After the Ashes(84)
“You have to tell me how to get to Specter Canyon so I can warn Christopher.”
Corey’s eyes widened. “Not on your life. He’d really have my ass if I told you where it was. It’s too dangerous, Lori.”
“Fine.” She turned on her heel. “I’m going to wake up Jay. You can tell him.”
“No.” He stopped her by grabbing the hem of her gown. “He’ll turn me in. Jay won’t give me a second chance after I lied to Braddock.”
She jerked her dress out of his grasp. “You don’t deserve a second chance.”
“They’ll hang me.”
She stopped before she reached the open door. They weren’t talking about sending Corey to his room without supper. He would go to jail at best, and at worst... She couldn’t even think about her brother hanging. Turning Corey over to the marshal wasn’t an option.
“Tell me where to find Christopher.”
He pushed himself to his feet and straightened his jacket.
“I did him a favor. A sharpshooter will take him out long before he ever gets to Mulcahy. Mulcahy wouldn’t have killed him quickly.”
“I’m begging. I’ve done so much for you and all I ask is this one little thing.”
Corey led his horse to the barn door. For a brief second she thought he’d mount and slip into the night. She knew there was nothing she could do, would do, to stop him. He paused in front of her. “Follow the Tewa River until it runs dry. It’s marked on most maps. The canyon’s not. In the distance you’ll spot two rocks standing side by side, one half as tall as the other. That’s where I told Braddock to go. Don’t go any farther than the tail end of the riverbed. They’ll see you, but they won’t come after you unless you get close to the entrance. You’d better find Braddock before that.”
She touched Corey’s cheek. “Thank you.”
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard. “I mean it. Don’t go into the canyon.”
Lorelei wasn’t about to make such a promise. Instead she stepped back so Corey could mount his horse. She slid the barn door open wider, giving him a clear path to freedom. There was nothing else she could say to her brother. Anger and sorrow battled within her. She still loved her brother, but she doubted she’d ever forgive him.
“I’m sorry,” he said before he rode off into the night.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Maneuvering the narrow cliff Corey had warned him about proved even more treacherous with Braddock’s hands tied behind his back. He centered his sights on the scuffed toes of his black leather boots, not daring to glance at the chunks of rust colored rocks that tumbled over the edge with the brush of his steps. Funny, he had never been afraid of heights before. The guard at his back poked him with the tip of his rifle, and Braddock bent his knees to keep from plummeting with the shower of dust. Maybe his plan wasn’t going to work after all.
He had had too much time to think on his way to Specter Canyon. Thoughts of Lorelei plagued him, kept him awake at night, and then invaded his dreams. Once he got used to her constant presence, he’d liked it. And then he had needed it. He needed to get back to her, and that changed everything.
The guard prodded him again.
“Watch it,” Braddock called over his shoulder. “I’m gonna get untied once we get to camp, and then I’ll be looking for you.”
The guard tucked his rifle closer to his body. “I’m just doing my job. If you are who you say, you know we can’t be too careful. I don’t want to go to jail any more than you want to go back.”
“I just ain’t forgetting how you’re treating me, is all.” Braddock laid on the Southern accent. He wasn’t sure if Lincoln Knox was a Southerner, but with a name like Lincoln, he had better do something to unite himself with Mulcahy. Hopefully being a killer and a rapist would be enough.
“How’d you break out of Tombstone’s jail anyway?” asked the guard.
“Let’s just say I had some help from a lady friend.” Braddock kept his gaze on the next turn in the trail. A hunchbacked juniper clung to the side with grasping roots. It required all his concentration to maintain his balance while picking his way around the base of the tangled tree. Just as well. Better to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t know a whole hell of a lot about Lincoln Knox except that his wanted poster looked too much like Braddock. He’d had to go after him just to keep himself from being hunted down.
When he’d found the town where Knox had been killed, several people thought they’d seen a ghost. Knox had been buried in an unmarked grave, having died under an alias while hiding out. Braddock didn’t want to give the lowlife any more notoriety than he deserved. He figured dying anonymously did Knox more justice than the big trial in Santa Fe that had been waiting for him before he escaped jail.