Chapter Nineteen
Jayce
Adam and the Mexicans returned to camp without Dave.
“We tracked the scientist to his camp. He’s pretty spooked. Dave has gone to the ranch to send for reinforcements,” Adam told Jayce. “They’ll take care of that problem while we get the bank robbery out of the way. Bob can fill in for Dave.”
Bob—known as Beto for the time being—was no happier than his companions about Adam using nitroglycerin on the safe.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he said to Adam. “Because I don’t think you know what you’re doing.”
“Of course I know what I’m doing,” Adam said. “Don’t worry about it.”
Cassidy, who’d taken the second shift on night watch, roused everyone at first light. He had Adam’s horse saddled for him, and Adam rode off. The one Mexican acting as lookout—because Beto, the other lookout, was now filling in for Joachim—disappeared next.
Cassidy, Sundance, Beto, and the third Mexican saddled their horses while giving Adam a five-minute head start, then they rode toward town. Cassidy rode Side-eye, and he was, indeed, a good horseman, because Side-eye obeyed him.
The town was silent and dark. The Mexican in charge of the getaway held the horses a few buildings away from the bank, as a precaution. They wouldn’t have much room for error once Adam blew the safe, because no matter how careful he was, the sound of the explosion was going to carry.
Jayce roughly knew what would happen next.
The townspeople had caught wind of the robbery and were lying in wait. Andy Danvers, as sheriff, was in charge, so chances were good that things would go wrong.
Sundance was the one who’d be blamed. Malika had come right out and told Cassidy that she knew of the robbery, so there was no doubt that he was the leak.
Cassidy would shoot him as soon as the townspeople appeared.
Cassidy would then make off with the money, with Adam to help guide him out of the mountains.
At that point the adventure was over. Cassidy would spend the night at the ranch, then Jayce’s dad would drive him to Butte in the morning.
That was the plan.
Adam ran out of the bank, his hands over his ears. Jayce backed up a few paces, because Adam running couldn’t be good.
The explosion that followed blew the front off the bank.
A loud buzzing noise blocked all other sounds from Jayce’s ears. Chunks of building and earth pattered like raindrops on and around him, and he covered his head with his arms.
The buzzing noise faded. The dust and debris in the air thinned, and he uncovered his head.
He pondered the spot where the front of the bank used to be and wondered if Adam survived the blast. If he had, it likely wouldn’t be for long, because the Mexicans were going to be angry. They were proud of that floor.
The townspeople spilled into the street, looking stunned rather than bent on revenge. Andy had his gun out but didn’t seem to know where to point it. Jayce spotted Malika, who held a frypan in both hands, as if ready to swing it as soon as she found a target. God help the target.
The saloon and the jail were still standing, although leaning a little away from the bank, as if distancing themselves from the drama.
The drama continued. Before the dust fully settled, the night exploded again, this time, with a skyful of flaming arrows.
They shot upward, arced, then descended, and hit the saloon roof.
The roof caught fire. The eardrum piercing tongue ululations of war whoops rent the air, and a dozen horses and riders broke from the shadows.
The Mexicans were most definitely angry. Dave and his reinforcements were supposed to be relocating the research scientist, not burning the town to the ground.
The townspeople who’d gathered to fight off the bank robbers seemed uncertain as to what to do about an unforeseen Indian raid. Their pitchforks and frypans weren’t going to be of much use. They scattered.
Wasn’t this going well.
Jayce braced himself for the paintball. Cassidy was supposed to shoot him in the back. Once he got that out of the way, he’d join the fire brigade and help put out the fires.
Cassidy, however, had disappeared in the chaos.
Could nothing go right? Jayce looked around, trying to find him, trying not to get trampled by Mexicans on horseback who’d returned to their roots.
Jayce spotted Cassidy.
He had Malika by the waist and was trying to muscle her onto his horse.
Side-eye was having none of it and kept shying away.
Malika was having even less to do with it than Side-eye.
She elbowed Cassidy in the gut, spun in his arms, popped him in the nose with the heel of her hand, then slammed her knee into his groin.
Cassidy collapsed like a leaky balloon, one hand to his nose and the other cradling his family jewels.
She kicked him in the ribs for good measure.
Jayce winced in sympathy, then trotted over. He couldn’t come up with the right thing to say to her in this situation, because Good job might sound insensitive, so he went with, “Let’s hope he lives.”
Malika flung her hair away from her face and went all Sheik Ali’s privileged baby sister on Cassidy, which normally Jayce enjoyed, but right now made him fearful on Cassidy’s behalf. He was lucky she’d lost her frypan.
“I will never agree to marry you,” she said coldly.
Cassidy shook off a handful of the blood that dripped from his nose. Then, proving he wasn’t yet down for the count, he jerked his gun out of its holster, flicked off the safety, and fired.
