Blade only had one bullet left before he would have to reload or switch weapons. He had to choose his next move wisely. He couldn’t allow Oliver to escape. Blade could take him out from where he was positioned, but that would give the other bandit a chance to get off a shot. That wasn’t an option, so Blade ran forward and kicked the table. The wood splitdown the center, causing the bandit to fall backward. Blade lifted his Colt and sent his last bullet into the man’s temple.
Turning to Oliver, Blade holstered his Colt and drew one of his knives. Oliver was almost at the door when the knife hit the back of his thigh. He stumbled slightly but kept on going. Blade already drew another knife and sent it flying. The blade lodged into Oliver’s other thigh, and he stumbled again, trying to catch himself against the wall.
Before Liam could get back on his feet, Blade had reached him. Using his longest knife, Blade reached over Oliver’s shoulder and slit his throat. It would be a quick death, which was more than he deserved. The original idea was to tell the men who he was before ending their lives, but given the circumstances, that wasn’t an option. It was all right. They had saved an innocent family, and Blade could scratch another name from his list.
“We have to go,” Dakota said, rushing over to him.
She was right. Blade holstered his knife, pulled the other two from Oliver’s lifeless body, and quickly holstered them too. Everything had happened really fast. The last men were still trying to escape the saloon, and Blade and Dakota slipped out of the building alongside them just as the sheriff and his men arrived.
As soon as they were outside, they ran to their horses and took off down the road. With all the commotion, the law hadn’t even noticed them, and they managed to make a cleangetaway. That didn’t mean that they wouldn’t be followed, so they had to get out of town as fast as possible and as far from Bozeman as they could.
“You okay?” Blade half-yelled as they rode. He had managed to kill Oliver and his men, meaning that Dakota didn’t have to take anybody’s life, but he was still worried about her.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Let’s just get out of here.”
They rode for a long time, sticking to the main road for a little while before veering off onto a narrower path. It was dark, but they couldn’t stop, and they had to move fast, so sticking to the road at first was the best idea. Blade pushed Africa to go as fast as he could, and to his relief, Dakota and Riot stayed with them. After an hour of full-out galloping, he slowed down a little. It was time to get off the road. There were some low hills to their left and right; open fields stretched as far as he could see.
“This way,” Blade instructed, swerving to his left, deciding to find a way to the back of the hills.
Going slower, they could talk without having to yell.
“Are you all right with traveling throughout the night?” Blade asked, looking over at Dakota. The moon was bright, with no clouds in the sky, and he could clearly make out her features.
“Yes,” she replied. “We can find a safe place to sleep once we’re far enough away. Are we going in the right direction?”
Dakota was good at a lot of things, but her sense of direction was horrible.
“Of course,” Blade said with a chuckle.
“Daniel Evans,” Dakota whispered, her voice catching in her throat.
Their next target was in Rapid City, South Dakota, and he was the man who had killed Dakota’s mother.
Chapter 18
Dakota had never traveled before, and it was all so new to her. She was happy that she got to do it with Blade, though. When she was with him, everything was a little better. He just understood her and knew how to make her feel safe. He always had, and she was eternally grateful to have a friend like him.
Traveling nonstop wasn’t easy, and although they were on a revenge mission, she was happy to be spending time with Blade. She doubted she would have enjoyed it as much if she were alone.
Getting to Rapid City had been their longest ride so far, and as they got closer, Dakota could feel herself getting more anxious. She couldn’t remember Daniel Evans, but Blade had told her that he was the man who had murdered her mother. Daniel had worked on one of the neighboring farms that supplied milk to the dairy in Silver, which his mother had owned at the time.
Dakota wiped the sweat from her forehead, watching Blade as he ate his lunch. They hadn’t stopped in town for a couple of days, but they still had enough food.
“I want to kill him,” she said, the words tasting bitter on her tongue.
“Daniel?”
Dakota nodded. “Yes. I feel like it is something I have to do.”
“Killing somebody isn’t something you can take back. It’ll stay with you forever,” Blade pointed out.
“I know, and I want it, too.” Dakota took a bite of her beans and washed it down with a sip of coffee. “Maybe I’ll be less angry—I don’t know...”
Blade ran a hand through his hair. It was longer now, almost hanging on his shoulders. “Are you sure?”
Dakota didn’t have to think about it. From the moment Blade had told her about his plan all those years ago, she knew that it was her destiny too. He could kill all the others, but Daniel Evans was hers to end. “Yes, I have to do it.”
“Okay,” Blade agreed. “I get it.”
