Paden was about to rush to Emeline’s aid when he saw Rosalie crouch behind the bush that Emeline had just been in.
What was Rosalie up to?
“Emeline,” Rosalie said in a hushed voice, hoping to avoid scaring her. “It’s me, Rosalie.”
To her surprise, Emeline whispered frantically, “You have to get out of here! It isn’t safe for you!”
Rosalie crouched down next to her. “Don’t worry about me. I need to know how many men are in the cabin.”
“Three.”
Glancing up to see the man stepping off the porch and striding toward the edge of the meadow, she asked, “Does that include this man?”
Emeline whimpered with fear when she saw the man coming closer. “It does.”
Rosalie nodded. “Good. I want you to stay close, but you need to stay low and duck behind a large tree. If there is a shootout, I don’t want you to get hit by a stray bullet.”
“I tire of your insolence, woman,” the man growled, causing birds in the tree next to them take flight as he approached them.
Rosalie saw Emeline freeze with fear, and she placed her hand on her arm. “Stay low and run. You’re safe now.”
With a disbelieving expression, Emeline asked, “How are you going to stop that man? He has a gun.”
“I’m a Pinkerton agent,” she revealed. “Trust me, this is like child’s play to me.”
The man’s voice came from above them. “Well, lookie here. I found Rosalie Addis hiding in a bush. Garrett is going to reward me handsomely for this.”
Rising slowly, Rosalie put her hands in front of her. “You have me. Let Miss Holmes go free.”
The man waved his pistol in front of him. “I don’t think so. We need her. We need to know when the next shipment of gold is.”
“You’re wasting your time then,” Rosalie revealed. “There isn’t going to be another shipment of gold.”
“Why not?”
Lowering her hands to her sides, she explained, “It was a trap to see if Garrett would play his hand. And he did.” She gave him a sympathetic look. “Your boss isn’t that smart.”
“I can’t wait till the boss kills you,” the man scoffed.
The moment he jerked his pistol to the side to indicate they should walk, Rosalie moved slightly to the left, out of the line of fire, grabbed the barrel of the gun and twisted it, while her other hand hit his wrist, and removed the weapon from her attacker’s possession.
Turning the gun on him, she ordered, “Get on the ground.”
“No,” he replied defiantly.
“Fine,” she said in an annoyed tone. Taking the butt of the pistol, she hit him against the side of his face, causing him to crumble to the ground. “I tried being nice.” She stepped over his unconscious body.
Turning toward Emeline, she ordered, “Go. We will find you when this is over with.”
Rosalie watched for a moment as Emeline ran further into the woods. Then she stooped low and ran toward the cabin. There were two points of entry. One in the front and one in the back. She peeked into a side window and saw Garrett sitting at a table near the fireplace. Another man was playing cards at the table, but he would occasionally look out the front window.
Rosalie saw Paden out of the corner of her eye. She held up two fingers and pointed at the window. He nodded his understanding before he disappeared from her view.
A few moments later, she saw Paden, Sheriff Walton, and Deputy Charlie all crouching low as they came across the meadow toward the cabin. Paden arrived at the porch first, his gun drawn in his left hand. In one fluid movement, he stood and kicked open the door.
The man playing cards put his hands up, but Garrett charged toward the back door, right toward her. After the door was thrown open, she fired a warning shot, and Garrett came to a skidding halt.
“Turn around slowly,” she ordered,
Rosalie saw him reaching for his gun. “Put your hands up, or I will shoot you where you stand!” she shouted.
When he didn’t move right away, she cocked her gun. “Give me a reason to shoot you, Garrett.”
Bill Garrett put his hands up and slowly turned around. A smirk was on his lips. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Sheriff Addis’s daughter. What are you doing in these parts?”
“As if you didn’t know,” she responded curtly.
“I saw you on the stagecoach,” he remarked. “It shouldn’t have surprised me to see you again, especially since you and I are not so very different.”
She reared back, outraged by his accusation. “We are vastly different.”
“No, we aren’t,” he replied with a shake of his head. “We are alike in many ways. For starters, you have a thirst for vengeance, like I do. That’s why I had to kill Sheriff Addis. He’d arrested me many times over the years, and I warned him to stop.” His eyes darkened. “Killing your father was nothing personal. It was more of a business move. I’m sure you understand.”
“No, I don’t,” she said, keeping her pistol aimed at his cold, blackened heart. “You murdered him in broad daylight, and your gang killed innocent women and children.”
He shrugged. “It’s a lonely profession, our line of work, and I don’t have time to count the dead. You will have to excuse me for that.”
“We are not in the same line of work. I am a bounty hunter, and you are a murderer.”
“Come, come now. The only difference between us is which side of the law we’re on, and bounty hunters tend to side-step that line
