Fate's Intervention (57 page)

“
No, I guess I hadn
’
t realized that,
”
Matthew said.

“
Well, what is it you need?
”
Brixton asked again.

“
Do you see that light in the distance?
”
Matthew asked, pointing toward the end of the fort.

“
Yeah, I see it.
”

“
I think that
’
s where my brother is,
”
Matthew said, keeping his voice at a whisper.

“
Want us to go in there and take him out?
”
Brixton asked, his voice so serious that Matthew raised an eyebrow in question, the hairs on the back of his neck standing upright. When Brixton was standing in the yard with a gun pointed at his belly, he looked as if he
’
d faint dead away at any moment, now he was asking Matthew if he wanted him to kill a man, without even batting an eyelash.
A
pparently
,
from his demeanor, he wasn
’
t aware of the slip
–
o
r was it a slip? Could he really be that unusual to where the sight of a gun aimed at him turned him to mush, but killing a man with a gun had no effect on him?

Matthew wondered if he were playing games and, if so, why? Unfortunately, he didn
’
t have the luxury of time in order to discover those answers, and as long as Brixton was on his side,
he didn
’
t need to take the time to contemplate it.

“
A
s tempting as that sounds, no, I don
’
t want you to go in and take him out,
”
Matthew said.
“
Here
’
s what I
do
want you to do.
”

Matthew laid out his plan and waited for Brixton to translate for the two Indians.

“
What if he
’
s got them in there with him?
”

“
No. He will have them stashed away where I
’
ll have to meet whatever demands he has for me to go get them. That will give him time to get away.
”

“
No offense, Mister, but your brother sounds like one mean and crazy son-of-a-bitch.
”

“
He is at that,
”
Matthew agreed.
“
Now remember. Stay low and keep quiet. We don
’
t know where he
’
s keeping them, so the last thing I need is for him to discover I
’
ve brought reinforcements, which could set him off on a killing spree. Wouldn
’
t want to see you and your friends minus a head, either.
”

“
Couldn
’
t say as that would make my day.
”
Brixton turned to the two Indians and repeated what Matthew had said. They nodded and slithered into the darkness, Brixton right behind them.
A
fter
another moment, all three literally vanished from sight.

“
Man, they
’
re good!
”
Matthew said, then pushed himself up from his prone position and started down the embankment towards the front of the fort
–
praying the entire way.

Matthew slid down the embankment and ran crouched low toward the gate, half-expecting at any moment to have his body riddled with bullets. That didn
’
t happen, of course. He seriously doubted that his brother was even aware he was there. Still, he wasn
’
t about to take any chances that his brother hired men to watch for his arrival.

He ducked behind the open gate and peered inside. Nothing! With a sigh of relief, he scooted around the gate and ran toward the side of the first building, careful to stay out of sight as much as possible. Still, nothing.

Perhaps his brother hadn
’
t hired anyone to watch for him after all, he thought. Otherwise, he was certain that
those hired men would have intercepted him by now.

It didn
’
t matter either way. H
e wasn
’
t taking any chances. He stayed low, using the buildings for cover, stopping every now and again to listen for
–
anything. Still, nothing.

As
he approached the candle
-
lit building, he slowed his pace and, as quietly as he could manage, leapt up onto the
decaying
boardwalk. He froze as the board beneath his feet groaned and
creaked. He tilted his head, straining to hear if the noise had alerted anyone. Crickets.
All
he heard were crickets. He
breathed
another sigh of relief and moved
on
toward the window, careful to step as lightly as his large frame allowed.

He reached the window and peered through the broken pane. Just as he suspected. His
brother had not anticipated his
arrival at this time. Mark
sat
at an old desk, his feet propped up, his eyes closed, and his mouth wide open. Matthew could hear the resonating snore from his position outside.

He crouched low and slid past the window toward the front door.
 
He grabbed hold of the knob, turned
it,
and pushed it open, wincing as the rusty hinges squealed loudly in protest.

“
What the . . . ,
”
Mark muttered, noticing the open door. He came suddenly alert and pulled his revolver, shooting wildly at every shadow that danced by the light of the flickering candle.

