Chapter 17
It took eight days to get to Bozeman, Montana. The journey there was smooth, and Blade was starting to lose track of the days. It didn’t matter; the only important thing was making sure that justice was served and then getting back home to his sister.
“You recognized him so quickly,” Blade commented as they followed Oliver Stewart through the streets of Bozeman.
“He used to come visit my father all the time,” Dakota replied. “He would bring us pastries and freshly baked bread that his wife made.”
Blade shook his head, anger raging in his veins. “Bastard.”
Oliver Stewart was the third name on Blade’s list. Blade recognized him, too.
The man had worked on their ranch for years and was one of those people who were friends with everybody.
Blade never would have believed that the man was capable of hurting anybody, but he had seen it with his own two eyes that day.
“Where is he going?” Dakota asked.
“I don’t know, but I hope it is somewhere quiet and alone.”
The thing was that they had no idea what all of these men had been up to over the last couple of years, and it was very possible that they had new families and people who loved them.
Criminals often lied about who they really were, and Blade hated the fact that innocent people were going to get hurt—not physically, but emotionally, which was sometimes just as bad.
Oliver was on horseback, but it wasn’t difficult to follow him.
Blade and Dakota kept their distance, making sure not to lose him.
They had spotted him when he exited the general store.
It didn’t seem like he was planning on going anywhere else in town, and soon enough, they had left the shops behind and were moving toward the outskirts of town.
They passed houses, farms, and ranches, but Oliver just kept going.
Out in the open, they had to be more careful, so they fell back a little but still kept him in sight.
“Should we just attack him now?” Dakota asked.
Blade had been thinking the same thing since there was nobody else around. “Maybe, but I kind of want to see where he is heading. Let’s put our masks on just in case.”
Dakota nodded in agreement. They had both been wearing their neckerchiefs around their necks, so it was easy to slip them on.
With that done, they were ready to act at any moment.
Blade was still considering his options when Oliver took a sudden left turn onto a narrow path that led into the woodlands.
Not wanting to lose sight of him, Blade and Dakota sped up a little, and soon enough, he led them to a dilapidated wooden structure. The place looked completely abandoned and was the perfect hideaway for bandits.
“We’ve got to be careful,” Blade whispered as they watched from afar.
The skin between Dakota’s eyes crinkled with confusion. “Why? There’s nobody else here.”
As if on cue, horses and voices could be heard approaching. “Bandits,” Blade replied.
“Well, that’s not good.”
Blade held a finger to his lips, instructing Dakota to be quiet. The last thing they wanted was to be spotted.
Dakota nodded, opening her mouth and then quickly shutting it again. He had a feeling that she wanted to apologize. It wasn’t necessary.
From between the trees, five men emerged on horseback.
They looked rough, and Blade was almost sure that he was right about them being bandits.
For a moment, Blade simply watched as he wondered what to do.
He and Dakota were outnumbered, but if they attacked, they would have the element of surprise.
There was a possibility that he was wrong about the men, though, and he wasn’t going to harm innocent men.
Blade leaned in closer so that he could whisper into Dakota’s ear. “Stay here and keep the horses quiet. I’m going to move closer to hear what they are saying.”
Dakota shook her head and grabbed his arm.
“I’ll be all right,” he assured her, his voice barely audible. “Just make sure you’re ready to leave at any moment.”
With that, Blade dismounted Africa, drew his pistol, and slowly moved closer. It was a dangerous situation, and he had to be careful. It wasn’t just his safety that he had to worry about, but Dakota’s as well.
Oliver was still on his horse, and the men hadn’t bothered getting down from theirs. It didn’t look like they were planning on staying there long. Blade wanted desperately to attack, but first, he had to hear what they were saying. Staying in the shadows, he moved closer and closer.
“We’ll attack tonight,” Oliver instructed. “We’ll take everything and leave nobody alive.”
“Sounds great,” one of the men said as the others cheered excitedly.
