Authors: Ann Cory
Chapter Fifteen
Montana shuffled around the bar in a daze. She had trouble
swallowing the news she’d been fed.
“Afternoon, Montana.”
The hairs on her arm spiked. She turned. “Garvey.”
“Where’s your boyfriend?”
Her mouth tightened. “Don’t have one.”
“You know who I mean.”
She folded her arms and looked him square in the eye. “No, I
don’t.”
His face pinched. “That guy Lawson. Has he been in?”
“It’s not a crime for a man to come in for a drink. This is
a bar.”
“You’re not as pretty when you’re being a smartass.”
Montana clasped her hands. “Best news I’ve heard all day.”
She smiled inside from the irritation that creased his brow.
“I’m here for Lawson. He’s under arrest for the murder of
Jake Sanderson. And for assaulting an officer of the law.”
“Just ’cause you carry a badge doesn’t mean you can force
yourself on someone and get away with it.”
Garvey stepped close, his mouth to her ear. “You know you
wanted it.”
She struck out at his face.
He caught her wrist with a viper hold and twisted.
“Ow. Let go.”
Heads turned but no one moved to help.
He released her, his eyes venomous. “You’ve got customers to
serve. Best you get back to work. Remember, you have a debt to repay.”
The words hit the bottom of her stomach. “Sure, Garvey.”
“See ya around.”
Montana stroked her wrist. She hated Garvey more than ever.
She wanted to pull his gun from his holster and use it on him. Not like she
knew how to use a gun. But if she did, she’d fire until the barrel emptied.
* * * * *
Clint stood, leaned up against the car waiting for Garvey.
“Hey Pop, what’re you doing here?”
“We need to talk with Chuck.”
“What for?”
“We’re going to take Montana for a ride. I need to make sure
he keeps the buffoons in there loaded and stupid.”
“What can I do?”
“You handle Montana.”
“My pleasure.”
Clint bit back the frustration at seeing Garvey’s juvenile
grin.
“I’m going to head to the back. I want you to drive the car
around.”
“You got it, Pop.”
Ignoring the odors of piss and garbage, Clint banged on the
back door.
Chuck answered and he pushed his way inside.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Leave the door open. Garvey’s coming.”
“What’d you push me for?”
“I ain’t got time to explain. I need to borrow Montana for
the night.”
“But I’m not feeling well,” he whined. “I planned to…”
“Leave early,” he finished. “We all know you go hook up with
that tramp Betsy instead of finishing out your shifts. Tonight you’ll have to
close up yourself. There’s some extra money in it for you.”
Clint caught the flicker in his eye and knew he’d been
bought.
“Fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll stay.”
“All ready, Pop.” Garvey waltzed inside, his paunch bigger
than the last time Clint had seen it.
“’Bout time.” He swung a glance at Chuck. “Go ask Montana to
come back here, but don’t tell her why. We’ll take care of that part.”
“If you say so.”
Clint motioned to Garvey. “Go stand over there. When she
walks by you grab her from behind.”
Garvey nodded. “Sure, Pop.”
He stared at the boy. Whatever prompted the change, he liked
it. Made his heart proud to know he hadn’t failed the Mitchum name after all.
Montana entered the back area and flinched. “What are—”
Garvey grabbed her arms and held them behind her.
“Garvey, what the hell are you doing?”
Clint reached out and held her chin. “We have business with
you, young lady. I suggest you quit squirming and shut your mouth.”
She jerked her face away. “Whatever. How long will this
take?”
“Few hours,” Clint answered.
Her lips pursed. “Dammit. I make good tips my last hour.”
“Now see,” started Garvey. “If you married me, I wouldn’t
make you work.”
“I’ll never marry you,” she spat.
Garvey thrust her over his shoulder and winked. “Okay, Pops,
what’s next?”
“Need to make a stop at the house first. We have to make our
pretty little guest more presentable.”
Chapter Sixteen
Montana sat slumped in the backseat with Clint beside her.
Garvey’s crazed eyes flared in the rearview mirror.
“What are you going to do to me?”
“Just fix you up a bit,” said Clint and patted her thigh.
