Fate's Intervention (51 page)

“
Yeah,
I can handle her
,
”
he said far more confidently than he felt.

“
Good,
”
Deke said, stopping in mid-stride. He moved to the side of the walkway and leaned against the side of a building, his eyes pinned to the doorway of the jewelry store.
“
Now we wait again. Damn, I hope they finish shopping soon. I
’
m getting sick and tired of waiting on
‘
em, and damn hungry too.
”

“
That
was right nice of
‘
em,
”
Deke smiled, as the carriage drove out of sight.

“
What was?
”
Pablo asked, munching on a piece of jerky.

“
Looks like they
’
re gonna let the carriage go on ahead of
‘
em.
”

“
What
’
s so great about that?
”
Pablo asked, watching as the man saddled the horse for the woman, then stepped back to help her mount.

“
It just means that there will be one less person to tangle with and one less witness to shoot, if it comes down to it.
”

“
Killing is killing, hombre,
”
Pablo said, signing the cross.
“
The
law can
’
t kill you more times than once, no matter how many people you take down.
”

“
That
’
s
always a good thing to know, Pablo,
”
Deke said sarcastically, watching Matthew with a narrowed gaze
,
“
e
specially since I done killed my fair share. Still, I don
’
t reckon I
’
ll be giving the law a chance to catch and kill me until I
’
ve taken out a few more.
”

The hair on the back of Matthew
’
s hair stood up again, and he fingered the butt of his handgun. If he
’
d had any doubt earlier that
someone was following
he and his mother, his continued state of unease put that doubt to rest.
As
casually as he could, he turned and scanned the horizon around the stables
. T
here! Finally!
He was certain he
’
d seen those two leaning a little too casually against the wall outside the restaurant where he and his mother had taken an early dinner. Now they were standing across the street inspecting
–
him, he was certain. The tilt of their head was the
giveaway
. If they were indeed
window-shopping
,
they would be tilting their heads downward
. No! They were watching him in the reflection of the store window.
At
least he knew there was an adversary. Now he
’
d be prepared.

“
What
’
s wrong, son?
”
Lilith asked from
at
o
p her mount.

“
I don
’
t want to concern you, Mother,
”
Matthew said, leading the rented horses from the stable.

“
Is it those two men that ha
ve
you worried, dear?
”
Lilith asked, then laughed softly at her son
’
s incredulous expression.
“
I took notice of them a while back. What do you think they want?
”

“
Me.
”
Matthew said simply, his irritation on the rise.
“
How did you know?
”

“
I lived with a constant threat against your brother or
father
for many, many years, so I learned to watch for danger, which seemed to lurk around every corner. Why do you think Jeremy became so proficient with firearms?
”

Matthew laughed shortly,
“
I was wondering how a butler learned that, yes. I just hope he never had cause to use it.
”

“
No,
”
Lilith said softly.
“
Mark, or your
father
, usually had the threat eliminated the
moment it came to their notice.
”

“
I see.
”

“
So
, you think Mark might be the one behind this?
”
Lilith asked, but knew the answer. Daragh Steel had been his life
’
s blood and in one day, Matthew had taken his entire existence away. It would have surprised her if Mark had walked away without attempted retaliation. It didn
’
t matter that Matthew was blood kin, Mark would do what he could to make him suffer. She only hoped that Mark
’
s reputation for brutality was overstated, or Matthew would be seriously injured or killed. She shuddered.

“
Without a doubt, but don
’
t fret, Mother,
”
Matthew said, mounting his horse.
“
A
ll will be well.
”

“
I hope so, dearest,
”
Lilith said softly, then prodded her horse into a canter, following her son out of town.

