“I believe I see my friend Nancy, if you’d like to meet her.” Emma Jane hoped her smile looked more like she was being friendly than filled with her newfound determination. She’d been told in the past that her determined expression made her look cross.
“Thank you, Emma Jane.” Jasper rewarded her with a smile of his own. Before the circumstances leading to their marriage, Jasper had hardly spoken to her, hardly noticed her, much less found cause to offer a smile. Surely this was to be considered progress.
After all, how could she blame him for resenting marriage to her? They’d been virtual strangers, caught together in circumstances beyond their control. And while it was easy to focus on the things they could not control, there was plenty Emma Jane could.
Starting with finding a way to get along with her husband.
Now, filled with newfound purpose, Emma Jane took Jasper’s arm and brought him over to where Nancy sat.
“Hello, Nancy.” She gave the other woman a smile, though she knew that Nancy would most likely not smile back.
“Emma Jane.” Nancy looked up at her and, as Emma Jane predicted, did not return the friendly expression.
Nancy had never had cause for the niceties of society, being on the fringes on account of her occupation as a woman of the night. And though Mrs. Jackson would be scandalized by it, Emma Jane found it refreshing to be around someone who let her be herself.
“I would like to present to you my husband, Jasper Jackson. He’s expressed a particular interest in wanting to meet you.”
“I’ll bet he has,” Nancy sneered. “I suppose you’ll be warning me off about putting notions in your wife’s head.”
The smile that formed around Emma Jane’s lips came of its own accord. She couldn’t help but like the direct way Nancy spoke. Then, remembering to be agreeable to Jasper, she quickly replaced the mirth with a more solemn expression.
It wouldn’t do to offend him so soon.
However, instead of being offended, Jasper chuckled. “I can see why Emma Jane likes you. A straight shooter. I like that myself.”
Still, the hostile expression on Nancy’s face remained.
“If you’re a friend of Emma Jane’s, then that’s good enough for me,” Jasper continued. “I was hoping to discuss another matter with you.”
Nancy’s eyebrows rose, but she didn’t say a word.
“I’ve been recently deputized, and I was hoping you could give me information about the gang we’ve been chasing. Everything I’ve found has led to a dead end, and I was thinking, who knows these men better than the women who, um...”
Then Jasper turned beet red and turned his head away.
Nancy snickered. “We didn’t exactly talk when I spent time with them, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Be nice,” Emma Jane said, giving Nancy an admonishing look. “It won’t do you any good if you keep chasing folks away with your wild talk. Jasper needs your help.”
Emma Jane had never spoken so boldly before, but as her heart thudded in her chest, it felt...well, it felt like the time her sister had dared her to use the rope to swing into the lake. Scary, but good. Jasper’s earlier defense of her to his mother echoed in her head. He’d spoken up for her, and even though she knew he didn’t fully accept her, she had to believe that if they kept speaking up for each other, then maybe...
She glanced at Jasper, who was still beet red. Surely they could at least become friends.
“I can’t help him,” Nancy said, looking around. “It’s bad enough I’m associating with church folks. If word gets out that I was talking to the law...”
“We can protect you.” Jasper looked fully recovered from the embarrassment over Nancy’s frank talk.
“Dream on, rich boy. I’m sure it’s all fun for you, playing with guns and chasing bandits. But it’s not a game to the men you’re after. They’re ruthless killers, and it won’t be just your body they leave in their dust.”
Nancy looked at Emma Jane so hard it was almost like having a gun pointed right at her. Jasper seemed afraid that Emma Jane would be targeted by the gang, and Nancy confirmed it. Emma Jane swallowed. Perhaps she’d been too hasty in pushing her desire to work with Jasper on the case.
“And what about the innocent women they’ll keep hurting if they’re not stopped? What about...”
“If you’re talking about Daisy, you need to let her go. I’ve heard talk that you’re searching for her, and I can tell you right now that it’s a lost cause. Forget about her and move on.”
Emma Jane didn’t know Jasper very well, but the emotions darkening his face told her that he’d do anything but forget about Daisy. In fact, she’d guess that Nancy’s words only served to make him more determined to find her.
“And what if I can’t?” His body was tense, his fists balled at his sides. This was not the society dandy everyone admired. If any of the women who giggled over their fans at him could see him now, Emma Jane wasn’t sure they’d recognize him.
If she had to choose, she’d say she liked this Jasper better.
“Then I guess you’d better kiss that pretty wife of yours goodbye.”
Nancy turned to look at Emma Jane, then her face softened. “No offense. But if he pursues this case, you’re going to be the one to suffer for it. I know you meant well in coming to me, but you’re putting every woman you introduce your husband to in danger. And you’re signing your own death warrant.”
A chill rattled through Emma Jane, and she pulled her shawl tighter around her. Part of her wished she’d left well enough alone and let Jasper go about his business. But another part of her—something boiled deep within her. Where an instant ago she felt cold, now she was on fire.
A gang so dangerous that anyone
