The Wanted Poster
DAWN
WANTED. Lore Tavis, preacher of Gateway. And associates. Charges: theft and assault, Mallory homestead. Reward offered. By order of Sheriff C. Mallory, Heller’s Ridge.
Two days of hard riding brought them to the Queen’s Way. They couldn’t be far from Heller’s Ridge. Dawn would kill for a real bed and a hot bath. Maybe a warm body that didn’t have a dick or a death wish.
But clouds were piling up, dark ones. That storm would hit tonight; she’d bet money on it.
“We should find shelter,” Riven said. “This storm’ll break soon.”
“We push on,” Lore countered.
Talia’s emotional control slipped while the two men argued. Dawn picked up a flash of panic over the bond, like the girl didn’t know whose side to take.
By midday, Heller’s Ridge shimmered in the distance. Rows of crooked buildings crowded a wide empty street. A little too empty. Townsfolk stepped back into doorways as their group rode into town. Shutters slammed shut.
Riven reined in. “Something is off here. We should go around.”
Lore didn’t slow. “We need to resupply. We’ll get what we need and carry on.”
Riven rarely spoke up unless it mattered. He was making a lot of sense, and Lore was a fool to dismiss his concerns.
“Can you feel it with your affinity, Talia?” Riven asked. “There’s tension in the air.”
The girl froze. Not at the danger. At the men. Her gaze jumped from Riven to Lore. Her shoulders rose, like she could make herself thinner. She was trying to disappear.
Lore frowned and shook his head. “Just follow me.”
What the hell was going on? Talia’s nerves were rattling their bond every time those men tugged her different ways. Holloway clenched his reins. His eyes shot between Talia and Lore. He was tracking it too.
Riven slid off Larkspur and sauntered up to the feedstore wall. Tugged down a bit of paper that was flapping there.
“Shit,” he said under his breath. Then louder, “Hey, there’s a wanted poster here. Names Lore Tavis of Gateway and associates. Theft and assault.”
Talia leaned in. “The Mallory homestead. That must be the family back on the prairie.”
Thunder rumbled in the distance. That storm was coming in, right on schedule.
The first drops hit the dust. What was it Lore had said after they robbed that family?
May the hard choices fall on those strong enough to bear them.
Well, he’d been making all kinds of choices today. Guess they’d see what he was made of.
Riven’s jaw flexed. “We need to get off the Queen’s Way. Now.”
The same road they’d started on. It would have taken them the whole way, if they could have stayed on it for one damn minute.
“Running draws attention,” Lore countered. “We act normal, resupply, leave at firstlight.”
“Agreed,” Holloway said, reining up alongside Lore.
Dawn would love to agree. She wanted that damn bed. But Riven was right. “We passed a gorge back there that’d make a decent windbreak. We should head back, camp there.”
Lore smiled at Talia. “You’re the deciding vote.”
The girl chewed her lip. Rain started coming down harder. They needed to take shelter or go, now.
“Talia,” Riven pressed. “We need to move.”
She opened her mouth, closed it again. She seemed frozen.
“We stay,” Lore said. And just like that, the choice was made.
Dawn watched Holloway’s face go tight. Damn, he was pissed. Couldn’t say she blamed him.
Every head in that saloon turned when they walked in. Conversation didn’t stop, exactly, it just got quiet. The way it does when folks want to hear better. Dawn clocked the exits. Kept her hands loose. Smiled at no one.
Lore leaned on the bar, murmuring to the barkeep. Talia sat next to him, close enough their sleeves brushed. Dawn saw the moment Holloway snapped. Talia’s fingers grazed Lore’s arm, and the soldier boy just lost it.
“Unbelievable,” Holloway muttered.
Talia turned in her seat. “What’s wrong?”
“You.” His voice cut through the room. “Burning time while you figure out how to commit to exactly nothing.”
The saloon went even quieter. Dawn loosened her revolvers. This was a hell of a time to pick this fight.
“That was a wanted poster out there, Tally. And you froze. Again.” He had stepped closer and dropped his voice to a whisper, but Dawn had excellent hearing. She caught every word. “You let Lore choose for you. Again.”
