number and types of her pursuers. She couldn’t stay in Wyoming. The Shoshone, Muh’Weda and his family in particular, had been good to her. She wouldn’t bring trouble to them, not when she could prevent it. She’d miss her friends almost as much as she disliked cities. However, she had little choice.
To Big Si, Muh’Weda was just another Indian, and the rancher couldn’t identify Kiera’s friend as the specific Indian who’d taken the horses. So Muh’Weda could safely remain with his people. She, on the other hand, could be identified. So she’d have to hide in the mountains. She knew the country from her stint as photographer for the US Geological survey, and soon as winter set in, which it did early in the high country, she’d be virtually impossible to find, especially if she wintered in Smoke Valley. Come next spring, she’d make her way up the divide and disappear into Canada. Well, that was the future, best to concentrate on what had to be done now. Since they seemed to have eluded her pursuers that meant putting supper together.
The camp was sheltered on three sides, so it would shield their fire from sight and hold the heat. A stream trickled a few yards away. A deer path wandered up and around a gentle slope on the north side of the site, giving easy access to the top of the overhang. As it was his turn, Muh’Weda would spend the night there on watch for pursuers and other potential threats. Still, Kiera doubted she’d get much rest. She hadn’t slept well since she’d escaped from her grandfather more than three years ago. Convinced he’d find her and have her hauled back to Boston, she rarely relaxed, always searching her surroundings for someone who might be following her. Now she knew for certain entirely too many people were looking for her. No, she wouldn’t get much rest tonight.
She removed beans and bacon from one of her saddle bags. Muh’Weda had the pot warming over the fire. She sliced pieces off the bacon slab, tossing them into the pot. When the bacon had sizzled a few minutes, she added water and beans. Then she returned the remaining bacon to her saddle bags and knelt to look for her hairbrush. While she was searching, she heard the small crack of a broken twig behind her. Casually she reached to where her rifle lay beside her saddle.
She could use a knife and trap well enough to feed herself. However, she couldn’t hit anything in motion or hit a target farther than three feet away. The only reason she carried firearms was to frighten away predators, animal and human.
Another sound, like the scrape of a boot over rock. Whoever it was sure was noisy.
Her hand tightened on the rifle.
She pivoted on one knee putting the firearm to her shoulder and taking aim as she moved. “Hold it right there!”
Even in the half-light of dusk she recognized the man with the battered tan hat from the mercantile at Brown’s camp. He had his six-shooter drawn halfway out of its holster and was a lot closer than he should have been. Which meant it was pure clumsiness on his part that she’d heard him at all.
“You draw and you’re dead.” With her rifle pointed at the man’s chest, she spoke loud to make certain that he knew she meant business. She also hoped Muh’Weda would
hear her and come running.
The man lifted his hand away from his holster. “Now, don’t go doin’ anything both of us will regret, ma’am.”
Muh’Weda will be back soon; all I have to do is keep this unwelcome guest too worried to jump me while I wait.
“Set yourself down right there and don’t say a word.” She gestured with the tip of her rifle to where his feet were planted.
In that instant, a hand came around from behind her, ripping the rifle away before she could tighten her grasp. She started to turn but stilled when she heard a click and felt a cold circle of metal press into her nape. Fear slithered down her spine.
“Boyd, get over here and put those irons on her.”
The deep fluid tones sent an entirely different sensation cascading through her. I recognize that voice? “No … ” she started to protest.
“Don’t talk. I sure don’t want to shoot you, Wildcat, but you’re as good to me dead as alive, so I’d cooperate if I was you. Now sit down and put out your hands.”
Lord have mercy, the marshal and his partner had caught her. Guess I won’t have to worry about that anymore. However, she was worried about Muh’Weda. Where is he? Have they hurt him? Didn’t matter. He wasn’t here, and Kiera had little choice but to cooperate. She lifted her arms straight out.