Matthew flattened himself against the floor, covering his head as pieces of debris
rained
down on him. Only when he heard the click of an empty chamber, did he dare to lift his head.

“
A
re
you out of your mind?
”
Matthew yelled above the roar in his ears.
“
You could
’
ve shot and killed me!
”

“
Well, well, look who
’
s turned up,
”
Mark sneered, settling back into the chair.
“
It
’
s too bad I
’
m such a lousy shot, or you
would
be dead.
”

“
Yeah, good thing for me,
”
Matthew said. He stood and wiped the front of his clothes off, then moved further into the room. He spotted an empty chair sitting in a corner and pulled it over.
His first instinct was to pull his own Colt, press it against his brother
’
s fool head, and blow his
brains out
–
after he gave up Marcelle and Peter
–
but he remembered how stubborn his brother could be. Mark was like a mule
–
the harder you pushed, the more he resisted, so Matthew took deep calming breaths and reminded himself that everything would be over soon. He hoped.

“
I
’
m here, just like you ordered,
”
Matthew said.
“
Now where are Marcelle and her
father
?
”

“
A
round,
”
Mark answered vaguely as he reached into his coat pocket and retrieved some papers.
“
I have to admit, I expected you to arrive a lot sooner than this. Thought you cared a hell of  a lot more for your woman
’
s well-being. Guess I had your feelings for the twit figured all wrong.
”

“
You knew I wasn
’
t scheduled to get back to
Wisconsin
until Thursday. Told you that myself, so it shouldn
’
t surprise you that I didn
’
t show before now. Besides, couldn
’
t do anything until your message was delivered, right?
”
Matthew said. Something about his brother
’
s visage told him that Mark knew about his early return and that he
’
d received the message soon enough to have arrived long before now. That sent a shiver of apprehension racing along his spine. Mark was too cocky, by far
, e
specially for someone who was sitting across from a man with a loaded Colt on his hip, when his own revolver now lay empty on the desk. Something was definitely cockeyed about the whole thing. Before Matthew could dwell further on it, his brother was speaking again.

“
I took the liberty of composing some documents while I was waiting for you to get here. I know that
an attorney didn
’
t formalize these,
but they should hold up in any court of law. Sign
‘
em and I
’
ll return your woman, and her
father
.
”
Mark slid the papers across the desk, but Matthew just sat and stared at him, refusing to pick them up and look at them.

“
I can
’
t undo the s
ale
of the company, Mark,
”
Matthew said.
“
The
board owns Daragh Steel and there isn
’
t anything either of us can do about it. Besides, do you think you
’
d really be able to return to
New York
and your old way of life with the law breathing down your neck?
”

“
A
h, yes,
”
Mark said, leaning back in his chair.
“
Mother did tell me that you
’
d sworn out a warrant for my arrest.
Rather
foolish of you, big brother. I
’
d forgotten that little tidbit
momentarily, but if you
’
re wondering why I
’
m not behaving overly concerned, it
’
s not my intention to return to New York.
”

“
So
you
’
re going to abandon
Elizabeth
, is that it? She
’
s the one with control over your funds right now, so what are you going to do about her?
”

“
Nasty little affair that,
”
Mark said,
“
a
nd
again I have you to thank for it.
All
I wanted was to have a bit of sport with an eager partner, but you had to go and interfere and bring her daddy into it. Well, I
’
m sure I won
’
t be missed in her bed, and while the monetary aspect is a bit of a loss, I think our agreement will more than suffice to make up for it. You know
that
you are to blame for quite a bit of my current state of difficulty. In fact, after all you
’
ve put me through these past weeks, I
’
d say you
’
re getting off
rather
easy. I really should devise a way to make you pay, but I have a train to catch soon and don
’
t
need you delaying me
, so if you
’
ll be so kind as to sign the papers, I
’
ll give you the location of your loved ones and be on my way. Don
’
t read them if you don
’
t want to. It
’
s simple enough. Everything you inherited will be turned over to me, starting with authorization to access your bank account and withdraw all of the funds therewith.
”

“
I
’
m not signing anything until I
’
ve seen Marcelle and her
father
,
and
I promise you this, Mark, if
you have harmed one hair on their head
s
, I will blow your brains all over this little room.
”