“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. Much.”
“Sure about that?” She directed the question to Garvey. Her
wrist still throbbed from his previous vice-like grip.
“You just do what you’re told, and you’ll be fine,” snapped
Clint.
“Hey, Pop,” said Garvey. “There are some men out in front of
the house.”
Montana arranged herself for a better look. “Who are they?”
“Some old friends come to help me wrangle up a prisoner.”
She knew he meant Lawson. “He hasn’t done anything.”
“He killed Jake Sanderson. He roughed up my boy. He’s a
Cage. All good reasons to hang him.”
“Where’s the proof that he killed Jake? No one saw him do
it.”
“I did,” said Garvey. His mouth filled the mirror with a
vile grin.
Montana cocked a brow. “Oh really?”
“I saw him go inside Jake’s house.”
“But you don’t know what went on in there,” she reasoned.
“Why else would he go in there but to kill him?”
“To talk. He’s innocent.”
Garvey stopped the car.
“You two stay in here,” said Clint, opening the door. “I’ve
got some things to talk to them boys about.”
She fixed her gaze at Garvey. “He’s innocent and you know
it.”
“Like hell he’s innocent. I suppose you want me to think
you’re innocent too?”
“I don’t care what you think about me.”
Garvey twisted to face her. “Neither one of you are
innocent. I saw you.”
“You saw me what?”
“In the truck. Acting like a whore. Guess you’re more like
your momma than I thought.”
Her breath quickened.
“What did you see?”
“Enough.”
“Jesus, you watched?”
“Couldn’t tear my eyes away. Should’ve been us together. You
disappoint me.”
She understood the change in him. Any rational thoughts in
his head were replaced by a true hatred for Lawson. “Get over yourself. You
know your father killed Jake. He’s nothing but a heartless, murdering bastard.”
Garvey reached over and gnarled her hair in his fist. “My
pops is a good guy. Someday he’s going to be your father-in-law. I suggest you
start showing respect.”
“That will never happen. I don’t care what you do to me.
I’ll never, ever be your wife. Now let me go.”
Clint swung open the door and ducked down. “Okay, let’s get
you inside, little miss.” With forceful hands he wrenched her out of the car.
“Where you taking her, Pop?”
“You just never mind, boy. Wait here until we come back
out.”
Montana pulled away. “I can walk on my own.”
“Just come on,” he said, and shoved her into the arms of a
large man who loomed a good three feet taller than her. She didn’t dare put up
a fight against him. He’d break her bones.
“Take her in the house. Tie her up and get a gag around that
mouth. She’s a mouthy one. Rough her up enough so it shows. Then bring her back
out here.”
“Please, let me go,” she sobbed.
The large man grunted and carried her into Mitchum’s house.
He kicked out a chair from the kitchen table and dropped her
into it.
Montana shook her head. “Please, I beg you. Don’t.”
He tied the rope tight around her body, giving her little
room to move. The rope bit into her skin but she didn’t complain. Taking a
white cloth from his inside pocket, he wrapped it around her mouth.
“I’m not big on roughing up a woman,” he said.
She softened her eyes, hoping he’d take that as her way of
being grateful.
Clint stepped into view and her body jerked.
“Then how about you go wait outside while I take care of her
myself.”
He brought his face close, his crude breath an assault on
her senses. “I’m not going to do much. Just enough to shake up Mr. Cage. I
won’t do anything permanent to that pretty face.”
He rolled his shirtsleeves to his elbows.
Montana shut her eyes and waited for the first blow.
Chapter Seventeen
Lawson made a quick detour to his truck and then hauled ass
to the bank. Before he slipped inside the back door, Russ and Corbet called out
to him.
“Hey, stranger. Heard you’s was still around.”
“Fellas,” he said and tipped his hat. “I’m stubborn that
way.” He glanced around and then leaned into them. “You two don’t want to be
standing around in the open talking to me.”
Russ twisted around and then nodded, his eyes the size of wagon
wheels. “We’ll be quick. We just thought you should know some men showed up in
town this morn’.”
