Two guns. One bounty. And a man who had been hunting the wrong enemy for fifteen years.
CHAPTER 8
Harrow’s men returned before sunrise.
This time they brought a cannon.
The mine entrance exploded.
Stone fell from the ceiling.
Thomas shouted:
“Move!”
They escaped through an underground tunnel.
It led directly into Devil’s Pass.
But Harrow had predicted the route.
Soldiers waited outside.
Clay fired.
Scott fired.
Thomas fired.
Three men dropped.
Then Thomas’s own lieutenant raised his rifle.
He shot Thomas in the shoulder.
Clay spun.
“Why?”
The lieutenant laughed.
“Harrow pays better.”
He aimed again.
Scott killed him.
Thomas collapsed.
Clay dragged him behind a rock.
“You dying?”
Thomas coughed.
“Not today.”
Scott looked toward the ridge.
“Harrow is coming.”
Thomas nodded.
“He always does.”
Clay stared at him.
“You knew he’d betray you.”
“Everyone betrays eventually.”
Scott looked at Thomas.
“Not everyone.”
Thomas smiled.
“You’re still angry.”
“I should be.”
“You should.”
Scott sat beside him.
For a moment, the three men were silent.
Then Thomas said:
“Scott.”
“What?”
“I never stopped looking for your son.”
Scott looked away.
Thomas reached into his pocket.
Another photograph.
A boy.
Older.
Maybe fifteen.
Alive.
Scott stared.
“Where did you get this?”
Thomas whispered:
“Three years ago.”
Scott’s breathing stopped.
“That’s impossible.”
Thomas looked at him.
“Your son survived.”
Scott couldn’t speak.
Clay looked at the photograph.
The boy stood beside a woman.
On the back was a location.
Saint Mary’s Mission.
Scott grabbed his coat.
“We go there after Harrow.”
Thomas shook his head.
“If we live.”
A rifle shot struck the rock.
Harrow’s voice echoed across the canyon.
“Thomas!”
Thomas looked toward the ridge.
“He’s here.”
