Blade gave Dakota one last look and then marched forward. It was time to finish what Austin had started all those years ago. Taking cover behind a tall tree, he watched as one of the men crept closer. The man had his rifle ready, but his eyes were all over the place. The bandits had heard the shot but had no idea from which direction it came. That gave him and Dakota a chance to take out a couple of them before drawing attention to themselves.
The bandit was still walking toward Blade, unknowingly making it easier for Blade to line up his shot. He aimed his pistol at the man’s head, wanting an instant kill, and pulled the trigger. Blade’s aim was true, and a little to his right, another bandit fell as a slug penetrated his chest.
The gunshots cracked like thunder in the dead of night—loud and dangerous. The remaining bandits rushed toward the sound, having a better idea of where Blade and Dakota were hiding. Blade knew better than to stay in one spot, but he didn’t want to leave Dakota behind. If he were alone, he would have sprinted through the forest and found another tree on the opposite side to use as cover, but he wasn’t alone, so instead, he ran to Dakota.
Luckily, she had years of training too and knew what needed to be done. Together, they ran, jumping over fallen branches and dodging anything that popped up in front of them. There, to their left, was a fallen tree, the thick stumpbroken in the center with large wooden shards sticking up. It was undoubtedly hit by lightning and would provide a great spot to take cover. Blade jumped, skidded to a stop behind it, and peered over the top. From there, he had a clear view of the back of the cabin. Austin wasn’t there anymore, but another bandit was hiding behind it.
Some of the men had run into the forest and were searching for them. They had to be careful. Blade holstered his Colt Rainmaker and drew his Winchester rifle, balancing it on the stump. He gave Dakota the signal they used to tell each other to watch their backs. She nodded, and he turned his attention to the bandit. Blade lined up his shot and fired. The .44 slug hit the man between the shoulders, sending him flying forward and to the ground.
“On our right,” Dakota whispered.
Blade swiveled around just as two men stepped through the bushes. They were much too close. Dakota had her pistol pointed at one of them and immediately pulled the trigger, hitting him in the thigh. The man stumbled a little but just kept on running at him. Blade grabbed one of his knives from his gun belt and pushed himself to his feet. From the corner of his eye, he saw Dakota duck to her right, just in time to avoid a bullet.
The bandit was almost on top of Blade now, and he lunged forward, sinking his knife into the man’s chest. His eyes rolled back in his head, and Blade stepped back, pulling his knife out and letting the man crumble to the ground.
The other bandit had his gun pointed at where Dakota had taken cover. Blade pulled back his arm and threw the bloody knife, knocking the man’s gun right out of his hand and taking a couple of fingers with it. The man cried out in pain, and Dakota used the opportunity to put a slug in his head.
Blade grabbed his rifle and ran to Dakota. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she replied, picking up Blade’s knife and handing it to him as she stood.
“Over there!” somebody yelled.
“Just kill them,” another added.
Blade holstered his knife but kept his rifle in hand. They needed to find another spot to take cover. “Come on,” he instructed, starting to move again.
They headed back in the direction they had come. He had seen some boulders there that they could hide behind. Blade moved quickly with Dakota right on his heels. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, there was a loud thud behind him. Blade swerved around, ready to fire, just to see Dakota struggling with a bandit on the ground. The big man had pinned her down. Blade leveled his rifle; underneath the man, Dakota nodded. Blade took the shot, the .44 slug tearing the flesh and hair from the man’s skull. The bandit collapsed on top of Dakota, and she quickly pushed him off.
Her clothes and skin were stained with blood. She looked like a warrior goddess. If they had had time to spare, Blade would have told her as much, but they didn’t. Blade led Dakota to the boulders and crouched down behind them. The woods had gone quiet.
“How many are left?” he asked, his voice barely audible. Dakota liked keeping count of things.
“Five, including Austin,” Dakota replied.
They had managed to take out seven of the bastards. That was good, but the last one was too close.
“I need to finish this,” Blade whispered. “I need you to hide.”
Dakota shook her head. He knew she would refuse.
“Please,” Blade begged. “Just this once. I can’t lose you.”
Dakota’s face softened at his words. “If anything happened to you...”
“I’ll be careful,” Blade promised. “Stay here.” It was a safe spot. The boulders covered her from three sides. If anybody approached, she could easily take them out.
“Okay,” Dakota agreed.
Blade leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll be right back,” he said and then took off running. He knew Dakota was more than capable of taking care of herself, and having her watch his back was an enormous help, but he simply couldn’t risk her getting hurt. Besides, having her with him was too much of a distraction. He needed to concentrate on killing the bandits, and he couldn’t do that when he was worrying about keeping her safe.
Blade found a clearing between some trees and crouched down low as he peeked into the clearing. Maxwell and Austin were still out there, along with three other men. At first, everything seemed quiet; there was no noise or movement, but then Blade saw it: the edge of a coat sticking out from behind the cabin.
He had promised Dakota that he would be careful, but that just wasn’t his style. Blade was at his best when he had to think fast and act even faster. Without any hesitation, he lunged to his feet and charged toward the man behind the cabin. As he ran, he holstered his rifle and drew his pistol.
Blade knew that he was going to draw attention to himself, but that was the whole idea. He wanted to keep the bandits away from Dakota and focused on him. He also wanted to finish the fight. He had looked forward to this day for so long, but now all he wanted to do was be done with it and go home.
The bandit stepped out from behind the cabin, probably having heard Blade approaching. He lifted his rifle, but he wastoo late. Blade tackled him to the ground, landing on top of him. The bandit was bigger than Blade, but Blade was quick. Before the man could even think of punching him, Blade had already positioned his Colt underneath the man’s jaw and pulled the trigger.
