"Daniel, I know now isn't the time . . . in fact, it's a terrible time
to tell you . . . " He was barely paying attention to her as his gaze
scanned the buildings on either side of the street. There was at least
one member of the Blackwater gang still out there, and Daniel wasn't
taking any chances.
"Tell me what? " he asked.
"I've become attached to you." She didn't think he'd heard her
whispered admission, for he showed absolutely no reaction, and she was
glad of it. She shouldn't have said a word, because the timing was all
wrong. She should have waited until they had a quiet moment together
and then admitted how she felt, but she was compelled to tell him this
very moment, fully expecting a rebuke.
"Yeah, I know." It was such an arrogant response she smiled. "Should
I try to stop? " He looked straight ahead when he answered. "No, I
don't want you to stop."
"Well then, " she whispered on a sigh.
Jessica had increased her pace until she was running to the saloon.
She certainly wasn't in a hurry to view the gruesome scene, but Cole
was inside and she desperately needed to see for herself that he hadn't
been hurt.
When she reached the swinging doors, she straightened her shoulders and
then pushed the doors aside. She found Cole right away. He was
leaning against the far wall, watching her. A wave of relief made her
weak, and it took all she had not to run to him. She had expected to
be frightened and was prepared to hide her reaction, but what she
didn't expect was the surge of rage that rushed through her. Three of
the men were already dead, but she had the insane urge to shoot them
again.
She pointed to the first body. "He was there, " she said. "I didn't
hear his name, but I saw him." She moved to the second and third man,
shook her head, and said, "I don't know if these two were in the bank
or not. I didn't see all their faces." She turned to the wounded
man.
Hate radiated from his eyes as he stared up at her. She neither
flinched nor trembled, her gaze dispassionate as she stared back.
Yes, he was there. His name is Robertson." She was more shaken than
she realized, for she hadn't noticed that Cole had moved to her side
and that she was holding his hand. She held tight and let him pull her
out the door while Grace and Daniel waited for the sheriff to return
with the doctor.
As soon as Jessica stepped outside, she turned to Cole. "There's
another one, " she told him. "You shot Johnson, they're holding a man
in jail in Blackwater, and if all four of the men inside were in the
gang, that leaves one missing."
"And Rebecca, " he said.
"And Rebecca, " she agreed. "I really want you to get her."
"We will, " he promised.
CZ a t was a race against the clock to get to Blackwater, and Daniel
pressed hard. He was obsessed now with getting to the jail so Jessica