Swept Away (33 page)

Vince? Vince couldn’t be dead. He was the sharpest of them all. Luke wanted to run at Greer, tear his heart out with his bare hands. Right in front of Luke stood the man who’d killed his father and the man who’d hired it done. They’d killed Big John and Vince and hurt Dare bad enough he’d had to leave the fight.

“Just so you know, Greer, I’ve got legal documents in the hands of others proving I still own the ranch. You can’t have a legal deed because I have it. Pa knew trouble was coming, so he sent me the deed with papers signing it over to me. Even if you kill me, you’re going to be run off. I’ve left this land in my will to some mighty hard men who’ll come to claim it with guns blazing.”

That might’ve been true when he’d willed it to his sister and, by extension, the Kincaids. Ruthy was another story, though. Still, he saw no reason to give Greer any hope.

“You stole it when this land was in chaos because of the war. But the law’s coming to Texas and you can’t stand against the whole state.”

“That don’t scare me none.” Greer leveled his six-shooter right at Luke’s heart. “I own the law in Broken Wheel.”

“Where’s the doc?” Bullard looked from Luke to Jonas. “He’s the one knocked me cold. He must be in on this with you.”

“I’ll bet he’s behind my wife disappearing.” Greer took a step forward so he was just a bit ahead of Bullard. The man liked to remind everyone he was in charge. “That means wherever he is, I’ll find her. I’ll never stop hunting. He’ll die for taking her away from me, and I’ll drag her home and teach her a lesson she’ll never forget.”

Greer turned his attention to Jonas. “The preacher too? How’d you convince the preacher to buy into this gunfight? What are you all to each other anyway?”

“We’re Regulators,” Jonas said. “We were in Andersonville Prison together and we came away with a bond closer than brothers. You hurt one of us, you hurt all of us, and there are more Regulators. Not just those of us in town. And they’ll all come riding when they hear Big John and
Vince were killed. But I’m praying we can end this without any more shooting.”

Thinking of Vince, Luke knew they were past that point. Greer and Bullard couldn’t ride away and leave witnesses to this day’s dirty work. Even knowing it was hopeless, Luke let Jonas have his say. Maybe he’d find the right words to bring all this to an end.

“You’re both murderers,” Jonas went on. “Greer, you’re a brute to hit your wife and a marked man for shooting Vince. Vince Yates has friends. You can’t kill him and expect to get away with it. Bullard, you killed Luke’s father, and where’s Big John Conroy—the Texas Ranger who arrested you?”

Bullard smiled. “Was he a friend of yours, too? He’s dead. Any man who crosses me ends up dead. And now you’re going to end up just that way, too.”

“Which one do you want?” Greer laughed.

Bullard raised his gun. “I killed the father, so now I’ll take the son.”

“That leaves the preacher for me,” Greer said.

The sudden crack of a revolver froze them in their tracks.

“Drop your guns and get your hands where I can see them. Now!” Dare Riker, bandaged and bloody, stepped into the livery behind Greer and Bullard.

Luke braced himself, knowing neither of these men would go down easy. He saw Greer begin to stretch his hand out as if to drop his gun, but then he launched himself sideways. For a second, without Greer in the way, Dare was aiming dead center at Luke’s chest.

Dare wheeled around and fired. A line of bullets lit up the smoking forge on the north side of the livery as Greer clawed his way behind it. Sparks exploded into the air.

Bullard dived to the north, firing. Jonas staggered, dropped, and crawled behind a feed trough.

Luke jumped behind a heavy post and returned fire. Horses on that side of the livery reared and whinnied. Bullard pulled a door open and a horse charged out. Luke couldn’t get a shot at Bullard in all the chaos.

Bullard leapt to his feet, still firing. With a running dive he crashed through a window, the glass spraying around him.

Luke rushed out the back door. He wanted Bullard, the man who’d killed his father. Jonas was down, hit. That left Dare to handle Greer.

He rounded the livery. Bullard was waiting for him and fired two shots. But both missed their target because Luke was moving fast. Then Bullard’s gun clicked on an empty chamber.

