Outlawed!

by BJ Daniels

  “Where are we supposed to meet Buck?” she asked.

  Angel pointed toward the mountains. “Near Johnson Gulch Lake.”

  Johnson Gulch Lake? That was where the sheriff’s posse and Jared were searching for him. How had Buck gotten himself into so much trouble that he had to hide from the law? And how much did Angel know about Buck and his double life? Delaney wondered. “Did you know that Buck has been running a small portable gold dredge in the lake nights?” she asked.

  “Buck has?”

  Angel seemed genuinely surprised. Maybe she hadn’t known. “Someone was helping him,” Delaney said. “Do you have any idea who that might have been?”

  Angel stared at the road ahead. “The only person I can think of is Jared Kincaid.”

  “Jared?” Delaney tried to imagine the sheriff in scuba gear.

  Angel shrugged. “Jared was real interested in what I found out about gold on the Rockin’ L,” she said. “He told me stories about the mother lode. I guess there’s some gold on his property, but not the mother lode.” Her painted red nails went to her lips. “What if that’s it? What if Buck and Jared had been doing the dredging in your creek and Jared double-crossed him and that’s why Buck’s hiding now.” She frowned. “Why else would Buck hide from the sheriff?”

  Buck and Jared? Delaney had just assumed that Buck had been hurt last night trying to get away from her and Cooper. That’s why he’d left his horse. Now she wondered if he had been double-crossed. But by Jared? Could Jared be that greedy for money that he not only was making deals with mining companies, but he was dredging her creek at night?

  Delaney glanced back to make sure no one was following them, and frowned. It struck her: what was a writer doing with a cargo van? That’s when she noticed the floor in the back was wet with water and sand. Her heart hammered, pulse rising with more than apprehension.

  Angel glanced in her rearview mirror, then smiled as she saw what Delaney was looking at. “You caught me. I’ve been doing a little gold panning. Jared showed me how. But all I’ve found so far is fool’s gold.” Her smile faded. “Oh, no, you don’t think the buckets of gravel and sand that Jared gave me were from your creek, do you?”

  “Where did Jared say he got the gravel?” Delaney asked, trying to still her growing fears. Angel had used the van to carry the dredging equipment. How much more was she lying about? Delaney watched the country whiz by, wanting out of the van, not knowing how to accomplish that.

  “I didn’t even think to ask,” Angel admitted.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Delaney told her, noticing that Angel had taken the old mining road. Surely Buck wouldn’t hide up here so close to where the sheriff and his men were searching unless—

  “You’re sure Buck isn’t hurt?” Delaney asked.

  Angel flipped her a look and Delaney realized if Buck was hurt badly he couldn’t have gotten to a phone.

  “I’m just surprised he’s hiding up here, so close to the lake, so close to where Jared and the posse are searching for him,” Delaney said, assuring herself her fears couldn’t be justified. Angel wouldn’t take her to the lake where Jared and the posse would be searching if she intended to harm her. So why didn’t Delaney feel reassured by that? Why was this woman frightening her so?

  Through the trees, Delaney spotted Johnson Gulch Lake, glistening in the sunlight. “I’m sure Buck will explain everything,” Angel said, making Delaney wonder if that was true. If they were going to see Buck. Or someone else. Jared? Angel said Jared was teaching her to pan gold. Surely Angel and Jared hadn’t gotten together to—To what? Delaney thought. Steal her ranch? What would a historical writer want with the Rockin’ L, a horse ranch, when she didn’t even ride, didn’t seem to have any interest in horses. To steal her gold? The thought hit her like a rock upside the head. That’s what Angel and Jared had in common. Angel, Jared—and Buck. Gold.

  As Angel brought the van to a stop, a pile of papers and books slid from under the seat. Delaney picked them up without thinking. She looked down at the papers and books she held in her lap, then toward the lake. Her fear level increased drastically. There were no other vehicles up here. Where was the posse Jared had assured her was out looking for Buck? And where was Jared?

  “What is it?” Angel asked.

  Delaney shook her head. “Nothing.” She tried to smile but had trouble meeting Angel’s gaze. Warning signals were going off in her head. Only, Delaney didn’t understand why. What could she have to fear from Angel? Even if Jared and Buck had been stealing gold out of her creek and Angel knew about it, Angel had nothing to gain by hurting her.

