Outlaw's Reckoning (12 page)

“Good thinking back there, but you don't need to keep playing your part when there ain't no audience,” Matt said.

“Where'd you get all that money?” Clint asked.

“It's from some of my old jobs just like I told you.”

“And I suppose you just sat on that much money and waited to have a change of heart rather than spend it to live like a king on a hacienda somewhere in Old Mexico?”

Matt blinked a few times and then nodded. “Not exactly, but that's what happened.”

“Men work their whole lives to scrape together half as much cash as you've been pulling out of your pockets. Outlaws dream about a haul like that from the very first time they pick up a gun. So as soon as you become one of the richest outlaws in history, you decide to start handing it all back?”

“I don't know if I like your tone,” Matt said in a low, snarling voice.

“And I don't know if I like the smell of what you've been telling me.”

“Nobody forced you to come along, Adams. You don't like what I'm doing? You can get on that high horse of yours and ride away.”

Clint shook his head. “I came along for more than just to lend a hand in your good deeds. By your own admission, you're a man who needs to be watched, and I'm a good one to do the watching.”

Walking back to his horse, Matt asked, “Then watch me leave you behind.”

Clint reached out with one hand and took hold of Matt's collar. He started to turn the outlaw around, but quickly felt Matt spinning with more than the amount of force in Clint's grasp. Leaning back as fast as he could, Clint was just able to get out of the way of Matt's fist as it lashed around toward his jaw.

Although his first punch had missed, Matt wasn't thrown so easily off balance. He recovered quickly and followed up with another mean hook.

Rather than dodge that punch as well, Clint blocked it with his forearm and then delivered vicious jab to Matt's stomach. The punch landed, but thumped against a mass of thick muscle in Matt's midsection. When Matt reared back to throw a punch intended to separate Clint's head from his shoulders, Clint grabbed Matt's throat with the same speed he might use to draw his Colt from its holster.

“Something's not right with what you've been telling me,” Clint said through gritted teeth. “I've known it since we first crossed paths, but could never put my finger on it.”

“You're just another goddamn lawman, Adams,” Matt replied between forced breaths. “You all just think you're right and the rest of the world is wrong.”

“That's wrong and you know it. If I was a lawman, I would've dragged you in just like I told that man back there I was dragging you in.”

“So that's what this all boils down to, huh? You really are just another piece-of-shit bounty hunter.”

Clint's grip tightened out of pure frustration, but he quickly let Matt go. In the blink of an eye, he slammed the palms of both hands against Matt's chest with enough force to knock him back a few steps. That seemed to rattle Matt just enough to make him pause to catch his breath.

“I saw what you did for that widow and her son,” Clint said. “And I know you weren't doing that just to make an impression on me. I can even see what you intended to do here with this banker, even though you went about it in an odd way.”

Matt let out a grunting wheeze and shrugged his shoulders. “What's your point?”

“My point is that something just didn't set well with me, and I know it's the money.”

“Plenty of outlaws stash their dollars away, Adams.”

“Sure,” Clint admitted, “but that's not the case here. There's more to it than that. I could see that much in your eyes the moment I asked you about it just now.”

Matt kept his chin up for a few more seconds, but let his gaze fall to the ground after that. “Maybe I didn't stash all that money away.”

“So where did it come from?”

“Could be that some of my old gang owed me from when we rode together.”

“Could be?” Clint asked.

Eventually, Matt replied, “Or it could be that I took it from them so I could do some good with it.”

“And what about those bandits that the banker said were raising hell around here?”

Matt shrugged again. “Could be they're looking to take that money back.”

When Clint returned to Zucker's house to deliver the money, he wasn't able to enjoy the look on the man's face when he got it.

“Good Lord,” Zucker said. “That's a lot more than I thought it would be!”

“Enjoy,” Clint replied. “You've earned it.”

Zucker's bag was almost packed and his house was already looking as if it was empty. “Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this.”

Clint shook the man's hand and did his best to return Zucker's smile, but he wasn't able to be too genuine about it. At least Zucker was too excited about the turn his life had taken to pay much attention to Clint's foul temper. The only thing that made Clint feel a little better was knowing that Matt truly had handed over enough money for Zucker to get to Kansas and start fresh once he got there.

Clint was honestly a bit surprised to find Matt outside waiting for him when he left Zucker's house for the last time.

“What's the matter?” Clint asked as he stormed past the outlaw. “I thought you'd have more good deeds to do.”

“There is more for me to do, but I'm not sure I can do it alone.”

“You've lied to me already,” Clint told him. “From here on, you're on your own.”

“You don't mean that.”

Clint reeled around to stare directly into Matt's eyes. “Don't I?”

“If you did, you wouldn't have come this far.”

“Maybe I made a mistake.”

“You're not the only one.”

“Spare me the repentant outlaw speech,” Clint said as he kept walking to Eclipse so he could climb into the saddle. “I've heard it one too many times already.”

“So you just want to part ways? After the way you've stuck to me this far, I'd have thought you wanted to keep a closer watch on me.” When he saw Clint snap his reins to get the stallion moving, Matt added, “Either that, or you'd want to turn me over to the law.”

Clint pulled back on Eclipse's reins and shifted in his saddle so he could talk while keeping Matt in his line of sight. “You may be a sneaky, double-talking, lying snake, but I don't think you're a killer anymore. Since I'll hunt you down the moment I hear otherwise, I'd say it's in your best interest to keep on the path of the righteous.”