Luke fired, and Bullard’s gun was shot out of his hand. With a shout of pain and fury, Bullard fell, but as he landed he came up with another pistol.

A gun roared before Luke could fire again. He glanced down at his chest, expecting to find himself bleeding, dying. There was nothing.

He looked back to see Bullard falling forward. He sprawled flat on his face. Dust kicked up when he landed, and beyond the dust stood Big John Conroy—his gun smoking, a grim look in his eyes, his arm in a sling.

Gunfire from inside the livery said there wasn’t even time to be glad Big John was alive.

Big John ran for the front door as Luke raced for the back, reloading at the same time.

Luke rushed in just as Greer slugged Dare in the face. Dare staggered back, and Greer lunged, sending Dare reeling toward the red-hot forge. Both men were unarmed.

A pistol lay on the side of the forge, either Dare’s or Greer’s. The gun was close enough to the fire that the wooden gun butt smoldered.

Greer reached crushing hands for Dare’s neck to give him one last shove into the fire. The sick glow of pleasure in causing pain twisted Greer’s face into something devilish. Dare’s hands flew back and landed on the gun.

Luke raised his Colt just as Big John leveled his weapon. With a cry of pain from the burning weapon, Dare swung his gun around and pulled the trigger. Luke and Big John both fired.

Three explosions of gunfire blasted within a second of each other.

All of them hit Greer dead center. He was knocked backward under the blows of flying lead.

Dare then dropped the gun and clutched his hand. Turning to the water bath beside the forge, he thrust his hand in to cool it.

Greer looked down at three gunshot wounds, all close enough together on his chest that one hand could cover them.

“No!” Disbelief blazed from Greer’s eyes. “I’m the biggest rancher in these parts. I’m too strong to tangle with. Nobody . . . nobody crosses me.” A few seconds later he fell to his knees, and then onto his back in the dirt.

Luke went over to where Greer lay sprawled out. “Texas is a state that tangles with everyone, Greer. You’ve used your so-called strength against women and children. That makes you a coward and a weakling.”

Shaking his head as if his own death was impossible for him to believe, Greer said, “Your pa wasn’t a woman or a child and I bested him.”

“No, shooting my pa was hired out to Bullard. Just more proof you’re yellow.”

“This can’t . . . be happening. I’m in charge . . .” Greer said, his voice growing more quiet and garbled.

Jonas slipped past Luke and knelt at Greer’s side. “What you are is a dead man. If you’ve got one ounce of strength left in your body, you’d best spend it making your peace with God.”

Jonas was right, yet Luke knew with shame he never would’ve been able to say the words, offer this last chance to Greer.

The air was thick with the smell of burning sulfur, the same thing it was said hell was made of. Greer didn’t answer. One last choking protest was the last sound he made before he died.

Dare stood soaking his hand on the far side of the forge. Smoke curled from the muzzle of Big John’s six-gun, which reminded Luke to holster his.

Big John said, “Where’s Vince?”

They all froze. “Bullard said he killed him.” Luke moved first.

They ran out and saw Vince lying on the board-walk, facedown, a pool of blood around his body. Rosie was kneeling beside him.

Luke sprinted toward his old friend. No one could lose that amount of blood and survive. As he reached Vince, Rosie said, “I think he’s going to be fine.”

Luke thought she’d taken leave of her senses.

Dare, only a step behind Luke, dropped to Vince’s side. Gently, with Luke’s and Rosie’s help, Dare rolled Vince over.

“It looks like it just creased him,” Rosie said.

Dare shuddered so violently Luke caught his shoulder, afraid he’d collapse. Even kneeling seemed too much for Dare right now.

“What happened to you?” Luke thought he looked like he’d been through—

“He’s been through an explosion,” Rosie said.

“I’d forgotten about the explosion.” Luke wished he could forget the whole day.

