Jake, Devils on Horseback, Book 2 Page 14

  Gideon stretched as best he could in the cramped position. He and Lee had found evidence of a campfire and concluded it could be the raiders. A stash of canned food and hardtack sat beneath a pile of leaves under the trees. The number of impressions in the dirt by the remains of the fire was right—six people—and the location was close enough to attack the town then run. Currently the two Devils were hiding out ten yards from the site waiting for whoever had built the fire to come back. The rock formation was perfect cover, but it was not in the least bit comfortable.

  The rain the evening before had washed away any tracks, but by the look of things this was the right spot. He wondered if anything was happening in town, and if Jake had found any information in the mayor’s house.

  Lee scratched his back with the rock and frowned. “I sure as hell hope they come back soon. I’m mighty tired of waiting.”

  “Me too.” Gideon looked out at the empty campsite. “Me too.”

  The attack was more unexpected than the others because they struck in broad daylight. Gabby had just brought the mill up to full speed to test the repaired wheel when she heard the shots. She stopped putting wheat into the conveyor belt and listened. Hoots, hollers and screams split the air, punctuated by gunfire.

  Gabby dropped the stalks and ran for the door, certain she could help this time. She was tired of always hiding. Besides, she could use a shotgun just as well as anyone else. Grabbing the weapon from beside the door, she jammed two shells into it and stepped outside into the sunshine.

  At first she didn’t see anyone so she closed her eyes and listened. With a sinking sense of dread, she recognized one of the women screaming.

  Allison.

  Gabby took off running faster than she’d ever moved in her life. Her heart pumped so hard, she was afraid it would explode from fear and anger. Shotgun firmly in hand, she sprinted to the church to help her friend. By the time she got there, they’d already killed the good reverend. He lay bleeding on the dirt, his sightless eyes open in terror. Knowing she couldn’t help him, Gabby ran into their house and found chaos with chairs overturned, dishes smashed and furniture broken.

  However, there was no sign of Allison. Blood splattered on the front door told a story Gabby didn’t want to hear. She stopped and listened again, and heard the raiders over near Cindy’s restaurant. Another scream told her Allison was still alive. For now.

  She wished for a horse, but had to rely on her own two feet to get her where she needed to go. Sweat ran in rivers down her back as she gripped the shotgun with a slippery palm. Her breath came in short bursts but she kept on moving as fast as she could. Allison’s life might depend on it.

  Gabby heard a different noise and didn’t stop to think much about what it was until she got close enough to see what was happening. It had been a rebel yell, a call in the war that had frightened more than a few Yankees. Now it was aimed at the raiders who dared to attack Tanger again.

  The raiders were hunkered down in the alley next to the restaurant. It was the first time anyone had gotten a good look at the men. They wore dark clothes, blues, grays and blacks with wide-brimmed hats favored by the vaqueros. Neckerchiefs covered their faces, but even from a distance, Gabby could feel the malevolence in their gazes. Sweet Jesus.

  Jake and Zeke, armed and dangerous, crouched behind the trees in the center of town. She saw Zeke trembling with fury and knew he was about to risk his life for Allison. Suddenly Gabby understood more than she had before. Jake and his friends were hired to do what they needed to, but they weren’t hired to care about the citizens of town. Clearly these men were more than money-grubbing gunslingers. Even she could see the marked difference between the five raiders holding an innocent young woman hostage and the two men ready to risk their lives to save her.

  Gabby had to help but she didn’t know what to do.

  “You let us go or we kill the girl,” one of the raiders called out.

  “You let the girl go or we’ll kill you.” Zeke’s entire face was red with rage. His hands were clenched on the pistols so hard, Gabby saw whitened knuckles.

  The raider laughed. “I don’t think you quite understand, Reb. She’s what we came for.”

  Gabby would remember the next ten seconds for the rest of her life. Zeke came out from behind the tree with guns blazing. He hit two of the raiders before they could react. The one holding Allison stood, using her as a shield. Gabby screamed and ran toward them, shotgun cocked and ready. The knife slid across Allison’s throat so smoothly at first Gabby didn’t think she’d been hurt. Then red blossomed down her pretty yellow dress and she dropped to the ground.

