Read The Lawman's Betrayal for Free Online Page B

hunch.” He angled in the saddle, glanced over his shoulder, his gaze sweeping the area. “Haven’t seen any sign of anyone else though.”
    “But who would it be?” she persisted.
    He shrugged. “Hard to say. Your husband had a lot of unsavory friends.”
    “So you keep reminding me.” She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice but failed. “Like I told you, I don’t know any of them.” Hot tears scalded her cheeks. She swiped her hand across her face, hating her weakness. “I don’t know where the money is, I swear it.”
    “Maybe you do, but you just don’t realize it.”
    “What the hell does that mean?”
    “Maybe you heard Roy say something, or saw something, maybe you just didn’t understand what it was, maybe you read something…”
    “You’re as bad as them. Just leave me alone.” She kicked the mare with her heels, sending her mount surging forward.
    “Naomi, wait. That’s what they want to do—spook you into making a mistake. Come back.”
    As his words sank into her confused mind, she slowed her horse and glanced up at the ridge. It was empty. When he caught up to her, she sent him an apologetic look. “You’re right. That was a very stupid thing to do. You just made me angry. Sorry.”
    “Don’t be. You’ve been through a lot the last couple of years. I’m the one who should be apologizing.”
    “Yes,” she sent him a tearful grin, “you should be.”
    ***
    Wes’s admiration for Naomi again edged up a notch. She’d fought her emotions to keep a level head about her—and had won the battle. The more he was around her, the more he began to believe in her innocence.
    Or she was the best damned actress he’d ever seen.
    The riders up on the rim had disappeared, their absence sending the hair on the back of his neck straight up. He pulled his rifle from the boot, checked the ammunition, then did the same with his revolver. Beside him, Naomi followed suit.
    “We’ll be in the foothills tonight,” he said. “We’ll start looking early for a place to hole up and make camp. We need to find one to cover our backs—so they can only come at us one way.”
    “Makes sense.”
    Her voice shook, and he glanced at her. She was trying so hard to put on a brave front. Roy Brecker had definitely been a fool.
    By late afternoon, he’d found the perfect spot to defend. A cavern etched into the base of the mountain proved to be ideal. A small rockslide had covered one side and a portion of the front, leaving only two areas to defend. In the back, water dripped from the stones, forming a clear pool.
    “We’ll eat early,” he told Naomi, “so we won’t have to light a fire later and give them a better target. There’s some dried branches right outside if you’ll get them while I take care of the horses.
    “All right.”
    “Just don’t wander off. Stay where I can see you.”
    She sent him a shaky grin. “Believe me, I won’t go far.”
    After she left, Wes watered the horses, then tethered them in the back where gunfire wouldn’t spook them—and where they couldn’t be stolen. Hearing a noise behind him, his hand went to his gun. Naomi entered the cavern, her arms full of firewood, a smudge of dirt on her face. When he caught her gaze, he nodded at a small clearing between a jumble of rocks. In minutes, he set coffee to brew, put bacon in the pan, and opened a can of beans. He knelt by the fire, ladled food onto a plate, and handed it to her. “Not much of a meal. I had hoped to get us some fresh meat, maybe a rabbit or two.”
    “It’ll do,” she answered with a shrug of her slim shoulders. “Any meal I have out here, with no prison bars, is a good meal.”
    “I guess so.” He filled another plate, stood, and ambled to the entrance. As he scanned the area, he ate quickly. “We might get lucky tonight—the moon’s full. They won’t be able to get close to us without showing their ugly mugs.”
    “Good.”
    After another cup of coffee, Wes extinguished the