Sunrise Ridge (Redemption Mountain Historical Western Romance Book 3) (25 page)

“Did you see anything?”

Gabe held Tempest’s reins, waiting for Noah to return from scouting the edge of the canyon. It had been slow going through thick shrubs and rocky terrain. If Noah didn’t find any signs, they’d need to head back.

“Nothing. Thought I heard cattle. I must be losing my mind.” Noah swung back up on Tempest.

“Sounds carry out here. You may have heard something, just not in that canyon. We’d better start back. Maybe the others have had better luck.” Gabe turned toward the two men who rode with them. “We’re going back, see if one of the other groups found something.”

Fat drops of rain fell as they retraced their route to camp. Freak summer storms happened without warning, then disappeared. This one lasted not ten minutes before it gave out.

They entered camp, the last group to arrive, and could tell the others had no better luck. Noah knew they’d be going further north tomorrow, making gradual sweeps until they located the cattle or had to ride back to Splendor for more supplies. Giving up would never occur to any of them. The threat was too great.

Mal hadn’t waited when Tolbert’s lifeless body crumbled to the ground. While Drake’s men focused on the carnage in their camp, he slipped around the rocks, past stands of tall pines, moving in silent steps toward his horse. Uninjured, he still felt the pangs of fatigue as he dragged his body into the saddle and grabbed the reins.

What he’d seen sickened him, but he let his mind go blank as he reined his horse around, riding through the trees before hitting open ground. He’d go south, then cut east and north toward Splendor, hoping to avoid any further contact with Drake. Finding the camp again wouldn’t be hard. First, he had to convince Sheriff Evans to gather enough men to risk their lives by riding out to confront the rustlers. Mal shuddered at the vicious attack by Drake. Even during the war, he’d never seen a man destroy another without remorse.

By nightfall, he felt safe enough to rest. He’d been in the saddle for hours, traveling further south than intended in an effort to hide his tracks. Standing in an open circle surrounded by pines and low shrubs, he caught the aroma of burning wood and turned. Smoke wafted upward from beyond the trees on the north side of the opening.

From where Mal stood, he couldn’t tell the distance. Worse, there’d be no way to identify who sat around the fire—friend or foe—until he rode closer. Bone tired, the thought of another skirmish held no appeal. He hadn’t eaten since morning, and hadn’t even thought about it until now. His stomach growled as he reached into his saddlebag, grabbed some jerky, and bit off a hunk.

The sun disappeared as he finished the last bite. He needed to make a decision. Ride toward the smoke, which continued to spiral upward, or stay put until morning.

“Hell,” he mumbled to himself and stood. “No sense staying here alone when there could be hot food and help not far away, right boy?” He stroked a hand down his horse’s neck, then mounted.

To his relief, the smoke led him to a campsite not far away. Better still, he recognized several of the men.

“Stop right there.” The stern voice came from the other end of a rifle pointed at his chest. “Who are you?”

“Mal Jolly. I work for King Tolbert. Aren’t you one of the Pelletiers?”

Luke lowered the gun and stepped forward. “You with the group Tolbert took out to find Drake?” Luke glanced behind him at the sound of footsteps to see Noah, Gabe, and Dax come to a stop beside him.

“All right if I get down? I’ve been in the saddle most of the day.”

Luke nodded, letting his rifle drop to his side as Mal moved closer.

He walked up to Gabe and held out his hand. “Sheriff, I’m glad I found you.” He glanced around at the others. “We located Drake’s camp.”

“And?”

Mal pulled off his hat, pushing his fingers through his hair. “It’s not good.”

Chapter Nineteen

Noah let out a string of curses as Mal finished his story. “Damn that man. Why couldn’t he have waited, ridden out with the rest of us?” He didn’t know how he’d break the news to Abby. Her disagreements with her father, although frequent and severe, never impacted the love she held for him. The ramifications of the man’s death would be widespread, but to Abby, the loss of her father would be devastating.

Gabe watched Noah walk away, knowing he was thinking of Abby and how to tell her what happened. They couldn’t dwell on it now. They had killers to hunt down.

“Anyone else get away besides you?”

“I don’t believe so, Sheriff. It all happened fast.” Mal scrubbed a hand over his face. “If I could’ve talked him out of it…”

“Don’t dwell on it. Tolbert never listened to anyone’s counsel but his own, and now he may drag good men down with him. I doubt Drake would leave any of Tolbert’s men alive. Be thankful you got away.”

Cash’s jaw hardened at the amount of carnage the man had caused. He’d gunned down Cash’s relatives in Louisiana, then continued west, killing at will without regard for consequences. “It’s time we stopped that son of a bitch before he murders anyone else.”