Boyd moved quick, pulling a set of manacles from inside his shirt. In moments, he had them locked onto her wrists.
Only then did the gunmetal lift from her nape. She heard a small shuffle then dusty brown boots and denim clad legs moved past her to stand beside the man called Boyd. She looked up at the men. Quinn still wore the blue flannel shirt and leather vest she’d seen him in at Brown’s Camp five days ago. Even covered in trail dust, he was a sight to make a woman’s heart beat faster. The younger one, Boyd, couldn’t meet her gaze. The marshal dismissed her with a brief glance. He shouldered her rifle and holstered his gun.
She had to get them to let her go. If she could just make them listen to her explanation. “You’ve got this all wrong.”
“I don’t know of a criminal who doesn’t believe the law has got it wrong.” Quinn barely glanced her way then faced Boyd. “Better get her feet hobbled before we turn in. I’ll go settle the horses.”
More fear slipped down her spine, he wasn’t going to listen. With that thought, anger took over from fear. She didn’t care how much of an eyeful he was. He passed judgment on her without ever hearing her side of the story. Beneath all that long lean muscle must beat the soulless heart of an ogre. He was lucky he walked off in the opposite direction from which he’d come or she would have stuck out her foot and made sure he fell flat on his face as he passed. She could have grabbed his pistol while he was down — what she’d do with it she wasn’t certain, but he didn’t know that. The chain linking her two iron cuffs was long enough for her to move her arms with very little discomfort. She wondered what Marshal Holier-Than-Thou Quinn would have done when she held his own pistol on him. Which gave her an idea for how she might get out of this situation, since Muh’Weda obviously wasn’t coming back soon. That worried her more than being locked in irons. He wouldn’t desert her, so what had happened to him? If these two galoots had hurt her friend in any way, she would make certain they paid — and paid dearly.
Boyd approached her with a rope in one hand, an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry Ma’am, but Quinn’s right. We have to hobble you. Can’t have you mobile enough to get on a horse and ride out of here. I’ll need to remove your moccasins.”
He knelt before her.
Kiera nodded but made no move to take off her footgear. “Wait, please.”
He resumed standing. “What for?”
“First I … I, uh need to, uhm … ”
“Oh, yeah. You probably do. I’ll escort you to the creekside. I won’t leave you alone, but I will turn my back.”
“That’s so kind of you Mr. Boyd.”
“Just Boyd, ma’am.”
She held out her manacled hands. “Would you mind helping me up?”
“Certainly.” He grasped her hands and pulled her upright. Still carrying the rope he walked beside her into the brush and trees bordering the creek.
All she had to do now was wait for the right moment to stumble against him and lift his pistol from his holster at the same time. Marshal Quinn could return at any moment, so patience was hard to come by. There, where the creek bank sloped sharply. She’d not only be able to knock him off balance easily but he’d get wet and muddy too. A small twinge of guilt niggled at her. Nonetheless, her life was at stake. If they got her to Laramie, Big Si would see to it that she went through a travesty of a trial and was hanged within the week. She had to escape.
As they neared the bank, they heard the click of a gun being cocked. “Stop right there, and get your hands in the air.” whispered a toneless voice.
She and Boyd lifted their arms.
“Muh’Weda?” she asked sotto voce.
The Shoshone stepped from the brush. “Relieve the man of his pistol, please. Did you worry about me, Dabai’Waipi?”
“You aren’t alone?” Boyd’s question required no answer. “We watched your camp for several minutes before going for you and didn’t see anyone else.”
As she removed the pistol from his holster, Kiera swallowed against the lump that threatened to form in her throat. Her Shoshone name as well as Muh’Weda’s solid presence reminded her of how much she had to be thankful for. Life for her was much more than the threat of bounty hunters and hangings. She had friends. Friends who would help her in just about any difficulty. She ignored Boyd’s remarks. “I missed you too much.”
