He could almost feel Marisol stop breathing. It was only Graycloud who continued to function beside him.
The Indian tilted his head slightly. “You mean to disguise yourself?”
“That’s the idea.” Blaze pushed his hat back a little, grinning faintly despite the dirt streaking his face. “A drifter. Maybe looking for work. Mines always have room for one more hand.”
Marisol let out a soft, incredulous laugh. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious,” he replied.
“You think Wilder won’t recognize you?” she asked. “You think those men who’ve been shootin’ at us for weeks won’t notice the man they’ve been dying to kill?”
“Maybe not right away,” Blaze said. “If I keep my head down and act harmless, they might not see it till it’s too late.”
Graycloud’s gaze was steady. “And if they do?”
“Then I’ll improvise,” Blaze shrugged one shoulder.
Marisol groaned. “That’s not a plan, Blaze. That’s suicide wrapped in bad confidence.”
He chuckled quietly. “You said something like that before the shootout in Red Mesa, remember?”
“That’s because you have the same look in your eye now,” she said. “The one that says you’ve already decided.”
Blaze leaned back against the rock, eyes fixed on the mountain. “I can’t let him dig in up there. If he fortifies that place, we’ll never get him out. Best way to stop him is from the inside.”
Graycloud looked at the slope below.
“He is right,” he said softly. “The mountain can be climbed from only two sides. He who enters unseen will hold the power.”
Marisol shot him a glare. “Don’t encourage him.”
The Indian only smiled faintly. “I am not. I am reminding him of the cost.”
Blaze shifted his weight, hand brushing the worn grip of his revolver. “I know the cost.”
“You don’t have to prove anything,” Marisol said softly. “Not to me. Not to anyone.”
“This ain’t about pride,” Blaze said. “It’s about justice. It’s about Rachel. If Kane’s telling him anything, he’ll go for her next. I can’t let him.”
The name hung between them like smoke. Marisol looked down, tracing a finger along the rifle barrel.
“You really think Kane would sell her out?” she asked.
“I don’t think,” Blaze said quietly. “I know. I thought I could trust him. He was a family friend...but knowing what I know now...I should have never left her with him.”
“You didn’t know,” Marisol replied. “You thought you were leaving her in a safe place.”
The silence that followed was long. Only the wind moved, sighing through the rocks.
Finally, Graycloud spoke. “Then we plan. Not for luck, but for survival.”
Blaze nodded once. “Agreed.”
They spread out a few paces, setting everything down. The sun had slipped behind the peaks now, throwing the valleys into shadow. The mine below glimmered faintly with light.
“Alright,” Blaze said, drawing a rough map in the dirt with the tip of his knife. “This ridge runs down toward the west side. They’ve likely posted guards along here, here, and here. That canyon to the south...if you get high enough, you could cover the whole entrance from a perch.”
Marisol leaned closer. “That’s where you want me?”
