Blood Blade Sisters Series (18 page)

Chapter Twenty

Leo burst through the door, startling Brynne and Lucy, who were sitting with the baby by the fire.

“Where is she?” Brynne asked. Her eyes were large in her too-pale face. She hadn’t slept since the night of the train heist when Leo and Lucy had returned home, without the gold, and without Cilla.

Leo went straight to the hidden box under one of the bunks where they kept their guns. He spoke while he dragged them out and began loading them.

“Frank has her. He’s got the town convinced that she’s Blood Blade. Told them some ridiculous story about the gold being meant to build a school for the town. And he pinned another murder on her.”

“Oh no,” Lucy murmured.

Brynne shook her head. “The town will never believe that. Even if they think she is Blood Blade, they won’t believe she hurt anyone. Blood Blade has never done anything but help those people.”

“They do believe it. There are too many bodies, the coincidences are too much. They were the ones calling for her hanging. They played right into Frank’s hands.”

“I don’t believe it,” Brynne said, slumping back into her chair. “It just doesn’t make sense. If he says he caught her stealing the gold, then how can he say it’s gone?”

“No one is paying any attention to reason. All they are seeing are dead bodies and their own suffering. And Cilla isn’t helping herself any.”

He slipped his pistols into his holsters and grabbed a rifle.

“What do you mean?” Brynne asked.

Leo paused, a white-hot poker full of guilt stabbing through his gut.

“She confessed.”

“She did
what
?”

Brynne and Lucy were both on their feet, their faces taut with disbelief.

“Why in the hell would she do that?” Brynne asked.

Leo forced himself to meet her eyes. “To save me.”

Brynne stared at him, her chest heaving with emotion. “Just spill it, Leo. This one line at a time bit is wearing thin.”

Leo sat and ran his hands through his hair. “I spoke up. I couldn’t let them just haul her off. I tried to point out how flimsy Frank’s case was, especially about the missing gold. Frank said that I was right, that there was no way she could have gotten away with it herself. That she must have had an accomplice.”

“Oh no.”

“He started to accuse me. Cilla jumped in, said she was Blood Blade, said it had been all her. When Frank pressed the issue, insisted that she had an accomplice, she pinned it on Jake.”

Brynne sat silent for a moment and then shook her head. “So my crazy, too-noble-for-her-own-good sister plans on taking the blame for all of it and pinned the rest on a dead man Frank can’t hurt anymore.”

“Looks that way,” Leo answered.

“Are we going to let her get away with that?” she asked, a small smile touching her lips.

Leo gave her a smile of his own. “Hell no, ma’am.”

“Then I suggest you put away your guns so we can come up with a plan that will actually work. You running in with guns blazing will only get you killed and I could really use your help.”

Leo nearly blushed, a bit embarrassed that had indeed been his plan. “Yes, ma’am.”

Brynne turned to Lucy. “Will you take the baby to Carmen?”

Lucy looked back and forth between Brynne and Leo, then nodded and scooped up Coraline.

“Come on, little one.”

Brynne’s eyes followed them as they left the room. As soon as they were alone, she turned back to Leo. He didn’t meet her eyes. He knew what she was going to ask and he so did
not
want to have this conversation. Didn’t seem like he’d get much choice in the matter, though. If it was one thing the Richardson sisters all had in common, it was a stubborn streak that would try the patience of an angel.

“So. Cilla is willing to stick her neck in a noose in order to save you. You know any reason why she’d do that?”

Leo kept his gaze on his guns, rubbing them down, checking parts that didn’t need to be checked.

“Doesn’t really matter. We aren’t going to let her do it.”

“No. We aren’t.”

Brynne continued to stare at him, her eyes boring into him until it took every ounce of willpower he had not to squirm. Finally, he put down the gun he was checking and stood up.

“Why don’t you just tell me what it is I’m supposed to say so we can get on with the plan to get Cilla out of there.”

Brynne smiled at him. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you? And she’s in love with you.”

Hearing it out loud sent a shard of pain straight through Leo’s heart.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Brynne’s eyebrows shot up. “Of course it matters! Why wouldn’t it?”

Leo frowned. Brynne really did look confused. As if this conversation wasn’t uncomfortable enough. Was he really going to have to spell it out for her?

Apparently, he was. “Because I’m a married man.”

