Chapter 44
The journey back to the kid’s ranch did not take long and was pretty much uneventful.
They had enough supplies with them and only had to search for water a couple of times.
The desert was still ruthless, and one night it stormed, causing a flash flood.
Luckily, they managed to get away without too much of a struggle, and soon enough, they left the desert behind.
Deadshot felt overwhelmingly relieved when he saw an actual road come into view.
He had never minded going on dangerous missions, but searching the desert for so long had really taken a lot of strength and determination.
His body was tired and really needed a rest. Deadshot was happy that they could rescue Isabelle, but his mission still didn’t feel complete.
Quincy and Sarah were still out there. And he had to find them.
From their conversations, he knew that Isabelle and the kid wouldn’t rest until they had found Sarah.
You couldn’t blame them for that, but at the same time, it was too dangerous for him to search for Sarah with Isabelle tagging along.
Deadshot had promised them that he hadn’t given up on Sarah and that his mission was still to find Quincy. But first, he had to get Isabelle back home. He couldn’t keep both Isabelle and the kid safe while searching for Quincy. It was too dangerous.
Isabelle was desperate to find her daughter, but she understood and agreed. The kid, on the other hand, wasn’t as happy about the idea of not joining the search for his sister.
“As long as Quincy is out there, your mother is in danger,” Deadshot told him. “It is up to you to keep us safe now.”
The kid frowned. “I know you are right, but I want to help you.”
“What?” Deadshot laughed. “You still don’t believe that I’m capable of finding Sarah on my own?”
“That’s not it,” the kid told him. “I just think that maybe I can be of help.”
Deadshot ruffled his hair. “I’m pretty sure you could be, but like I said, your ma needs you now, and I am more than capable of finding your sister.”
It took some convincing, but eventually, the kid agreed.
Deadshot didn’t really mind having the kid with him.
In fact, he had come to really enjoy the kid’s company.
It was going to feel strange to search for Sarah without him.
It was true what he had said, though; Isabelle needed some protection, and the kid was capable of doing that.
As they traveled, they stopped at one or two shops for supplies, but it really didn’t take too long for them to reach their ranch once they had found a road.
They didn’t have to hide from anybody and could simply head home.
During their travels, Deadshot had gotten to know Isabelle, and she truly was a remarkable woman, just like the kid had said.
The sooner he went after Quincy, the better, especially with Sarah being with child.
He wasn’t sure how far along she was since Isabelle had lost track of time, and to be honest, so had he.
Everybody had agreed that it would be much better if Deadshot found Sarah before the baby was born; once she wasn’t carrying Quincy’s child anymore, there was no telling what he might do to her.
According to Isabelle, Quincy wanted to make a life with Sarah.
He wanted to marry her and have more babies with her, but Deadshot did not trust a man like that.
If Sarah so much as stepped out of line, he was afraid that Quincy would hurt her or, even worse, kill her.
Of course, he did not want to voice these thoughts, but Isabelle had no problem doing so.
She believed the same, and so did the kid.
Deadshot had only been to the kid’s ranch once before, but he managed to find it easily.
He might not be good with names, but he was exceptionally good with directions.
He had expected the ranch to still be an estate, but to his surprise, not a single thing was out of place.
It was as if the raid had never happened.
The kid had told him that he cleaned up the place a little, but Deadshot did not expect it to look like that.
He was rather impressed and happy that Isabelle did not have to come home to a reminder of what had happened there.
Even though the kid had fixed up the place, it was obvious that Isabelle did not feel comfortable being there. Honestly, Deadshot did not feel comfortable leaving them there as well. Quincy knew where their ranch was, and if he was going to go looking for Isabelle, that would be the first place.
They were all seated in the living room.
The kid had started a fire in the fireplace, and Isabelle had made them some coffee.
To anybody else, they would have looked like a happy family, but they weren’t.
Isabelle and the kid were happy in the sense that they had each other’s backs, but their family had been broken apart.
Isabelle’s husband and the kid’s father was dead, and Sarah was out there somewhere with a murdering psychopath.
As for Deadshot, he wasn’t a part of their family at all.
He was simply there because the kid had asked him for help.
Once he had found Sarah and all of it was over, he would have to go back to his house and carry on with his life alone.
Deadshot did not like that idea at all, and the fact that he didn’t like it upset him even more. He used to be perfectly happy being alone, and it shouldn’t bother him now.
“I think you two should stay at my cabin while I go look for Sarah,” he stated. “It’ll be much safer there.”
Isabelle’s face lit up. “You wouldn’t mind doing that for us?”
“Not at all,” Deadshot replied. “As long as you agree to take care of my vegetable garden.”
Isabelle laughed at that, and Deadshot’s heart sped up.
He shook his head and pushed the feeling away.
There was no use in getting attached to her or the kid.
It would only hurt him once this was all over and he had to say goodbye.
He had spent his entire life without forming any attachments. It was better that way.
“Quincy was here at your ranch, and he might come looking for you, but he hadn’t been at my cabin. He doesn’t know where it is.”
“That’s true,” the kid agreed. “He only sent some of his men after me, and you killed all of them that night. Nobody would have known where I went.”
“It’s settled then,” Deadshot said. “It’s too late to leave now. We’ll stay here for the night, and then we’ll head to my cabin before sunrise. We should be able to get there by noon if we leave early enough.”
They were all tired, but none of them wanted to go to sleep in separate rooms, so they ended up sleeping in the living room.
Isabelle and the kid slept on one couch, and Deadshot slept on the other.
The couch was too small, and his legs stuck over the end, but it was so much better than the hard ground, and he fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, Isabelle made breakfast for them, and then they headed to Deadshot’s cabin.
Once they got there, Deadshot would make sure they were settled in, and then he would restock his supplies and be on his way.
He had no idea where Quincy would have taken Sarah, so his plan was to head back toward the desert and find one of the closest towns to the cave.
He would start his search there, and hopefully, it wouldn’t be as difficult to find Quincy and Sarah as it was to find Quincy’s original hideaway.
The three of them were discussing Deadshot’s plans when they came to a sudden stop.
There on the cabin’s porch stood none other than Quincy and a very pregnant girl whom Deadshot immediately knew was Sarah.
Her belly was enormous, and she looked absolutely terrified as Quincy readjusted the pistol against her head.
Next to him stood three armed men, ready to attack if necessary.
“Deadshot,” Quincy said, his voice filled with venom. “So glad you could join us.”
“Quincy,” Deadshot greeted, readying his hand. “Didn’t know you knew who I am.” It was true. They had never met before, but Quincy must have done some digging after he left the cave with Sarah.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Quincy replied. “I couldn’t care less about you. I just want my gold back that the kid stole.”
“And then what?” Deadshot asked. “Do we get Sarah in return?”
Quincy only hesitated for a second. “Sure, why not? But first, I want my gold.”
Deadshot did not believe a word he was saying. There was no way he was simply going to hand over Sarah while she was carrying his child. There was also no way that Deadshot was going to allow Quincy to go free.
“I have a better idea,” Deadshot said, taking a deep breath. “Why don’t you and I have a shootout? Winner takes all.”
Excitement washed over Quincy’s face. “It’s been ages since I’ve been challenged to a standoff.”
“Well, now’s your chance to show everybody that you’re still the best.” Deadshot knew that Quincy wouldn’t be able to refuse a duel. The man was known to always accept a challenge.
“All right,” Quincy agreed. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“We’ll do it in the city center this afternoon at four. We’ll bring the gold. You bring Sarah.”
Quincy laughed excitedly. “I’ll see you there, bounty hunter.”