Silken Dreams (27 page)

“Damn you, who—” Ethan’s words died and he straightened, realizing he was talking to a dead man.

He coughed. The flames licked closer, filling the air with a cloying smoke and the rushing crackle of timber being consumed. Knowing that he, too, would be a dead man if he didn’t get out of the bank immediately, Ethan reached out and belly-crawled toward the front door. He lifted a hand to the doorknob, only then realizing he couldn’t get out without a key. The fire roared behind him, growing hotter and searing his skin. There was no time to pick the lock.

Swearing to himself, Ethan growled and pushed himself to his feet. Grasping a chair from beside the door, he threw it through the plate-glass window, then, holding a hand over his face, lunged into the night.

The impetus of his movements threw him forward, and he stumbled and fell to the ground. He moaned when sharp bits of glass dug into his clothes and skin, but the relief from the scalding heat of the flames overshadowed his pain. Trying to gather his strength, Ethan dragged sweet, gulping lungfuls of air into his chest, then straightened, intent upon escaping before the law rode hell-bent toward him.

The snap of a rifle being cocked split the night and Ethan froze, slowly lifting his head. When he found himself pinned beneath the sights of Jacob Grey’s weapon, he took a deep breath, coughed, then reluctantly lifted his hands in surrender.

Jacob didn’t speak. He merely walked toward him and clamped a set of irons around his wrists, then gestured for Ethan to follow him in the direction of the jail. Behind him, the bank shrieked in a sudden explosion of fire.

The figure in black rode toward the outskirts of town. As if already certain of the way, the horse followed the commands of its master and veered away from the road. Slowly, quietly, the animal threaded through the trees before coming to a stop at the end of the weed-infested drive leading up the abandoned Johnston farmhouse.

After only a moment, the thief was joined by another figure. Moonlight glinted off Judge Krupp’s silver hair, giving him the appearance of a jovial grandfather or an ancient sage.

“Well?” he asked quietly.

The thief smiled. “I did everything just as you told me, then emptied the safe, just for the hell of it.”

“What about—”

“McGuire? Dead.”

“And Gruber?”

“Dead.”

Krupp lifted a brow in surprise. “I’m impressed.”

“You should be.”

His own lips twitched in a suggestion of a smile. “You’d best head back into town.”

“In a minute.” The thief turned in the saddle and gazed back at the yellow glow beginning to tinge the edge of the horizon. “It’s really too bad, you know—about the bank, I mean.”

“Why’s that?”

“They’ll never find my calling card in the rubble.”

Krupp snorted in ironic humor. “They’ll find two bodies and assume the thief was caught in his own blast. Don’t you think that’s calling card enough?”

“I suppose it will have to be.”

The clamor of the town bell rose eerily from the distance, and the judge stiffened. “Damn,” he muttered, almost to himself.

“It’s just because of the fire.”

“The bell’s too fast, too regular. Almost as if—” He twisted in his saddle to glare at the thief. “As if a murderer had been caught.” His eyes narrowed. “Or a thief.”

“No! He was dead. I know he was!”

“Dammit, you’d better hope so! Otherwise both of us could be in a hell of a lot of trouble.”

Jacob whirled to face Gerald Stone, slamming his fist onto his desk in emphasis. “The man is within
my
jurisdiction and he will be held within
my
jail until he can be brought to speedy trial!”

“You had your orders, Jacob. If you managed to apprehend Ethan McGuire, you were supposed to take him to the farmhouse.”

“I caught the man crashing through the plate-glass window of the Madison Thrift and Loan. Since Krupp’s men evidently left before the appointed hour, I was alone and found myself forced to apprehend him without help.”

“Dammit! You’ve created an awkward situation, Grey. This man was supposed to be turned over to the Star.”

“The Star, hell! Where was the Star when I needed someone to cover my ass?”

“Nevertheless—”

“The Star blew their chance to execute McGuire without drawing suspicion to themselves. Now it’s a matter for the courts.”

“Courts!”

“No jury in the world would acquit him. It’s simply a matter of linking him to the other crimes. Then Ethan McGuire will be punished through due process.”

“Due process?” Stone repeated in disbelief. “The man is guilty! You know that, I know that—hell, the whole town knows that. If you weren’t able to take him to the farmhouse, why didn’t you plant a bullet through his head?”

“If I’d done that, the whole town would have known within an hour that I was a member of the Star.”

