Jeremiah still didn’t move. “What do you want then?”
“Revenge,” Blade replied. “Seven years ago, you were part of a raid. You and the rest of your gang murdered our families.”
“I thought you looked familiar.” Jeremiah squinted up at him. “Are you Jasper Cassidy’s son?”
Blade’s heart almost leaped right out of his chest. Jeremiah was the first person who had actually recognized him.
“I am. You helped kill him, and now, I’m going to kill you.”
Jeremiah let out a long breath and then nodded. “Go ahead. Do what you must do.”
Blade didn’t like the situation at all, but he wasn’t going to spare Jeremiah’s life just because he refused to put up a fight. He hesitated for a second but then lifted his pistol and pulled the trigger. It was an instant kill, clean and fast.
Turning on his heels, Blade hurried back to where he had left Africa. Killing Jeremiah hadn’t felt like the previous kills. Maybe it was because the man hadn’t put up a fight, or maybe something had changed in Blade.
Chapter 29
Austin stood just outside the cabin, arms crossed, his coat flapping slightly. The breeze was still cool, especially in the woods. From inside came the voices of his men, but outside, it was quiet. He didn’t like it. Austin had never liked it when things were too quiet.
They had arrived at the cabin earlier in the day, and his men were inside, preparing for a fight. There were twelve of them, if he counted himself. Those numbers should have made him feel confident, but they didn’t.
Austin lit his cigarette and took a long drag while watching the campfire. Later, they would use it to cook their food, but for now, it provided some warmth.
He had no idea when the masked men would come, but he knew that they would. He had gotten word that Jeremiah Wilson had been killed. Nobody had witnessed it, but Austin knew it was the same men. Just like with the others, they had made no attempt to hide the body.
Austin had lied to Angela, saying he was going fishing with some friends. She had no reason to think that he was lying, and he didn’t really care anyway. What he did care about was the masked men. He wanted them out of the way.
He took another drag of his cigarette as he scanned the surrounding area. The cabin was a couple of miles into the woods. An old trapper’s cabin that he had bought on a whim years ago. He had never had much use for it before. Austin had chosen for his men to gather there because of its seclusion. There was only a narrow, overgrown path leading to it, with trees on all sides. If the masked men found them, which Austin was sure they would, they’d come through the trees.
When Austin was done with his cigarette, he headed back inside. Maxwell was cleaning his pistol for the second time. Austin couldn’t remember a time when he had ever seen Maxwell so nervous.
“You think they’ll come tonight?” he asked without looking up.
Austin thought about it for a second before answering. “I don’t think tonight, but soon.”
“It isn’t fair,” Buck said. He was one of Austin’s newer recruits. “Twelve of us waiting on two men like they’re some sort of boogeymen.”
“They’re not boogeymen,” Maxwell stated, still not looking up from his pistol. “But they are trained, methodical,and have already killed nine of our men without getting caught.”
“They’re still just men,” Buck shot back.
“No, they’re not,” Austin said, deciding to chime in. That quieted the room. Anybody who thought these were ordinary men was fooling themselves.
That night, they ate beans and salted pork around the fire. The men were mostly quiet, having said all there was to say. Austin could tell that they were scared, and rightfully so. Fear wasn’t a bad thing; it was what kept men alive.
***
The land stretched golden and wide ahead of them. There were brittle bushes and some scattered trees. Spring had arrived and brought with it the first blooms of the season. Small clusters of bluebonnets flared along the trail, and once in a while, they came across some berry bushes, starting to look alive again.
Dakota rode ahead, Riot’s hooves stirring up dust. A few feet behind her, Blade and Africa followed. It was early in the day. They had eaten breakfast before the sun rose and then got on their way.
Blade had healed remarkably well, but since he had been shot, he was acting differently. She couldn’t quite put herfinger on it, but something had changed. Maybe it was the two near-death experiences. One alone could traumatize a person; two so close together could do some real damage to a person’s mind. He didn’t seem angry or scared, though, and he slept soundly at night. Dakota glanced over her shoulder, causing the corner of his mouth to turn up into a smile.
No, he wasn’t angry at her; it was something else. It was almost like he wanted to tell her something but didn’t know how. Yes, that was it, Dakota thought. It was like something was bothering him, and he didn’t know how to tell her.
He was trying to act like everything was all right, but Dakota knew him too well. He was more careful around her and hesitated before speaking. Sometimes she would catch him staring at her, and he would quickly look away. Dakota kept telling herself that she was probably overthinking it, but Blade had taken a bullet to the abdomen for her not too long ago. She knew the pain still lingered. Maybe that was all it was.
She wanted to ask him, but at the same time, she wanted to give him space to deal with whatever was going on. She was so confused.