Now it was Brynne’s turn to frown. It seemed to take a minute for his meaning to sink in. Leo knew the exact moment when it did, because her previously pale face was suddenly flooded with color, her mouth a little O of shock and dismay.

“You can’t be serious! Leo, we aren’t married.”

“I beg to differ. We most certainly are.”

“We are not! That ridiculous sham we went through was nothing more than that. None of us ever meant it to be permanent. I don’t see what has changed.”

“Everything has changed. Jake is dead. He’s never coming back.”

Brynne’s face hardened.

“I’m aware of that, Leo.”

“With Jake gone, you and the baby need someone. And we are already technically married. It stands to reason—”

“It stands to reason
what
? That I should stay married to a man who is in love with my sister just so I don’t have to be alone?”

Okay, put that way it didn’t seem as reasonable. But still…

“I would never have said anything. And neither would Cilla.”

“Wonderful, so I would have just spent my life in blissful ignorance while the two of you made martyrs of yourselves for my benefit. Very romantic.”

Leo rubbed a hand over his face. “This isn’t coming out right.”

Brynne then took his hands in her own.

“Leo,” she said, her face taking on that patient, motherly look he’d seen women get when they were trying to explain something to their offspring, “Do you really think any of us will be better off if you and I stayed married?”

Leo started to answer, but she held up a hand.

“I know you will keep an eye on me and Coraline. I know you will always be there if we need you, as a brother-in-law and uncle. That is more than enough. You don’t need to sacrifice your life’s happiness, or Cilla’s, in order to take care of me. For one thing, I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself and my daughter. If I need help, I’ll ask.

“For another, I have no intention of getting married again. Ever. Certainly not to my dead husband’s brother and most certainly not when he is in love with my sister. That is just so sad and wrong I don’t have the energy to even try to unravel it.”

She put her hand on Leo’s cheek and smiled up at him.

“I appreciate the offer. I really do. But no offense—as soon as we rescue my mule-headed sister, I am annulling your ass.”

That startled a laugh out of him. He still felt he should argue a bit more, and he had no doubt Cilla would have something to say on the matter, but he couldn’t help but feel relieved. He leaned down and hugged her.

She let him hold her for a second and then pulled away.

“Now that that insanity is out of the way, let’s figure out how to get Cilla out of this mess.”

…

Leo waited just outside town, hidden in the dirt in the little hidey hole he’d dug the night before. Miguel would have his horse waiting for him at the rendezvous point. Leo just prayed he and Cilla would make it that far.

He tried to calm down, but the chances of this rescue working were slim. And Cilla’s life wasn’t the only one on the line anymore. They needed everyone to pull this off. Which meant everyone was in danger.

They’d spent most of the day previous packing and preparing. Cilla wouldn’t be able to come back to the ranch. In fact, none of them would be coming back. But the baby was still too young to travel far. Carmen had gone on ahead with Coraline, traveling to the next town by wagon. Brynne and Miguel would meet up with them there while Leo, Lucy, and Cilla would get over the state’s border just as fast as their horses could carry them.

With luck, Frank would leave Brynne and the baby alone and would instead focus on following Cilla’s trail. Leo was actually hopeful that Frank would ignore everyone altogether. After all, everything he’d done had been to get his hands on the ranch, which they were now pretty much handing over to him. Leo knew Cilla would be sorry to let it go, but her life, their lives, were much more important than any piece of land.

It was obvious Frank expected them to show up. He’d wasted no time in carrying out Cilla’s execution. The moment her sham of a trial had been over, he’d sentenced her to die—the next day. Which hadn’t given them much time to plan Cilla’s escape.

When all was said and done, their plan was simple. Ride in. Grab Cilla. Ride out. With a few distractions to get everyone’s attention off the main show.

The sky was beginning to lighten, rays of orange peeking out above the mountain range in the distance. It was time. Leo crept closer.

The town didn’t have a gallows, and Frank hadn’t wanted to wait for one to be built. But there was a large grove of trees on the south end of town: trees with high, sturdy branches that would do for a hanging. Leo blessed Frank’s impatience. The copse provided plenty of cover for him, though he kept his eyes peeled. He knew Frank would have his men on the lookout so he couldn’t get too close yet.