Oliver smiled at their enthusiasm. “The ranch isn’t far from the saloon. We’ll grab dinner and some drinks and then get to business.”
Blade’s anger flared, and he was just about to step out of hiding and shoot them all down right then and there when a part of the old wooden cabin’s roof fell in. The noise was loud, and it sent a dust cloud up into the air.
“I think that’s our sign to get out of here,” Oliver said with a chuckle as he took off. The rest of the men followed after him, leaving Blade rushing back to Dakota.
“Are you okay?” Dakota asked, holding Africa’s reins out to Blade.
He grabbed them and hoisted himself onto Africa in one swift movement. “Yeah. They’re planning on raiding a ranch, but they’re going to the saloon first.”
Blade and Dakota followed the bandits back into town, but they kept a good distance since they knew where they were heading. Once they entered the town, they pulled down their masks and slowed their pace, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves.
Dakota turned to Blade as the bandits made their way into the saloon. “Now what?”
The situation wasn’t ideal, but Blade couldn’t go to the local sheriff for help.
He doubted that the sheriff would believe him since Oliver was a local and he wasn’t.
Even if the sheriff believed him, it would mean leaving without getting revenge.
Blade refused to do that. There was only one option.
“I have to stop them. If I attack while they’re in the saloon, I can catch them off guard.”
Dakota sucked in her breath. “You sure about this?”
“Yes, but I think you should sit this one out. It’ll be safer.”
“No.” Dakota pulled her neckerchief over her mouth and nose. “If you’re going in there, I’m going to have your back.”
Blade considered arguing, but there was no point. She had made her decision and was now standing across the road from the saloon with her mask on. They had to act quickly.
“All right,” he stated, pulling up his mask. “In and out. We can’t waste any time, or we risk getting caught.”
Together, they crossed the road, leaving Africa and Riot tied to a hitching post, and entered the saloon. Blade stepped through the door and raised his Winchester. “Everybody, get out!”
Men scrambled to their feet, knocking over tables and chairs as they tried to escape. The women working there screamed and ran for the door. Blade and Dakota didn’t stop anybody from leaving; they were only there for Oliver and his men. Oliver had gotten up and was flanked by the bandits.
Blade pointed his rifle at the closest bandit, ignoring the chaos all around them, and pulled the trigger. His aim was true. The .44 slug hit the man in the center of his chest, sending him flying back from the impact.
“Put down your weapon!” a man yelled, and from the corner of his eye, Blade saw him moving toward him. It wasn’t one of the bandits, but he had a pistol in his hand. The man probably thought he was doing a good deed, and Blade didn’t want to hurt an innocent bystander.
“I’ve got you,” Dakota said as she rushed past him in the direction of the man.
Only a split second had passed, and people were still scurrying in all directions.
Oliver was now closer, and so were the rest of the bandits.
They were trying to get away, just like all the other men, not having figured out that Blade and Dakota were there to end them.
Blade really wanted to shoot Oliver, but some of the bandits were closer.
He aimed his rifle at the closest one and was just about to pull the trigger when he got bumped by somebody running past. Regaining his balance, Blade shot off a round, hitting his target in the abdomen. A loud moan that could be heard over the panic escaped his mouth.
Blade glanced to his side, wanting to make sure that Dakota was all right. In the time it took Blade to shoot the second bandit, she had disarmed the man and pinned him to the ground.
With the second bandit taken care of, Oliver and the rest of his gang realized that they were being targeted and had drawn their weapons. A slug flew past Blade, lodging itself in the bar counter. Blade ducked behind a table, holstered his rifle, and drew his Colt Rainmaker.
From between the legs of the table, he could see one of the bandits running toward him. Not having to concentrate to make such an easy shot, Blade sent a .32 slug into the man’s kneecap. He fell back, lining himself up perfectly for Blade’s next shot, which landed right between his eyes.
“I’ve got him!” one of the bandits yelled, closing in on Blade.
The man had his pistol pointed at Blade and was only a few feet away.
