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“Can I help you?” Constable Allen asked.
“Yeah, mister. You can give us all the money hid here.”
The Mountie lifted his arms. “Sure thing.” He moved toward the counter.
Brand tensed until his bones felt brittle.
“No funny stuff,” Cyrus warned.
“I’m no fool,” the Mountie said, edging closer, his eyes guarded as he took in the scene before him.
Cyrus moved to keep the counter between himself and the officer, his gun steadily aimed at the Mountie’s heart.
Brand wondered how the man could be so cool.
Then the Mountie flung himself out of sight behind the counter. “Now,” he called.
Men burst through the doors of the storeroom and the living quarters.
The Mountie came up with a shotgun aimed at the Duggan gang. “Drop your weapons.”
Cyrus and the others fired and raced for the outer door.
Brand dived for the floor.
In a few minutes the shooting was over. Brand sat up, pain burning his side. He pressed his hand to the spot and looked at the blood staining his palm. He’d been shot.
“You are under arrest,” the Mountie said, and Brand got to his feet, his hands out to show he was unarmed.
He looked around. Two men lay on the floor. They’d never rob anyone again. The men who had waited outside were gone. And so were Cyrus and Pa.
“We’ll find them,” the Mountie said, and Brand knew it was a vow. The Mounties prided themselves on always getting their man.
* * *
Brand leaned his head against the rough wood, his hands chained to the iron rings anchored in the wall of the livery stable where Constable Allen had taken him after his arrest. He knew he would either be hanged or sentenced to hard labor for the rest of his life.
His only consolation came from having told the Mountie where to find Sybil.
His side ached.
Someone stepped into the barn. “Hello. The Mountie asked me to bring you food.”
Tied hand and foot, Brand could not feed himself. Only the aroma of the meal allowed him to suffer the indignity of being fed by the other man.
“Any news from the Mountie?” Brand asked. His thoughts overflowed with worry about Sybil...worry that was not eased despite his continued prayer.
“I don’t expect he’ll be back until he catches up with the rest of the gang. Constable Allen is very unwavering in his pursuit of justice.”
Brand didn’t continue the conversation, unable to bear the idea that the Mountie neglected Sybil’s rescue in favor of chasing after Cyrus and Pa. God, keep her safe. Please, God, hear my prayer and answer it.
Darkness fell and Brand’s spirits nose-dived. Had Sybil been left out there, alone except for old Jock? Afraid? Cold?
He shivered as he thought of how vulnerable she would be.
He fell into a restless sleep and woke to find a figure silhouetted against the door. His heart skittered up his throat. Cyrus? Had he returned, intent on making Brand pay for the botched robbery?
He shuddered.
Then the figure moved. He saw it was Constable Allen and he strained against his chains. “Did you find Sybil?”
“She’s safe.”
He inhaled without pain for the first time in hours.
“I overtook the rest of the gang.”
Something in his voice alerted Brand. “It’s good news?” Then he realized good news for the Mountie would be bad news for him.
“Your father was injured. Two men are dead. Two of them escaped.”
“Cyrus?” Was he dead or alive?
“He got away. I have a posse after him. He’ll not get far.” The Mountie’s voice promised Cyrus’s capture.
Brand tried to decide how he felt about it. On one hand he wanted to see the end of the Duggan gang. On the other, Pa and Cyrus were the only family he had.
The Mountie unlocked Brand’s shackles and signaled for a man to bring his horse forward. “Mount up.”
Brand obeyed and sat stoically on his horse while the Mountie tied his wrists together and secured a rope to lead him. He submitted without protest. He saw no point in trying to get away. Sybil was safe. He could go to his death or a jail cell content with that knowledge.
“How bad is Pa?”
“He was bleeding badly. Mrs. Gardiner is nursing him.” The officer kept his attention forward, but Brand saw the way his jaw muscles tightened. “I’d like to see him stand trial for his deeds.”
