“Don’t shoot unless you have a clean shot.

” Maggie gave a short nod, flattening herself against a porch post.

She held the revolver firm in her left hand, even though the splintered fingers on her right were throbbing with pain.

Caleb moved out into the yard, staying low, his rifle at the ready, every nerve in his body on fire.

About 20 ft from the barn, he heard it.

A sound of breathing, ragged and hard.

That wasn’t the sound of a man laying in weight.

It was the sound of a man who was hurt bad.

He kicked the barn door the rest of the way open.

The rifle aimed straight ahead.

A man was lying on the straw-covered floor, clutching his belly.

Dark blood was pushing out between his fingers, looking black in the dim light.

He looked up at Caleb, his eyes wide with pain and fear.

Please, the man choked out.

He shot me.

He just shot me and left me for dead.

Caleb didn’t recognize him at all.

He was young, maybe in his mid20s, wearing clothes made for the trail, and had no gun in sight.

Who are you? Caleb demanded, keeping the rifle steady.

My name is Garrett.

Will Garrett.

I ride with He coughed up a spray of blood that dotted his lips.

I rode with Colton.

I’m the one who was with Cain when he hurt your woman.

Caleb’s finger went tight on the trigger.

Please.

I tried to make him stop out on the trail.

I told Cain that Colton wanted her alive.

He wouldn’t listen.

And when I tried to pull him away from her, he Garrett let out a groan.

He remembered me.

Caleb.

Maggie’s voice came from just behind him.

She had followed him.

Of course, she had.

She was standing in the barn’s doorway with her revolver pointed at the man on the ground.

Then her face changed.

“That is him,” she said.

the other one.

He was there.

I know, Garrett said, and tears started to cut paths through the dirt on his cheeks.

I know I was there and I am so sorry.

May God forgive me.

I am sorry.

I should have done more.

I should have made it stop.

You should have, Maggie said, her voice as flat and cold as a blade.

But you did not.

Cain shot me about 2 hours ago, maybe a mile from here.

He pushed down harder on his wound.

He called me a loose end.

Said I’d gotten soft.

He left me to crawl all the way here and die just like he left you.

“Why did you come here?” Caleb asked.

“How did you know about my ranch?” “Because Cain knows.

He’s been watching this place since yesterday.

He knows the woman is here.

He knows the sheriff paid you a visit.

” Garrett’s voice was getting weaker.

He is waiting for it to get completely dark.

He is going to come from the north, right through that line of trees.

Colton has no idea Cain is doing this on his own.

He means to kill her and then just tell Colton he found her that way.

Maggie lowered her revolver.

But it wasn’t out of pity.

It was a cold calculation.

And why in the hell should we believe a word you say? Because I’m dying, ma’am, and I do not want to face my judgment having lied to a woman I had a hand in harming.

Caleb got down on one knee next to him to look at the wound.

He was shot in the gut and it was bad.

If Hannah was not here, this fellow would not see the sunrise.

He might not even last that long.

How much iron is Cain carrying? Caleb asked.

Two pistols, a blade, and he is handier with the blade.

Is he by himself? Yes.

The other fella, Peters.

He is back in town with Colton.

Cain likes to do his killing by himself.

He claims other people just make things messy.

Caleb got to his feet and looked at Maggie.

Her face was as hard as granite.

This man had stood by while she was beaten, doing nothing until it was too late.

Now here he was, bleeding out in their barn, begging for the kindness he had denied her.

“What do you want to do?” Caleb asked, his question for her alone, not just about Garrett, about all of it.

“I am done running.

” Her gaze moved from the wounded man on the dirt floor to Caleb, and then to the sky that was growing dark.

Somewhere out in that wilderness, Virgil Cain was checking his weapons.

Doctor him up just enough so he does not die.

We are going to need him to talk.

And Cain Cain is on his way.

It does not matter if we are set for him or not.

She inspected the cylinder of her pistol one more time.

All six chambers were full.

So, let us get set.

Caleb took off his own belt and shoved it into Garrett’s hands.

Hold this tight against that hole.

You stay alive until the sun comes up.

We need you to tell your story to a man from the government.

I will do my best, mister.

Don’t do your best.

Just do it.

They hurried back inside the house.

Caleb slid the heavy bar across the door and gathered every lamp from every room, lining them up on the kitchen table.

