missing a piece of my head that won’t grow back.”
Squinting to observe the damage he’d caused, Kinman grunted. “Yeah. I guess we’re even. So that’s where your friend’s buried?”
“Yep.”
“And were the stories true? I mean, was there some kind of treasure buried in there with him? The Reaper’s Fee?”
Nick nodded solemnly as he looked back to the newly repaired grave. “Those stories were true, all right.”
Kinman flinched and took a few steps toward the grave. “I suppose you reclaimed it?”
“No,” Nick said as his hand drifted toward the gun at his side.
Snarling through clenched teeth, Kinman said, “Fucking Lester. Who the hell would have thought that little prick had it in him to get those damn jewels and actually get away from the both of us?” His head turned as he glanced around the area. When he turned back around to find Nick calmly sipping from his canteen, he added, “You’re pretty calm for a man who lost all that money.”
“It wasn’t my money.”
“I know. You and Cobb stole it. At least, that’s how the story goes.”
Nodding slowly, Nick admitted, “That story’s right.”
“And you’re just willing to let it go after coming all this way to claim it?”
“I didn’t come to claim the money. I came to make certain my friend’s grave wasn’t dug up so his body could be torn apart by a bunch of wolves. I’ve seen that happen before, and it ain’t pretty.”
Kinman stared at Nick as if he didn’t know what to make of him. He looked at the grave and saw how the ground had been piled up and leveled off to an almost perfect slope. He then looked back to Nick, whose face was calm and wearing a subtle smile. Then, Kinman reached for his gun.
“You pick up that pistol and I’ll finish the job I started,” Nick said simply. “Since I know you’re out to claim the price on my head, I don’t have any problem with leaving you out here for the wolves. Like I said, that ain’t pretty.”
Freezing with his pistol inches from his grasp, Kinman asked, “Why’d you keep me alive?”
“Would you rather I didn’t?”
“No, it’s just peculiar. You’re no fool, Graves. I know that much simply because a fool couldn’t have walked through as much hell as you have and still live to see another sunrise. We were shooting at each other a little while ago and now we’re sitting and talking like neighbors. At the very least, I would have figured you’d keep my weapon from me.”
“You can have them all back if you like,” Nick said. “The rifle’s bent to hell, so it won’t do you much good.”
As he got to his feet, Kinman gritted his teeth and used the pain in his side to spur him on. Once standing, he pressed his hand against his wound to find it was pretty much as Nick had described it.
Kinman picked up his gun smoothly and quickly enough to get it in his hand before Nick could react. He wasn’t quick enough to take aim, however, before Nick had drawn his modified Schofield and pointed it directly at him.
“Damn,” Kinman said. “That’s a hell of a draw for a man with no fingers.”
“Years of practice. Would you like to test my aim as well?”
“No,” Kinman replied as he opened his hand and let his gun drop into its holster. “Not just yet.”
“I did what I came to do, but you’re right about one thing. I don’t like the thought of Lester or his cousins running around with what belongs in that grave with Barrett. The reason I kept you alive and moving is because I’m pretty sure you can track Lester down without too much trouble. You’d get to a weapon sooner or later, so I figured I’d cut out that dance so we can get down to business.”
“I would’ve had a much better time if you hadn’t stayed here to fill in that hole.”
“Then maybe you’re not as useful as I thought.”
There wasn’t the first hint of panic on Kinman’s face as he held up a hand and motioned for Nick to stay put. In fact, the bounty hunter seemed a bit weary as he nodded and said, “I can track him down. That won’t be a problem. But why should I?”
“And you said I was the one wasting time?”
“Unless I’m getting something out of it, I’d be wasting time in tracking that asshole down when I could save the effort and drop you right here and now.”
Nick squared off with Kinman to make sure the bounty hunter could see the holster that had been repositioned across his belly. “You could sure as hell try.”
The two men stared at each other for a few seconds as the tension in the air shifted from cold to hot. Finally, Nick was the one to break the silence.
“You were after Lester at the start, right?”
Kinman nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then you can have him. The price on his head must have been worth the trouble of coming after him and dragging him all the way back to Texas.”
Although Kinman didn’t try to deny that, he wasn’t about to give Nick any encouragement, either.
“His cousins must be wanted, too,” Nick continued. “At the very least, there’s got to be one or two of them that have prices on their heads. Any group of thieves who are good enough to stay out of jail must have worked up some sort of bounty between them.”
“True.”
“When we find them, they’re all yours.”
“What about the Reaper’s Fee?” Kinman asked. “I’d be earning a cut of that, too.”
“I’ll pay you five hundred dollars on top of whatever bounty you collect.”
“Make it a thousand.”
Nick narrowed his eyes and finally nodded. Before he could agree to it, Kinman spoke again.
“Two thousand,” the bounty hunter snapped. “A shitload of jewels has gotta be worth plenty more than that.”
“Sure,” Nick said slyly. “If you can find a jeweler to buy them who doesn’t already know they’re stolen. After all this time, there’s a list of those jewels posted in every shop that’s carrying enough money to pay you off. Anyone else might just turn in whoever’s trying to sell that many stolen jewels to collect the reward being offered for their return.” Raising his eyebrows, Nick added, “It’s not always fun to be on the other end of those rewards, now, is it?”
Kinman nodded and let out a sigh. “You’re a sly one, Graves. No wonder I could never catch up to you all these years.”
“How’s fifteen hundred?” Nick asked.
“Sixteen.”
“Deal.”
Kinman offered his hand, but Nick didn’t make a move to shake it.
“I’ll take your word for it,” Nick said.
“Come on, now. After all the fun we had in Rock Springs, you can’t trust me enough to shake my hand?”
“That was before you shot at me.”
“That was also before you were told what I do for a living.”
“I knew about that back in Wyoming,” Nick said. “I wouldn’t have made it this long if I couldn’t pick out a bounty hunter on sight.”
“All right,” Kinman replied, his hand still extended. “But shake it anyway. I can’t have you going back on our deal due to some outlaw’s loophole.”
Nick stepped forward so that his right hand could reach out and grasp Kinman’s. His body remained in a sideways stance as his left hand stayed within a few inches of his pistol. When he shook Kinman’s hand, Nick kept his eyes locked on the bounty hunter. Although every muscle in his arm was ready to draw the modified Schofield, Nick wasn’t given an excuse to follow through. The handshake was made and the deal was sealed.
“You’re not planning on double-crossing me, now, are you?” Kinman asked.
Nick shrugged and stepped back. “I don’t know. Are you planning to drag me in no matter how things turn out
