Relentless (8 page)

“That’s right.”

She took him by the hand and quickly guided him over to Dusty.

“Here you are, honey. Grant is all yours.”

Gertrude saw the look of surprised delight on Dusty’s face as she turned around to dance with her new partner and came face-to-face with Grant. Gertrude smiled to herself as she snared Dusty’s former partner and allowed herself to be danced away.

Dusty had been so busy dancing, she hadn’t seen the stranger return to the hall, and she certainly hadn’t seen Miss Gertrude claim him for the ladies’ choice dance. She gazed up at the tall, handsome man, stunned for a moment.

Grant, too, was amazed by this unexpected turn of events. He’d deliberately put aside all thoughts of this woman when he’d followed the two drunks from the scene of the fight. He’d known she was a beauty, but he’d also known he didn’t have time for a woman in his life. Certainly not now, and there were times when he was beginning to wonder if he ever would. But here he was, staring down at the slender, dark-haired beauty as she came oh-sowillingly into his arms.

“Shall we?” he invited.

“Let’s—” she answered a bit breathlessly as he began to guide her gracefully about the dance floor.

“I’m Grant, by the way,” he told her.

“And I’m—” For just an instant, she paused and then said, “Justine.”

For this one dance—

For this one moment in time—

She wanted to live the fantasy and be the girl she appeared to be tonight—

“It’s nice to meet you, Justine.” He’d noticed her momentary hesitation introducing herself, but thought she was just shy.

“It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m sure Miss Gertrude already thanked you for your help, but I want to thank you, too, for stopping the fight. It seemed no one else cared—they were all just standing around watching.”

“I was glad to help. It’s good no one was seriously hurt.”

“I told Francie I thought you were her guardian angel, showing up out of nowhere like you did.”

Grant chuckled. “I’ve been called many things in my time, but never a guardian angel.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” she told him with a smile. She certainly felt as if she was in heaven there in his arms.

They fell silent as they continued to dance.

Grant forced himself to lift his gaze away from the stunning beauty in his arms and look around the hall once more. He had to be vigilant. He had to keep watch. He didn’t think Jackson and his boys would know him on sight, but he couldn’t be sure, and he
would take no chances where they were concerned. They were cold-blooded killers. He knew that given the choice, they would just as soon shoot someone as let them go. That was why he was after the outlaws, and he wouldn’t rest until their days of robbing and killing were over.

Dusty wanted the dance to go on forever, but she knew it couldn’t last, so she savored every minute. She looked up at Grant.

“Will you be here in town long?”

“No, I’m just passing through,” he answered.

“That’s too bad,” she remarked.

He surprised himself when he answered, “Yes, it is.”

They were about to say more when the announcement came again to switch partners.

Before Grant could say another word, one of the men nearby grabbed the dark-haired beauty and danced off with her, leaving him to take up the other man’s abandoned partner. He kept smiling and was cordial, but, in truth, he was waiting for the dance to end. He needed to take another close look around town.

And Grant did just that.

When the ladies’ choice finally ended, he checked the room once more. He saw no sign of Jackson or his men. He did see Justine being escorted back to the far side of the hall by her last dancing partner. He was tempted to go speak with her again, but denied himself. A sense of regret came over him for a moment, but he managed to ignore it.

He had a job to do.

With long, determined strides, Grant left the hall.

As the next dance started up, Dusty looked around and was thoroughly disappointed when she saw no sign of Grant anywhere. In her fantasy, she’d imagined him hurrying across the dance floor to take her in his arms again. But it wasn’t going to happen. It was just that—a fantasy. Grant was gone.

It wasn’t much later when her father sought her out.

“If we’re going to be heading out at sunup, it’s time for us to call it a night,” Charley told her.

“I know.” She realized now she probably would never see the handsome stranger again.

“Did you have a good time?” He’d been watching her and had noticed that she’d looked especially happy this evening.

“Yes—except for the fight. If I hadn’t been dressed like this, I might have been more help to Francie.”

“Everything looks like it turned out all right.”

Dusty knew that was true, for she’d seen her friend dancing with Rick several times that evening.

They sought out Francie and her parents to let them know they had to leave, and Fred accompanied them back to his house to get Dusty’s personal belongings before father and daughter returned home.

When they got to their own house, Dusty bid her father good night and went on to her bedroom.

The effects of the liquor he’d consumed had worn off, and Charley was sober now as he watched her
go down the hall. He was deeply thankful that nothing had happened to Dusty while he’d been at the saloon. He knew from now on he would put her safety above all else in his life. He went to bed, too, knowing morning would be coming all too soon.