  Zeke’s howl made goose bumps rise on every bit of Gabby’s body. He ran toward them so fast, she barely made it two steps before he got to Allison. Zeke ripped off his shirt and pressed it to her neck, mindless of the men who were still shooting at him even as they mounted their horses.

  “Zeke, look out!” Jake darted toward his friend, guns rapidly firing.

  Gabby reached Allison and fell onto her knees in the dirt. Tears streamed down her face as she saw the life fade from her friend’s eyes. Zeke kept pressure on her neck, even as his shirt soaked with blood.

  “Allison, oh sweet Jesus.” Gabby covered her mouth with one hand as the pain of losing her best friend nearly squeezed the life from her. Zeke turned his face to Gabby and the sincere, bottomless anguish in his brown eyes made her cry just that much harder. “She’s gone.”

  Zeke shook his head and glanced back down at Allison. “God wouldn’t take such an angel.” A single tear slid down his dusty cheek.

  Gabby choked on a sob and put her hand on his bare shoulder as she struggled with the grief, shock and anger that threatened to overwhelm her. From behind them, more gunfire rang out. A quick glance told her Elmer and Dr. Barham had pulled out their own weapons. Tanger was finally standing up for its own.

  The tinkling of broken glass was the only warning before fire caught hold of the restaurant. The dry summer had served to make everything a tinderbox. The raiders obviously knew that because they’d thrown a lantern into Cindy’s and the dry wood drank in the hungry flames. As the bastards rode off into the afternoon sun, the town of Tanger raced to save itself from a fiery fate.

  Gabby yanked at Zeke’s arm. “She’s gone, Mr. Blackwood. Please, you need to help us p-put out the fire.” Emotions battled within her, but she knew she had to help save the restaurant if she could.

  Elmer ran to the pump beside the restaurant and threw a bucket under the water as it gushed out. Soon women and older men appeared from their hiding places to form a bucket brigade. Yet Zeke didn’t move.

  “Please, Zeke, she’s gone.” She touched his chin and turned him toward her. His eyes swam with sadness so deep, Gabby’s throat closed up. “Please,” she whispered.

  Zeke glanced at Allison, her face barely touched by the gruesome remains of her throat. Her blue eyes remained open in death, surprise and fear evident. He gently closed the lids as his mouth moved in a prayer. Again, Gabby was struck by what she hadn’t seen beneath the surface of the cold blond man.

  With a steely-eyed stare at the backs of the retreating raiders, Zeke finally stood, his bare chest, hands and arms covered in blood. To Gabby he looked like an avenging angel, death on two feet for the raiders. She felt the same urge, the same thirst for vengeance against the cold-blooded killers who would not only destroy such a beautiful life, but start a conflagration that could destroy the rest of the town.

  She scrambled to her feet and ran to join the bucket brigade. Gabby stood beside her fellow citizens and fought together. Jake appeared beside her, his face set like granite with resolve and anger. There would be time later to track the raiders, now they had to fight for the town’s future. She didn’t keep track of the time or how many buckets of water they passed. Blisters formed and popped, pain seared her back and hands, but she didn’t stop and neither
did they.

  Zeke worked like a madman, the grimace on his face could have scared the bastards to death. Even as the fire wound down, he kept throwing the buckets on the restaurant until the last wisp of smoke disappeared. The bandage on his arm bled through, as if he didn’t even notice or care that he’d opened his healing wound.

  Gabby looked around and was pleased to see so many people. The three she didn’t see, however, were Veronica Marchison, her mother and Phineas Wolcott. Panic ripped at Gabby at the thought that something had happened to her mother. Her gaze locked with Jake’s, his soot-covered scowl questioning.

  “My mother.” She glanced toward the mill. “Oh my God.” The exhaustion disappeared completely as she started running toward home.

  Footfalls behind her let her know Jake had joined her. Gabby might not get along with her mother, but that didn’t mean she wished anything bad to happen. Mary was a hard woman, but she was Gabby’s mother. The love would always be there between them.

