Blake watched as the girl simpered in the man’s arms, his breath leaving his lungs as Pierce’s dark eyes found him.
“You were lonely,” Pierce said. “Well I’m glad you’re here then,” he grinned, dipping his head and kissing the girl roughly. “How’d you know I was here?” he asked breaking the kiss as his hard eyes searched Darcy’s face.
“I heard someone say you went to Casper,” she whispered smoothing the lapel of his satin dressing gown. “I just had to find you. Everything is so boring without you.” Darcy fluffed her short brown locks and giggled selling the story with every inch of her being.
The big man chuckled wrapping a possessive arm around Darcy’s slim waist. “Bring me a bottle,” he snapped pushing the girl through the door before him. “My girl missed me.”
***
Blake’s heart fell as he watched Darcy and Pierce disappear through the door. Would she tell him everything? After the trouble they had taken to get here would she tell the other man his secret? She hadn’t so far, but Blake knew how much Darcy was giving up bringing him here. What if, in a moment of weakness she decided she was better off as the kept woman of a dangerous man?
“You brung her all the way up here on a whim?” the stocky man by the door asked, folding his arms over his chest with a glare.
“That’s what she wanted,” Blake said. “Besides, I don’t want to be a door man for the rest of my life. I hear things are heating up in Casper, and I want a bigger piece of the pie.”
The other man huffed but nodded, turning to the bar. “Coffee?”
“Thanks,” Blake agreed following. They passed through a small door behind the bar and into a tiny kitchen where a pot bubbled on the stove.
“Youre move will either get you in with the boss or out of life for good.” The burly man’s eyes were interested as he poured two cups of coffee then nodded back toward the bar.
“No point in letting an opportunity slip through your fingers if you have the chance.” Blake smiled knowingly. “Besides, it ain’t like any of us are getting’ out of this world alive.” He just hoped that he and Darcy wouldn’t be leaving before their time.
Chapter 12
By the time dinner was served that night in the hopping gin joint, another three men, all hard, tough, and suspicious looking, had joined the little crew.
Pierce, with Darcy still clinging to his arm, took a seat at the head of the table and looked each man over carefully.
“It’s gonna be easy pickin’s,” the man grinned. “Don has been watching the bank for weeks now and knows the routine of every person working there. “They’ll take a delivery at four o’clock tomorrow afternoon and that’s when we’ll hit. It’s the most vulnerable moment.”
Darcy looked up, meeting Blake’s eyes for a fraction of a second and the flash of fear that filled their dark depths shot to his heart.
“Blake, you’ll be here,” Pierce bent over a hand sketched map and filled the gang in on the plan. Blake only hoped they would be able to stop the whole thing before anyone got hurt. Greedy, powerful men like Pierce didn’t care who got hurt as long as they got what they wanted. It would be a fine line between bringing the man down for his crimes and not crossing a line at the same time.
“Piercy,” Darcy walked her fingers up the man’s arm smiling sweetly as she did so. “What will I do?” she batted her eyes at the thickset man who patted her cheek.
“You’ll wait in the car,” Pierce said. “We’ll be out in a moment and off to the hideout.”
Blake felt his heart skip a beat. The hideout, it was the place he had been trying to find for nearly six months and the one time he had gotten close had nearly killed him.
The young lawman curled his fingers into a fist, resisting the urge to touch the scar along his temple. This was his chance to bring the whole gang down. Pierce might be top dog among the men at the table, but Blake was sure he answered to someone else out there. He had to find out who that was before turning them all in to the police.
“I gots to make a call,” Pierce said, brushing Darcy’s hand from his arm. “Blake why don’t you take my girl for a stroll. Some fresh air will be good for both of you.”
Blake nodded, pushing himself from his chair and walking around the table to offer Darcy his arm. “Whatever you say boss,” he drawled, making it plain he was eager to please. It had taken hard work and risk to get this far. He was finally deep on the inside and didn’t dare slip for a second or all would be lost.
The skies had cleared throughout the day, shifting from dark, brooding gloom, to pale, cold gray. Now the royal blue of night sparkled in a clear sky, and Blake sucked in a cleansing lung full of air, adjusting his dark fedora on his head. He had thought he might never see the stars again as his new life seemed destined to keep him in some dark, hidden speakeasy or other dive indefinitely.
“What’s the plan?” Darcy asked as together they turned, walking slowly down the street. “Are you going to the police now?”
Blake was silent for several seconds, meandering further down the lane until Darcy pulled him to a stop. “What’s going on in that head of yours Turnip?” Darcy placed her hands on his arms forcing him to face her as she met his eyes.
“If we help Pierce pull this job,” the former cowboy said, “we can find out who is really pulling the strings for the whole operation.”
“You want to help them?” Darcy narrowed her gaze studying his face, her fingers
