might gallop right on past, thinking he and Frank were ahead of them on the road. With luck, they’d ride all the way to Sheridan, break up and head for the saloons to cool their thirst. That would give him time to round up Frank and bring him in by another route.
There were times when cowardice made more sense than bravery. This was one of them.
The riders were getting close. With a hasty glance toward the bend in the road, Matt clawed his way up the steep bank, dived between two clumps of rabbit brush and tumbled headlong over the top.
Chapter Two
A grunt of surprise exploded between Matt’s lips as his body collided with something soft and yielding. His pulse slammed, but before he could right himself and look around, he felt the cold jab of a muzzle between his ribs.
“Lay one finger on me, Marshal, and I’ll blow you to kingdom come!” The voice was so close that he could feel the warm breath in his ear. Matt muttered a few choice words no lady should ever hear—but then he’d seen no evidence that Jessie Hammond was any kind of lady.
“I thought I told you to get out of here!” he growled.
“I’ll get out of here when I’m ready. Right now, I need to see what’s happening.”
“Then put that damned gun away before it goes off. Believe me, I wouldn’t lay a finger on you for a month of paydays.” Matt could hear the riders coming closer. The last thing he needed now was for this trigger-happy hellion to start more trouble.
Moving cautiously, he eased himself away from the steely pressure of the gun. She made no move to stop him as he inched toward the top of the bank. “Stay where you are and keep still,” he hissed.
Instead of obeying, she crawled up alongside him. “I want to see, too,” she whispered through the bandanna that still covered most of her face. “You won’t recognize the rotten skunks. I will.”
He couldn’t argue with that, Matt conceded. But even if he’d chosen to, there was no more time. He heard her breath catch as the band of mounted vigilantes exploded around the bend in the road. There were about twenty riders, he calculated, all of them masked, armed and, from the looks of them, well fortified with whiskey. Why they’d waited this long to come after Frank instead of busting down the jail was anybody’s guess. Maybe they thought there’d be too many witness in town.
Behind those drawn-up neckerchiefs were the faces of farmers, ranchers, hired hands and townspeople—husbands, sons and fathers. Half of them would be scared to death, Matt reminded himself. But even the most law-abiding citizens could be swept away by the violent madness of a lynch mob. In their present condition these men were as dangerous as a pack of rabid dogs.
“The brute in the lead is Virgil Gates, Allister’s brother,” Jessie whispered, close to his ear. “I’d know that big, ugly piebald horse of his anywhere. And I can pick out a half-dozen of the cowhands who work on his ranch, and a few no-accounts from town who’d ride anywhere for a bottle. The rest of them are likely from other ranches around here. I don’t—”
“Shh!” Matt hushed her with a jab of his elbow. His heart froze as he realized the riders were slowing down, most likely to let some stragglers catch up. He’d been hoping—almost expecting—they would just ride on down the main road. If they stopped here, there was a real danger they’d notice the trail of fresh hoofprints where Frank had fled up the hill with the horses.
The bullnecked man Jessie had identified as Virgil Gates reined in his horse. Matt held his breath as Gates lowered his mask, pulled a silver whiskey flask out of his pocket and raised it to his mouth. A few of those with him did the same. It took a lot of liquid courage to hang a man.
Jessie wriggled upward, trying to see. Fearing she might move too far or loosen a rock, Matt grabbed the seat of her overalls and held her down. She squirmed against his fist. Blast the woman. He could have managed fine without her interference.
Time crawled as Virgil Gates stoppered the flask, shoved it into his pocket, wiped his mouth on the back of his hands and adjusted the thick coil of rope that lay over his saddle horn. “Let’s go, boys,” he said, motioning with his arm.
Jerking his mask into place, he spurred the big piebald to a gallop and headed down the road toward Sheridan. The rest of the mob thundered after him in grim silence, as if weighed down by the awful thing they’d set out to do.
Dizzy with relief, Matt watched them go. With luck, they’d be miles away before they realized their quarry wasn’t ahead of them. For now, at least, he was free to deal with other problems.
He groaned out loud as he felt the thrust of Jessie Hammond’s pistol against his ribs once more. “What the hell—”
“I want the key, Marshal.” Her breathy voice rasped in his ear. “The key to the handcuffs. Give it to me now, and you’ll be free to walk back to Felton.”
“And if I don’t?” Matt stalled, knowing he had to beat her at her own game. If Jessie was demanding the key, she likely knew where Frank was headed. More important, she almost certainly had a horse hidden nearby—a horse he needed.
“You can give me the key now, or I can take it off your dead body. It’s all the same to me.”
Matt sighed. “You’re not much of a bluffer, Jessie. If you were capable of murdering me, you’d have done it by now.”
“You don’t know that for sure. And I wouldn’t have to kill you. I could hurt you so badly that you’d wish you were dead.”
“One shot would bring those vigilantes right back here.”
“Not fast enough to catch me. Now stop dithering and give me that key!” The Peacemaker jabbed harder against his ribs.
“You know where it is.” Matt’s muscles tensed like coiled springs. “If you want the key, just reach into my pocket and get it. Go on.”
Caught off guard, she shifted against him to reach the pocket. For the space of a heartbeat she was vulnerable. That was all the time Matt needed.
Twisting sharply, he made his move. His body exploded upward, hands flashing to catch her wrists. She gave a little cry as the force of his weight struck her, flipping her sideways onto her back, with his weight above her.
She lay on her back, glaring up at him with those deep lilac eyes. Her hat had tumbled off, revealing a spill of night-black curls, but the bandanna remained in place over her nose and mouth. “Get off me!” she sputtered. “Let go of me now, or I’ll scream!”
“Go ahead.” Using his weight to pin her against the slope, he locked one hand around her wrists while his other hand pried the Peacemaker from her fingers. To control her hands, he had to straddle her impossibly tiny waist with his knees and lean forward. The body beneath him felt small but voluptuous through the baggy denim overalls. The pressure of her jutting breasts against his belly sent waves of erotic awareness ripping down into his loins. To his chagrin, Matt realized he was fully aroused. He swore under his breath, hoping she wouldn’t feel him against her and get the wrong idea. He liked his ladies in satin and perfume—more important, he liked them willing. And right now, the only things he wanted from Jessie Hammond were her gun, her horse and her cooperation.
She had stopped struggling and gone rigid beneath him. She knew, all right—probably wanted