  “Here, I’ll take those,” Angel said, reaching for her research materials.

  As Delaney handed them over, one of the books slipped out and fell to the floor. Several pages fluttered out of the worn binding.

  “I’ll get it,” Angel cried.

  But Delaney already had it in her hand. Had already seen the writing and recognized it as the old prospector’s diary she’d looked at in Angel’s cabin. Only this time she saw the name. She gazed up at Angel in confusion. “This is Gus Halbrook’s diary.”

  COOPER SEARCHED the photographs, trying to find another picture of Gus Halbrook. The only other one he’d seen was that dilapidated thing Digger had tried to show him at the hospital.

  As he hurried through the album, Cooper kept telling himself that finding a spur in the lake that belonged to Gus Halbrook meant nothing. Gus hadn’t come back from the dead. Then suddenly Cooper stopped flipping pages. He stared down at the one semiclear photograph he could find. His heart thundered in his ears. His fingers shook as he looked from Digger’s smiling face to that of his best friend’s, Gus Halbrook. Gus looked up at Cooper from over the decades, his face unsmiling. “My God,” Cooper breathed. Why hadn’t he seen the resemblance before?

  Chapter Twenty

  Cooper pulled the photograph out of the album and held it up to the light. Digger and Gus stood in front of a large, old, weathered boulder. In the background, Cooper could make out a gnarled ponderosa and, to the left of it, what looked like an opening in the rocks. The Golden Dream?

  He stared at the photograph, his gaze returning to Gus. A tremor of fear surged through him as he dropped the photo of Digger and Gus. It fluttered to the floor. He had to find Delaney and warn her. He only hoped it wasn’t too late.

  “McLeod?”

  Cooper spun around to find Jared in the open doorway.

  “I knocked, but you didn’t answer,” he said, stepping into the living room. He glanced from the scattered photo albums to Cooper.

  Cooper noticed the sheriff’s hand was resting on his holster.

  “What’s going on in here? Where’s Del?”

  Cooper gave him his most innocent shrug. “I’ve been looking for her myself.”

  Jared shot a brow up. “And just where exactly were you looking for her? Her pickup’s parked outside and her horse is down at Buck’s—saddle is on the fence. And you’re in here looking at pictures.” He eyed Cooper for a moment. “And I see you’re all packed up like you’re planning on going somewhere.”

  “What’s her horse doing at Buck’s?” Cooper demanded, trying to imagine why Delaney would ride to Buck’s, unsaddle her horse and leave it there. Unless Buck had returned. Or someone else came by—

  ”That’s what I’d like you to tell me,” Jared said.

  Cooper noticed he flipped the tab off on his holster and settled his hand on the pistol handle.

  “First Buck was missing. Then Digger. Now Del—”

  “Was missing?” Cooper asked. “You found Buck?”

  “That’s what I came to tell Del. We’ve called off the search. Buck’s fine. He fell off his horse last night. He’s with Angel. Now, what I want to know from you is what you’ve done with Del.”

  “Wait a minute, how did Buck explain what he was doing at Johnson Gulch Lake last night?” Cooper asked.

  Jared let out a sigh. “Never mind Buck. I just got a call
from Del’s attorney. It seems you work for a company by the name of Rattlesnake Range. I think you’d better tell me what’s going on here, McLeod.”

  Cooper watched Jared’s hand, wondering just how little it would take to provoke the sheriff into shooting him. Very little, he decided. “I used to work for Rattlesnake Range. I quit. But Delaney knows all about that.”

  “Sure she does. Why don’t we just ask her about that when we see her.” Jared pulled his pistol and pointed the barrel at Cooper’s heart. With his other hand, he reached for his handcuffs. “I think you’d better come with me. Peacefully, of course.”

  Cooper raised his hands slowly. “We don’t have time for this right now, Sheriff. We’ve got to find Delaney. And warn her.”

  “Warn her about what, McLeod?” he asked.

  His trigger finger looked a little too itchy. Cooper wondered how deep Jared was in this mess. And how much it would be safe to tell him.