Dusty sat down at her small, plain dressing table and started to take the ribbon from her hair. She paused for a moment to stare at her own reflection, seeing the girl she’d been for just that night. In all these months of riding the stage with her father, she’d become so accustomed to being known as “the kid” that she’d almost completely forgotten what it felt like to be a girl. She had enjoyed her time at the dance tonight, and she had enjoyed those few moments of being “Justine” with the stranger named Grant.

Sighing, Dusty pulled the ribbon from her hair and took off the jewelry Francie had loaned her. She made short order of slipping out of the dress and quickly changed into her nightgown. She washed her face and brushed out her hair and happened to cast one last glance in the mirror as she started to climb into bed. The change was startling. This time it was Dusty who stared back at her, not Justine.

For one moment, she allowed herself to wonder what Grant would think of her if he saw her now, and then she put the thought from her. No man would be interested in her when she looked like this.

No, she was Dusty Martin—Charley’s “kid,” who rode shotgun on the stage.

This was who she really was.

This was her life now. The fun tonight had been just an escape for a few hours. Reality would return with the dawn.

Tomorrow morning, she would be back in her work clothes, wearing her gun belt and carrying her shotgun.

Dusty put out the lamp on the bedside table and went to bed. She needed to get some sleep if she was going to be ready to ride in the morning. As she drifted off, she found herself wondering if she would ever see Grant again.

Grant was cautious as he made his way around town. He not only had to keep a lookout for Jackson and his men, but now, he also had the two drunks from the dance to consider.

He’d stopped by the saloon for one more drink and was glad to find that the two drunken ranch hands who’d caused the trouble earlier were gone. He had bigger things to worry about than those two. Satisfied that he’d beaten Jackson and his men to town, he finished off his whiskey. Several of the saloon girls approached him, but he had no interest in what they were offering. Instead, he left the saloon and went back to the hotel to bed down for the night.

After lighting the small lamp on the bedside table, Grant unbuckled his gun belt and put it within easy reach. Stopping at the window, he pushed the curtain aside to look down at the night-shrouded street below. The town was quiet and peaceful, and
he wondered how long it was going to stay that way with the outlaw gang due to ride in at any time.

Grant knew there was nothing he could do but wait, so he got undressed and stretched out on the bed. He turned off the lamp and lay staring up at the ceiling. He wondered if he would see Justine around town again, and then warned himself against such thoughts. The innocent beauty had been a temptation, but a girl like her didn’t fit his lifestyle. He closed his eyes and sought what rest he could find.

Dusty was up and dressed before dawn. Matt Collins, the extra guard her father had hired for the trip, planned to meet them at the office early that morning, so she knew she had to be ready to go. They collected the personal belongings they needed and left the house, ready to go to work.

They reached the stage office to find Hank there waiting for them along with Matt. The team had already been hitched and now it was just a matter of waiting for the passengers to show up. They were taking three men on this run.

“Dusty will ride in the stage with the passengers. Matt, I want you to ride up on the bench with me,” Charley directed.

“I’ll keep my shotgun with me, just in case,” Dusty told Matt. “Let’s just hope I don’t need it.”

“You’re right,” Matt agreed.

Dusty wasn’t really looking forward to this trip. The long, tedious hours of riding in the close confines of the stagecoach with three men who were
strangers to her wouldn’t be easy, but she would do it. She was used to riding up on the bench with her father, but because of the payroll, this was necessary.

It wasn’t long before the passengers arrived. Dusty eyed the men quickly and then set about stowing their bags while they climbed into the stage. When she was done, she got in with them and sat down next to the man who appeared to be from back East, since he was traveling in a suit.

Charley came to speak with the men as Dusty settled in. “My kid, Dusty, here, is going to be riding with you.” He handed her the shotgun.

“Are you expecting trouble?” asked the man sitting next to Dusty, nervously looking at the shotgun.

“We always expect trouble,” her father answered. “It’s safer for us that way. It’s better not to be surprised.”

Charley closed the stagecoach door and climbed up to the driver’s bench, where Matt was already seated and waiting for him.

They were ready to roll.

Inside the stage, the Easterner continued to stare at Dusty. He was more than a little uncomfortable. The shotgun was a good-size weapon, and he thought the driver’s son was hardly old enough to handle such a dangerous gun.

“Do you know how to use that shotgun?” he asked.

