Austin shook his head. “There’s no point in lying.”
“I’m not. We told them to leave before we came to investigate.”
“I thought you might do that, and for that very reason, I have men watching all the exits.”
There was a commotion coming from the other side of the house, and a moment later, some of Austin’s men made their way into the living room, dragging five women in after them.
“Oh, look, there they are.” Austin pointed at them with a mocking laugh. “So this is how it’s going to work. You”—he poked George with his rifle—“are going to stay right here. And you are going to take us to your safe and open it.”
Mr. Gray nodded his head furiously.
The safe was located in the study, which was upstairs, and contained a multitude of treasures. There were stacks of money, blocks of gold, jewelry, and gems.
“You can have it all,” Mr. Gray said, his voice catching in his throat. “Just take it and go.”
It was funny that the man thought he had any say in what was going to happen.
“Oh, I’m going to take it all,” Austin agreed. “And eventually, we will leave, but not yet.”
Austin, along with Maxwell and two of his other men who had accompanied him, made their way back to the living room. George had already been tied up and was quivering in a corner.
“Go sit by your son,” Austin instructed.
Mr. Gray shook his head. “No, please no...”
Austin placed his rifle down on the coffee table, drew his Remington, aimed it at Mr. Gray’s upper leg, and pulled the trigger. The man went down with an ear-piercing scream. Behind Austin, the women were crying and begging.
Two of his men tied Mr. Gray’s hands behind his back and dragged him to the corner, where his son was sitting.
With that done, Austin turned his attention to the women. They truly were a beautiful bunch. The four daughters, ranging in age from fifteen to twenty-two, all took after their mother. “I think I’ll start with you,” Austin said, pointing his pistol at the youngest one as he walked toward her.
When the men were done with the women, they lined them up in the middle of the living room.
“Thank you for your services,” Austin said with a laugh. His men were satisfied, and so was he. It was time to finish up.
The women sobbed as they knelt in front of him.
Austin nodded toward Mr. Gray and his son. “Bring them over here.”
Two of his men dragged them to the women and positioned them next to them. All fourteen men stood closer. There was no escape for the Gray family. Austin lifted his Remington, pressed it against Mr. Gray’s forehead, and pulled the trigger. Mrs. Gray screamed, her sobs echoing through the too-big house.
“Shut her up,” Austin instructed.
Maxwell stepped up and slit her throat. George and his sisters knew their fate, but there was nothing they could do to stop it. Austin loved the look of pure terror on their faces. It made him feel warm and happy on the inside. Austin put a bullet in the youngest girl’s head and then told his men to finish off the rest of them.
With the Grays out of the way, Austin’s gang made quick work of loading the most valuable items onto their wagons.
They didn’t take furniture or clothes, only items that could easily be resold without being traced back to the Gray family. It was important to remain anonymous, and with the amount of money, gold, and gems in the safe, they didn’t really need anything else.
Before the sun set completely, Austin and his men were back on the road.
It was a successful raid, and Austin was eager to start planning the next one.
Chapter 5
Blade was worried about Millie. Finding Margaret dead must have been a horrible shock, and he could only hope that it didn’t set back her progress. Blade knew that there was a good chance Millie would never speak again. Dr. Masterson had treated people like her before and had warned Blade not to get his hopes up. Blade wanted nothing more than to see Millie happy again.
She used to love singing and dancing. She was such a happy child. Austin and his men had taken that from her. They had destroyed everything Blade and Millie held dear. Blade’s anger toward his uncle grew exponentially. After all these years, he still couldn’t understand how Austin could kill his own brother.