  “Gus Halbrook,” Cooper said. “Digger was right. Gus is back from the dead and after revenge. And unless I miss my guess, Delaney is his target—and always has been.”

  ANGEL SMILED as she took the diary from Delaney’s trembling fingers. “You didn’t know Gus kept a diary?” she asked, turning in her seat to face Delaney. “He wrote in it right up until the day of the cave-in. It makes for very interesting reading.” She pushed her sunglasses up onto her hair and settled her gaze on Delaney. “He wrote about the people who were trying to steal his gold. He was tormented with their plots to take what he’d worked so hard for. Toward the end, he feared for his very life. And rightly so, as it turns out. He would have been seventy-seven this fall, if he’d still been alive, of course.”

  Delaney stared at Angel as if she’d never seen the woman before. In a way she hadn’t—not this woman at least. Angel looked so different with her hair pulled back and no makeup. It was the eyes, Delaney realized. They were no longer deep green but a pale, pale green. “The damnedest eyes you’ve ever seen.” Digger’s words jarred Delaney’s memory. She blinked and sat up a little straighter. Her heart rate soared as realization set in. Fear rippled through her. Cooper, her heart cried out. If she was right about this woman, Delaney knew she might never see him again. She had to do something. And quickly.

  “What’s Cooper doing here?” Delaney bluffed, gazing past Angel to the window behind her.

  Startled, Angel spun around to look. Delaney threw open her door and ran.

  “GUS?” JARED FROWNED and stepped back. “You’re not going to try to tell me Gus’s ghost is who’s been causing all the trouble around here, are you, McLeod?” He shook his head. “Everyone knows how Rattlesnake Range operates. All those accidents. I think you’d better move away from that coffee table. Put your hands behind your head and spread ‘em on the floor.”

  Cooper stared at Jared. Why hadn’t he realized it before? No one outside of Rattlesnake Range knew how the agency operated. Jared wouldn’t know unless he had either hired them—or worked for them! It was like a light going off in his head. No wonder Rattlesnake Range had hired a local. The sheriff was the perfect person.

  But right now Cooper’s only concern was Delaney. If her horse was at Buck’s—“Listen to me, Kincaid, I think I know what’s been going on around here—”

  “Yeah? Well, I think I know what’s been going on about here,” he said, as he moved closer. “You’ve been using those scare tactics, something you Rattlesnake Range people are known for, huh? But maybe this time you went too far and I got me a murderer on my hands.” Jared kicked the coffee table out of the way. “Get on the floor, McLeod.”

  Cooper stared at the sheriff, having watched him work himself up to the point where he could—what? Kill someone? Jared didn’t really believe Cooper had killed Delaney. In fact, Cooper thought just the opposite. Jared was looking for a way to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was Delaney’s ranch. Unless Cooper missed his guess, Jared had made a deal with the mining company that involved Delaney’s spread. Without Delaney’s ranch, the deal would fall through.

  But it still didn’t add up. How would killing Cooper get Jared Delaney’s ranch? Cooper felt a cold sliver of fear pierce his heart. Unless Delaney was dead, too. And it appeared that Delaney’s ranch hand had killed her. Then Ty would get the ranch and gladly sell it to Burton Mining.

  “On the floor, McLeod,” Jared shouted, bracing the pistol with both hands. “Or you’re a dead man.”

  Cooper dropped to his knees.

  “All the way down,” the sheriff yelled.

  Cooper looked at Kincaid, saw the way his gun hand shook, saw the scared expression in his eyes and knew Jared planned to kill him. The only chance Cooper had was a slim one and the very last one he’d take under normal circumstances. But Delaney was out there somewhere, her life in grave danger from either a lunatic or a murderer. Or both. He had no choice. Cooper let out a piercing whistle as he flattened himself to the floor.

  Jared jerked back in surprise. “What the hell? You dumb rodeo cowboy, son of a—”

  Crazy Jack burst through the screen door in a shower of splintered wood and ripped screen. Jared swung around, pistol first, his trigger finger way beyond nervous. Cooper grabbed the edge of the coffee table and swung it around on the hardwood floor. The table hit Jared about midcalf and dropped him like a sack of grain. But not before Cooper’s fears were realized. Jared got off one shot.