Dusty looked over at him and nodded. “Yes, sir, I do.”

The Easterner swallowed nervously and scooted as far over in the seat as he could. He wanted to put as much room between them as he could.

Dusty realized he was intimidated and she smiled slightly. The farther he stayed away from her, the better. She directed her attention out the stage window as the stage drove out of town. Even though she wasn’t up riding with her father, it was her job to be alert and watch for trouble—especially on this run.

The sun had set and darkness covered the land as the outlaw gang relaxed around the campfire, sharing a bottle of whiskey.

“It won’t be long now, boys,” Les Jackson said with a grin as he took a deep swig of the potent liquor. “Tomorrow is our big day. Once we get that payroll, we can do some real celebrating.”

“And I’m looking forward to it.” Ugly Joe Williams grabbed the whiskey bottle from Les. With his broken, bulbous nose and mostly toothless smile, the nickname fit him perfectly. “Them saloon girlies will be chasing me all over once they see how much money I got.”

“You gonna make them chase you for very long?” Cale Pierce asked.

“No! Whichever one of them gets to me first is going to earn herself a whole lot of money!”

“I didn’t think you’d hold out,” Cale taunted.

They all laughed.

“How early are we going to ride out?” Ugly Joe asked Les.

“At sunup. We have to be at the pass early.”

They had worked out their plan for robbing the stage very carefully and believed they would have no trouble pulling it off.

“I wonder what happened to Jim?” Cale remarked.

“I don’t know. It ain’t like him not to show up.” Ugly Joe was worried about the other gunman. With the law after them, they’d split up several days earlier and arranged to meet outside Canyon Springs. Now, Jim was the only one missing, and the other men were troubled by his absence.

“If he can get here, he will,” Les added.

“It’d be a shame if he missed out on this robbery,” Cale put in.

The other outlaws nodded as they thought about the robbery they had planned. Cale had been in the saloon in Canyon Springs when the stage driver had gotten drunk and mentioned transporting the payroll. Cale had immediately sought out Les to let him know what he’d learned. Now, after meeting up with Ugly Joe, they were ready to pull off the robbery. There was a payroll on that stage and they were going to make it theirs. It was just too bad that Jim hadn’t caught up with them yet.

“Well, if he doesn’t show up, that’ll just mean more money for each of us!” Ugly Joe chuckled. Even as he said it, though, he knew they could use the extra gun riding with them.

“If Jim doesn’t show up, that’ll mean he’s dead,” Les said grimly. He didn’t like thinking that way,
but he knew he had to consider the possibility. After all, the Rangers were tracking the gang.

They all went back to drinking, not wanting to believe the worst could have happened to their friend, and hoping that if the law had caught up with Jim, he hadn’t revealed any of their plans. They certainly didn’t want to find Texas Rangers, ready and waiting for them when they robbed the stage.

Dusty was exhausted when they reached the way station the second night out. The day had been a long one. The trip had been uneventful so far, and that was good, but the heat had been stifling and the ride in the cramped stagecoach had been bone jarring.

The one thing that had kept her spirits up over the many miles they’d traveled was the memory of her dance with the handsome stranger in town. She allowed herself to fantasize about wearing the fancy gown and being in his arms, for it helped distract her from the reality of being jammed in the stagecoach with several fat, sweaty, smelly passengers. She was so tired now, though, the snoring of the men bedded down around her in the one big sleeping room didn’t bother her at all. She fell asleep quickly and slept soundly all night long. When she awoke just before dawn, she realized her father was already up and moving, so she got up and went to help him.

The wife of the man who ran the way station was a fine cook, and by the time Dusty and her father came back inside, she had already started making
breakfast for the passengers. Dusty was eagerly looking forward to the meal. The food at this way station was always delicious fare. Everyone ate hungrily, knowing it was going to be another long day of travel.

When they’d finished their meal, Charley, Matt and Dusty went out to get the stagecoach ready.

“All right, let’s get a move on!” Charley called when they were loaded up.

As had become their custom, the men climbed in first. Dusty stood with her father and Matt near the team so the passengers couldn’t hear their conversation.

“We’ll reach the pass about noon,” Charley said, frowning. “You two, be ready. If anybody’s going to try anything, that’ll be the place.”

“We’ll be watching,” Matt assured him.

Dusty joined the men in the stagecoach, carrying her shotgun, while Matt and Charley settled in on the driver’s bench. Even this early in the morning, the heat was sweltering, and Dusty could tell as they pulled out of the way station that it was going to be another tough day.