  * * * * *

  Jake was riding a tornado. It was the only explanation for the last hour he could think of. He ran behind Gabby, certain something must have happened to her mother, hoping it didn’t.

  Gabby had suffered much in the last six months, losing her mother would be too much to bear, even for a strong woman like her. If only Gideon and Lee had been in town to help. Jake wondered if the worst was over or if there were more deadly deeds to be uncovered.

  They reached the mill in less than ten minutes. Gabby stopped at the door and turned to Jake. Smears of blood and soot decorated her beautiful face while her dark eyes swam with fear. He took her hand in his and she winced. When he looked at her palm, the bloody mess of blisters and burns made his fury boil again. Those sons of bitches did more damage in ten minutes than they’d done in six months.

  He kissed her hand softly. “We’ll find her. I’m sure she’s all right.”

  Gabby nodded, but her body told a different story. Squaring her shoulders, she walked up the three steps and opened the door to the mill.

  “Mama?”

  Jake walked in behind her, both guns drawn, ready and willing to protect the woman he loved.

  That thought made him nearly drop the irons.

  Holy ever-loving Christ.

  He picked a fine time to accept the fact that Gabby was the woman in his heart, forever and always. Perhaps it was the way she fought for Allison—although seeing her run across the town square with a shotgun in her hands almost made his heart stop. Or perhaps it was the way she battled the fire in the restaurant. Anything could have triggered the acceptance that he did most definitely love Gabrielle Rinaldi.

  God help him. God help her.

  Gabby walked further into the gloomy depths of the silent mill. Jake hoped like hell Mary was someplace safe. He still shook from the battle with the marauders and he was barely keeping his stomach below his throat.

  “Let’s check on your pa.” Jake gestured toward the stairs leading to the living quarters. “Maybe she’s in there with him.”

  Fear gripped her expression as the color leached from her skin. “Papa?” She raced up the steps with Jake hot on her heels.

  When they got to the top, she didn’t even bother looking in any of the other rooms, she made a beeline for her father’s. She slammed the door open, startling Jake and alerting anyone else in the county that she was there. He kept forgetting Gabby wasn’t a trained soldier, even if she acted like one sometimes.

  Mr. Rinaldi sat propped up against pillows in the bed, staring into nothingness, lost in the world only he knew. Gabby fell to her knees and cupped his face.

  “Papa, it’s Gabby. Are you all right?”

  He looked at her but didn’t respond. Jake swore he saw a glimmer of love in the depths of Sam’s watery brown eyes. The man was still dirty, with greasy, stringy hair and sleeping in the awful stench Jake had come to recognize was long-term bed sores and human excretions.

  “What are you doing?” Mary’s voice ricocheted off the wall, making Jake and Gabby jump.

  “Mama!” Gabby leapt to her feet and ran to her mother, only to wrap her arms around an unresponsive piece of wood.

  Mary stepped away from her daughter’s embrace. “What are you two doing in here? It’s your papa’s rest time and now you’ve ruined it.” Thunderclouds couldn’t be darker than her expression. “And you’ve tracked in filth. What on earth were you thinking coming in here with dirt all over you?”

  Gabby wiped the tears from her cheeks and took a step back. The gruesome remains of the day smeared on her soft skin. “This isn’t dirt, Mama. It’s death. Those raiders came into town and m-murdered poor Allison, then set Cindy’s restaurant on fire. Where were you?”

  “Cindy’s long gone so it doesn’t matter if that building burns. Elmer can’t cook worth a spit anyway.” Mary moved around Gabby to stand in front of Sam.

  “Where were you?” Gabby repeated. This time her voice held no tremors.

  “I was here with your papa. I can’t be running all over town when something happens. He needs to be cared for.” Mary laid her hand on Sam’s bony shoulder. “I’m always here for him.”

  Gabby’s fists clenched and Jake felt the pain from her scorched skin in his own hands. Without another word, she left the room and Jake followed. By the time they got downstairs, her hands had opened, but he knew she was still seething. Her mother seemed to be the most contrary, mean woman he’d ever had the misfortune to meet. Mary seemed to go out of her way to be nasty to Gabby as well. He didn’t know exactly what drove the older woman to treat her daughter like an annoyance, a trespasser, but he could make damn sure Gabby knew she was loved.