Leo fidgeted, readjusting the bow and arrow hanging from his shoulder for the thousandth time. The bow was definitely not his weapon, but he needed it today. And he needed his aim to be true.

The light grew stronger in the sky and he crept out of the small clearing where he’d been hiding for most of the night. A few people were starting to gather near the tree that would be used. Leo was careful to stay out of sight, keeping his eyes peeled for any men Frank might have stationed around.

When he got as close as he dared, he found a spot behind a large tree and hunkered down again. He drew an arrow from the quiver and got ready. This would have to be timed perfectly. Lucy, Brynne, and Miguel were stationed at intervals around town, waiting for his signal.

The crowd grew larger. More animated.

Leo forced himself to breathe nice and steady. Forced himself to think only about the immediate task at hand, not the thousands of things that could go wrong.

And then the people waiting by the tree turned, looked at something, someone. Their shouts grew louder.

Leo tightened his grip on the bow and reached into his pocket for a match. He put it between his teeth and notched the specially outfitted arrow to the string. And waited.

Frank appeared, his hand grasped tight around Cilla’s arm. Her hands were bound, but in front of her, not behind. And her feet were not tied, which was handy. They’d be able to run faster if Leo wasn’t carrying her. Though if they were lucky, Cilla would be placed on top of a horse, rather than a wagon or stool.

Frank led her to the tree, turned to the crowd, and started to spew the same misleading manure he’d fed the townspeople the previous day. Leo gripped the bow so tightly his knuckles turned white and he had to relax his jaw so he wouldn’t snap the fragile wood of his match. Frank gestured to one of his men, who brought a stool over.

Shit
.
Almost time. Almost. Steady. Steady.

He reached for the match between his teeth. A twig snapped behind him and Leo froze. Then came the unmistakable sound of a hammer being drawn back on a gun. Leo laid the arrow on the ground, but kept hold of the bow as he slowly stood.

“Drop the bow, mister.”

Leo bent forward a bit, as if he was going to lay the bow on the ground. He caught sight of Jackson standing behind him. Frank’s goon had his gun trained on Leo, but it wavered. The man was nervous. Leo tightened his grip on the bow. He’d only get one shot at this.

He spun, swinging his bow as hard as he could. The bow connected with enough force that it reverberated up Leo’s arm and knocked Jackson on his butt. Unfortunately, the moron kept hold of his gun. Leo dove for the ground as the gun fired.

Damn it!

He scrambled to his feet and grabbed his bow, bringing it down on Jackson’s head just as hard as he could. Jackson’s eyes rolled back in his head. Leo spun to grab his arrow and ran toward Cilla, making sure as many people saw him as possible.

The crowd had heard the shot and were scattering. Shouts of “It’s Blood Blade!” rang through the streets and Leo smiled behind his black bandana. He pulled his hat with its red poppies tucked in the band a little further over his eyes. He did make a pretty convincing Blood Blade, if he did say so himself. More important, having Blood Blade show up would certainly sow a little doubt as to Cilla being the notorious bandit.

But Frank wasn’t going to let that stop him. Several men were heading in Leo’s direction. Frank was wrestling a now-fighting Cilla up onto the stool, trying to get the noose around her neck at the same time. Cilla head-butted him and Frank stumbled backward. She turned and ran after the men who were coming at him.

“That’s my girl,” Leo mumbled. He skidded to a halt, striking the match and lighting the end of his arrow. The fuse-like tip began to hiss and spit and Leo quickly notched the arrow, aimed for the air above Frank’s head, and let it loose.

Frank pulled himself up and shook his head just as the arrow exploded above him in a shower of sparks with a boom so loud it rattled the windows of the nearby shops. Frank dove for the ground, as did the townspeople who were still gathered by the tree. Leo had only a second to worry why the others hadn’t followed through with their assignments before the first of Frank’s men was upon him.

He swung out, clocking the man on the chin. A second joined them, landed a fist in Leo’s gut before he could dodge out of the way. If the third man got there before Leo could take out at least one of the others, he was done for. He dodged a hit and landed one of his own, knocking out one of his assailants with a lucky punch to the face. And then Cilla was there, jumping onto the back of the third man and draping her bound hands around his neck. She twisted until his neck was in the crook of her arm and then squeezed. The man’s face turned red, then purple, until he finally sank to his knees.