Chapter 30
Jem ducked, avoiding another fist to the face. The man in front of him was big and slow but determined. Jem took the next hit on his forearm, let it push him sideways, then drove his elbow back hard into the man's jaw.
The man's knees buckled. Jem grabbed his collar and put him down and stayed down with him for one second, breathing hard, one hand braced on the frozen ground.
He looked up. Things had gone from peaceful to chaos in a minute. His brother had come with more force than even he’d expected.
As Jem made it to his feet, he froze. A shiver ran down Jem’s spine. Thirty feet away. The last man he wanted to see, but who he’d also expected, Ransom. His brother.
Unlike the other men, his brother was in no hurry. Long black duster. Twin revolvers. The rider's hat was pulled low but not low enough.
Ransom’s gaze met his as he pulled his horse to a stop.
Neither of them moved. The battle kept going around them, shouting, hoofbeats and the crack of gunfire with the two of them standing still in the middle of it.
Satisfaction filled Ransom’s face, a grin breaking over his expression.
Jem pushed himself upright and took a step closer to Phineas and Leland. More of Ransom's men had flooded into the clearing, and slowly the fighting stopped, as Jem and the other men from the wagon train realized they were outnumbered.
Phineas had two of Ransom's men disarmed at his feet, and a cut above his eye, and his jaw was clenched. Leland was to his left, breathing hard, his pistol still raised.
They were surrounded. The new riders were cutting off the fallback positions they'd mapped the night before. The ground they'd spent hours fortifying was now working against them, the wagon gaps funneling Ransom's men inward rather than keeping them out.
Jem scanned the camp fast. Most of the civilians had pulled back, pressed into wagons or crouched behind wheels. Children were silent. He looked for Theda.
He didn't find her.
Please stay hidden.
He faced his brother, his hand on his pistol.
“This is the outfit you abandoned me for?” Ransom sneered.
Jem clenched his jaw.
Before he could answer, a commotion behind him made everyone turn. His heart dropped when he saw who it was.
Zachary, one of Ransom's men, whom he knew well. He’d never gotten along well with Zachary and would have been happy to never remember him.
Zachary wasn't alone. He had his hand locked around Theda's arm.
Jem saw the blood on her forearm first. As his eyes trailed down her, the other details jumped out at him.
The torn hem of her dress, the way her hair was half down, framing her face.
She was on her feet, and her chin was up, but her eyes found Jem immediately across the clearing.
There was pain in her eyes, panic in her expression.
He didn't move. Every muscle in his body pulled toward her, but he forced himself to stand still and wait. Tolliver followed behind Zachary, hands free. He met Jem's eyes, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
The anger that moved through Jem was so sharp it almost cleared his head entirely.
“Found him tied to the supply wagon during the attack,” Zachary said to Ransom, jerking his chin toward Tolliver. “You’ll appreciate what he had to say.”
Ransom looked at Tolliver.
“She's Calloway's sister,” Tolliver said. “The leader of this train and the reason Josiah switched sides.”
Ransom's eyes moved to Theda. Then to Jem. The grin came back stronger than ever as Jem’s heart sank. He’d wanted to keep his attachment to Theda a secret. Ransom would use it to hurt him, to hurt them both.
Ransom stepped toward Theda.
Before Jem could react, Phineas jumped between Ransom and Theda in two strides, squaring his shoulders, the cut above his eye still dripping red down the side of his face.
“Leave this wagon train alone.” His voice was controlled, but Jem could hear the effort underneath it. “Whatever you came for, these people have nothing to do with it.”
Ransom stopped. He looked at Phineas with mild interest.
“I would love to,” Ransom tilted his head. “Give me the diamonds along with Ansel Crenshaw and I’ll leave you all alone. I give you my word.”
The clearing went quiet.
Phineas’ jaw shifted. “Ansel.”
“That's right.”
Something crossed Phineas’ face. His eyes narrowed, he hesitated.
Jem stared at him.
He understood faith. He understood the conviction Phineas carried, the way it shaped every decision the man made from the moment he woke up to the moment he closed his eyes. Jem respected it, had come close to believing in it again, with Theda's influence.
But Theda was standing ten feet away with blood on her arm, and Tolliver's smug face behind her, and Jem could not for the life of him understand what there was to hesitate about.
He'd hand over Ansel without blinking. He'd hand over the diamonds, his own freedom, anything that was asked of him. The answer was simple, so why hadn’t Phineas agreed yet?
Jem looked at Theda. She was watching Phineas, not Ransom, and her expression had gone very still.
Jem's mind was already moving, angles, distances, how many men stood between him and her, whether Zachary's grip was the kind that could be broken fast or the kind that couldn't.
Ransom hadn't looked away from Phineas.
He watched the hesitation play out across Phineas’ face.
“That's what I thought.” Ransom chuckled.
“I won't trade a man's life.” Phineas’ voice stayed level. “Whatever he's done, I hand him over knowing what you'll do to him. I can't do that.”
Ransom laughed again. It was a short, genuine sound, like Phineas had said something that actually amused him.
“That’s your choice?” Ransom asked.
No, that can’t be his choice.
“You can't protect him and lose her,” Jem spoke up, taking a step closer. He was no longer Josiah, the brother Ransom could control and knew. He was Jem, the man he’d become on the wagon train. He was determined to keep his new identity. He loved it too much to let his old one swallow it whole.
Ransom’s gaze turned stormy as it swung to Jem. He dropped his hand in a short signal. Movement exploded in the clearing. Zachary hauled Theda toward the nearest horse.