“The kind of men that means trouble,” added Corbet.
Curious, Lawson asked, “Do you know who they are?”
“Friends of Mitchum’s.”
“Well, I appreciate the heads up.”
Russ nodded. “Be careful.”
“Yeah,” Corbet said. “You seem like good people.”
“Nowhere near as good as you two. Now go on, get out of
here.”
He didn’t need to have their deaths on his conscience too.
It was getting pretty crowded up there. He also didn’t have time to wonder
about these supposed friends of Mitchum’s. No doubt he’d run into them soon
enough. Until then he had a bank to search. He’d already lost valuable time.
Grateful to Flogelman for leaving the door unlocked, he went
inside and poked around loose floor boards, behind the walls, and up around the
ceiling. Inside the small office room he rummaged through the file cabinet, but
other than files of all the illegal activity Mitchum took part in, nothing
revealed the location of the money.
To his surprise, Flogelman had left the vault open. He
rechecked inside and underneath it, but came up empty.
Out of time, he headed for the door.
He stopped short.
Clint, Garvey and three men he’d never seen before blocked
the exit with guns aimed in his direction.
“Mr. Cage. I figured it was only a matter of time before you
sniffed around where you didn’t belong.”
He glowered. Mitchum looked just like he’d always pictured.
A weasel in bad need of a shave with beady eyes and claws for hands. “You
should’ve thrown a welcome back party for me.”
Clint grunted. “That’s just it. You ain’t welcome here.”
“Huh. I’ve felt nothing but welcome.”
“If you mean Montana,” the weasel scoffed, “she’ll welcome
any male on two legs.”
Lawson nodded toward the deputy. “Except you, from what I
hear.”
The gun shook in Garvey’s hand.
Lawson reached for his knife.
Two of the men, one with hair that looked like straw and the
other with short graying hair, lunged. Lawson backed away but Straw Man did
some fancy move that upended his legs and flipped him to the ground.
A hideous crack resounded. His shoulder flared. He knew it
had dislocated.
“Get off me,” he shouted, momentarily paralyzed.
“It’s okay, Roy,” he heard Mitchum say, and Straw Man
climbed off wearing a foul excuse for a smile and holding his knife. Lawson
vowed to get that knife back.
He moved to get up but Mitchum brought his boot heel down
hard on his shoulder. Lawson rolled to his side. Did everyone know about his
bad shoulder? “Going to have to do more than that to keep me down.”
Garvey swept forward and kicked him in the gut. So much for
it being made of iron.
He clutched his stomach and turned over to his back.
“Anybody else care to take a shot?” Not really meaning the challenge, Lawson
threw his gaze to the man in the corner who stood with his arms crossed. A big
lumberjack of a man with zero emotion on his face. If that guy messed with him,
he’d be dead.
The man said nothing, and fortunately didn’t come at him.
Mitchum chuckled, swinging his gun on his finger. A possessed
grin took up residence on his face. “You made a fool decision coming back here.
Can’t figure it out.”
“I came back to kill you,” he spluttered.
“What did I ever do that wasn’t deserved?”
Lawson gritted his teeth and managed to sit up. The room
spun. “Plenty.”
“As you can see, the town has gotten along fine without a
Cage. I aim to keep it that way.”
“The Cages—”
“Were nothing but thieves and liars,” Mitchum finished.
“Thought you’d have learned from your father and grandfather to mind your own
business, but I guess smarts don’t run in your blood.”
A sharp spasm racked Lawson’s body. “My grandfather was an
honorable man. He earned every penny he made. He didn’t steal a damn thing, and
you know it.”
“Hardly matters now.” Mitchum crouched down. “Look, I want
to be a nice guy.”
“Fuck you.”
Clint laughed and cocked his head. “You know, I could let
you drive away with your legs attached, or I could repeat the Cage family
history. We got us some wood that needs burning. What do you think?”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you do to me. I’ll come for
you even if I have to claw my way through dirt. You’re going down. And Cage
Crossing will be restored.”
The gray-haired man inched toward him. Clint put his hand
out. “Not yet, Tom.” He smiled in a way that turned Lawson’s veins to ice. “I
have something that may persuade you to rethink coming after me.”
