A heavy boot nudged her. “It’s that do-gooder.”
Footsteps crunched the straw nearby. “Jasper Jackson’s wife. We can’t kill her. Not with the Jackson power and money.”
Shouts came from the street. The voices grew closer.
“What if she heard? At the very least, she can finger me for Nancy.”
“We’ll take her with us. Maybe we can use her as leverage. That rich boy needs to learn he picked the wrong hobby in poking his nose into our business.”
This time, the man kicked her. Hard. Emma Jane winced at the pain.
Quickly, she yawned, hoping she was convincing in pretending that she’d just woken up.
“What’s happening?”
Dark eyes glinted against the sunlight streaming through the crack in the roof.
“You’re coming with us.”
The shiny barrel of a gun—the gun used to kill Nancy—pointed at her face.
Emma Jane stood slowly, her heart thudding so loud, it echoed in her ears. If she took her time, the voices she heard might make it. And then they could catch these evil men in action. Her throat was so dry, she couldn’t have screamed for help even if there wasn’t a gun pointed to her head.
“Hurry it up. I’m not afraid to use this. Just ask your friend.” He pointed toward the open stall door. Nancy’s lifeless body lay beyond.
Seeing Nancy dead somehow made the situation seem all the more dangerous. Jasper had warned her. Nancy had warned her. And now Nancy was dead.
Tears pricked her eyes at the senseless loss. As much as she wanted to cry for her friend, there was no time for that, not when she had to figure a way out.
Emma Jane scooted forward, letting her Bible settle in the straw. Would they notice it when they found Nancy’s body? Would they realize Emma Jane was in trouble?
Selfishly, she wanted to keep the Bible with her. Until now, she’d never had a Bible of her own. She always had to use the family Bible. It had brought her so much comfort already, and she had a feeling that, with these men, she’d need it.
But if it helped Jasper find her...
“Let’s go!”
Ray grabbed her by the arm and jerked her to her feet. The Bible remained where she’d left it as Ray pulled her out of the stall.
His partner waved his gun at her.
“You don’t have to die. But if you yell, fight or put up any kind of fuss to draw attention to us, we will kill you. Live or die, it’s your choice.”
Strangely, Emma Jane didn’t fear dying—not in this moment. Oh, she knew without a doubt that these men would kill her if they thought she was a threat. But something in her told her that if she just went along with them, she would be safe. Let them think she was cooperative, and somehow, some way, she would find a way to escape. If only she could convince her trembling limbs to believe in that hope.
* * *
Jasper removed his hat and ran his free hand through his hair. It seemed most of today had been a waste. Neither he nor Will had any leads, and it seemed like the bandits were toying with them. Even the gunshots they’d heard earlier seemed to be nothing but hotheads coming out of the saloon. Jasper sighed. The trouble with the lawlessness running rampant was that one never could tell if a gunshot was something serious or was just idiots fooling around.
At least things with Emma Jane seemed to be improving. He looked around for his bride.
The women were gathered in the main room of the barn, waiting for the noon meal. Knowing Emma Jane, she was probably helping set up.
Except, as he glanced at the women carrying dishes to and fro, he didn’t see her. Mary, Polly and several other women who helped with the ministry were all present. He walked over to where Mary had just set a platter of bread on the table.
“Have you seen Emma Jane?”
Mary looked up, her brow furrowed. “No. I thought...” She turned toward the barn door, where Polly was bringing in a large pot. “Where’s Emma Jane?”
Polly groaned and Jasper rushed toward her. The pot looked much too heavy for the woman to be carrying it herself.
As he took the pot from her, Polly said, “I have no idea. She wandered off to the stalls a while ago. There’s some kittens she likes to play with.”
Then Polly frowned. “But that was ages ago, and I can’t imagine why she’s not helping us. That’s not like Emma Jane.”
“Oh. You’re looking for Emma Jane?” Flora sidled up to him, a nasty smirk on her face. “I saw her ride off with two men earlier. Guess she’s as loose as we all suspected.”
It took every ounce of effort not to dump the contents of the entire pot, which smelled like a hearty stew, on the horrid girl. With Herculean control, Jasper set the pot on the table.
“I’m sick of your lies, Flora Montgomery. Emma Jane never did a thing to you. She’s a good woman, with more kindness in her pinky than you have in your whole body. You might be jealous that I married her, but let me set the record straight. There is nothing on this earth that would have induced me to offer for you.”
Flora blanched, and for a moment, Jasper felt awful for his cruelty. But when had she ever felt bad for her malicious words about anyone else?
“It’s true,” Flora insisted. “Sarah Crowley saw it, too, didn’t you, Sarah?”
Sarah walked over, wiping her hands on her apron. “I’m afraid so. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation why she’d ride off with two men who were not her husband, sitting on a horse with one of them, and her ankles bared for all to see.”
The looks she and Flora exchanged said that they clearly believed that only Flora’s theory could be true.
Will joined them. “What kind of horses were they?”
Flora made an unladylike noise. “As if I would pay attention to any such
