Two guns. One bounty. And a man who had been hunting the wrong enemy for fifteen years.
CHAPTER 3
The next morning, Clay discovered something strange.
The bounty poster offered five thousand dollars for Thomas Adam.
Five thousand was enough to buy a ranch.
Enough to disappear.
Enough to start a new life.
But there was a problem.
The poster was too clean.
Too official.
Clay had spent years studying wanted posters.
This one had been printed recently.
Yet Thomas had been wanted for fifteen years.
He showed it to Scott.
“Someone raised the bounty.”
Scott looked at it.
“How much was it before?”
“Five hundred.”
Scott’s eyes narrowed.
“Who increased it?”
Clay pointed to the signature.
“Governor’s office.”
Scott said nothing.
Clay watched him.
“You know something.”
“No.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
Scott looked at him.
“And you’re too curious.”
“Curiosity keeps me alive.”
“So does silence.”
They rode toward Red Valley.
At sunset, they stopped at an abandoned church.
Clay built a fire.
Scott sat opposite him.
“You ever wonder why Thomas stayed alive this long?”
Scott stared into the flames.
“He’s clever.”
“No.”
Clay shook his head.
“Plenty of clever men die.”
Scott looked at him.
“Then why?”
“Someone kept protecting him.”
Silence.
Clay continued.
“Every time someone got close, information leaked.”
Scott’s expression changed.
“Someone inside the government.”
“Exactly.”
A horse approached.
Both men reached for their guns.
A young woman stepped from the darkness.
She held a rifle.
“Clay Taylor?”
“Who wants to know?”
“My name is Anna Reed.”
Scott raised his revolver.
“Drop the rifle.”
Anna ignored him.
“Thomas Adam isn’t your real enemy.”
Clay stared.
“Then who is?”
She reached into her coat.
Pulled out a small black book.
“The man who hired him.”
Scott stood.
“Where did you get that?”
“From Thomas.”
Scott moved toward her.
“Where is he?”
Anna looked at Clay.
“He wants you to stop hunting him.”
Clay laughed.
“That’s unfortunate.”
Anna’s expression remained serious.
“He says if you keep following him, you’ll discover what really happened fifteen years ago.”
Scott stepped forward.
“What happened?”
Anna looked directly at him.
“Your family wasn’t killed by Thomas.”
Scott froze.
Anna lowered the book.
“Thomas was there.”
“He watched.”
“But he wasn’t the one who ordered it.”
Clay looked at Scott.
Scott’s face had gone completely white.
“Who did?”
Anna whispered:
“Someone wearing your uniform.”
