Miranda slowly lowered the rifle. “You bastard!” she nearly growled. “Why are you doing this? Jake has led a decent life for nearly twenty years now! You have no good reason to do this!”
The man reached out and yanked the rifle from her hands. “Go on inside and check it out,” he told the private. The young man hurried past him, and Gentry kept his eyes on Miranda, thinking what a pretty woman she was for her age. “I have a lot of reasons, lady. Five thousand of them, to be exact, unless your husband gives us trouble. Then I’ve only got three thousand reasons.”
Miranda struggled to keep her composure. The last thing she wanted to do was crumble and weep in front of this haughty man. “How did you know Jake? How did you find out?”
“He looked familiar to me that day I saw him at Parker’s shindig. I started scratching my memory, remembered a man named Jake who was damned good with those guns he wore. I bought stolen rifles from him during the war. A friend of mine remembered him too. He’s a sheriff now, down in Southern Missouri. He knew more about Jake than I did—sent me this.” The man reached into his jacket and pulled out the wanted poster. “Doesn’t look a whole lot like him anymore, except for those eyes. It’s Jake, all right. I checked with the Missouri authorities, and the money is still good. I aim to collect.”
Miranda unfolded the poster. There was the Jake she had found that day lying on her bed, the old, hard, bearded, mean Jake Harkner, the man he had left behind so many years ago when he discovered he was worth something to someone, discovered he could actually love and be loved in return. She handed the poster back to Gentry. “The man you will be arresting is not the man in this poster. Turning him in now would be like turning in an innocent man.”
Gentry just grinned. “A man is never innocent of his past, lady. What’s done is done, and can’t be undone. I’m hauling him back to Missouri for the reward money.”
Oh, how she hated him! “And I wonder who is truly the decent man here. If someone offered Jake ten million dollars to do what you’re doing, he wouldn’t take it! You’re the sinner, Lieutenant, and you’ll burn in hell for this!”
“Will I?” His eyes moved over her insultingly. “Well, then, I expect you’ll be there with me, after spreading yourself all these years for a no-good outlaw.” He watched the crimson come to her cheeks. “Tell me, Mrs. Harkner, just what was it that attracted you to the man? Was it the danger? Did it excite you to know he’d raped women?”
Miranda could not control the urge to slap him. She hit him hard across his cheek, with such force that the man stumbled slightly sideways. In an instant he backhanded her with a shocking blow to her left cheek, knocking her to the ground.
“Mother!” Evie screamed. The girl had just come to the door to ask why the soldiers were there, why one of them was tearing through the house looking for weapons. She ran to Miranda and knelt over her, cradling Miranda in her arms and looking up at the lieutenant with tears in her eyes. “What are you doing?” she screamed. “How can you hit a woman like that?”
“Don’t tell me your pa’s never hit her,” Gentry sneered. “I expect that’s why she married him. He probably forced her into his bed and then she felt obligated. You’ve got a lot to learn about your father, little girl. You take your mother in the house and let her explain.” He pulled a pistol from its holster on his hip and pointed it at Evie. “Do like I say. I don’t want any trouble and I don’t want anybody to get hurt. Soon as we have your father in our custody, we’ll leave you be. Now, you tell me when your father is expected home, and don’t lie to me, girl!”
Evie stared at the gun in shock. What was happening? What did her father have to do with all of this? “I…he…”
“Leave her alone,” Miranda demanded weakly, putting a hand to the side of her face as she managed to get to her knees. Pain shot through her left cheek and eye like thousands of needles. “He was due home…yesterday, so he should show up…anytime.”
“Mother,” Evie whimpered, helping Miranda get to her feet. A dark bruise was beginning to swell on Miranda’s left cheekbone, just under her eye.
“It’s all right,” Miranda tried to assure her. “Come inside.” She glared at Gentry. “We’ll let this angel of Satan do his dirty work.” She forced back tears, standing proudly in front of Gentry. “Jake didn’t do the things he is wanted for, Lieutenant, but you want that five thousand dollars, so you don’t want to hear that he’s innocent.” She forced her voice to be strong, ignored the pain in her face. “I just hope when you’re off spending that money, that you’ll think about all the lives that have been destroyed by what you’re doing today! Of all the things Jake did in his past, he’s still ten times the man you are. He’s never hit a woman or threatened a child! You’re a coward, Lieutenant Gentry, a stinking coward!” She smiled defiantly. “How interesting that you had to bring twelve men along to help you arrest just one man in return! What you don’t even realize is that if he didn’t have to worry about his family’s safety, even twelve men wouldn’t be enough, Lieutenant! Not enough to take down Jake Harkner!” She turned and put her arm around Evie, leading her into the house just as the private came out with her derringer.