The Lawman's Surrender: The Calhoun Sisters, Book 2 (10 page)

The young waitress brought his steak, and he dug in with gusto. He hated working on an empty stomach.

He did away with the steak in short order. Pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the food, he started to butter a biscuit when he noticed three men enter the dining room. Cowpokes from the looks of them, their lack of mining gear was enough to make them stand out in this crowd, at least for Jedidiah. No one else paid them any mind.

No one except Hal Pruitt.

One of them caught Pruitt’s eye and jerked his head in an indication to leave the room. Jedidiah kept his head bent over his meal. From the corner of his eye, he saw Pruitt glance at him uncertainly; then the leader if the three cowhands jerked his head again, this time more imperiously. Pruitt slipped out of the dining room.

Pruitt walked through the lobby of the boarding house, the trio trailing him in such a way that the casual observer would not make any connection between them. Then the portly businessman climbed the stairs, his cohorts following a few moments behind.

Jedidiah was out of his seat by the time the last man cleared the top of the staircase. No one paid him any mind as he tossed money on the table, then crossed the lobby and crept up the stairs after Pruitt and his cronies.

His hand on his Colt, he caught a glimpse of the last of the three cowpokes disappearing into a room. The door shut firmly behind him.

Looked like things were about to get exciting, Jedidiah thought. Darned good thing he’d had supper.

Molly Pruitt dragged Susannah into the dining room, still panting from their mad run from the cellar.

“I can’t believe how late I am. Hal must be so angry!” She glanced nervously around the dining room, smoothing her hair with both hands.

“Molly, why don’t I just wait here while you find your husband?”

Molly shook her head. “I want you to stay with me,” she said. “After I let Hal know I’m here, we’ll go into the kitchen to make his dinner...and you can do what you need to do.”

Susannah glanced down at the bottle of arsenic she still held. How was she going to get out of this one?

“Mrs. Pruitt, there you are!” A well-dressed young clerk hurried over, his Adam’s apple bobbing with his agitation. “Mr. Pruitt’s been looking for you, ma’am. He’s mighty angry.”

Molly paled. “Where is he?” she whispered.

“Upstairs in his office.”

Molly sighed and smoothed down her skirts. “I’d best let him know that I’m here. This way, Susannah.”

The young man’s mouth fell open in awe as Susannah passed him. And he wasn’t the only one. Several of the diners stared at her as well. Jedidiah was right—she
was
too conspicuous. She might as well just sit out in the middle of Main Street and wait for Wayne Caldwell and his lynch mob to come fetch her!

Not wanting to draw any more attention to herself, she hurried after Molly as the smaller woman darted through the crowded lobby and headed up the stairs. When they reached the second floor, Molly stopped outside a closed door and took a deep breath before timidly knocking. The rumble of male voices on the other side of the door ceased abruptly.

“Who is it?” a man thundered, his tone short with impatience.

“It’s Molly, Hal. I just wanted to let you know I’m back—”

The door jerked open, and Hal Pruitt glared down at his wife. “Where the hell have you been, woman?”

“I—”

“Get in here!” Pruitt grabbed Molly by the arm and dragged her into the room. Molly caught Susannah’s hand, pulling her along as Pruitt slammed the door shut.

Susannah glanced uneasily around the room. Two disreputable looking cow hands sprawled in the only two chairs in the room, and a third man, with dark eyes as mean as she had ever seen, leaned his hip against Pruitt’s desk. He looked her up and down, then grinned lewdly.

Susannah stared back coldly. She recognized bandits when she saw them, and in her travels, she had long ago learned that fear often encouraged such men rather than discouraged them.

“Who the hell is this?” Pruitt demanded, bringing Susannah’s attention back to him.

“This is my friend, Susannah,” Molly said, her voice quavering. “I—I brought her to help in the dining room.”

“Who said you could make decisions like that?” Pruitt snarled. Molly ducked her head. “I run this business, woman, and I am the only one who can hire anyone!”

“Yes, Hal,” Molly whispered.