“There are ways to cover up your involvement.”

“I wasn’t about to undermine my own authority here by exposing myself in that way.”

“This is the same man who murdered your friend!”

“Jeb Clark would have backed me in my actions.”

“Clark was a member of the Star. He would have followed orders.” Stone strode toward the front window and gestured toward the crowd lining the opposite boardwalk. “Do you see them, Grey? Those men have lost everything in that bank—some of which will never be recovered. They aren’t looking for law and order, they’re looking for—”

“Justice?”

“Damn right. And the only justice they’ll see will be found in McGuire’s death. Those men are out for blood.”

Jacob regarded his friend through narrowed eyes. “And so, it seems, is the Star. Why are you so all fired up to see the man shot? He’ll meet his just deserts in time.”

“The man is guilty. You said that yourself. You’re simply tying up time and money that will end with a bullet in his head anyway. What would it have mattered if you’d shot the man?”

“I would have been taking the law into my own hands.”

“You’re a member of the Star.”

“That doesn’t make it lawful.”

“We
are
the law, dammit!”

“Then why can’t you see that I had to bring him into custody? If I’d shot the man without at least making an effort to bring him to trial, my authority would have been in jeopardy in this town.
This time
the lawful order of things had to be obeyed.”

Stone pointed to the crowd. “Those men aren’t going to care whether the court damns him first or if he just ends up dead.”

“I say it matters. And I’m the one who is responsible and ultimately to blame,” Jacob repeated stubbornly.

“Don’t be a fool, Jacob. The Star—”

“The Star is not responsible for upholding the law in this town.
I
am.”

“Then turn the man over to me.”

A heavy beat of silence pounded in the crowded office. “What?” Jacob asked in disbelief.

“Turn the man over to me. Notify the town that McGuire can’t get a fair trial in Madison. Once the man is in my custody, the Star can take care of matters without endangering your position here.”

Jacob hesitated.

“It will work,” Stone added smoothly. “And no one will ever know you’re turning the man over to the Star for execution.”

Jacob stared at the man before him, taking in his earnest expression and the cajoling cast of his features. His stomach churned sickeningly as he studied Stone’s eager expression. “I’ll think about it,” he finally conceded.

Stone’s features hardened for a moment in displeasure. He threw Jacob a stern glance and swept his hat onto his head. “It’s the only way, Jacob. The Star has already made a decision on McGuire’s guilt. To buck its authority would only prove to be a mistake.”

“Maybe. But I’m the one who has to decide if it’s a mistake I can live with.”

“Just don’t take too long in deciding, Grey. An awful lot of things can happen to a man when—”

“Don’t threaten me, Stone,” Jacob inserted in a low voice. “And don’t you dare threaten my family.” He leaned forward on the desk in emphasis. “I’m not as stupid or trusting as some of your other members—and you should have known that long before now. I’ll act within my own conscience. And if anything should happen to me or my kin, arrangements have already been made that will uncover the entire network of the Star.”

Stone seemed to pale. “You took a blood oath.”

“That was before you started making threats.”

Stone’s face settled into a mask of fury, but he knew he would get no farther with Jacob. “Make your decision, Jacob. I’ll be back at nightfall.” Jamming his hat onto his head, he threw one last hard glance in the other man’s direction, then stormed out of the office.

Stone wove his way through the crowd of onlookers, then swung across the street and climbed onto the boardwalk just in front of the china shop. Taking a quick glance around him, he joined Judge Krupp.

“Well?”

“Grey is balking at the idea of releasing McGuire.”

Krupp scowled and tipped his head to glare at the harsh summer haze coating the sky. He had to see to it that McGuire was executed. Soon. Otherwise, there was too much of a risk that the true circumstances surrounding Gruber’s murder could be exposed. “Exert a little pressure.”

“He’s not taking too kindly to threats.”

“If Grey won’t release the man, we’ll simply have to arrange another ‘escape’ like we did in Dewey and kill the man when he tries to run.”

“When?”

“We’ll wait until tomorrow morning, when everyone will be distracted with Clark’s funeral.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Go ahead with the original plan. At dawn, we’ll escort McGuire to the farmhouse and shoot him.” He turned to spear Stone with a stern glance. “Then see to it that Grey meets with the same fate—some unfortunate accident occurring in the line of duty. I don’t want someone on the Star Council who won’t take orders from his betters.”