Les, Cale and Ugly Joe were up at the crack of dawn and riding out. When they reached the pass, they took a careful look around to make sure there was no one else in the area.

“Where do you want us to be waiting for them?” Ugly Joe asked. He figured they’d just take up positions on both sides of the pass and shoot the driver and the man riding shotgun when they drove
through. He knew it would be a little tricky catching up with the stage afterward, for the team would be running wild, but all that mattered to him was getting his hands on the money. He didn’t care about what happened to any passengers.

“All right, boys, this is what we’re going to do,” Les directed, looking up at the steep, craggy hillside. “We’re gonna push some of those rocks down here and block the road, so the stage will have to stop when it comes through.”

“That’s real smart, Les,” Ugly Joe said, impressed by his plan. That would definitely make the robbery simpler for them.

“Once they stop to move the rocks, it’ll be easy pickin’s for us,” Cale agreed.

“It should be, but don’t forget, some of the passengers might be carrying guns, too. Don’t go thinking this is going to be too easy,” Les warned them. He knew there was always a chance for trouble.

“You’re right, Les. This ain’t no time to be getting careless,” Ugly Joe said.

“All right, let’s get this done,” Les ordered. “The stage should be passing through within the next hour.”

Cale and Ugly Joe tempered their jubilant moods and set about climbing up the hillside to roll down the biggest rocks they could move. They had to make sure it looked like a natural landslide, so the stage driver wouldn’t immediately suspect anything.

Charley was tense as the road narrowed and they headed up into the pass.

“The sooner we get through here, the better,” he told Matt as he kept careful control of the team. “Be ready—”

“I am.”

They hadn’t gone too much farther and had just started around a curve when Charley caught sight of what appeared to be a rock slide on the trail ahead. He swore loudly as he fought to slow the horses.

Dusty realized her father was forcefully reining in the team, and she leaned out the window to yell up to him, “What’s wrong?”

“There’re some rocks in the road!” he shouted back as he brought the stagecoach to a halt.

“What is it?” the Easterner asked, looking worried.

“Looks like we’re going to have to stop and clear some rocks out of the road,” Dusty explained as she threw open the stagecoach door and climbed down. She made sure to keep her shotgun with her.

Charley looked over at Matt. “You stay here. I’ll get the other men to help me.” He jumped down and went to speak to the passengers. “Come on, you boys, I need some help.” Glancing over at Dusty, he ordered, “You keep an eye on the stagecoach with Matt.”

Charley took a quick look around, but didn’t see anything else that seemed out of the ordinary. As the three passengers joined him, they started to roll the bigger rocks out of the way.

“Good thing you saw the rocks in time,” one of the men said. He realized how much damage could
have been done to the stage if it had run into the boulders. They might have been stuck out there for a day or two, making repairs.

“Charley ain’t called the best driver around these parts for nothing,” Matt assured them.

Spread out above them, hiding among the rocks, Les, Ugly Joe and Cale were watching and waiting for the right time to make their move. So far, their scheme was working out just the way they’d planned. It didn’t often happen this way, and Les was feeling confident.

He kept an eye on the man riding shotgun and on the boy who’d gotten out of the stage carrying another shotgun. The presence of the extra gun convinced Les even more that the payroll was on this stage.

Les had seen three more men get out of the stagecoach. He’d watched as they seemed to look nervously around and then went to help the driver clear the road. Once they’d started to work, he gave Ugly Joe and Cale the signal.

It was time.

Dusty was standing guard, scanning the steep hillside, watching for trouble. The only warning she had was the glint of the sun off the barrel of one of the outlaws’ rifles. She raised her gun to get off a shot in that direction as she yelled to warn her father, “Papa! There’s—”

Startled by her frantic call as she fired her shotgun, Matt and her father both looked her way, but before they could react it was too late.

Accurate and deadly gunfire rained down upon them.

Matt was killed instantly where he was sitting atop the stagecoach, and Dusty was shot, grazed by a bullet that knocked her backward among the rocks alongside the trail.

“Dusty!” Charley yelled in horror. He went for his own gun.

Les and Ugly Joe got off several more rounds and watched in satisfaction as the stage driver fell and lay unmoving in the dirt. Then they turned their attention to the three men who had run for cover.

“Come out with your hands up and we’ll let you live!” Les shouted down to the passengers.