“But since she’s here, let’s see if she’s fit to work at Pruitt’s.” His gaze slid over Susannah’s body, lingering on her bosom before coming to rest on her face. He frowned. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“I doubt it,” Susannah replied, this time not bothering to hide her aversion.

“Don’t you talk back to me,” Pruitt warned. “If you want this job, you keep a civil tongue in your head!”

“Or somewhere else,” the leader of the bandits said. The other two desperados laughed.

“She’d make a hell of a whore,” one of them suggested.

Pruitt drew himself up. “This is a respectable boarding house, gentlemen, not a brothel.”

The three ruffians burst into laughter. “If you say so, Pruitt,” the leader said. “Sure is a damn shame, though.”

Susannah glanced at Molly. The woman’s face was beet red, but she kept her gaze obediently downcast. Pruitt was a loud-mouthed braggart and outweighed Molly by at least a hundred pounds. The idea of him using his greater strength to hurt the sweet woman was enough to tempt Susannah to use the arsenic she still held concealed within her skirts.

“I could swear I’ve seen you someplace before,” Pruitt said, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

Susannah shrugged. “Maybe I look like someone you know.”

“I’d remember someone who looks like you.” Pruitt glanced once more at her bosom and licked his lips. “If you want the job, it’s yours. Maybe that pretty face of yours will bring in extra business.”

Before Susannah could respond, he turned to his wife. “Now, where the hell were you, woman? You’re over an hour late!”

“I’m sorry, Hal,” Molly whispered.

“I don’t care how sorry you are! I want to know where the hell you were!”

Molly swallowed hard and glanced up at her husband. “I brought the supper over to the jail like I always do and—”

“The jail!” Pruitt spun back to Susannah. “That’s where I’ve seen you! You’re that whore husband-killer!”

“I’m no whore,” Susannah snapped back.

Pruitt took a step toward her, rage contorting his features. “What the hell are you doing out of jail?”

“I escaped,” Susannah returned defiantly, holding up the bottle of arsenic. “I heard there were some husbands hereabouts that needed killing.”

Pruitt’s eyes widened, and he glanced from Susannah to the poison in her hand, to his wife. “You ungrateful slut!” he shouted, grabbing Molly by the arm and glaring into her face. “You brought her here? You think she can kill me? I’ll teach you to think!” He slapped Molly hard in the face with a loud crack. She crumpled at his feet, curling into a ball and sobbing softly.

“Hey, Pruitt,” the outlaw leader said. “Can you take care of your family problems later? We’re supposed to be doing business here.”

“We’ll do business.” Pruitt jabbed Molly’s sobbing form with his foot. “Get downstairs, you lazy cow. The place won’t run itself.”

Molly slowly sat up. One side of her face glowed lividly red with the imprint of Pruitt’s hand. Susannah started to go to her, but Pruitt grabbed her by the arm.

“Oh no, you don’t.” He glanced at Molly and cursed. “You stay right here until that mark goes away,” he snapped. “I don’t want your ugly face to scare off the customers.”

Molly cautiously crawled to a corner of the room, where she leaned against the wall, her doe eyes blank.

Susannah curled her lip in disgust. “You are a pathetic man,” she sneered.

“And you’re a man-hating whore,” he growled back. “But I’ll fix you good.” With a nasty smile, he yanked the bottle of poison from her hand and let it drop to the floor, where it rolled to rest by Molly’s foot. Then he dragged Susannah over to the desk and shoved her back against the leader of the bandits. “What do you say, boys? A hundred head of cattle at the price we talked about, and this pretty little split-tail as an added bonus!”

The outlaw leader curled his arm around Susannah’s waist and held her firmly against him despite her struggles. He rubbed his pelvis against her bottom, reaching one hand around to squeeze her breast.

“I think we might have a deal,” the outlaw replied.

“The hell you do,” Susannah snapped. She jabbed an elbow into his midsection, but he still held on. She could feel him getting aroused and realized that her fighting was probably exciting him. Abruptly she froze, swallowing her natural revulsion as he pawed her body with greedy hands.

“She sure is a hot piece,” the bandit commented.