  DELANEY’S ONLY ESCAPE was straight up. She scrambled up the rocky bluff next to the van, hoping that once she reached the top and dropped over the rim, Angel wouldn’t be able to find her. She doubted the woman could climb the rocks fast enough to catch her. Running toward the lake or down the road would only allow Angel to chase her in the van.

  Delaney was almost to the top of the rock bluff, when the first pistol shot ricocheted off a rock to her right.

  “Don’t make me kill you,” Angel called from below.

  Delaney climbed higher, frantically trying to reach the last few rocks that rimmed the bluff. The second shot hit closer and on the left. Rock chips stung Delaney’s bare arms. Several cut her face. She felt blood trickle down her cheek as she clung to the rough boulders, her arms weak with fear and exertion. She fought to catch her breath, her heart pounding in her ears.

  “Keep going and the next shot will be in your back,” Angel said, anger and bitterness making her voice hard as the rocks around them. “Have you forgotten? Buck is waiting for us. You don’t want to let Buck down, now do you?”

  Delaney looked up at the rock bluff, estimating her chances of getting out of Angel’s line of fire before the woman could get off another shot. They weren’t good. And Angel knew it. “I’m coming down.”

  “Wise decision,” Angel said. “Back down slowly,” she instructed. “And please, no rock slides. They’re very unpredictable and not all that reliable.”

  When Delaney reached the ground, she turned to face Angel, and the barrel end of the pistol the woman held pointed at her chest. Where was Jared and the posse who were supposed to be searching for Buck? Was Jared part of this, just as she’d suspected? She fought the feeling that she was alone on this mountain with a madwoman. And Buck-the traitor who’d helped Angel set her deadly trap.

  By now Cooper would be packed up and off the ranch. Just as she’d ordered him. She closed her eyes, fighting tears of defeat. “Who are you? You aren’t Angel Danvers—the writer.”

  “Actually, I am. That’s how I stumbled across Gus’s diary—researching a historical piece on the Halbrook family. I’m just not the blond bimbo you thought I was.”

  Angel frowned as Delaney opened her eyes. “What gave me away?” Her hand went to her hair. She felt the sunglasses she’d pushed back onto the top of her head and smiled. “The eyes. A family legacy. All that my grandfather had to leave me.” She laughed at Delaney’s expression. “That’s right. I’m Gus’s granddaughter. Angel Halbrook Danvers. Gus had a young woman hidden away in Helena. She’s the one who had his diary. Unfortunately, she
died in childbirth.”

  “It’s been years since I’ve seen a photograph of Gus,” Delaney said. But now that she’d seen Angel’s eyes, she remembered that haunting look of Gus Halbrook’s. “The resemblance between the two of you is remarkable.”

  Angel smiled. “Digger saw it right away. The old fool thought I was my grandfather. I really wish I’d known Digger was crazy, before I tried to kill him the second time. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.”

  “How could you do that to a harmless old man?” Delaney demanded, her heart breaking at the thought of this woman hurting the prospector. “Your grandfather was his best friend. Digger has never gotten over Gus’s death.”

  Angel let out a snort. “And why do you think that was? Because Digger and your grandfather, Del Henry, killed Gus. Murdered him in the Golden Dream.”

  “That’s not true,” Delaney cried, feeling a little of her old fight come back. “Gus got himself killed in a cave-in. He thought he’d found the mother lode. He went crazy in that mine. Just as Digger did watching it happen to his best friend.”

  “We’d better not keep Buck waiting any longer,” Angel said, her eyes as cold as the river ice in winter.

  Delaney looked toward the mountainside. “I can’t believe Buck would fall for your lies.”

  “Why not? You did,” Angel said, jabbing Delaney in the ribs with the pistol.

  Delaney took a breath, heart pounding. “You’re the one who’s been trying to kill me?”

  “If I had wanted to kill you, I could have. No,” Angel assured her, “I just wanted to torture you for a while. The way your grandfather tortured mine before he killed him. I wanted you to see what it was like to know someone was after you.”

  “And Buck? What part did he play in all this?” Delaney said.