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lizard, and Rayna might have assumed he was napping if she hadn t seen the
movement of the rifle he had trained on the mouth of the pass.
Obviously he expected his quarry to arrive at any second, and considering
the length of time Meade and Rayna had spent stalking their assassins, he was
probably even beginning to worry that something had gone awry.
She drew her Colt, and her assumption was confirmed when the man sud-
denly propped himself up and looked up at the cliff opposite him. Rayna fol-
lowed the direction of his gaze, but saw nothing until the man called out,
Damn it, Hobie, you seen anything from up there yet?
The words echoed off the canyon walls, and a moment later a ragged gray
hat popped up from behind a boulder on a wide ledge. No, I ain t, came the
barely discernible hushed reply. And I won t, neither, if you don t shet up.
Gray Hat ducked back down, and the Lizard stretched out again. Trying
to figure out what to do next, Rayna glanced at Meade and saw him looking
around, obviously trying to determine where the second voice had come
from. He was well above Lizard s hiding place, which led Rayna to conclude
that he had probably gotten a glimpse of the bushwhacker and had been try-
ing to get above him.
Unfortunately, Meade s ledge had ended, and the only way off it was to go
back or climb higher.
With so many crags and boulders, nooks and turns, it was hard for Rayna
to judge whether or not Gray Hat would be able to see Meade when he began
climbing. Calling out a warning to him would only betray both of them, so
she remained quiet and worked her way along the mesa until she had a little
better view of Gray Hat s hiding place. His hat and part of his shoulder were
all she could see, but it was enough for the time being.
But what should she do next? She knew she could easily kill the Lizard with
one shot, but could she live with the knowledge that she d murdered a man in
cold blood? No, she couldn t see herself as a back-shooter. In fact, she had to
wonder if she could kill a man at all. Since she d never been in a situation
remotely similar to this one, it was a moral and ethical question she d never been
forced to face. She had always assumed that if a time came when she had to
defend herself or someone she loved, she could do it without a second thought.
But principle was considerably different from reality, she discovered.
A clatter of rocks echoed loudly down the cliff, and Rayna s heart leapt
into her throat as she looked for Meade. He had gained solid footing on a
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shelf above the Lizard, but the cost was going to be too high. Lizard scram-
bled to his knees, raising his rifle as he frantically searched for the source of
the disturbance, and Gray Hat cautiously peered over his boulder.
Throw the rifle into the gorge! Meade shouted, his revolver trained
steadily on the man beneath him.
Now, lookee here Lizard said indignantly, but Meade cut him off.
Do it or you re dead!
All right, all right. Reluctantly the Lizard held the rifle out over the ledge
and released it. It clattered on the rocks and then was silent.
Now your gun belt, Meade instructed.
See here, mister, you ain t got no call
Do it! he roared.
Considering the circumstances, Lizard s protestations were laughable, but
Rayna wasn t amused. As soon as Meade had spoken, Gray Hat had disap-
peared. Assuming that he was crawling around the cluster of boulders to get a
better shot at Meade, she scrambled back the way she d come, frantically
searching for a glimpse of him.
She heard Meade order Lizard to drop his gun belt, but there was no time
to look to see if he would comply, because Gray Hat chose that moment to
come out of hiding. He rose just enough to take careful aim at Meade, and
Rayna discovered that her moment of truth was at hand.
Centering him steadily in the sight of her Colt, she shouted, No! Over
here, hoping to startle him, and that was exactly what happened. Gray Hat
instinctively swiveled the rifle toward the sound of her voice, clipping off one
frantic shot that thundered through the canyon. Before he could draw the
hammer of his repeater or even think about ducking, Rayna pulled the trigger
and Gray Hat fell back heavily.
A split second later another shot rang out, and she looked down to find
that the Lizard had used her distraction to draw on Meade. He wasn t suc-
cessful. Meade s bullet caught him square in the chest, and he went toppling
into the ravine.
Trying to forget the fact that she d just killed a man, she glanced at Meade
just as he looked up and spotted her head and shoulders leaning out over the
cliff. They watched each other for a full minute, letting the heat of the
moment pass, and then Meade shook his head.
I thought I told you to stay back where it was safe, he said without rancor.
Aren t you glad I don t know how to take orders?
His smile started slowly, but by the time it was completely formed, it was
magnificent. Very glad. He glanced across the serrated edge of the cliff.
Now, how the hell do you plan to get down from there?
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15
epressing the chill that ran down her spine, Rayna peered into the
darkness beyond the golden circle of light from the campfire. Five
horses were tethered out there, and she could barely make out the
Rblanket-wrapped bodies strapped over the saddles of two of them.
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