influence him a lot more. “Fine, fine. I’ll join up with you, but I want your word that I’ll go free after it’s over.”
“I’m not a bounty hunter,” Nick said, “so rewards don’t mean much to me.”
“And all I can do is take you to where my cousins might be. I don’t know for certain whether they’ve got them jewels or not.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
Reluctantly, Lester lowered his head. “It’s a deal.”
Nick felt something brush against his gun belt and he reflexively backed up a step. It was Lester, offering his hand across the few inches that separated them. Nick shook Lester’s hand, thinking about how he could most effectively put the other man to work in the little time before Kinman caught up with them. As he started to weave a plot in his head, Nick couldn’t help but think that Barrett would have been proud.
Suddenly, Lester’s grip tightened around Nick’s hand like a set of iron tongs and before Nick could pull his arm away, Lester was pulling him forward. Since Nick had shifted into a sideways stance to put his gun farther away from Lester, his shoulders were in line with one another. That made it even easier for Lester to sidestep while pulling Nick forward.
Nick felt as if he was falling through molasses. He could see Lester moving aside, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Nick’s other arm flapped behind him like a donkey’s tail. His front boot skidded against the ground for an inch or two, which was just enough to carry Nick to the edge of the grave.
After another shove from Lester, Nick pitched around at an awkward angle and toppled into the hole. He landed solidly upon the lower half of Barrett’s coffin. When he looked down at the body of his friend, he swore he could hear Barrett laughing at him.
Once he’d gotten his feet beneath him, Nick climbed out of the grave. His gun was already in his hand and his finger was touching the trigger on the off chance that Lester was waiting for him up top.
He wasn’t.
Even though there wasn’t anyone in sight, Nick had a pretty good idea where to look. He turned toward the spot where they’d left the horses just in time to see Lester snap his horse’s reins and charge straight toward him. Nick took aim with his pistol, but his shoulder hit the ground, knocking his aim off center.
Lester twisted in his saddle to look back over his shoulder. Seeing the gun in Nick’s hand, he ducked down low over his horse’s neck and let out a sharp yell as he dug his heels into his horse’s sides. The animal bolted forward and dragged Kazys by the reins along with him until Kazys finally managed to pull free.
Nick got to his feet, straightened his arm and sighted along the top of his pistol. He wouldn’t have had any trouble whatsoever in dropping Lester’s horse, but the rifle shot that tore a piece out of his right ear was enough of a distraction to affect his aim.
“Son of a bitch!” Nick shouted under the blast of his own pistol.
Wheeling around to face the direction the rifle shot had come from, he dropped to one knee. He saw Kinman riding over the ridge that led back down along the path to the gravesite. The bounty hunter still held his rifle to his shoulder and was taking aim again as Nick fired.
Nick’s round was less than an inch off its mark. It would have caught Kinman in the face, if the bounty hunter hadn’t been sighting along the top of his rifle. Because of that, Nick’s bullet ricocheted off the rifle and knocked the stock against Kinman’s shoulder and head. The impact, harder than a punch, caused Kinman to wobble in his saddle. A few more shots went off, but none of them hit him. In fact, Kinman didn’t even hear any lead flying past him. He saw Nick walking in the opposite direction and firing at something in the distance. Kinman took that opportunity to get his rifle back up to his shoulder and take a shot of his own.
Nick had figured that he had a few seconds to try and drop Lester while Kinman was shaking off the knock to the face. Once those seconds were up, Nick turned and found himself looking down the wrong end of Kinman’s rifle.
Gritting his teeth, Kinman squeezed his trigger. All he got for his effort was the gut-wrenching
Nick had taken his shot as well, but had done so on the assumption that he was about to be killed. Aiming quickly, he fired and sent his bullet to the larger target of Kinman’s torso.
The bullet slammed into Kinman’s body like a kick from a mule. It sent him rolling backward from his saddle as the rifle flew from his hand. Sliding down his horse’s flank, Kinman threw his arms out and braced himself for the landing. When he opened his eyes again, Nick was standing over him.
Glaring down as the blood rushed through his veins, Nick pointed the modified Schofield directly between Kinman’s eyes.
Kinman let out a hacking, grunting laugh that shook his whole body. That, combined with the fresh bullet wound and the fall from the horse, was enough to send him straight into unconsciousness.
TWENTY-ONE
Kinman didn’t expect to wake up. Part of him had thought he might have a chance if Lester had a loyal bone in his body, but that hope lasted about as long as the proverbial candle in the wind. When he did wake up, Kinman was able to move, but that only brought him a torrent of pain that hit him hard enough to drop him flat onto his back.
“I was just about to check on you,” said a voice nearby.
Sucking in a breath, Kinman pressed a hand to his wounded side and sat up. He was still in the same spot where he’d landed and his pistol was lying nearby. Another quick check told him that his backup pistol and knife had been taken from him.
“I figured you’d be long gone.” Kinman grunted. “Actually, I figured you would have killed me while I was out.”
Nick’s coat was off and his shirtsleeves were rolled up. He took off his hat, swiped some of the long, graying hairs from his face and cleared away the sweat from his brow. “Seems like you’ve got an angel on your shoulder today. With that kind of luck on your side, my gun might have blown up in my hand if I tried to kill you.”
Kinman squinted and choked back another wave of pain. “A killer talking about angels, huh? I guess I have heard it all.”
Nick was quiet for a few seconds before he shrugged and rolled his sleeves back down.
“Where’s Lester?” Kinman asked.
“He got away.”
“Oh yeah. I recall that much. He also got your horse. Seems like one of us is stranded here.” Just as he said that, Kinman spotted Kazys doing his best to graze on some dry brush not too far away. “I thought I saw him take your horse.”
“He did,” Nick said with a chuckle. “At least, he tried. He got about twenty yards before I let out a whistle and the old boy came running right back to me. I guess Lester’s priorities have changed if he actually let this horse go rather than steal it.”
Kinman’s eyes darted toward the grave. Rather than the gaping hole and splintered planks that had been there before, there was now a neat pile of dirt. One of the planks was leaning against Nick’s leg. “You stayed here to fill in that hole?”
Nodding, Nick said, “I just got finished. It was a little rough without a proper shovel, but I made do. I am a professional, you know.”
Kinman struggled to his feet and winced as more pain shot through him. Grabbing his side, he found some blood, but not nearly as much as he’d expected. A quick look down there was enough to show him that torn scraps from his own shirt had been used to wrap up the wound.
“It was messy, but nothing serious,” Nick said. “The bullet passed through and might have cracked a rib or two. Nothing too bad.”
“Speak for yourself. You’re not the one who feels like his damn ribs are on fire.”
“No,” Nick said as he turned his head and pointed to the bloody pulp hanging from his ear. “I’m the one who’s