“I was trying to understand—”
“No. You were waiting for someone else to make the call so you wouldn’t have to carry it.” His voice cracked. “You’re so scared someone will notice you’re not perfect; you erase yourself. You mirror whoever makes you feel wanted. Lore. Riven.”
Dang. That was harsh, but it was a little true.
His throat worked, like the words scraped coming out. “It used to be me.”
Talia flinched. Then her jaw set. Her eyes went hard. Dawn felt heat through the bond as anger flickered to life in the girl’s chest.
“That’s not fair—”
“Then say it,” Holloway said. “Right now. Tell me what you think we should do next. Not what he wants to hear.”
She opened her mouth. Nothing. Holloway let out a long, tired breath.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “That’s what I thought.”
Before she could defend herself, the saloon doors slammed open. A man stepped in real slow, spurs clattering. The sheriff, with two deputies at his back. The man’s eyes shot straight from the wanted poster in his hand to Lore’s face.
“That’s them,” he said flatly.
Lore raised both hands. “Sheriff, there’s been a misunder—”
The gunshot cracked before he finished. A glass bottle behind the bar exploded, sending shards flying. No warning. No negotiation. These boys wanted blood.
The barkeep screamed and dove behind his counter. Three more guns fired. Four. Dawn tracked the flashes. Two from the door, two from upstairs. Fuck. They had boys on the balcony.
Her revolvers were out, safeties off, cocked and loaded in four quick clicks. Dawn aimed and fired, and a deputy on the stairs flipped over the rail. Riven drove the men at the door back with two quick slashes.
“Way’s clear!” Holloway shouted, already on the move. “Let’s go!”
Dawn fired twice more, covering shots, just keeping heads down. The five of them burst into the street. The storm was out in full force now. Rain slammed into them. Thunder rattled the shitty buildings. Shots flashed from porches and windows. This whole damn town was in on it.
“We have to split up!” Talia’s voice cut through the chaos. Clear. Commanding. Dawn sent a pulse of support down the bond. “Lore and I will draw them south through town. Riven, you cut north. Dawn, Holloway, get the horses out of here. Regroup at the gorge at firstlight!”
Dawn barked a feral laugh. Fuck yes. Angry looked good on the girl. Maybe Holloway’s little speech had done the right kind of damage.
“You heard her! Move!” Dawn cried.
Riven was so fucking fast. He went left and just melted into the rain.
Holloway swung onto Ash’s back, spurring hard.
Dawn caught Talia’s eye. The girl’s jaw was clenched, her hackles up.
Mad enough to make a point. Dawn knew that feeling well.
Then bullets kicked up between them. Dawn wheeled Brimstone and rode hard for the gorge.
Thunder. Rain. Gunfire. Shouts. Hard to tell who was where. Dawn rode north, hard and fast. Riven appeared from the darkness ahead, and she dropped Larkspur’s reins. Didn’t look back, but he caught up with her a few minutes later, mounted now.
They pushed toward the meetup point. This storm was a doozy; everything was mud and water. When the sounds of pursuit faded, they dropped to a trot, then a walk, steam rising from the horses’ flanks.
Holloway beat them to the gorge with the other three horses. He’d wedged himself under a shelf of rock for a bit of shelter.
“Where’s Talia?” Riven shouted.
“She and Lore ran the other way.” Holloway’s face was pale. “Thought they’d circle back.”
They waited. And waited longer. The rain never stopped. Dawn just felt static across the bond. Either the storm was scrambling it or Talia was too far away.
“We need to go find her,” Riven said, voice tight.
“In this?” Dawn gestured at the sky. “We’d ride past her in the dark and never know.”
“She said firstlight,” Holloway reminded them. “We should wait.”
So they waited there. Huddled under the overhang. Watched the storm rage. Riven paced. Holloway sat with his head in his hands. Both useless with worry. Dawn tested the bond again. Still nothing.
The girl was out there, alone with Lore. In the dark. In enemy territory. Angry. Reckless. Trying to prove she was bolder than she looked.
Well, shit.