The odds were getting slightly better.
This was going to have to be quick and deadly. There was no other way.
Ten paces away from the group of eight men, with no stray passenger between him and the man who held Anne by the arm, Fargo said loudly, “Excuse me. I think you’re holding a friend of mine.”
Mick Rule smirked at Fargo. His grasp on Anne’s arm tightened.
“I don’t think you want to draw down on me, Fargo. You’ve got a big reputation but I’ve got the speed.”
Rule leaned away from Anne so that he could get at his gun. He was fast all right. But not fast enough for Fargo. Rule got one shot off but by that time Fargo had put a bullet in the heavy man’s heart.
Rule went down hard, his head smashing into the platform.
Anne spun away and fell to the deck, covering her head as other passengers around them screamed and also dove for cover.
At the same time, Marshal Davis cut two more of the outlaws down and the deputies cleared off the rest of them.
The sound of the shots and the cries of the passengers were still echoing as Marshal Davis turned to see five more gunnies jumping from the rail car that held the horses.
This battle was even bloodier than the first one but lasted for less than twenty seconds. It was fought in front of the baggage and cattle cars. Davis lost two deputies but only one gunny survived.
Fargo glanced around as the smoke from the guns cleared. People were flat on the platform or crouched behind luggage. From what he could see, none of the bystanders had been wounded. That was the first good thing that had happened in two days.
He leathered his Colt and reached down and offered a hand to Anne, who was still on the platform, staying low until she was sure the gunfire had ended.
“It’s over,” Fargo said.
Behind him, the marshal and his deputies surrounded the pile of dead outlaws. The deputies checked the shot men while the marshal started to work on calming the crowd.
“It’s over, everyone,” he shouted up and down the platform. “It’s safe to board the train and go about your business. Sorry for the problem this morning.”
Anne looked up at Fargo, her eyes blazing in anger. “How did you know?”
“I tend to keep track of the people I care about,” he said.
She slowly took his offered hand and let him help her gently to her feet.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
She shook her head, brushing off her skirt, trying to straighten herself a little as she gathered her wits about her.
“Did you get my shirt?”
She still looked somewhat dazed from all the gun-play. But she smiled and said, “I didn’t have time to get you a shirt, Skye. But I did bring you a nice little surprise I think you’ll like.” She slid her hand in his. “And I think you’ll like it a lot more than a shirt.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I think I will too.”
12
Fargo was in no hurry to get back to Sharon’s Dream.
He helped Anne give a statement to the marshal, then escorted her to the Sacramento Inn, a large and plush hotel near the marshal’s office. They went to the dining room for a leisurely and quiet lunch. They had some talking to do before they headed back to Placerville.
As they waited for their order to come, Fargo said, “You look mad.”
“I am mad,” she said, her green eyes flashing. “I agreed to go to San Francisco to avoid this very thing, and it followed me there, where I had no one to help me, no one who knew me, no way to fight and defend myself.”
“I know,” he said. “And I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “Not your fault. Look, I’ve been defending myself for years now. I should have just stayed in my hotel and fought if I had to.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
She looked at him, puzzled, not expecting that answer from him.
“You can take care of yourself. I like that in a woman.”
She squeezed his hand and smiled, a tear forming in the corner of her eye. “Thank you.”
She took a deep breath, straightened up, and then said, “Besides a few bruises on my arms, I wasn’t harmed. They caught me as I came out of my room, put a gun on me, and told me to pack and check out. I did what they said, figuring I’d wait for my chance to break away. That, thanks to you, never came.”
“Did you know any of them?” Fargo asked.
She shook her head, so he told her. “The leader was Mick Rule.”
Her face went pale. “The bank robber and killer?”
“The same one. Henry Brant hired him and his men to help them take over Sharon’s Dream.”
She shuddered slightly. “Okay, I can take care of myself, but Mick Rule is out of my league. Thank you for rescuing me. You still didn’t tell me how you knew I was in trouble.”
“When you’ve been on the trail as many years as I have, you learn to trust your gut. My gut told me you were in trouble.”
She shook her head, not understanding. “Sometimes, Fargo, you puzzle me.”
At that moment the food came. After the waiter left, she said, “Start from the beginning and tell me everything that’s happened so far.”
He managed to keep things simple. Clean and clear. Her expression changed from time to time as he told her about the gunfights and his suspicions where the Brants were concerned.
“Now what, Skye?”
“Dessert,” Fargo said.
Anne laughed. Fargo smiled, enjoying the sound. He had been afraid this morning that he would never hear that laugh again.
“After dessert, silly.”
“We check in with the marshal to make sure he doesn’t need anything more from us; then we get you a horse and take a nice, peaceful ride back to the Wallace Hotel.”
“Aren’t you afraid Henry Brant is going to hear that he has no help coming, and that I’m safe?”
“I hope so,” Fargo said.
Again, she looked puzzled. Then she smiled. “Oh, I see. You’re thinking the gunhands still with him will hear they’re on their own and they’ll abandon the sinking ship.”
Fargo nodded, finishing off his sandwich and downing the last of his glass of water.
“And then Henry and Sarah Brant will make a run for it,” Anne said, smiling. “And you will track them down and deliver the justice they so deserve.”
“And my friend’s mine will be safe,” Fargo said. “That’s my hope. But with many things concerning Brant, I haven’t guessed right. We’ll just have to go back and see.”
“Good,” she said. “I miss my bed and my bathtub.”
Fargo smiled. “Interestingly enough, I miss your bed and your bathtub too.”
“Well,” she said, “when this is over, we’ll have to solve that problem.”
As the sun burned down directly on them, they headed back up the Placerville road, moving at a comfortable pace. It was still an hour before sunset when they reached Anne’s hotel. After they had her things back in her room, they both went to talk to Reg.
Fargo filled him in on the threat to Anne, and the three of them made plans to set up extra security around the hotel and at night around her room.
“Don’t expect help from the sheriff here,” Fargo said at one point. “Marshal Davis told me that his way of dealing with situations like this is to stay out of the way.”
