The other men faded into the background. All she knew was the man beside her and the one slowly slipping away.
Finally, with one last rattling sigh, Ezekiel went still.
An awful feeling settled over her as she held her breath, watching, waiting. But his chest didn’t rise again.
Anguish built in her, ripping from her throat in a cry.
Gil pulled her fully against him, and she buried her face in his chest and let the great heaving sobs come.
He was gone. Her friend, her mentor. One of the two best men she'd ever known.
CHAPTER 16
Gil kept his breathing steady as he stared up at the darkness from his bedroll.
Jess and her father were both asleep, surely.
It’d been awful seeing her after Ezekiel died, holding her as she grieved. Ezekiel was probably one of the only people in her life who’d loved her unselfishly.
When he’d brought her back to the apartment, her father had been waiting for them. His gaze had narrowed as he sat at the table. Thankfully, the man hadn’t said much, because Gil wouldn’t have put up with his hurtful words.
She'd gone to bed soon after they returned, and Gil had tucked her in. Sleep was what she needed most. His chest ached, and he’d hardly known the old man. If only there were something more he could do to ease Jess’s pain. No matter what anyone said or did, the grief would have to work its way through her system over time.
It had taken a long while for her breathing to slow after she'd stopped crying.
Now, he looked one last time at where she lay tucked under blankets on her cot. She wasn’t likely to awaken, given how exhausted she must be. Which is why he'd not told her what hewas about to do. After tonight, there would only be one more day and night to convince Sampson and get the sapphires out. He couldn’t waste any time.
As quietly as possible, he eased up from his bed pallet, picked up his boots, and slipped past the curtain into the main room. McPharland’s snores never halted as Gil crept toward the doorway. On the way out, he grabbed one of the extra lanterns and stuffed a few matches in his pocket.
Outside, the cold night air hit him like a splash of icy water. A welcome jolt to his senses after the stifling warmth of the apartment. He pulled on his boots, his fingers fumbling hooks in the dark.
Above him, stars glittered sharp and bright against the inky sky, tiny pinpricks of light that seemed to mock the heaviness in his heart.
He let the chilly air fill his lungs. Then he set off, skirting around the mountain, keeping his steps as silent as he could on the rocky ground. The trees covering the opening to the cave, a darker patch in the night. He’d keep the lantern unlit until he was inside the storage room—if he could make it that far in the dark.
As he slipped behind the cedars’ branches and stepped into the shadows of the cave entrance, a voice behind him shattered the stillness.
“Halt!”
Gil whirled, his heart leaping into his throat.
A short, wiry shadow stood five steps away, a rifle pointed at Gil's chest. Jedidiah.
Despite the faint starlight, the man's face was lost in shadow. Yet Gil could feel the weight of his gaze, cold and assessing.
Gil wasn’t far enough into the cave that the darkness hid him, so Jedidiah would see any movement he made. Was the man a quick shot? Gil could possibly lunge sideways and avoidthe bullet, then attack Jedidiah before he could reload or be prepared for a fight.
But what good would that do, except to bring other men running? He wouldn’t be able to get the sapphires out either way, and he might ruin his chance to retrieve them later. He’d likely make it a lot harder to protect Jess too.
So he scrambled for a quick excuse. "I dropped something when we were in this cave earlier." The words spilled out in a rush. "My pocket knife. It's special to me. Just realized it was missing, wanted to find it before I lost it for good."
Jedidiah's silence stretched. When he spoke, his voice carried a cold menace. "Ain't nothing in there worth finding. But I'll take another look for you. Why don't you turn around and go on back to thatwifeof yours? And stay there."
The way he saidwifemade Gil's skin crawl. Did Jedidiah suspect the truth behind their pretend marriage? Gil's mind raced, searching for some way to get past the man, to reach the sapphires. But with that rifle trained on him, he stood no chance. Not tonight.
He nodded. “All right. As soon as you lower that rifle.”
The small man didn’t drop the barrel, but he stepped back, allowing Gil to slide between the trees and the rock, then start up the hill toward the apartment.
