Dakota smiled at that, and Blade’s heart sped up some more.
***
Walking down the road, Blade scanned the area, searching for Mason Lee, but he was nowhere to be found.It wasn’t a very big town, and they had ridden through it a couple of times, gone into every store, and were now walking on foot.
“What do we do?” Dakota asked.
Blade didn’t want to ask around, but it seemed like they didn’t have a choice. “I’ll go speak to the barkeeper at the saloon.”
“I don’t like that idea.”
“Do you have a better one?”
Dakota shook her head. “Unfortunately not, just be careful, okay?”
“Always am,” Blade lied, causing Dakota to raise a brow. She didn’t say anything, though.
Dakota waited outside the saloon while Blade headed inside. It was early afternoon, so the place wasn’t busy. There were a few men playing poker at the back. They didn’t even look up when he entered. Besides them, there was only a young man drinking by himself and another older one slumped over a table. He clearly had too much to drink, but that wasn’t Blade’s problem.
“What can I get you?” the barkeep asked.
Blade had never drunk alcohol before, but felt like he had to buy something. The barkeeper was a tall, balding man, and he did not look friendly at all. Blade needed answers and figured buttering him up a little couldn’t hurt.
“Do you sell full bottles?” he asked, figuring that some alcohol could come in handy along the way. It was a good disinfectant for wounds, after all.
“You want to buy a bottle?” The man looked skeptical.
Blade nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’ve got a lot of whiskey. I can sell you one of them,” the barkeeper offered.
“Perfect,” Blade agreed.
The barkeeper disappeared into the back room and returned with a bottle in hand. He placed it on the counter in front of Blade, still looking confused, but not as uptight as before.
Blade pulled his wallet out of his pants pocket and paid the man. He’d never bought alcohol before, but that didn’t mean he didn’t notice that the barkeeper had overcharged him. It didn’t matter.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m not from around here,” Blade stated. “Came all the way from North Dakota to deliver a message.”
That got the barkeeper’s attention. “A message?” the man asked, raising a brow.
“My father passed away recently, and he left some items in his will to an old friend of his, Mason Lee. I’ve looked all over town, but I can’t find him.”
“Mason’s a good man,” the barkeeper stated.
Yeah right. Good at murdering people and destroying lives,Blade thought, but didn’t say as much. “You know where I can find him?”
“I know where he lives,” the barkeeper replied, “but that’s not gonna help you. He was in here just the other day. Said he was going out of town for a while.”
“Oh, I wish I had known that before I came.” Blade took the bottle of whiskey and turned to the door. “Can you give me directions to his place anyway? Maybe I can leave him a note, tell him to come see me when he returns.”
“You got something to write with?”
“I do,” Blade confirmed.
The barkeeper nodded and then quickly told Blade how to get to Mason’s house.
Dakota eyed the bottle in his hand as he approached her. “What’s that for?”