“She’s a man-hater,” Pruitt replied with disgust. “She married three men and killed ‘em all. Make sure you keep her tied up, lessen she do the same to you.”

“I have to agree with Mr. Pruitt,” a blessedly familiar voice said. Jedidiah stepped through the window, his revolver pointed straight at the bandit leader’s head. “Keeping that gal tied up is about the only way to keep her out of trouble.”

Susannah breathed a sigh of relief. She should have known he’d be around somewhere. He’d shed his duster, and his revolver gleamed in the lamplight.

“Who the hell are you?” the outlaw leader demanded.

Jedidiah tapped the badge pinned to his vest. “United States Marshal Jedidiah Brown, at your service.”

“A Federal marshal!” one of the bandits exclaimed.

“Shit, he musta been listenin’!” the other said.

The bandit leader curled his arm around Susannah’s neck. “Put it down, Marshal, or I’ll snap her neck like a twig.”

“That wouldn’t be very bright of you,” Jedidiah returned. “So far I only have you boys on cattle rustling. Adding murder to that is sure to see you hang, instead of just passing some time in prison.”

“I don’t aim to do any time,” the leader replied. “There’s four of us and one of you, Marshal.”

“Nice to see you went to school once upon a time.” Jedidiah looked at Molly’s husband. “Well, Pruitt, what do you say?”

“What do you mean, what do I say?” blustered Pruitt.

“Yeah, what are you asking him for?” one of the desperados asked.

“Unless...” The bandit leader pulled his gun and pointed it at Pruitt, taking one arm from around Susannah in the process. “Unless he set us up.”

“Put the gun down,” Jedidiah ordered.

The outlaw ignored him, aiming his weapon Pruitt’s heart. “Is that the way it happened, Pruitt? Was this a trap?”

“N-n-no, I swear!” Pruitt protested, slowly raising his hands. “He’s trying to trick you!”

“It’s all right, Mr. Pruitt,” Susannah said with a sweet smile. “You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

“She was in on it, too!” one of the rustlers cried.

“No! No, she wasn’t! I mean, I wasn’t...” Pruitt glared at Susannah and raised his fist. “Tell the truth, you damned bitch!”

She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you threaten me, you bully. I’m not your wife, and you can’t kick me around like a stray dog!”

“Put down the gun!” Jedidiah ordered again, his gaze never leaving the leader of the gang.

“Is she in on it or ain’t she?” another of the rustlers questioned.

“She’s not! I’m not!” Pruitt rounded on Susannah. “I’ll shut your mouth for good!”

Everything erupted. Pruitt swung at Susannah, who threw herself to the floor so that Pruitt slugged the bandit leader instead. Someone fired, and Pruitt staggered. Jedidiah shot the leader’s gun hand, then whirled and got a second man in the shoulder before he could draw. Mrs. Pruitt sneaked up behind the third member of the gang and smashed the bottle of arsenic over his head. Stunned, he sank down in his chair.

Susannah scrambled to her feet, looking down at the fallen Pruitt. His eyes stared sightlessly up at the ceiling, his mouth gaped open, and blood flowed freely from a nasty hole in his chest. Unable to take her gaze from the awful sight, Susannah stumbled towards Jedidiah. The marshal pushed her behind him with one arm, keeping his revolver trained on the wounded desperados at the same time.

“Mr. Pruitt’s dead,” she whispered, swallowing hard.

He glanced at Pruitt’s body, then looked at the man’s wife. “Mrs. Pruitt, your husband is dead,” he said gently.

“I know that, Marshal.” Molly hung her head for a long moment, then raised her eyes to his. “Do you know who shot him?”

“This fellow right here.” Jedidiah gestured at the bandit leader with his revolver. “I tried to get him first, but I was a little too slow. I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“There was nothing you could do, Marshal. My husband should have expected such a thing to happen, given the type of men he was dealing with.” She let out a sigh and shook her head. “He always was short-sighted.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt your grief,” Jedidiah said in a gentle tone, “but do you have anything we can tie these boys up with? I’m afraid I only have one set of handcuffs.”