  “Let’s go get you cleaned up.” Jake took her arm and led her outside into the sunshine.

  The brightness of the sun seemed to taunt the emotions and events of the dark day. Jake hoped like hell Gid and Lee got back soon so they could chase those bastards into the ground.

  * * * * *

  They sat outside the mill and watched the sun go down. Gabby didn’t say much, but she didn’t move from beside Jake. Dr. Barham took care of Allison’s body while Elmer helped with her father, so Jake bandaged her hands. There was nothing else to be done but wait and be on guard. Zeke had ridden off, looking for something, anything to direct his fury at.

  Gideon and Lee arrived before full dark, with Zeke right behind them. Jake stood, relieved to have the four of them back together. They formed a circle with Gabby watching from her perch on the stone wall.

  “Tell me what happened. Zeke’s not talking and Cindy’s is smoldering.” Gideon glanced at Gabby.

  “She’s part of this.” Jake was never more sure of that in his life. Allison’s murder had pulled Gabby from her self-imposed refusal to accept the Devils’ presence.

  “Fine. Then how about you start talking?” Lee motioned to his brother. “Because this one is silent as a gravestone.”

  Zeke launched himself at Lee without warning. A snarling tussle ensued with grunts and fists flying. Gideon grabbed Zeke while Jake handled Lee. Every one of them had more bruises by the time they separated, breathing hard and cursing.

  “I’m going to kill every fucking one of them.” Zeke walked off into the darkness alone, the pain in his voice echoing behind him.

  “Jesus Christ.” Lee spat out a mouthful of blood. “What the hell happened?”

  Jake wiped his forehead. “The raiders came in broad daylight today, killed the preacher, his daughter and then set fire to Cindy’s.”

  Gideon cursed loudly. “The blonde right? The one who was so taken with our Zeke? Goddammit, no wonder he’s angry.”

  “We should have been here,” Lee snarled. “Together we could’ve stopped them.”

  Jake shook his head, aware that Gabby watched them carefully. “They’ve never come during the day before. Nobody was prepared. By the time
we got to them, they’d already killed the preacher.” He swallowed, the memory of the horror he’d witnessed running through his mind like a nightmare. “They slit her throat right in front of us.”

  The silence was only split by the night creatures’ music. Gabby moved to stand beside Jake and slipped her bandaged hand gently into his.

  “I need to find him.” Lee started to walk away but Gideon grabbed his arm.

  “No, leave him be for now. I think he needs some time.”

  “What did you find out there? Anything?” Jake hoped like hell something good would come of the day.

  “We found their campsite, and some supplies. The only interesting thing we found is what appears to be a crate from Marchison’s store.” Gideon’s gaze searched Jake’s. “I’m not sure if it’s one of the folks at the store, but I’d say that’s proof someone in Tanger is helping those bastards.”

  Gabby gasped. “Marchison’s? Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” Lee spat again. “Don’t surprise me. That lady who runs the place is a bitch and her husband looks shifty to me.”

  Gabby’s grief-stricken face hardened. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Veronica was involved somehow. Her husband Matthew couldn’t possibly be.” Gabby blew out a breath. “Believe me, he’s just a sad old man who lost his son to the war.”

  “No one in town has been honest with us from the get-go. Why should we believe you?” Lee had a point, and a good one.

  “You don’t have any reason to, but Jake might.” She turned to look at him. “Please, you have to believe me. Matthew is innocent, he has to be.”

  Jake searched inside himself. He loved Gabby, an inescapable fact, but love did cloud judgments. His was certainly turning in a million different directions, unable to know exactly what was right and wrong. The one thing he did know was that Gabby knew the town. He trusted her judgment on that point.

  “She’s right. Gabby knows the town better than we do. If she says it’s just the woman, then I believe her. Maybe Veronica Marchison is the woman I ran into in the alley.” Jake remembered something. “In fact, the night I was looking for information, I heard two people at Marchison’s on the loading dock around midnight and one of them was a woman. That definitely points to her as the one who’s trying to destroy the town.”