He heard hinges squeal and lifted his head to see the gates opening again. They swung wide, so the rest of the Apache war party could ride inside the compound. Salvatorio called to his men with triumph and cruel satisfaction in his voice. The Kid didn’t have to understand the words to grasp the hatred they contained.
The Apaches dismounted, and together they walked toward their chief and the men who lay at his feet. Guzman and the rest of the Rurales began to pull back. The men at the gates started swinging the massive portals closed again.
With all those things going on, the Apaches should have suspected a trick. But all their attention was focused on the scalp hunters they despised so much, and their thoughts were filled with the bloody vengeance they would soon take on their enemies.
But something else was wrong.
“Kelly,” The Kid said in a low, urgent voice. “They’re going to wait until the Apaches are all around us to open fire! We’ll be killed, too!”
A curse exploded from Kelly. “You’re right. Guzman’s double-crossing us! We’ll see about that, by God!”
Kelly surged to his feet, reaching under his shirt as he did so. Salvatorio was only a few steps away from him. The war chief’s eyes widened in surprise, and he brought his knife up as if to defend himself.
The blade was no defense against a bullet. Kelly yanked a revolver from under his shirt, jerked the barrel up, and thumbed off a shot that blew a good-sized chunk of Salvatorio’s brain right out the back of his head.
Chapter 25
Guzman was shouting orders in Spanish even before the shot blasted from Kelly’s gun, and the Rurales on the parapet opened fire on the Apaches. Seeing their chief gunned down would make the warriors realize they were being betrayed, and they would fight back if they got the chance.
Guzman wasn’t going to give them that chance.
The Kid reached his feet only an instant after Kelly. His hand swept behind his back and plucked the Colt from under his shirt. One of Salvatorio’s men screeched in fury as he brought his rifle up and tried to line his sights on The Kid.
The revolver in The Kid’s hand erupted with flame first, driving a slug into the Apache’s chest, knocking him backward. Crouching, The Kid pivoted and triggered a pair of shots at the Apaches who had just entered the compound. Those who hadn’t already been cut down were spreading out in hopes of making themselves more difficult targets, but The Kid’s bullets sent one of them spinning to the ground anyway.
The courtyard was filled with chaos as bodies drilled by the men on the walls slumped to the ground. The Kid whirled toward the headquarters building. Jess and the other women were somewhere in there, he thought. With all the distraction, it might be his best chance to find them.
The Kid slowed as he watched a scene playing out in front of the porch. Mateo had reached the fleeing Captain Guzman and threw his left arm around the Rurales commander’s neck. The Yaqui jerked Guzman around and put a knife to his throat. Where Mateo had gotten the knife, The Kid didn’t know but the fact that the Yaqui had it didn’t surprise him.
“Tell your men to hold their fire,” Mateo ordered. He didn’t speak much, but when he did, it was important.
Guzman’s face had gone pale at the touch of the blade. When Mateo relaxed the pressure on his neck, he shouted orders to his men. The shooting died away as the Rurales heard the commands.
The Kid stepped up beside Mateo and held his Colt leveled in case any of Guzman’s men tried something. His eyes scanned the courtyard. All the Apaches were down, but some were still kicking and squirming against the pain of their wounds.
Kelly, Chess, and Valdez were on their feet and appeared to be uninjured. Kelly snapped an order to the other two, and they walked among the fallen Apaches. Shots rang out in the night as they finished off the wounded warriors.
The Rurales on the parapets watched in confused silence. As long as their commandante was being threatened, no one wanted to risk Guzman’s throat getting cut.
Kelly strode over to The Kid, Mateo, and Guzman and glared at the captain in accusation. “You double- crossed us, Guzman. I ought to have Mateo carve you a new mouth right now.”
“I attempted to double-cross you,” Guzman replied with a thin smile. “It appears that I have failed. But you would have done the same thing, amigo, if you had seen the opportunity.”
For a moment, Kelly continued to glare, then, abruptly, he chuckled. “You’re probably right about that.”
Guzman asked, “Do we still have a deal, since Salvatorio and all his men are dead?”
“I suppose so. Tell your men that we’re not to be harmed. And don’t try any more tricks. We all speak Spanish, too, you know.”
Guzman issued the orders. The men on the parapet lowered their rifles, and with the exception of a few who would remain up there on guard, they began to descend.
“All right, Mateo,” Kelly said with a nod to the Yaqui. “You can take the knife away from his throat. Put your gun down, Kid. But both of you stay close to Guzman. If he tries anything, kill him.”
Guzman straightened his uniform jacket. “I am not accustomed to such rude treatment.”
“Better than being shot in the back by somebody who’s supposed to be your partner,” Kelly said.
“We should put the past behind us,” Guzman replied with an eloquent shrug.
“You know, I believe you mean that.”
“Of course I do,” Guzman said. “A wise businessman tries to seize whatever opportunity he can, but once it passes, he puts it out of his thoughts.”
“Fine,” Kelly said. “We’re partners again. We can trust each other.”
“But of course.”
“Watch him anyway,” Kelly told The Kid and Mateo.
“Come inside,” Guzman invited. “I will have supper prepared for us. And there is still the matter of the women, eh?”
“The women,” Kelly repeated with a glance toward The Kid. “Can’t forget about them, can we?”
Kelly turned to Valdez. “Lupe, can you handle getting those scalps by yourself? Mateo’s going to be busy.”
“Certainly,” Valdez replied, again sounding proud of himself. “It will not take long.”
Kelly nodded to the open door of the headquarters building. “Let’s go.”
They went inside with The Kid and Mateo flanking Guzman. Kelly and Chess followed. The clerk, Luis, stared at them goggle-eyed from the door of the office.
“Where are the women?” Kelly asked.
“They are locked in one of the storage buildings,” Guzman replied. “They have not been harmed. Not by me or any of my men, that is. I cannot speak for the treatment they received at the hands of the Apaches.”
“You’re going to give us quarters for the night and have the women brought to us.”
Guzman’s back stiffened. “I do not like being dictated to, senor, no matter what the situation.”
“Consider it a request, then,” Kelly suggested. “And here’s the situation, as you call it. Mateo’s going to be within arm’s reach of you every second until we ride out of here in the morning. No matter what trick you might think about trying, you can’t do it fast enough to keep him from killing you. Even if all of us die, you will, too.”
“I believed that all thoughts of treachery were behind us now,” Guzman said. “You wound me deeply, Senor Kelly.”
“Not as deeply as Mateo will if you try anything funny.”
Guzman shrugged. “You will honor the terms of our bargain?”
“Full payment for the forty-four scalps we brought in, half payment for the ones Valdez is harvesting in the courtyard now? Sure, that’s agreeable. And you throw in safe conduct away from here tomorrow.”
“That goes without saying,” Guzman told him.
“Let’s say it anyway,” Kelly said.
“Safe conduct,” the Rurale captain promised.