“I am sorry, but I wanted to be certain I could take at least one of them captive. Thank you for helping, even though you did not know you did so.”
“The other man is Marshal Evrett Quinn.”
Muh’Weda’s expression turned grim. “No wonder they found us. We covered our tracks pretty well. We’ll just have to be extra cautious.”
“Boyd?” The Marshal’s voice carried over the trickle of the creek.
Muh’Weda placed his gun to Boyd’s temple and spoke low. “Tell your friend you’re on your way back to camp from the creek. Be natural. Do nothing to alert him to my presence. Understand.”
“On my way back from the creek. Had to escort the lady on a private matter.”
“Very good,” murmured Muh’Weda. “Now stand up and keep hold of that rope. Lower your hands and walk naturally into camp. Kiera, go ahead of him, as if he still guards you. When you get to camp walk past the Marshal then turn Boyd’s weapon on Quinn.”
“Got it.”
Ev was about to start into the woods, when the Wildcat walked out. He could see Boyd’s tan hat behind her. “You should have waited for me.”
Kiera walked past him arms, manacles and all, crossed beneath her modest chest, as if he were something slimy she didn’t want mussing her clothes. It irritated him that she would act so proud and defiant, as if she’d never committed a single wrong. Petty as it was, he wanted to take her down a notch. He reached out to grasp her arm so she would remember who held the upper hand.
Before he could speak, she drew a six-shooter from under one arm, pointed it in his face and cocked the trigger. “Let. Go. Of. Me.”
Out of self-preservation, he released her and raised his hands palms outward. “Now don’t go getting all excited, ma’am.”
She moved back and to the side, out of arm’s reach to where she could cover both him and Boyd.
Ev kept her in his peripheral vision and turned to Boyd. “What the hell happen … ” He caught sight of the tall Shoshone holding a gun to Boyd’s neck.
“Damn. We thought she was alone.”
“Big mistake, Marshal. Kiera’s my friend, and I’m not letting you arrest her. She’s innocent,
and I’m betting those who aren’t would see her railroaded straight to a hanging to hide their own crimes. Now pinch the butt of your pistol and toss it over there, then lay face down right where you are.”
Ev had little choice but to comply. One glance at the Shoshone showed the man wasn’t bluffing. He’d shoot if he had to. And the Wildcat’s hands were shaking. She was wound tighter than a short fuse on a powder keg. Anything might set her off. Slow and easy, he rid himself of his six-shooter then lay down.
“Boyd,” said Wildcat. “Toss me the key to these manacles. Then you lay down too. Right where you are.”
Ev watched as the gunman followed instructions and as Wildcat’s moccasins strode over to the key now lying in the dirt.
She picked it up, removed the chained cuffs, and walked back to stand a bit more than an arm’s reach beside him. “Put your hands behind your back.
Ev considered grabbing her the minute she came close, but she was smart enough not to get into the Shoshone’s line of fire. The manacles closed over his wrists and determination overtook him. She’d live to regret the day she treated him like the criminal he was coming to think she wasn’t.
However, Wildcat hadn’t finished. She left Ev’s line of sight, and seconds later, he felt a rope knotted tight around his ankles. He couldn’t see, but he could imagine. A few quick twists and he was effectively hobbled, completely unable to move freely about the campsite. She hadn’t made a single mistake so far — other than to get into his black book — so he doubted he’d be able to work the knots loose. He’d try, nonetheless, just as soon as the two let down their guard.
“I’ll keep an eye on these two,” said the Shoshone. “You go find their horses. Check to see if they have a second set of manacles for Boyd.”
Ev lifted his head, but all he saw was Wildcat walking away in the direction he’d taken when he’d left her with Boyd. He’d warned the gunman that she was dangerous. I never should have left the two of them alone. Ev had learned his lesson. Boyd might be deadly with a gun, but he was too green to be relied on to think for himself. That woman was more dangerous than a sidewinder. At least a rattler gave you warning when it was going to strike.