Kane let the grin come slowly. “More like I smell leverage. A girl.”
“A girl?” Mangrove echoed, and for a second the alley swallowed the sound.
“Not just any girl,” Kane said. “Rachel Buckeye.”
Caleb’s hand tightened on his shotgun strap. “The Buckeye brat? Blaze’s sister?”
“That same one,” Kane said. He kept his voice smooth. “You boys know Blaze is chasin’ Wilder. You boys know Wilder don’t like bein’ chased. You boys know Wilder pays attention when you deliver what he wants.”
“Why come to us?” Caleb asked. “We ride for Wilder.”
“Because Wilder don’t come here,” Kane said. He looked up toward the church window again and let the edge in his words cut. “But I do. I’ve kept my ear in this town longer than most. I can find what Wilder can’t be bothered to look for himself.”
Jake, who had been quiet since stepping out of the shadows, made a low sound at the back of his throat.
“You sure she’s here?” Mangrove asked. “Could be she ran to town, could be she ran farther.”
Kane let out a small, confident laugh. “She didn’t get far,” he said. “Think on it. A girl with nowhere to go. She’s not hopin’ for the desert. She’s hopin’ for shelter and for someone who says they’ll look out for her. That someone’s me in this town. Folks know me. Folks know I keep a ledger.”
Caleb nodded slowly. “So, you’re sayin’ she’s in Red Rock? In the folds?”
“I’m sayin’ I can find her,” Kane said. “I can get her to Wilder, quiet as a prayer...or I can keep her and sell you the information later.”
“You askin’ a lot,” Mangrove said. “Delivering a person ain’t the same as takin’ a horse.”
“You pay a price,” Kane said. “You get a price.”
He reached into his coat and let a small leather pouch glint in the lamplight before tucking it back.
“Gold’s been movin’ since Wilder found somethin’ out there,” Kane said. “I want a piece of whatever he’s callin’ treasure. I bring him somethin’ he wants and he’s liable to hand over money. I want my share.”
Caleb spat on the cobbles. “You sure Wilder will pay for a girl? He’s got men who ain’t squeamish.”
“He pays for leverage,” Kane said. “For toys that remind him he’s in charge. A Buckeye means somethin’ to him. You give him Rachel, you give him Blaze’s tether.”
“You think Wilder’s that sentimental?” Mangrove asked.
Kane shrugged. “Not sentimental. Strategic. He’s a man who likes his accounts to balance. He dug somethin’ up and he don’t intend to let the world cheapen it. Bring him the thing he wants, and he’ll be grateful enough to hand over coin...Maybe more.”
Caleb laughed softly. “So you play the middleman.”
“I play to win,” Kane stated.
“Why you?” Jake spoke up for the first time. “Why not one of us bring the girl to Wilder directly and keep her ransom for ourselves?”
“Because you don’t know where she sleeps,” Kane said, letting the words hang. “And because the last man who tried to muscle me out of town is missing a jaw.”
Mangrove and Caleb exchanged a glance as if they were remembering. Kane had a way of letting small rumors do the heavy lifting. He’d earned the town’s thanks and grudging fear the way other men earned names on ledgers—with a mixture of favors, blackmail, and the occasional cruel kindness.
“You want us to tell Wilder you can find her?” Caleb asked finally.
“I want you to tell him I have a way to get her to him,” Kane said. “And I want you to promise that when you bring me the money, you’ll let me collect my cut before anyone gets bloodier than necessary.”
Mangrove spat again. “And if Wilder thinks you’re playin’ him?”
“Then I die,” Kane said plainly. “An acceptable end if it buys a start.”
“That’s brave talk,” Caleb replied.
