Blood Bond: Deadly Road to Yuma

“The railroad’s well south of here. I’ll need a wagon to transport him that far, and then we’ll take the train the rest of the way.”

“Reckon we can supply you with a good sturdy wagon. You’ll need some men to go with you, though.”

Thorpe shook his head. “I have my own shackles and leg irons for the prisoner. I can handle one man without any trouble.”

“One man, sure,” Flagg said, “but what about twenty-five or thirty?”

“Shade’s gang?” Thorpe asked as a frown creased his forehead.

“That’s right. They’re still on the loose, and they’re liable to come after him.”

“How long has Shade been locked up here, almost a week?”

Flagg nodded. “That’s right.”

“And you haven’t seen hide nor hair of his gang during that time, have you?”

“Well…no.”

Thorpe put out a hand. “There you go. They’ve abandoned him. Someone else has taken over the leadership of the gang, and they’ve moved on to greener pastures. You know owlhoots have no loyalty to anything except their own best interests. The concept of honor among thieves is just a myth.”

Matt and Sam weren’t so sure about that. The glance they exchanged said as much.

Flagg tugged at his ear. “I dunno,” he said slowly. “From everything I’ve heard, Shade’s men would follow him right into hell. I can’t see ’em just ridin’ off and forgettin’ about him.”

“Then why haven’t they tried to rescue him?”

Matt spoke up. “Because they know everybody in town has been waitin’ for that very thing to happen? Even a bunch of outlaws have to be smart enough to know that they’d be ridin’ into a real hornet’s nest if they tried to bust him out of this jail.”

“But if Shade’s being taken all the way across Arizona Territory by only one man,” Sam said, “they might see that as a perfect opportunity to rescue him.”

Thorpe shook his head. “They’re not going to be foolish enough to interfere with the federal government.”

“They stole army payrolls, didn’t they?” Sam pointed out. “They didn’t seem too afraid of the federal government then.”

Thorpe glared at them. “What are you suggesting that I do then?”

“Take some guards with you,” Flagg said. “I’ll bet you’d have half a dozen volunteers from around here at least.”

Matt and Sam looked at each other again, and then Sam said, “And we’d ride along, too.”

Without hesitation, Thorpe snapped, “Absolutely not. How would it look if a deputy United States marshal had to enlist the aid of a couple of notorious gunfighters to help him do his job?”

“Like he had enough sense to know when he was outnumbered?” Matt said.

Thorpe shook his head stubbornly. “No, I won’t do it,” he insisted. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt anything to take some other men with me…but not these two.”

“I think you’re makin’ a mistake,” Flagg said. “Bodine and Two Wolves are two o’ the best fightin’ men you’ll ever see.”

“And as I pointed out, men like them attract trouble. Shade’s gang will be more likely to leave us alone if Bodine and Two Wolves don’t come with us.”

Matt opened his mouth to tell Thorpe that he was as loco as Colonel Wilmont had made Shade out to be.

But before he could get the angry words out of his mouth, Sam closed a hand around his arm and said, “Come on, Matt.”

Matt turned to his blood brother in surprise. “But this stiff-necked star packer—”

“If that’s the way Marshal Thorpe feels about the situation, then we’ll just have to honor his decision,” Sam said. “He’s the law. It’s up to him to handle things however he wants to.”

Matt stared at Sam in disbelief. It wasn’t like Sam to cave in like that to some damn fool.

But it was true that Thorpe was now the top dog around here when it came to the law. If the marshal wanted to, he could order Flagg to lock up the two of them until he had left Arrowhead with Joshua Shade. Matt didn’t want that to happen.

“All right,” he said in disgust. “Have it your way, Thorpe. Just don’t look for any help from us if you find yourself facing Shade’s whole gang.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Thorpe said with confidence that bordered on arrogance. He turned back to Flagg. “But if you can find me some good men, Sheriff—men who aren’t trigger-happy gunslingers—I’ll interview them and deputize several of them to come with me.”

Matt started for the doorway. “Come on, Sam,” he said. “Let’s get out of here before I say something I regret.”

Sam followed his blood brother out of the jail. They hadn’t gone very far down the street when Sam chuckled.

“What the hell’s so funny?” Matt asked. “Not that damn fool lawman, that’s for sure.”

“Actually, I was thinking that Thorpe really doesn’t know you very well.”