Stone grinned and touched a finger to his hat in a mocking salute. “Yes, sir.”

Jacob took a set of keys from his top desk drawer and held them tightly in his hand for a moment.

“Rusty, I’m going up to the cells for a minute. Once I come down, why don’t you go grab yourself a bite to eat? I’ll go later.”

“Sure thing, Jacob.”

Stepping to the back of the office, Jacob unlocked the heavy oak door at the foot of the staircase, then climbed the worn stone steps to the top floor.

As jailhouses went, Madison’s was one of the securest in the area. Built entirely of stone, the two-story dwelling had no full-length windows except those on the main floor. Above, in the portion containing the prisoners’ cells, smaller windows had been cut into the rock high above eye level, allowing light and ventilation but no view of the street below.

Pausing to open the door at the top of the steps, Jacob stepped inside. A large open area led into two separate cells, each big enough to hold a pair of men comfortably—four uncomfortably.

Crossing the room to the last cell, Jacob found Ethan sitting upon one of the bunks, his back propped against the wall. Though he’d no doubt heard Jacob arrive, the other man waited a moment before turning his head to meet Jacob’s gaze.

McGuire’s eyes were dark, his expression calm but wary. Finally, he said, “You’re on the Star, aren’t you, Grey?”

Jacob didn’t speak. He measured the man before him, wondering if Ethan McGuire were aware of all the forces that had brought the two of them face-to-face after so many years.

“Have you come to kill me?”

“Not yet.”

Jacob stared at his long-time nemesis through the iron slats of the jail cell, his body filling with a thousand conflicting emotions: triumph, frustration, self-righteousness—even a little pity.

Ethan endured his gaze for a moment before slowly stating, “I didn’t kill Gruber or empty his safe.”

Jacob gave a snort of sarcastic humor. “And you expect me to believe that fact just because you say so?”

Ethan scowled. “No. I expect you to believe me because it’s true. Gruber was all but dead long before I ever stepped into the bank.”

“And what were you doing in the bank?”

“Waiting for the thief.”

“Why?”

“
Why?
Because I’m tired of running for something
I
haven’t done.”

“So the rumors of a pardon were true?”

“Yeah.”

“And what were the conditions?”

“Other than restoration of property, five years within the law.”

Jacob became quiet, and some of the pieces of the puzzle in his head began to shift into place.

“You’ve been with my sister, haven’t you?”

Ethan opened his mouth to deny it, then met the other man’s quiet gaze. “Yeah.”

“You were at the boardinghouse all this time.”

Though it wasn’t a question, Ethan nodded.

“And you were there that day we broke into the garret?”

“On the roof.”

“My sister is responsible, isn’t she?”

“Don’t blame her for this!”

“I don’t blame her for anything.” Jacob’s eyes grew quiet and dark. “She’s in love with you, isn’t she?”

Ethan turned away, denying the heavy regret that settled in his own stomach. “Yeah.”

“And you? Do you love her?”

Ethan swiveled his head to glare at the other man. “I don’t see how it’s any of your business. You’re going to make sure I swing for the crimes I may or may not have committed.”

Jacob’s hand tightened into angry fists. “Dammit! She’s my sister. I have a right to know whether or not you really love her, or whether you’re merely playing her for the fool!”

The stone walls echoed his words, and Ethan sighed, plunging his fingers through his hair.

“I love her,” he admitted, though it seemed a crime to be saying the words to anyone but Lettie. “If I knew a way, I’d show her just how much. I’d take her away from here, see to it that she had the kind of life she deserves.” His voice betrayed him by becoming slightly husky. “But that’s not going to happen, is it? You’re going to see to it that I never touch her again. Aren’t you?”

“I love my sister. I won’t see her hurt.”

“And you think I’ve hurt her.” Ethan sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I suppose you’re right. But I never meant to hurt her at all. She’s so sweet and kind.” He swallowed past the tightness gathering in his throat. “She was the first person who accepted me—flaws and all—and believed me when I told her the truth. I never thought I’d meet a woman like that.” He glanced at Jacob, and his lips quirked in an unwilling smile. “I certainly never thought I’d fall in love with
your
little sister.” His eyes met Jacob’s. “But I did. And now I suppose you’re going to have to decide whether to believe in your sister’s judgment or continue a five-year vendetta.”