“There’s nothing you can possibly have that will…”
Lawson’s words faded.
Two men wearing tan hats brought in Montana, her wrists
bound behind her, a gag around her mouth. Her cheeks were swollen and tears
streaked her beautiful face.
“The hell?”
Mitchum straightened, his weasel eyes even beadier than
before. “What do you think? Are you motivated to get out of Rattler City for
good?”
“What did you do to her?”
“She makes a pretty little bargaining chip. Don’t she?”
All his muscles bunched. “Who the hell messed her up?”
“Ah now, let’s see, I don’t recall. I’m sure they didn’t
take any pleasure in it.”
“She has nothing to do with my coming here. Let her go.”
“I get your word that you’re outta here within the hour, and
I’ll do just that.”
“You’re messed up, man. Using your own daughter to bait me.”
Lawson’s breath seized.
Montana’s face paled to a shade whiter than the cloth around
her mouth.
“Who the hell told you?” Mitchum snarled.
His insides knotted. He hadn’t meant for that to slip.
Especially not without having told Montana first. “I forget.”
Garvey lowered his gun and looked to his father. Mitchum’s
men glanced to one another, their faces registering question marks.
Red-faced, Mitchum cocked his gun. “Ah hell. Guess my little
secret’s out.”
“Pop?”
“Shut up, Garvey.”
“But Pop.”
“Shut it!”
“Dammit, Pop. I need to say something.”
Mitchum drew his gun up and aimed it at Garvey’s head. “I
said shut the hell up. Yes, the bitch is my daughter.”
“Then she’s my sister?”
Clint’s face screwed up into something inhuman. “Been
meaning to tell ya, boy. You ain’t my flesh and blood.”
Lawson winced. Much as he hated Garvey and thought him an
ass for messing with Montana, the guy didn’t have the Mitchum blood in him. He
wasn’t a monster. He just didn’t know any better.
Shock spread across Garvey’s face like a sunrise. “Why
didn’t you say something before?”
“Doesn’t matter now,” Mitchum grumbled and lowered the gun.
“But Pop.”
“Just shut the hell up. I’ve more important things to deal
with.”
Garvey lumbered toward him, hands outstretched, palms up. “I
need—”
“Enough!” Clint raised his gun and pulled the trigger.
A strangled scream from Montana sliced the air.
Garvey stared wide-eyed. Blood bubbled from a hole in his
head. A small red stream ran down his face. He reeled and then fell like a
stiff board to the floor.
Numb, Lawson got to his feet.
“Ah hell,” spat Mitchum and eyed everyone like a child
caught kicking the dog. “He provoked me.”
An ink spot of blood grew beneath Garvey’s body.
Stan Flogelman walked in, took one look and staggered
backward. “What the hell happened here?”
Mitchum holstered his gun. “This man here is Lawson Cage. He
tried to rob the bank and then shot Garvey.”
Stan looked to Montana and then over to him.
Lawson shook his head.
“I-I should get the doc.”
“Don’t bother,” snapped Mitchum. “He’s dead. Get Thatcher in
here to haul away the body. And have his wife, Ethel, clean up the mess. Tell
them I’ll triple their credit for a month.”
Several moments passed before Stan nodded and left.
Lawson stared at the red ink spot. He didn’t feel his
shoulder. He didn’t feel anything. All his life he’d considered himself strong.
Capable to handle anything. He’d had practice for years. But his mind
unraveled. Slowly. Enough to notice.
He felt like a kid again. That moment of lost when the
strawberries disappeared behind great billowing clouds of gray smoke. That
moment when the birds went forever quiet. That moment when the place he’d called
home for seven years became nothing but a barbecue pit of stolen memories.
Lawson shook his head. So far two people had died by
Mitchum’s hand, and he’d done nothing but help it along. If anything happened
to Montana, he’d go ballistic. He stared at Mitchum. A man he’d considered a
monster. A destroyer. The devil. But he didn’t see any of that now. Before him
stood an old man. Wrinkled like dried fruit. A wasted human being.