The paintball caught Jayce in the chest hard enough to throw him off-balance, and even though he was wearing the Kevlar vest Pearl had insisted on, it hurt every bit as much as he’d expected.
Malika, never one to sit back and watch when she could take action, fumbled with her skirt, pulled a spray can from a pocket, and shot a blast of bear spray directly into Cassidy’s face.
The angry roar he let out would have done a grizzly proud.
Side-eye, catching a whiff of the spray, decided he’d had enough adventure for one day and took off for the stable, stirrups flailing.
Jayce, who was supposed to be dead, started coughing.
Malika coughed, too. He’d have thought she would have learned her lesson about the dangers of bear spray after the last incident, but no.
Sheriff Danvers jogged over, looking harassed. “Got a bit of an Indian problem going on at the moment,” he said to Jayce, who was doing his best to play dead. “Everything okay over here?”
“Everything’s fine,” Malika said, which wasn’t true, seeing as how Jayce was dead and Cassidy was dying.
But Andy, who didn’t handle stress very well, opted to take her at her word and dashed off. What a hero.
All Cassidy had to do now was make his escape and the adventure was over. Jayce was counting the seconds. Except Adam was AWOL, Side-eye had fled, the townspeople were trying to save the town from burning, and Cassidy was temporarily blind. Things couldn’t possibly get any worse.
A man on horseback rode into town. He emerged as a dark silhouette from the dust and the smoke with the bright light of an angry dawn firing the skyline behind him. He surveyed the chaos—the fires, the angry Natives, and the remains of the bank.
He reined in his horse beside Jayce, who remained motionless on the ground, grateful that he was already dead, because his future wasn’t looking too promising.
“What is going on here?” Sheik Ali said.
*
Malika
Adeel’s calmness should never be mistaken for patience. His eyes told the true tale.
He was displeased.
Malika knew which battles to pick. This one wasn’t it. She fetched the bucket of cold water he ordered. Eli plunged his head into the bucket to rinse off the bear spray, although the spray was oil-based, and it took several buckets.
Jayce, who’d given up playing dead, took the used buckets of water and joined the fire brigade to help douse the fires, although the outbreaks were small and mostly under control.
Adeel then escorted Eli to the guest lodge.
“I’ll speak to you later,” he said to Malika before he left, which only alarmed her a little.
He needn’t think he could intimidate her. She was the one who’d been wronged. And she could avoid him for days if she wanted.
She joined Jayce as he tossed his last bucket of water on a pocket of flame on the boardwalk in front of the long-suffering saloon. Judging by the scorch marks on its log outer wall, this wasn’t the first Indian attack it had survived.
Jayce wiped his forehead with his dirty sleeve, leaving a long streak of dirt on his cheek. “How did you manage to survive this and not get a speck of dust on you?” he asked.
“I didn’t roll around on the ground, pretending to be dead.” She slipped her hand into his. “I was so worried about you when the bank blew up.”
“It didn’t really come as that much of a surprise.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Thank you for avenging my murder.”
The kiss made her heart glow. He didn’t seem to care if anyone saw.
“My adventure is over.” It made her sad. She’d enjoyed playing the role of a ruined woman.
“There will be plenty more adventures for us.” He smiled into her eyes. “We’re going to be married, with or without your brother’s approval. I’m pretty sure Eli Chamas no longer wants you. You took care of that.”
“I did, didn’t I?” She was very proud of herself for it too. “I’m a woman of the West now. That means the American method of choosing a husband is best for me. I don’t believe I would have grown to love Eli, because I already love you.”
“Isn’t that funny. I was just thinking that you could be right, and that marriage does make love grow stronger.
My parents are proof. It took me a while to recognize it, because I thought I could do better than theirs, but it turns out I was mistaken.
Their marriage might not be perfect, and it’s a bit crazy, but I’d rather have what they have, because they’re happy together.
I can’t wait to see how our life together turns out. ”
“I just thought of a new adventure for us. We could run away and get married,” she said. “An elopement!” How very American and romantic.
It had the added benefit of removing Adeel as an obstacle.
Jayce dashed that idea. “We’re not eloping. If we did, my mother would kill me. And are you honestly trying to tell me that you won’t miss having your sisters at your wedding?”
“I want my sisters to be there,” Malika admitted.
She’d almost forgotten about them in her excitement, but she couldn’t get married without them, even if she was still annoyed with Aisha.
“I want my mother there, too.” She discovered another obstacle to their plans.
“Unless Adeel gives us permission to marry, they won’t be allowed to attend. ”
“Leave it to me,” Jayce said.
Malika applauded him for his confidence.
But she knew her brother. He would not make this marriage easy for them.