She pulled against his grip, her boots finding the ground, and Zachary yanked her arm hard enough that she made a sound that went through Jem like a blade.
Phineas lunged forward. Jem ran toward them both; he had to stop Ransom from taking her. Once he had her…
The scene in front of him played in slow motion.
Theda was reaching for Phineas, and just as her brother was reaching for her, Zachary stepped in front.
He brought the pistol down across the side of Phineas’ head.
Phineas went down hard, one knee hitting the dirt first, then his hands, then nothing. He didn't get up.
“Phineas!” Theda screamed, her fear and pain ripping through Jem as he raced toward her.
He covered three feet before he saw Ransom's arm come up, the revolver leveled not at him but at Theda. Ransom was not even looking at the gun. Instead, his gaze searched for Jem.
Jem stopped. His boots froze to the ground. Theda was already half-mounted, Zachary's hand on her arm, and the barrel of Ransom's revolver tracked her. Ransom wasn’t attached to her. He meant his threat. He would kill Theda without a second thought if he felt it would hurt Jem.
Ransom looked at Jem over the gun.
“Come on, baby brother.” His voice dropped, almost conversational. “I know you. You care about her more than this wagon train, more than any of these people.” He tilted his head toward the horse. “Come back to camp with me. We'll sort out our family business there.”
Jem looked at Theda. She was looking back at him, her jaw set, her eyes steady. She’d want him to stay. But he couldn’t give her what she wanted.
He looked at the gun.
“The diamonds.” Phineas’ low voice came from behind Jem, rough and tight. “I can give you the diamonds.”
“Unless that comes with Ansel, I won't accept them.” Ransom glanced at Phineas lying in the dirt. Then back at Jem. “Here's what I'll take. The diamonds and Ansel Crenshaw delivered to the eastern outcrop by sunrise. One rider.” He paused. “That's the trade. That's the only trade.”
“And Theda?” Leland spoke up.
“She’ll be safe until sunrise.” Ransom's voice was pleasant. “Incentive.”
“You can have the diamonds. That’s what you told me this was all about.” Jem took one slow step forward. “Take them now, take them tonight, and leave her here. I’ll go with you.”
Ransom looked at him for a long moment. Then he shook his head, slow and final.
“Diamonds and Ansel. Sunrise.” He moved his attention to Phineas again. “Or your sister won’t live past tomorrow. Make a choice soon. My patience has a limit.”
Ransom swung into his saddle and spoke to Jem. “Are you coming?”
He had to go. Staying to help the wagon train was not an option. Tears tracked down Theda's face as she looked at her brother. Blood trickled down Phineas' cheek as he struggled to get up on his feet.
“Don't go with them, Jem,” Phineas growled. Jem couldn't stop himself. He had to be there for Theda, to protect her in any way he could from the inside.
Jem walked toward the horse that Ransom's man held out to him. He mounted, trying to ignore Theda's crying. Her shoulders were shaking, and she looked devastated. He wished he could go to her and hold her in his arms. He wished he could tell her everything would be all right.
His back was rigid as he rode behind Ransom and the others. He knew how it looked to the wagon train, to the people he'd come to call his friends. But he couldn't bring himself to look back.
He kept his eyes forward and forced himself to keep going.
---*---
Two hours in, the terrain hadn't changed much. Rock, scrub and the narrow trail cutting through it while the horses moved at a steady pace with nobody talking.
Jem rode at the back of the group. He could see Theda from there.
She was four horses up, Zachary on her left, one of the other men on her right. She'd been sitting straight for the first hour. Sometime in the last thirty minutes, her shoulders had dropped, and she had slumped forward slightly, her head low, her hair moving in the cold wind off the ridge.
Her shoulders were shaking.
Jem watched her, keeping his face empty and his hands loose on the reins. He did the math on every man between them, the way he'd been doing it since they rode out of camp.
Ransom raised his fist, and the group slowed, then stopped. He swung down and walked forward to check the trail ahead, two of his men following. The others stayed mounted, relaxed, not watching much.
Jem slipped out of his saddle.
He moved forward along the line of horses and came up beside Theda. Up close, he could see her face clearly for the first time since they'd ridden out. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were wet. She was biting her lip hard, trying to hold the rest of it back.
He shrugged off his coat without speaking and laid it across her shoulders, holding it as she slowly moved her arms into the sleeves. His coat was too big for her, but she seemed to relax with it on.
Theda’s eyes met his, pools of uncertain green. He held her gaze for a moment. Then he stepped back.
“It’s going to be all right,” he whispered, squeezing her hand gently. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but he couldn’t wait to hear it. “We’ll speak soon,” he whispered.
“Touching.”
Tolliver's voice came from behind his left shoulder. Jem turned. Tolliver sat on his horse a few feet back, arms crossed over the saddle horn, watching him. Jem said nothing as their gazes met.
His back was to Theda, and it was the hardest thing he had to do, walking away from her, instead of gathering her up and making a run from everything.
“You know you can't protect her.” Tolliver looked almost regretful. “Not here.” He glanced toward where Ransom stood at the head of the trail. “You know that, right?”
Jem held his gaze for a second longer, then he turned and walked back to his horse and swung up into the saddle. He fixed his eyes on the trail ahead. On the line of Theda's shoulders under his coat. On Ransom, in control of the situation, the way he always was.
Tolliver might be right. That was the thing Jem couldn't shake loose. He could ride two lengths behind her for the rest of the night, and it wouldn't change things.
Could he save her?