Rue Allyn Read Free Page A

sparkle in his eyes. He was as excited by the coming confrontation as she was.
    “They’re following the trail we left and should be here soon.”
    “Did you get the stallion and the mares secured in that other canyon?”
    “Yep. They’re too far away to be easily heard but close enough for us to get them without any trouble if our plan works. The men following us will think we lost the mounts and are stranded.”
    “It better work. I don’t like the alternatives.”
    “Me neither.”
    She handed him her hat then tied a bandana over her bright pinned up hair. “I’d better get moving, so we can spring our surprise.”
    Her friend smiled, but the sparkle faded. “Be careful, Kiera.”
    “You too.”
    Swift and silent she hurried into position behind a boulder just inside the mouth of the canyon. She signaled Muh’Weda when she was in place and watched him arrange her hat to make it look as if she were still with him. Then she hunkered down to wait. She would stay hidden until the men settled into a spot for their attack on what she hoped they believed were two rustlers.
    She and Muh’Weda had chosen this canyon because the chasm’s mouth was well out of gun range, which made that opening the most logical place for the pursuers to leave their horses. Separating the men from their mounts was key to the success of the plan.
    From behind the rock, she watched the two men leave their horses tied to a low branch growing out of the canyon wall then make their way, one on each side of the chasm, toward a tumble of rocks about twenty feet from where her hat showed Muh’Weda’s position to be. She was now between the men and their only exit.
    One of the men wore a badge and was on her side of the canyon. He signaled the other man to hold off firing. However, the second man either didn’t see the signal or ignored it and aimed a careful shot that blew Kiera’s hat off the rock.
    Darn. I liked that hat.
    Muh’Weda returned fire fast enough to make it seem as if two people were taking careful shots at their pursuers.
    Quick and quiet Kiera eased from boulder to boulder toward the horses. At the last rock she checked to see that the pursuers’ attention was focused on Muh’Weda. Choosing her moment, she broke cover and ran for the steeds left near the canyon mouth. Her job was to take possession of the horses. Then, using the mounts as cover, she would help Muh’Weda, by threatening the two men from behind. They didn’t need to know that she couldn’t hit a target and only carried a gun to complete her disguise as a man.
    Once she and Muh’Weda had the men in what appeared to be a crossfire and they realized that aiming bullets in her direction would kill their horses, the men would surrender and the gunfight would be over with everyone alive.
    She’d put her foot in the stirrup and hoisted herself halfway into the bay gelding’s saddle when something grabbed her free leg.
    • • •
    There was no sight or sound of the stolen horses, but both rustlers hid behind the boulder where the bullets came from, so Ev wasn’t certain what caused him to turn and look toward the canyon entrance. However, the itchy sensation that signaled unseen danger attacked his neck.
    “No!” He holstered his gun and sprinted for the horses. One of the desperados was trying to steal their mounts. “Keep him pinned down,” Ev yelled to Boyd.
    “What?”
    Ev prayed the gunman would figure it out because explanations would have to wait. Before the rustler swung into the saddle, Ev managed to get a grip on the desperado’s foot and pull hard.
    The horse sidled away, and the man tumbled backward. Swinging his arms and twisting as he fell, he landed smack on top of Ev. They toppled to the ground with the rustler astride Ev’s chest. The man was a lightweight and would never have knocked Evrett down without the momentum from the horse’s movement.
    He lifted his arms to fend off a punch, but the punch never came. Instead, his