Then he put them all out one by one.

“What in the world are you doing?” Maggie asked.

“A lamp makes us a target.

The dark makes us ghosts.

” He took his position at the window that faced north, the direction Garrett had warned Cain would approach from.

“Sit down against the east wall below the window.

Do not let your shadow show.

” She slid down the wall, the revolver resting in her lap, her back held straight, even though her ribs felt like they were on fire.

Caleb.

Yeah.

If he gets past you and comes for me, I am using that last bullet on myself.

I just need you to know that he is not getting past me.

But if he does, he is not.

Caleb, I have to say it.

I will not let Virgil Cain put his hands on me again.

Not for any reason.

That is final.

He was silent for a long moment.

Then I reckon I better not let him through.

That is what I am counting on.

The darkness became absolute.

There was no moon, just a spread of stars that cast enough light to make out shapes, but not a single face.

Caleb studied his breathing just like he learned back in Kansas, taking long, slow breaths to keep his heart from pounding and his hands steady on his rifle.

An hour crawled by and then another one.

Maggie did not shift, did not make a sound, did not sleep.

He could hear her breathing, measured and deliberate.

She was doing the very same thing.

She was waiting, wrestling down her fear, and turning it into a sharp focus.

Sometime close to midnight, Caleb felt it.

It was not really a sound, but more like the world holding its breath.

The crickets chirping out by the north fence line just stopped.

Something was moving out there.

Something big enough to make all the little creatures fall silent.

“He is here,” Caleb whispered.

Maggie’s thumb gently found the hammer of her pistol.

A dark shape pulled away from the trees.

It moved low and smooth, making for the barn first.

Cain did not know Garrett was hiding in there.

Or did he? Maybe he was going to check and make sure his ugly work was finished.

The barn door let out a long creek followed by a deep silence.

Then a voice floated across the still night air, cold and with a hint of amusement.

Well now, Garrett, you made it a little further than I expected.

Garrett’s reply was too soft to make out, but Cain’s next words were sharp and clear.

She is in the house, is she not? Good.

I was hoping we could make this personal.

The barn door slammed open.

Cain stepped out into the yard.

Caleb could see him plain as day now, tall and broad, moving with the casual certainty of a man who had done this a hundred times before.

He was walking straight toward the house.

Caleb lifted the rifle, centering the sights right on Virgil Cain’s chest.

That is far enough, Cain.

Cain stopped.

He did not jump or even twitch.

He just cocked his head like a curious dog, hearing a new sound.

The cowboy, he said.

Mercer, is that right? We have not had a proper introduction.

We do not need one.

What I need is for you to put your hands where I can see them.

Or what? You are going to shoot me in the dark from behind a window.

That is not very sporting.

I am not feeling very sporting right now.

Cain let out a soft chuckle.

He actually chuckled.

You know what I think, Mercer? I think you are a man who has been out of this kind of business for too long.

I think your hands are trembling on that rifle right this second.

I think you have not killed a man in years, and you are not sure you have the nerve to do it anymore.

Caleb’s hands were as steady as a rock.

You can test that theory.

Maybe I will.

Cain took another step.

But first, Maggie, I know you are in there, sweetheart.

Douglas sends his best.

He says he misses you.

Says he will forgive everything if you just come on home.

Maggie’s voice shot out from the dark house hard and clear without a single trace of fear.

You can tell Douglas to go straight to hell, and you can show him the way.

” Cain laughed, a real deep laugh, like Maggie had just told the funniest joke he had ever heard.

“There she is.

There is the Spitfire that scratched my face and kicked out the wagon board.

I told Douglas you had more fight in you than he ever knew.

This is your last warning, Cain.

Caleb said, “Hands up or I am putting you down.

You will not shoot.

Not just yet.

You want to know why?” Cain’s voice was calm, almost like they were old friends talking.

Because you are a law man deep down, Mercer, a former deputy from Kansas.

Oh, yeah.

I did my homework on you.

You believe in rules and doing things by the book.

You want me arrested, not buried.

And that little bit of hesitation is going to cost you.

Cain did not move toward the house.

He moved sideways, and he was fast, quicker than a man his size had any right to be in the pitch dark.

He dove behind the water trough just as Caleb’s shot cracked the air a half second too late, sending splinters flying from the wood.

“Missed me?” Cain called out.