Fumbling at Vince’s neck for a pulse with his left hand while cradling his burnt right hand to his stomach, Dare was silent for too long until finally he sagged with relief. “He’s got a pulse. I think you’re right, Ruthy. His heart is steady. He’s knocked out from the blow of the bullet and he’s lost a lot of blood, but he’ll probably be all right.”

Big John came up beside them. “Bullard and Greer are both dead. Are there more?”

Jonas came walking across the street, his sleeve red with blood. “I left one in the livery’s hayloft and one in the back of the general store under a pile of flour sacks, both of ’em tied up. Unconscious, but not dead.”

Vince was unconscious. Dare was burned and bandaged. Big John was battered and looked unsteady on his feet. And Luke was beat up from his fight with Jesse Ray. Rosie alone seemed to be in perfect condition. And that was as it should be.

Big John looked at Jonas. “You got two by yourself? I ain’t surprised, preacher man.”

“Glad to see you, John.” Jonas gave John a tired smile. “Bullard said he killed you.”

“He had himself a go at it.” John tugged at the sling on his arm. “Is that all of ’em?”

“I left one in the storeroom in Dare’s office. Alive.”
Luke wondered if he had the strength to pick Vince up and carry him to Dare’s for doctoring. Luke was probably in the best shape of any of them—not counting Rosie, but she couldn’t carry this big lug two feet. Luke didn’t say that out loud, though. No sense giving her something to prove.

“Vince and I tied two of them up and stashed them in his office.” Dare ripped a chunk off his shirt to press against the ugly cut on Vince’s head.

No one added any more names.

“That the lot of them, then?” Big John looked gray and none too steady, as if he was staying upright only through iron will.

“I saw six come to town. They broke Bullard out of jail, so seven in all.” Luke hadn’t figured on doing so much arithmetic during a shootout. “All accounted for.”

“We need to send someone to get Glynna from the hideout.” Rosie’s eyes slid from one man to another. “You know what? I think I’ll go.”

She looked to Luke, as if she was asking permission. He had the sinking feeling that this was about as close to
obey
as he was ever going to get from his wife.

“That’s a good idea, sweetheart. You go get them and bring them to Dare’s house. That’s where we’re heading.”

As soon as Luke found the energy to haul Vince over there.

Rosie took two steps and froze when more men rode into town. Luke jumped up to catch Rosie. He decided she hadn’t oughta go out alone.

Big John hailed the newcomers and walked toward them in such a friendly way, Luke’s worry subsided. Then he saw a Ranger star on every chest. He heard Big John give rapid orders. The Rangers split up in the direction of the concealed captives, while others came toward Vince.

A moment later, Dodger rode in from the ranch. He surveyed the situation and dismounted. He had men at his back, all of them armed, coming to find justice for Luke.

“I’m going to help Rosie fetch Mrs. Greer,” Luke said. The smell of gun smoke still hung in the air. This was a hard land. Even a tough Texas wife might run into something she couldn’t handle.

Jonas smiled. “Go.”

Luke looked at his friends, battle weary, wounded, more blood on their hands than they’d had before he’d come to town, and they’d already had too much. “Thank you all.”

Big John didn’t hear him. Vince of course didn’t hear him. Dare was focusing all his energy on tending Vince. That left Jonas.

“‘There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.’” Jonas gave Luke a casual salute. “You’d have done the same for any of us. Go take a walk with your wife.”

Luke took Rosie’s hand in his. He didn’t think he could have stopped himself from going with her even if his friends had asked him to, but he was sure glad they hadn’t. As he reached the corner of the building, he paused and looked back.

Two Rangers picked Vince up with a decent amount of gentleness, considering they were a rough-looking bunch.

Jonas came to Dare’s side and helped him to his feet. Big John caught Dare’s shoulder to steady him. The three of them followed Vince toward Dare’s house.

“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Luke picked up his pace because his strong, energetic little wife was dragging him along, in a hurry to get every chore done that presented itself.

C
HAPTER 22

Ruthy considered herself a woman of great strength and boundless energy. A woman who wasn’t afraid of hard work. A woman who never rested while there was a job to be done. But she was just purely tired to the bone and ready for this day to end.