'I'm sorry I told you,' Doretta Mims said.
He moved closer to her and knelt down, sitting back on his heels. 'Look. Maybe I know how you feel, better than you think. But that's not important. Right now you don't need sympathy as much as you need a way to stay alive.'
'I can't help the way I feel,' she said obstinately.
Brennan was momentarily silent. He said then, 'Did you love him?'
'I was married to him!'
'That's not what I asked you. While everybody's being honest, just tell me if you loved him.'
She hesitated, looking down at her hands. 'I'm not sure.'
'But you wanted to be in love with him, more than anything.'
Her head nodded slowly. 'Yes.'
'Did you ever think for a minute that he loved you?'
'That's not a fair question!'
'Answer it anyway!'
She hesitated again. 'No, I didn't.'
He said, almost brutally, 'Then what have you lost outside of a little pride?'
'You don't understand,' she said.
'You're afraid you can't get another man--is that what it is? Even if he married you for money, at least he married you. He was the first and last chance as far as you were concerned, so you grabbed him.'
'What are you trying to do, strip me of what little self-respect I have left?'
'I'm trying to strip you of this foolishness! You think you're too plain to get a man?'
She bit her lower lip and looked away from him.
'You think nobody'll have you because you bite your lip and can't say more than two words at a time?'
'Mr. Brennan--'
'Listen, you're as much woman as any of them. A hell of a lot more than some, but you've got to realize it! You've got to do something about it!'
'I can't help it if--'
'Shut up with that I-can't-help-it talk! If you can't help it, nobody can. All your life you've been sitting around waiting for something to happen to you. Sometimes you have to walk up and take what you want.'
Suddenly he brought her to him, his arms circling her shoulders, and he kissed her, holding his lips to hers until he felt her body relax slowly and at the same time he knew that she was kissing him.
His lips brushed her cheek and he said, close to her, 'We're going to stay alive. You're going to do exactly what I say when the time comes, and we're going to get out of here.' Her hair brushed his cheek softly and he knew that she was nodding yes.
Chapter Six
During the night he opened his eyes and crawled to the lighter silhouette of the doorway. Keeping close to the front wall, he looked out and across to the low-burning fire. One of them, a shadowy form that he could not recognize, sat facing the hut. He did not move, but by the way he was sitting Brennan knew he was awake. You're running out of time, Brennan thought. But there was nothing he could do.
The sun was not yet above the trees when Frank Usher appeared in the doorway. He saw that Brennan was awake and he said, 'Bring the woman out,' turning away as he said it.
Her eyes were closed, but they opened as Brennan touched her shoulder, and he knew that she had not been asleep. She looked up at him calmly, her features softly shadowed.
'Stay close to me,' he said. 'Whatever we do, stay close to me.'
They went out to the lean-to and Brennan built the fire as Doretta got the coffee and venison ready to put on.
Brennan moved slowly, as if he were tired, as if he had given up hope; but his eyes were alive and most of the time his gaze stayed with the three men--watching them eat, watching them make cigarettes as they squatted in a half circle, talking, but too far away for their voices to be heard. Finally, Chink rose and went off into the trees. He came back with his horse, mounted, and rode off into the trees again but in the other direction, toward the open grade.
It went through Brennan's mind: He's going off like he did yesterday morning, but this time to wait for Gateway. Yesterday on foot, but today on his horse, which means he's going farther down to wait for him. And Frank went somewhere yesterday morning. Frank went over to where the horses are. He suddenly felt an excitement inside of him, deep within his stomach, and he kept his eyes on Frank Usher.
A moment later Usher stood up and started off toward the trees, calling back something to Billy-Jack about the horses--and Brennan could hardly believe his eyes.
Now. It's now. You know that, don't you? It's now or never. God help me. God help me think of something! And suddenly it was in his mind. It was less than half a chance, but it was something, and it came to him because it was the only thing about Billy-Jack that stood out in his mind, besides the shotgun. He was always looking at Doretta!
She was in front of the lean-to, and he moved toward her, turning his back to Billy-Jack sitting with Rintoon's shotgun across his lap.
'Go in the hut and start unbuttoning your dress.' He half whispered it and saw her eyes widen as he said it. 'Go on! Billy-Jack will come in. Act surprised. Embarrassed. Then smile at him.' She hesitated, starting to bite her lip. 'Damn it, go on!'
He poured himself a cup of coffee, not looking at her as she walked away. Putting the coffee down, he saw Billy-Jack's eyes following her.
'Want a cup?' Brennan called to him. 'There's about one left.'
Billy-Jack shook his head and turned the sawed-off shotgun on Brennan as he saw him approaching.
Brennan took a sip of the coffee. 'Aren't you going to look in on that?' He nodded toward the hut.
'What do you mean?'
'The woman,' Brennan said matter-of-factly. He took another sip of the coffee.
'What about her?' Billy-Jack asked.
Brennan shrugged. 'I thought you were taking turns.'
'What?'
'Now, look, you can't be so young, I got to draw you a map--' Brennan smiled. 'Oh, I see.... Frank didn't say anything to you. Or Chink.... Keeping her for themselves....'
Billy-Jack's eyes flicked to the hut, then back to Brennan. 'They were with her?'
'Well, all I know is Frank went in there yesterday morning and Chink yesterday afternoon while you were gone.' He took another sip of the coffee and threw out what was left in the cup. Turning, he said, 'No skin off my nose,' and walked slowly back to the lean-to.
He began scraping the tin plates, his head down, but watching Billy-Jack. Let it sink through that thick skull of yours. But do it quick! Come on, move, you animal!
There! He watched Billy-Jack walk slowly toward the hut. God, make him move faster! Billy-Jack was out of view then beyond the corner of the hut.
All right. Brennan put down the tin plate he was holding and moved quickly, noiselessly, to the side of the hut and edged along the rough logs until he reached the corner. He listened first before he looked around. Billy-Jack had gone inside.
He wanted to make sure, some way, that Billy-Jack would be looking at Doretta, but there was not time. And then he was moving again--along the front, and suddenly he was inside the hut, seeing the back of Billy-Jack's head, seeing him turning, and a glimpse of Doretta's face, and the sawed-off shotgun coming around. One of his hands shot out to grip the stubby barrel, pushing it, turning it up and back violently, and the other hand closed over the trigger guard before it jerked down on Billy-Jack's wrist.
Deafeningly, a shot exploded, with the twin barrels jammed under the outlaw's jaw. Smoke and a crimson