Knowing he needed to stop the man from getting off a round, Blade aimed for his hand and pulled the trigger.
At such a close distance, the slug hit with enormous force, sending the bandit’s pistol flying, along with some of his fingers.
He cried out in pain, reaching for his injured hand with his whole one.
Blade took the opportunity and ended him with a slug to the chest.
Blade had killed three of the bandits in no time at all, but he had to hurry.
With all the commotion, the law would show up soon, and they couldn’t afford to get caught.
Blade looked over his shoulder. Dakota had her gun pointed at the man she had disarmed and was yelling at him to leave the saloon.
One of the bandits was rushing at her. Acting on instinct and without hesitation, Blade lifted his Colt and pulled the trigger.
The slug hit the bandit in the back, right between his shoulders.
The man toppled forward and hit the ground with a loud thud.
Jumping to his feet, Blade scanned the saloon for Oliver and the other remaining bandit. Oliver was pushing people out of the way, trying to get away, while the last bandit had taken cover behind an overturned table.
Blade only had one bullet left before he would have to reload or switch weapons.
He had to choose his next move wisely. He couldn’t allow Oliver to escape.
Blade could take him out from where he was positioned, but that would give the other bandit a chance to get off a shot.
That wasn’t an option, so Blade ran forward and kicked the table.
The wood split down the center, causing the bandit to fall backward.
Blade lifted his Colt and sent his last bullet into the man’s temple.
Turning to Oliver, Blade holstered his Colt and drew one of his knives.
Oliver was almost at the door when the knife hit the back of his thigh.
He stumbled slightly but kept on going. Blade already drew another knife and sent it flying.
The blade lodged into Oliver’s other thigh, and he stumbled again, trying to catch himself against the wall.
Before Liam could get back on his feet, Blade had reached him.
Using his longest knife, Blade reached over Oliver’s shoulder and slit his throat.
It would be a quick death, which was more than he deserved.
The original idea was to tell the men who he was before ending their lives, but given the circumstances, that wasn’t an option.
It was all right. They had saved an innocent family, and Blade could scratch another name from his list.
“We have to go,” Dakota said, rushing over to him.
She was right. Blade holstered his knife, pulled the other two from Oliver’s lifeless body, and quickly holstered them too.
Everything had happened really fast. The last men were still trying to escape the saloon, and Blade and Dakota slipped out of the building alongside them just as the sheriff and his men arrived.
As soon as they were outside, they ran to their horses and took off down the road.
With all the commotion, the law hadn’t even noticed them, and they managed to make a clean getaway.
That didn’t mean that they wouldn’t be followed, so they had to get out of town as fast as possible and as far from Bozeman as they could.
“You okay?” Blade half-yelled as they rode. He had managed to kill Oliver and his men, meaning that Dakota didn’t have to take anybody’s life, but he was still worried about her.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Let’s just get out of here.”
They rode for a long time, sticking to the main road for a little while before veering off onto a narrower path.
It was dark, but they couldn’t stop, and they had to move fast, so sticking to the road at first was the best idea.
Blade pushed Africa to go as fast as he could, and to his relief, Dakota and Riot stayed with them.
After an hour of full-out galloping, he slowed down a little.
It was time to get off the road. There were some low hills to their left and right; open fields stretched as far as he could see.
“This way,” Blade instructed, swerving to his left, deciding to find a way to the back of the hills.
Going slower, they could talk without having to yell.
“Are you all right with traveling throughout the night?” Blade asked, looking over at Dakota. The moon was bright, with no clouds in the sky, and he could clearly make out her features.
“Yes,” she replied. “We can find a safe place to sleep once we’re far enough away. Are we going in the right direction?”
Dakota was good at a lot of things, but her sense of direction was horrible.
“Of course,” Blade said with a chuckle.
“Daniel Evans,” Dakota whispered, her voice catching in her throat.
Their next target was in Rapid City, South Dakota, and he was the man who had killed Dakota’s mother.