he wasn't going to dispatch this woman to heaven or hell quite yet.
She had to suffer first. His rules, not God's, but in his mind he was
just as omniscient because he too had the power to determine who lived
and who died.
'Time's up, ' he whispered as he aimed the barrel of the rifle at her
heart. Only a few precious seconds had passed since the first shot was
fired, but it seemed a lifetime before Cole could reach Jessica. He
dove, knocking her to the ground. He rolled onto his back on top of
her, his guns drawn and ready as he squinted against the sunlight to
find the target.
There . . . in the corner of the roof . . . a flash of metal. 'Got
you, ' he muttered a scant second before he opened fire.
His second shot struck his target. The gunman lurched up and back,
stumbled forward on his knees, and then plummeted to the ground. Cole
shot him three more times as he was falling to his death.
His attention stayed on the outlaw as he slowly rolled to his feet and
moved forward. His anger was beyond control. Caleb's screams echoed
in his ears. The baby was sitting in the dirt, crying for his mama.
Staggering to her feet, Jessica ran to him. She was too weak to pick
Caleb up and fell to her knees beside him. He clawed at her skirt and
threw himself against her. She wrapped him in her arms and began to
rock back and forth, her sobs overpowering her.
Daniel had heard the shots from the jail and ran the three blocks to
Lawrence's house. He saw Jessica and Caleb in the street, slowed down
to make sure they were all right, and then continued on to Cole, who
was standing over the dead gunman. Panting, Daniel watched as Cole
kicked the man over onto his back. Every bone in the man's face had
been crushed by the fall. The damage was so severe his own mother
wouldn't have recognized him now.
'Do you know who he is? ' Daniel asked.
Cole shook his head. 'Maybe Rebecca can tell us . . . if she can
recognize him. He was probably one of the gang.'
'Yeah, well, Grace just told me she was in the bank. She swears she's
the witness.' Cole was taken aback by the announcement. 'Which one's
telling the truth? ' 'Damned if I know, ' Daniel muttered. He
squatted down next to the body and began to search the pockets, looking
for identification.
Cole waited for another minute or two until he was certain he'd gotten
