* * *
Will Lawson admired Miss Stone’s purposeful stride into the main lobby of the hotel. Pursuing her farther would only cause a scene, and with the looks they’d been getting at the door, he’d already pushed too far.
So close.
Mary Stone was the closest he’d been able to get to Ben Perry and his gang, and she refused to cooperate. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He’d gotten close once before, but he’d put his trust in the wrong person and ended up with a bullet in his gut, his badge taken away and any hope of respectability—gone.
Still, Miss Stone wasn’t what he’d expected. While she was comely enough, with hair the color of pure coal and alabaster skin that hadn’t yet been damaged by the mountains, she hardly looked the part of the sort of lady the notorious outlaw would be interested in. Reed-thin, not nearly as buxom as Perry typically preferred. And she seemed to possess a more genteel spirit than the bold women Perry cavorted with.
So, what was Perry’s game?
Miss Stone spoke to the man at the counter, not looking in Will’s direction or acknowledging him. Almost as though she didn’t want anyone to know of their encounter. Which fit in with her reticence, but why?
What was Miss Mary Stone hiding?
When she finally left, Will headed for the hotel saloon, hoping he’d see a familiar face in the crowd. Ben Perry preferred the finer things in life, which in this town meant staying at the Rafferty Hotel.
Bold as the brassiest woman of the night, Perry sauntered right up to Will as soon as he stepped through the saloon door, as though he wasn’t a wanted man in dozens of places.
Trouble was, Will didn’t have the power to arrest him. Not anymore.
“I thought they’d taken your badge, Lawson.” Perry gave a short, barking laugh. “Lawson. Still gets me. You should change your name to Law-lost-his-badge.”
Will balled his fists at his sides but forced himself to take the taunt. Yes, he’d messed up the Colorado Citizens Bank case, and, yes, he’d let Ben get away. But Will would find a way to take down Ben Perry and his gang once and for all. Even if stopping Ben didn’t get Will’s badge back, at least there’d be one less evildoer on the street.
“Did you have something to say, other than to be childish?” Will glared at the other man, wishing there was something he could do besides follow Ben around and wait for him to strike.
Sure, Will could try to turn Ben in to the local authorities, but the price on Perry’s head wasn’t enough to make it worth anyone’s while. At least not on the petty crimes they could prove.
Will’s fault.
Will should have known that someone as pretty as Daisy Bostwick wouldn’t have been interested in a man like him unless she wanted something. He just never figured that she’d be working for Ben Perry.
“Wondering what you’re still doing this side of the Divide.” The casual tone of Ben’s voice was almost menacing. “I figured you’d hightail it out of these parts now that you’ve lost everything.”
A nasty smile crossed Ben’s lips. “Your poor mama. I can’t imagine how lonesome she must be, taking in the waters at Glenwood all by herself.”
Will tightened his fists at his sides. Not a man alive would blame him for laying Ben out flat. The rumors swirling around Will’s involvement with the Colorado Citizens Bank robbery had caused Will’s mother to take ill and retreat to Glenwood Springs.
Will was innocent. But the gun used to rob the bank and kill an innocent man was Will’s distinctive weapon—the weapon used by one of the masked robbers. Because the robber’s features had been hidden and the robber was the same height as Will, many had thought the robber had been Will.
Will’s gun had gone missing from his rented rooms the day before the robbery. Will hadn’t had a chance to report it yet. He’d left early that day because Daisy had sent him a note saying she’d finally found a way to run away from Ben and needed his help. And of course, Will would help her.
It was all a lie. A lie that had Will arriving back in town just in time to make it look as if he’d been helping Ben’s gang.
Though he hadn’t been charged in the crime due to insufficient evidence, everyone thought Will had been guilty. No one believed his gun had been stolen. No one believed that Will had been set up. But someday, Will would prove that Ben had been behind the robbery. Ben had pulled the trigger, and Ben would hang for it.
“My mother is perfectly well.” Will’s jaw barely allowed the words to escape.
“Glad to hear it.” Then, as if to prove to Will exactly what kind of vermin he was, Ben turned and said, “I’ll be sure to give your regards to Daisy.”
With a wink, Ben headed out of the saloon, whistling.
Ben might believe he was untouchable. For now, Will would go on letting him presume that. Better for a man to think he had the upper hand and get cocky than to have him be on his guard.
When the marshals had raided Ben’s previous boardinghouse, they hadn’t had enough men to both give chase and search Ben’s belongings. So Will had hunted for evidence. Ben was too good to leave much in the room, but Mary’s current address written on a sheet of paper left with the letters had been enough to at least give Will an idea as to where Ben might be headed next.
Mary Stone might say she didn’t know anything about Ben, but the fact that Ben had kept her letters told Will that the outlaw still had some interest in her. Ben didn’t keep things for sentimental purposes.
The marshals hadn’t done much to stop Ben anyhow, so it was up to Will to fix his mistake in