They
’
d been on the trail for several hours without incident when Lilith broke the long silence that had fallen.
“
When do you think they will make their move? It will be nightfall soon, and we
’
ll surely be stopping at an inn when we reach the next town.
”

“
It
’
ll be soon,
”
Matthew said simply. He could feel it. He wasn
’
t a gunslinger, but
he
’
d honed his instincts
from years of living out west, where outlaws abounded
,
“
b
ut I don
’
t think I
’
m going to wait.
”
He pulled his horse to a halt and looked over his shoulder.
“
I love you mother, and I know that Mark is your son, but if I don
’
t put a stop to his attempts now, he
’
ll hound me and my loved ones forever. I can
’
t allow that.
”

“
What is it you intend to do?
”

“
I
’
m going to turn back and have the sheriff issue a warrant for Mark
’
s arrest. If he isn
’
t put behind bars, then one of us is going to end up dead, and unfortunately for Mark, I won
’
t allow that someone to be me.
”

Lilith felt her heart tighten. She wanted to argue against such drastic me
as
ure
s, but Matthew was right.
Someone had to stop
Mark. He
’
d hurt too many people and gotten away with it too many times. Now, he was after her eldest son and that was something she couldn
’
t abide. She loved Mark, in her own way and as much as he would allow her to, but he was a bad seed, even though it hurt her to think of him that way. She felt a twinge of guilt knowing that if she
’
d had more say in his raising
him
then he might have turned out better, but she didn
’
t and he hadn
’
t. Now it was too late to do anything but take him out of the picture and prevent harm coming to anyone else.

“
Mother?
”

“
I understand, Matthew,
”
she said softly.
“
You do what you must.
”

“
Thank
you, Mother,
”
Matthew patted her hand and smiled softly. He knew this was hard for her, but it was the only logical
alternative
. Fortunately, he wouldn
’
t need to do it without her consent.
“
I want you to ride on ahead and stay at the hotel. If I
’
m not back before nightfall tomorrow, you are to head back to Daragh Manor and wait for me there.
”

“
You don
’
t really think there
’
s a chance that Mark will. . . .
”

“
No! I think his intentions right now are to force me to renegotiate his inheritance.
”

Lilith sighed in relief.

“
Now, ride. I
’
ll see you soon,
”
Matthew said, then leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. He turned his mount and spurred his horse into a gallop. He
’
d have to ride hard and fast to make it back to the safety of the city.
H
e only hoped he was right about his brother not wanting him dead, otherwise riding hard and fast wouldn
’
t prevent one of Mark
’
s hired thugs from putting a bullet in his back.

“
Good morning, Ma
’
am. Is the man of the house home, by chance?
”
Walker Chisolm had been waiting for this day for a very long time. He deliberately kept his features neutral, but his insides were jumping with glee.

“
May I inquire as to your business with my husband?
”
Elizabeth
asked, nearly choking on the word
‘
husband
’
. She still had not come to terms with her new role, but she was certain that the man would not reveal the purpose for his visit unless she
confirmed her relation
to Mark. By the man
’
s expression, he was surprised to hear that Mark had married.

“
Well, Ma
’
am,
”
Walker
cleared his
throat,
and pulled opened his coat, revealing his sheriff
’
s star,
“
The
name
’
s Walker Chisolm, Ma
’
am, and I have a warrant for your husband
’
s arrest. Is he here?
”

“
Mark hasn
’
t been in residence since yesterday morning. What
’
s he done to be arrested for?
”
Elizabeth
said, her heart suddenly light. If Mark went to prison for whatever
reason
, then she would be able to live a life of grandeur and not ever have to worry about his touching her
again. She didn
’
t really care when the sheriff didn
’
t answer her question, nor did she persist in finding the answer. She simply didn
’
t care.

“
Mind if we search the premises, Ma
’
am. Not that we don
’
t trust your word or anything. It
’
s just best if we ascertain his absence on our own.
”

“
Certainly. Do come in,
”
Elizabeth
said cordially, stepping aside.
“
Can I get you gentlemen a glass of tea?
”

“
No, thank you, Ma
’
am,
”
Walker
said, tipping his hat.
“
We
’
ll just make our search and be out of your hair as quickly as possible.
”