After delivering that message, Clint pointed Eclipse's nose toward the street where his hotel was and snapped the reins. The Darley Arabian brought him to the hotel before Clint got a chance to simmer down, and Eclipse seemed more than a little anxious to keep on running. No matter how much he wanted to let the stallion run, Clint climbed down from the saddle and led him to the nearby livery.

The short walk did Clint some good, but he still wasn't back to his normal self by the time he walked into the hotel. Clint traded a quick hello with the brunette at the front desk and stomped up the stairs.

His room was cold and quiet. Rather than light a lantern or think about heating up the room, Clint sat on the edge of the bed and enjoyed a few moments in the calm. Even though he couldn't shake the feeling of being in the eye of a storm, Clint allowed his fists to loosen and his shoulders to come down from around his ears.

After a short time and a few deep breaths, he had to shake his head and smile at how he'd managed to be surprised when Matt Fraley wound up acting the way Clint had expected him to act from the first time they'd met. The very fact that Clint had let Matt out of his sight told him that some part of him still had a bit of faith in the outlaw.

Even so, Matt just had a natural way of getting under Clint's skin.

When someone knocked on the door, Clint kept quiet and hoped for whoever it was to just go away.

Another knock came and Clint ignored it.

When he heard something rattling within the lock and the door swinging slowly open, Clint instinctively reached for the Colt at his side.

Before he drew the pistol, Clint saw a sliver of pale skin framed by curly black hair peeking into the room.

“Oh, sorry,” the brunette from the front desk said. “I just wanted to make sure your room was warm enough.”

“It's just fine,” Clint replied.

“Then . . . do you mind if I stay?”

Clint smiled and stood up. “Actually, that sounds like a great idea.”

The brunette carried a bucket of coal to a small burner in the corner of the room. While fussing with the flame and getting everything situated, she kept glancing at Clint over her shoulder.

“Tell me your name again?” Clint asked.

“Laura.”

“Pleased to meet you. My name's Clint.”

“I know. I read it off the register.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Clint said with an embarrassing laugh.

Now that the coals were in place and heat was beginning to drift up from the burner, Laura stood and walked over to him. She wore a simple brown dress and a cotton shawl over her shoulders. Her thick black hair fell in a curly cascade that made it seem as if it was always in motion.

“You have a pretty smile,” Clint told her.

Laura grinned a bit wider and reached out for his shoulders. After moving around behind him, she started to rub his shoulders with a smooth, strong grip. “You look like you've got the weight of the world on your back,” she said. “Maybe this will help.”

All Clint could do was let out a low grumbling sound as he felt all his worries fade away.

“I'll take that to mean you like it,” Laura said.

“You'd be right about that.”

After a few more rubs, Clint felt Laura's hands slide over his shoulders so she could reach forward and run her palms against his chest. Clint took hold of her wrists, pulled her arms down a bit more and turned to find himself cheek to cheek with her.

Laura's skin was smooth as silk and her surprised breaths rushed out of her to warm the side of his face. Although Clint could feel her lips brush against his own, he didn't make another move. The longer he waited, the more he could feel Laura's heart pounding against his shoulder blades.

“What are you doing, Mr. Adams?”

“You can call me Clint.”

Slowly, Clint stood up and turned around. He kept hold of Laura's wrists, but loosened his grip so he could turn around to face her. Once he was looking directly into her eyes, Clint brought her arms up so her hands could meet behind his neck. In the next instant, Laura locked her fingers together and lifted herself up so she could press her lips urgently against his.

“I have a confession to make,” she whispered.

“What's that?”

Laura blinked a few times and shifted nervously so that her breasts and hips wriggled against Clint's body. “I wanted to get this room nice and warm so you wouldn't want to leave it anytime soon. That way, you wouldn't mind spending the night in here.”

“That's not much of a confession.”

“I wasn't planning on you being alone.”

“What a coincidence,” Clint said. “I'm not alone right now.”

The moment he saw the smile on her face, Clint found the buttons on the side of Laura's dress and undid them one by one. He barely got past the third one before he felt Laura getting restless in his arms. When Clint pulled the rest of the buttons open, Laura let out a surprised gasp.

Her eyes were wide and her hands quickly pulled Clint's shirt open before tugging at his belt. After loosening his belt, she lowered herself to her knees and pulled his jeans all the way down. Laura looked up at Clint as her hands found his growing erection. As the corners of her mouth curled into a smile, she leaned forward and slipped her lips around his cock.

Clint let out a slow breath as he felt her mouth glide all the way down his shaft. Laura's tongue brushed along every inch of him and then began swirling around his penis as she moved her head back and forth. Just then, Clint became very aware of how cold the room was. He guided Laura to her feet and turned her around so her back was to the bed.

She took the direction perfectly and slipped out of her clothes while settling onto the bed. By the time Clint was pulling back the blankets, she was completely naked and eager to slip under the covers. Clint shed the rest of his clothes as well and joined her.

The room's chill had soaked through the blankets, but was soon forgotten once Clint had Laura pressed against him. Her soft skin was warmer than the coals burning nearby, and she warmed him up even more as she kissed Clint's neck and lips while stroking his cock with one hand.

In moments, Clint was on top of her and Laura's legs were opening wide to accept him. She reached down to guide him into her and let out a soft moan as Clint pushed his hips forward.

Because of the shades drawn down over the windows, only a scant amount of light could get into the room. What little light there was drifted over Laura's breasts, accentuating the large, erect nipples that stood up proudly when she arched her back.

As Clint began thrusting in and out of her, Laura wrapped her arms around him and ran her nails along his back. Every so often, he would thrust deeply inside of her and stay there. Whenever he did that, Clint heard Laura gasp and felt her entire body tense in anticipation of the next time.