Marisol stood, brushing dust from her knees. “He’s done. Let’s end it.”
Blaze raised a hand. “Not yet.”
Jake looked up at him, eyes wide. “Please. I told you everything.”
“You told me enough to make me sick,” Blaze said. “But not enough to make me sure.”
“I swear on my life, it’s the truth.”
“You already lost that life, Jake,” Blaze said quietly. “You just haven’t hit the ground yet.”
He turned away, holstering his gun. His hands trembled once, then steadied. The anger that had surged inside him was giving way to something else...something worse. Fear.
“Blaze,” Marisol said gently. “You think it’s true? About Rachel?”
He didn’t look at her. “If Kane’s talking to Wilder’s men, then she’s in danger. That’s all that matters.”
“We could ride back,” Graycloud said. “Try to reach Red Rock Crossing before they do.”
Blaze shook his head. “We don’t know where they are. If we ride blind, we could lead Wilder right to her.”
“And if we don’t, she’s alone,” Marisol said, folding her arms across her chest.
Blaze turned on her, voice sharp. “You think I don’t know that?”
The words hung heavy between them. He took a slow breath, forcing himself to calm down.
“We’ll find out more first,” he said. “If Kane’s making deals, he’s not doing it quietly. There’ll be whispers. We just have to listen.”
Graycloud nodded. “Information before action. The old way.”
“The slow way,” Marisol muttered.
Blaze gave her a look. “The smart way.” He turned back to Jake, who was slipping fast. “One last thing. Where’s Wilder now?”
Jake’s lips moved, but the words came out faint. “He’s...he’s headin’ north. Said he’d found somethin’. A place in the mountains...” His voice trailed off.
“What place?” Blaze asked, leaning closer.
But Jake was gone. His body went limp, eyes still open but empty.
Marisol stood over him. “Guess we’ll never know.”
Blaze straightened slowly, staring down at the corpse. The man’s last words echoed in his mind. The mountains. It meant something. It had to.
Graycloud began covering the body with loose dirt and rock.
“He spoke truth with his last breath,” he said. “That counts for something.”
“Doesn’t change what’s waiting back home,” Blaze said quietly.
Marisol’s tone softened. “You think Kane’s working with Wilder for real?”
“I think men like Kane don’t care who they work for, as long as there’s gold involved.”
Graycloud grunted. “Then the traitor will fall with the rest.”
Blaze’s gaze drifted to the horizon, the dying light stretching long over the hills. He could feel it tightening around him. Theweight of his father’s name. It wasn’t just Wilder anymore. It was the rot spreading through everything he loved.