“We’ll get him this time, Cash. Drake won’t be leaving Montana.” Beau clasped his friend on the shoulder.

“Can you lead us to the camp?” Luke leaned against a nearby tree, arms crossed. He never cared for Tolbert, didn’t trust the man, but no one deserved the death sentence Drake imposed.

“I believe so.” Mal stood and paced a few feet away as he looked up at the sky. He thought of the circuitous route he’d taken to get there, calculated the distance and how long he’d been riding. He faced Gabe with confidence. “Yes. I can take you to them.”

“Good. We need as much information as you can give us.”

Noah stoked the fire several times while Mal talked of the number of men, camp layout, and location of the cattle. He accepted a cup of coffee, sipping it, watching hot embers spark, then swirl into the air, trying to erase the image of Tolbert’s death from his mind.

“Mal?” Noah asked when he didn’t answer him.

“Sorry. I, uh…” He took a deep breath to clear his head.

“I asked if you know how many men guard the cattle.”

“No. Dirk Masters scouted the herd and camp, but he took off before we went after Drake.”

“Masters didn’t go with you to the camp?” Noah had met Tolbert’s foreman several times. Toby had taken the order for new tack from him. He’d impressed both of them.

“He and Tolbert had a falling out. Dirk took off…”

Gabe slapped his hands on his knees and stood. “He cannot get away from us this time. We leave before dawn. I want to be there when Drake wakes up.”

“I think it’s a damn fool idea. It won’t take long before Tolbert and his men are reported missing. Then the sheriff will have the entire town looking for him.” Archie finished rolling a cigar, then lit it, inhaling a deep breath.

“We’re changing nothing. With Tolbert out of the way, we have a straight path to his cattle. Hell, we can take more than the paltry thirty or forty we planned. We can take the whole herd and there’d be no one to stop us.”

“I agree with Archie. We need to get out of here—drive the cattle over the mountains and into Idaho before anyone finds out about Tolbert.” Although Lem held no love for Tolbert, he disagreed with Drake’s cold-blooded killing. The man had changed since they’d served together for the Confederacy. He’d become obsessed to the point of being maniacal about taking over Tolbert’s ranch. Now he talked of taking Abigail as his wife, securing his ownership of the ranch and other holdings.

Drake rounded on Lem, grabbing him by the collar and hauling him close. “You want out?” he hissed.

“No…of course not.” Lem choked out the words, losing his balance and falling to the ground when Drake let go.

“Don’t ever cross me, Lem. You either, Archie. Now, where’s that bottle of whiskey? We should be celebrating our coming prosperity, not fighting each other.”

Lem and Archie stared at Drake’s retreating back.

“Whatever’s going on with him is getting worse. He’s talking crazy, Archie. It makes no sense to stay around any longer. We’ve got to get out of here before he gets us all killed.”

Archie leaned toward him, glancing around. “Keep your voice down.”

“But we’ve got to do something before he drags us down with him.”

Archie nodded at Lem’s comment, already working through a plan to take what he owed them and head for Idaho. They’d talked of it before, figuring the time would come when they’d leave their increasingly deranged partner behind. The two might be killers and thieves, but even
they
had their limits.

Mal led the posse up the steep terrain until it leveled out into a wide, flat expanse of open land. The moon provided enough light to get this far, but it wouldn’t be long before the sun replaced it. They had to be inside the camp, guns ready, when that happened.

Another hundred yards and they’d disappear into the pines. Within those trees, they’d find Drake’s camp and Tolbert’s body. Mal reined up and twisted in his saddle, motioning for Gabe.

“Not long now. The camp is about a hundred yards past the edge of those trees. Several rock formations ring their camp, providing cover. We should split up as soon as we’re in the cover of the trees.”

Gabe nodded, then signaled the others to come closer. They once again reviewed what each man would do, making sure there’d be no confusion once they reached Drake’s camp.

“Be careful, and remember—it’s Drake we want.”

Gabe rode alongside Mal, the others following in single file until they disappeared within the trees. Several yards later, they slipped from their saddles to continue on foot.

Reaching the first of the rock formations, Gabe signaled for them to split up and surround the camp. They’d yet to hear a sound. So far, it had all gone as planned.

The closer Noah got, the more his gut squeezed. The plan had been to arrive before the men woke up, trapping them in their bedrolls, yet something seemed amiss. There should be sounds, even from a sleeping camp. Snoring, coughs, the sounds made when people changed positions, yet he heard nothing. He reached the point where he could lean around the rocks to see the camp a few yards away. His eyes narrowed as his brows knit together.

Noah moved a few feet closer, seeing Bull and Luke appear directly across the camp, Dax and Gabe to his right, and Mal with several others to his left. All froze at the sight before them