The Easterner and the two other men knew they were trapped. They had no way to escape. One of the men was armed, but he knew he was no match for these killers. He tossed his gun out where the outlaws could see it.

“There’s my gun!”

“All right—Now come out real slowlike—”

“We’re coming out!”

The three men came to stand in the middle of the road.

“Cale—You stay up here. If any one of them makes a move, shoot him,” Les told him as he and Ugly Joe started down to tie up the three men and get the strongbox.

The three passengers knew they were dealing with cold-blooded killers. They offered no resistance as the two outlaws shoved them to the ground
and tied their hands behind their backs. Ugly Joe made short order of taking their wallets and other valuables. The Easterner tried to protest, and Ugly Joe hit him upside the head with his gun, knocking him unconscious. He then went to take what money the driver and the two guards had on them.

Les wasted no time climbing up on the stage and hauling out the strongbox. He threw it down on the ground and climbed down to shoot the lock off. He threw it open. “Yee-ha, boys! We’re getting paid real good today!”

He started to stuff all the cash into the saddlebags he’d brought along, excited by the haul they’d made.

Ugly Joe took what little money the driver and the one dead guard had on him and then headed over to check the other guard. He knelt down and grabbed the younger, smaller guard, turning him over. There was blood on the boy’s forehead, and when the kid gave a low groan, Ugly Joe realized that he wasn’t dead.

Ugly Joe grabbed up the kid’s gun and tossed it far away, just in case. As he began to search the skinny kid’s pockets for money, he made a big discovery. He looked up at Les in shock.

“Les—Get over here!”

“What is it?” Les asked, irritated. He didn’t want to waste any time. They needed to pack up the cash and get out of there. They needed to put some long miles between them and the scene of the robbery.

“I ain’t never in all my days seen anything like this—”

“Like what? He’s still alive?”

“Yeah, the bullet just grazed him, but—”

“But what?”

“This ain’t no ‘him.’”

“What are you talking about?”

“This here guard is a girl!”

“A girl?”

Les finished stowing all the money and then went over to see what Ugly Joe was talking about.

Just as Les joined the other outlaw, Dusty began to regain consciousness. She gave another groan as she struggled to open her eyes. She could hear the men’s voices and thought it was her father talking with some of the other men on the stage.

“Papa—? What happened?” She finally managed to look up, and only then did she realize it was the outlaw’s hands upon her. The shock and horror of the attack returned with a vengeance and she tried to throw herself violently away from him.

Her weak effort proved futile. His hold on her was powerful. He wasn’t about to let her go.

“Don’t go trying anything, little honey. I’d hate for you to get hurt any worse than you already are,” Ugly Joe said, leering down at her.

Les was still shocked by Ugly Joe’s discovery. He’d thought it strange enough that the stage driver would have a kid riding shotgun for him, but he was astonished to find out the guard was a girl.

“Let me go!” Dusty continued to try to get away, but it was impossible.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Les finally ground out. “Tie her up and get her ready to ride.”

“What are we going to do with her?” Ugly Joe couldn’t imagine what Les had in mind.

“You’ll see,” Les said, already making his plan.

“But she’s only going to slow us down.”

“Don’t go questioning my orders,” Les raged at him. “Just do as I say!”

Les left Ugly Joe to take care of the girl and went to turn the team loose. The longer it took for the holdup to be reported, the bigger head start the outlaws would have on any posse that tried to come after them.

Ugly Joe got up and pulled the girl to her feet. He tied her hands in front of her as she stood swaying weakly in front of him.

As they were finishing up, Cale rode down, leading their horses.

“Let’s get out of here,” Les directed. “I’ll keep the girl with me.”

Cale was surprised to find out about the guard’s identity. “You’re taking her along?”

“Like I told Ugly Joe, I got a plan. So don’t you go worrying about it. Let’s ride.”

Les loaded up the saddlebags and started to drag the girl over to his horse.

Dusty was in agony. The pain in her head was nearly unbearable. She was having trouble trying to concentrate on what was happening around her as the outlaw forced her along with him to his horse.

It was then that she saw her father’s body and heart-wrenching agony tore through her. “My father—
You killed my father—
”

“Shut up,” Les snarled, “unless you want me to shoot the other three.”

Dusty fell silent in her terror. The man’s grip on her was harsh, and she realized there was no escape. The outlaw leader shoved her up on his horse and then mounted behind her.

“Let’s ride, boys! We got some miles to cover!” Les was feeling real good as he rode off, leaving Ugly Joe and Cale to follow.