“I told you so.

” Caleb worked the lever, chambering another bullet.

I have got all night and a whole box of ammunition.

No, you do not, because in about 3 seconds, you’re going to have a hard choice to make.

A match suddenly flared in the darkness.

Cain held it up from his hiding spot.

And in that quick burst of light, Caleb saw what he held in his other hand.

It was a bottle with a rag stuffed in the top.

Kerosene.

The sharp oily smell hit him a moment later.

That barn of yours is full of dry hay, Mercer, and that boy I shot in there is not in any shape to crawl out.

Cain touched the match to the rag.

It caught fire right away, the flame climbing up the cloth.

So what is it going to be? You can take a shot at me and let the barn burn down with a man inside, or you can save the boy and let me come inside for her.

Caleb, do not, Maggie yelled from the house.

But Cain was already throwing.

The bottle flew through the air, trailing fire like a falling star, and shattered against the barn door.

Flames exploded instantly, racing up the old drywood and finding the hay inside like a starving animal finding a meal.

A scream ripped through the night from inside the barn.

Garrett Caleb’s body moved before his mind could even decide.

He was off the porch and sprinting for the barn, his rifle left behind because a man was burning alive 60 ft away.

And every single instinct he had, every mistake from Kansas, every promise he had made to himself that he would never be too late again pushed him forward.

Caleb, no! Maggie screamed.

He slammed into the barn door with his shoulder.

A wave of heat hit him like a physical blow.

Smoke choked his lungs.

Garrett was on the floor trying to pull himself toward the door.

His wound left a dark smear on the straw.

Caleb hooked his arms under Garretts and dragged him out.

They both fell into the yard as the fire roared behind them, reaching for the sky.

And that is when Cain made his play.

Maggie saw it all from the window.

Cain stood up from behind the trough, not running, but walking as calmly as a man on his way to Sunday dinner.

He had both of his revolvers out, and he was heading straight for Caleb’s unprotected back as he pulled Garrett away from the fire.

She did not think.

She did not take careful aim.

She just stepped out onto the porch, raised the revolver in her left hand, and fired.

The bullet hit Cain and his left shoulder.

He spun around and stumbled, but he did not fall.

He turned to face her, and for the first time, a look of pure surprise broke through his calm.

“Well, now,” he said, through clenched teeth.

Douglas definitely sold you short.

She fired a second time.

She missed.

The kick from the gun sent a bolt of pain through her broken ribs, and her vision swam.

Cain lifted his right-hand revolver, taking aim at her.

Caleb hit him from the side like a runaway train.

They crashed to the ground hard, and both of their guns went flying.

Cain was bigger and heavier, but Caleb was fueled by pure raw fury.

They rolled in the dirt, all fists and elbows.

Cain slammed a knee into Caleb’s side, and Caleb felt a rib crack.

He answered by smashing his elbow into Cain’s wounded shoulder, and the big man let out a howl.

“You should have stayed in Kansas,” Cain snarled, finally getting his hands around Caleb’s throat.

Caleb could not get any air.

Cain’s grip was like iron, a practiced crushing hold.

Those hands had killed people before.

The edges of the world began to turn black.

And then Maggie was there.

She pressed the cold steel barrel of the revolver against the back of Virgil Cain’s head.

Her hand was perfectly steady.

Her voice did not tremble.

Let him go.

Cain’s hands loosened.

It was not much, but it was enough for Caleb to drag in a ragged breath.

You will not pull that trigger, Cain rasped.

You are not a killer, Maggie.

You are right.

I am not.

But you taught me something out on that trail, Virgil.

You taught me exactly what I am willing to do to stay alive.

She pulled back the hammer.

In the dead quiet, the click was the loudest sound in the world.

Cain let go of Caleb’s throat and raised his hands.

Hands slowly.

Caleb shoved himself away, gasping for air, and scrambled for Cain’s dropped revolver.

He snatched it up, pointed it right at Cain’s chest, and finally took a clean breath.

“Get on your stomach,” Caleb ordered, his voice ragged.

“Put your hands behind your back.

” “This ain’t over,” Cain spat.

But he was lowering himself to the dirt.

The fight was leaking out of him as his shoulder wound pumped blood onto the ground.

“Coulton will just send another man.

He won’t ever quit.

” “Oh, yes, he will,” Maggie said.

