“Go ahead, draw,” Wilder said, his voice a hiss. “Let’s end it right now.”
Blaze didn’t move. His eyes stayed locked on Wilder’s. The moment stretched thin as a wire.
Outside, far above, a hawk cried across the crags. And then Wilder’s fingers tightened on his revolver.
Chapter 34
The shot cracked first.
The flash from Wilder’s Smith & Wesson revolver lit the tunnel in a burst of white fire.
Blaze had to act fast. He must have moved away at the same time Wilder’s bullet left the chamber.
Bullets screamed past, hammering sparks from the rock wall. Blaze dove sideways, rolling behind a half-toppled ore cart as more rounds tore through the dust.
“Get him!” Wilder’s voice thundered. “Don’t let him reach the back!”
Blaze crouched low, heart slamming in his chest. The mine filled with the echo of gunfire. It was deafening and endless. The smell of powder and burnt oil clung to the air.
“Cover that gold!” one of the Riders yelled. “He’s after the sacks!”
“Forget the gold, you fool. Kill him first!” Wilder bellowed back.
Blaze peeked over the cart. Wilder was crouched behind a stack of crates, reloading quickly with his jaw clenched tight. Two of his men flanked wide with their Winchester rifles drawn, while another dragged a heavy chest toward a tunnel in the back wall.
“Leave it!” Blaze shouted, his voice ringing through the cavern. “You won’t live long enough to spend it!”
One Rider barked a laugh. “Big talk from a dead man!”
He raised his rifle. Blaze fired first.
The man spun, hit square in the shoulder, and crashed into a heap of timber. The others fired back in a frenzy. The cart Blaze hid behind jolted with the impact of slugs.
“Fan out!” Wilder shouted. “Pin him!”
Blaze scrambled sideways, his boots slipping on loose gravel. He darted between shadows, squeezing off shots to keep them at bay. The muzzle flashes painted the tunnel in orange bursts.
“You can’t hide, Buckeye!” Wilder yelled. “Ain’t no place you can crawl where I won’t dig you out!”
“Funny,” Blaze said, ducking behind a column of rock. “That’s what your boys said at the pass. They’re bones now.”
“Don’t you talk about them!”
Another shot cracked. Stone chips stung Blaze’s cheek.
“O’Hara!” Wilder shouted. “Get that gold to the wagon!”
“I’m tryin’, boss,” came a panicked voice.
“Try harder!”
Blaze took aim through the haze. He could just make out a shadow hauling a canvas sack toward the rear tunnel.
“Not today,” Blaze muttered. He fired.
The bullet tore through the dark. O’Hara cried out, clutching his leg. The sack fell, spilling coins that scattered like raindrops across the floor.
“Damn you,” Wilder said. “You’ll pay for that!”
