Who was this monster? Just seeing him grip Josie like that made Travis want to strangle him. Was he a marshal? Perhaps another enemy from home? A bounty hunter collecting a reward?
The man gripped Josie by the arm, pulling her upward. “Come on, let’s get going,” he snarled.
Josie gasped, buttoning the top layer of her blouse while adjusting the blanket around Nathan. The man yanked her away from the rock and towards the black horse tied to a tree. Travis took a few steps forward behind another cluster of trees, watching with eagle eyes. He wouldn’t let them get far.
The sun was already setting, and given what little supplies the man carried, Travis wouldn’t allow Josie and Nathan to stay out longer than they had to. Maybe he’d ride ahead on Flash, confront them nice and easy.
But what about the man’s gun? He could easily pull it on Josie. Travis’s lips pressed to a thin line and his muscles tensed. This was hopeless.
Travis took another few steps, his foot crunching against a tree limb shallowly buried under the snow. The man ahead froze, pulling out his revolver and aiming forward, his grip holding Josie’s forearm.
“Who’s there?”
Travis didn’t move a muscle, let alone blink. He held his rifle in his hands, ready to shoot if necessary.
“I know you’re there, Blythe! Show yourself!” The man yanked Josie and Nathan in front of him. Josie shrieked and closed her eyes as he pointed the gun against her temple. “Come out now or she’s dead.”
Travis’s heart violently pounded, constricting his lungs. The man had Josie, Travis’s sweet Jo. That man had no right to take her and hold her like that! Travis’s nostrils flared. He’d kill this man with his bare hands, no problem. The woman he loved and his child were in danger.
“Let her loose!” Travis shouted.
The man took a few steps forward. Nathan screamed bloody murder in Josie’s arms, fueling Travis’s fury.
“Step out now!” the man growled.
Travis moved out of the clearing, his rifle aimed at the man. “Let’s talk about this! She’s my wife and that’s my son. You would really hurt an innocent woman and child?”
“Innocent?” The man sneered. “What kind of poison has she been feeding you? This woman ismywife, and the child is my heir.”
Travis’s breath caught.Wife?Josie’s husband was dead. She killed him herself. She came to Montana to escape the law.
“Don’t hurt him,” Josie begged the man. “He had no part in this. It’s me you want, Marcus.”
How was Marcus alive? It didn’t matter—not when Travis would kill him as soon as he got the chance.
“Put the gun down or I’ll blow her brains out,” Marcus commanded. “We can talk this out, just like you want. After all, we are her husbands. Shouldn’t we come to an understanding?” A sinister smile crossed his face.
This man knew nothing about understanding. He had hurt Josie, and now he was evil enough to bring the child out inthis weather. What was the man thinking? Marcus was purely insane. But Travis had no other choice, so he’d play this man’s game. He couldn’t bear that gun being so close to Josie’s face.
“All right,” Travis agreed. He lowered his rifle and put up his hands. “Let them go. Let’s talk about this.”
Marcus threw Josie to the ground, and Travis’s breath hitched. “Josie!”
She fell onto her back with Nathan still pressed to her chest. Travis ran to her, his hand cradling her head. Her eyes sprung open as her cheeks deepened with a fearful red. Travis looked down at Nathan who continued to scream like before. Travis glared back at Marcus, temples throbbing. He wanted to rip the head from his shoulder and watch him die an excruciating death.
Before he could stand, Marcus pointed his revolver. “Get up.”
Travis stood, his hands in the air. “Let her go. You can do with me what you will.”
“No, Travis!” Josie argued.
Marcus opened his coat, revealing another revolver. He threw it at Travis’s feet.
“Let’s settle this like gentlemen and have some fun. We both are married to the same woman, and there can only be one husband.”
A duel. Killing Marcus was at the top of Travis’s list, and now he had the opportunity. However, only one could be the winner.
“Travis, please don’t do this,” Josie begged, her eyes brimming with tears, clutching a screaming Nathan.