She still had her own pistol aimed steady at Cain’s head.

Her arm was shaking now, not from being scared, but from the agony of holding it up while cracked ribs pulled at her insides.

Because first thing tomorrow, every bit of proof I collected is going straight to a federal investigator.

Your boss is going to spend the rest of his sorry life locked away.

You think some papers can stop a man like Douglas? Paper putaway men meaner than him, and the words of a dying man in that barn are going to nail the coffin shut.

She finally let the pistol down, her arm just giving out.

Caleb, tie him up.

Caleb found some rope on the porch rail and used it to bind Cain’s hands and feet.

The man put up no fight.

That shoulder wound was bleeding something fierce, and not even Virgil Cain could argue with losing that much blood.

It was doing what Caleb’s fists and Maggie’s bullets couldn’t quite finish.

Once Cain was tied good and tight, Caleb turned back to Maggie.

She had sunk down onto the porch steps with the revolver resting in her lap, her whole body trembling like a leaf.

The rush was gone, and now everything else was hitting her all at once.

The pain, the fear, and the bone deep weariness.

“You shot him,” Caleb stated quietly.

“I shot him with my left hand in the pitch black from 40 ft away.

I was aiming for his heart.

I got his shoulder.

” A strange noise came out of her, half a laugh and half a sob.

Douglas always did say I pulled my shots to the left.

Caleb sat down on the step next to her.

The barn was a roaring inferno now, lighting up the whole yard like a false sunrise.

Garrett was laid out nearby, out cold but alive.

Cain was tied up and bleeding out, and the two of them just sat there on the porch, beat up and rung out, watching the fire consume everything Caleb had stored away.

“Well, there goes all my winter hay,” Caleb said.

I’ll buy you more hay.

And how are you going to do that? I used to work in a bankr I’ll figure something out.

He looked over at her, all bruised and broken, covered in soot and dust with a pistol in her lap and a look in her eyes that could have started a fire of its own.

And for all that had happened, the pain in his own ribs, the burns on his hands, the fact that his barn was now a pile of ash, and a hired killer was tied up in his yard, he felt something he hadn’t felt in three long years.

He felt truly alive, Maggie.

What? When this is all done, just don’t.

She held up her one good hand.

Don’t you dare say something heartfelt right now.

I’m running on nothing but pure rage and terror.

And if you say one kind word to me, I am going to break into a million pieces.

All right, then.

I’ll say it later when you’re ready to hear it proper.

Deal.

The sound of horse hooves came pounding up the south road.

In a heartbeat, Caleb was on his feet with Kane’s revolver back in his hand.

Maggie raised hers, too.

They were moving together now, like a team that had been forged in a single night of fire and blood.

“Hold on now,” a voice called out.

“It’s just me, Yates.

I got Tom and two deputies with me.

” Sheriff Yates rode his horse into the fire lit yard and pulled up short.

He just stared at the burning barn, the man tied up on the ground and the two figures on the porch, black with soot and holding guns.

Lord Almighty,” he breathed.

“What on earth happened out here?” “Virgil happened,” Caleb answered.

“He’s over there, tied up with a bullet in his shoulder.

There’s another fellow named Will Garrett by the barn, shot in the gut.

He worked for Colton, but he’s ready to talk, and I’d sure appreciate it if your deputies could throw some water on that fire before it takes my house, too.

” Yates was off his horse in a flash, barking out orders.

His deputies grabbed blankets and buckets from the well and went to work on the fire.

Tom rushed over to Caleb, his face pale as a sheet.

Boss, are you all right? I’m fine, son.

Go check on Garrett.

We need to keep him alive.

Yates walked over to Cain and crouched down to look him over.

Cain glared up at the sheriff with pure disdain.

You’re making a big mistake, law man.

Douglas Coloulton will bury this whole town.

Maybe so, but you won’t be around to see it happen.

Yates stood up and faced Caleb.

Heard the gunshots from down the road.

We were already on our way when we saw the glow from the fire.

He glanced at Maggie.

Ma’am, are you the one who shot this man? Yes, sir, I am.

Good.

The sheriff tipped his hat to her.

You saved me the trouble.

The sun came up slow and gray.

The barn was just a smoking skeleton, but the house was safe.

Garrett was alive, just barely, stretched out on the kitchen floor while Tom pressed a cloth hard against his wound.

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