“Guess you won’t be up for father of the year,” he said.
Mitchum slammed him to the ground and kicked him hard enough
to empty his lungs.
Gripping his chest, Lawson wheezed.
He looked to Montana, her eyes swollen and red-rimmed.
Looking defeated in a way that made his heart thud.
Mitchum motioned to his men. “Go find some scraps of wood
and stack ’em where Cage Crossing used to be. Tomorrow we’re gonna have us a
family reunion.”
Lawson staggered to his feet. For a full minute everything
shifted. His temples throbbed. He leaned forward, hands on his knees, and took
a deep breath.
When the world quit swimming, he asked, “Why don’t you just
kill me now?”
The weasel’s eyes bore into him. “Not on the agenda.
Besides, I want to give the folks a chance to come out and see you burn like
the rest of your family did. Well, with the exception of your father.”
His eye twitched. “I know you killed him.”
“Hang on now. I tried to help him. I offered him and some
other men a chance to make money by burying bodies in the desert. Last I heard
he passed out in one of them graves. Got buried alive. Maybe I could get one of
the boys here to dig him up to join you tomorrow.”
“Fuck you.”
Mitchum pointed to the big barrel of a man. “Luke, go lock
’em in the vault. We’ll deal with them tomorrow.”
The big barrel moved toward him. “You want ’em locked
together?”
“Yep. Let’s give the lovers here a chance to say goodbye.”
Lawson pushed back on the ground and his silver dollar fell
to the ground. Lawson went to pick it up when Mitchum’s boot trapped his wrist.
“Every cent in this town belongs to me,” he said and tucked
it into his holster.
Luke grabbed Lawson by the shoulders and dragged him into
the vault. To his relief he showed more care in moving Montana.
Snickering, Mitchum slammed the vault door. “Don’t get too
cozy in there.”
After they’d left, Lawson clambered to his feet. Unable to
stand the pain anymore, he rammed his shoulder hard against the corner wall and
listened to the delicious crunch of bones. His mind whirled for a moment. Sweet
mother of pain.
He helped Montana to her feet and untied her hands.
“You okay?”
She pulled down the gag. “Yeah. What did you just do?”
“Set my shoulder back in place.”
“Sounds like it hurt.”
“Trust me, it hurt worse before.” He thumbed away the
stubborn tears on her cheek. “Who hurt you?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Was it Garvey?”
She shook her head and gestured to where Garvey lay. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Her lips trembled.
“I’m sorry you got involved. They only hurt you to get a
rise out of me.”
“I’m not sorry.”
“I don’t like to see you hurt. No man should ever raise his
hand to you.” His blood thundered through his veins. He’d been careless. He’d
risked her life the moment he showed interest in her. A stupid dumbass mistake
that could’ve cost her. Mitchum might’ve spared her now, but he didn’t trust
him to spare her a second time.
Lawson started to pace. “Christ. Nothing’s gone right. For
years I saw this day. Clearer than any other day of my life. And now, it’s
blank. Son of a bitch.” He wiped at the blood on his lip with his shirt. “I’ve
been making one mistake after another since I got here. I can’t understand what
changed.”
Montana reached for him but he kept pacing.
“It sounded easy. Take the money. Kill Mitchum. Burn the
town. Destroy everything. Make it all go away like the Mitchums did to me, my
family. Make everyone pay for not standing up for my gramps. But I’m here now.
I’m not sure what to do.”
“You’ll figure it out.”
“Things are different. I don’t want to destroy the town. I
haven’t a clue where the money’s at. I can’t kill Mitchum because he’s your—”
Montana’s hand shot up. “Show me how to use that gun of
yours and I’ll shoot him dead myself.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Mitchum. I should’ve
told you. I didn’t plan to say that out loud.”
“Not sure I would’ve believed you then. I don’t want to
believe it now.”
“I know.”
“Is there anything else I should know? Anything else you’re
keeping secret?”
She had a right to know about her past. Sometimes knowing
the past is what gets you through life. He knew all about that.
Lawson took a deep breath and told her the truth about her
mother’s death.