He Was the Deadliest Gun in the Territory — Until a Child Gave Him Something Worth Fighting For

Chapter 8

Cole found Crowe at an abandoned mill.

The rancher was waiting.

The silver locket lay on the table.

“You’ve become attached,” Crowe said.

Cole stared at him.

“Give it back.”

Crowe smiled.

“You used to be smarter.”

“I used to be alone.”

“Exactly.”

Crowe leaned forward.

“That’s why you survived.”

Cole said nothing.

Crowe opened the locket.

“The boy doesn’t even know what he carries.”

“Neither did you.”

Crowe’s smile disappeared.

Cole continued:

“Daniel hid the real evidence somewhere else.”

Crowe’s eyes changed.

Cole had guessed correctly.

The original ledger was still hidden.

Crowe had been searching for years.

Now he needed Cole to find it for him.

Crowe raised his gun.

But Cole was faster.

He shot the gun from Crowe’s hand.

Then he stepped closer.

“You’re going to tell me where Daniel hid the ledger.”

Crowe laughed.

“You think you’re different from me?”

Cole looked at him.

“I know I am.”

“Why?”

Cole thought of Noah.

Of Evelyn.

Of the small house they had begun imagining.

“Because I finally have something to lose.”