The first rider’s hand closed a bit tighter around his pistol. “We ain’t gunned down anyone bringing us whores yet.”
“I need to tell you about a posse headed this way,” Nick said with just the right amount of nervousness in his voice. “The men at the other camp already packed up and headed to an old fort northeast of here. They’re scouting ahead and clearing the way in case those Federals manage to find the place.”
“Federals?”
Noticing that the men were eyeing him suspiciously, Joseph spoke up. “Some of the local law around here are riding with a cavalry division on the hunt for rustlers.”
Judging by the looks on their faces, the riders bought into the story just as well as the previous men. There was a mix of suspicion and confusion on their faces, but not enough to make Nick worry. Finally, the first one told his partner, “You start getting everyone around and I’ll go check with Bertram.”
“We’ll come with you,” Nick said. “We do still need to collect them whores.”
“There’s only one here, but she may not be ready to go. You’ll tell Bertram the rest.”
Nick and Joseph followed the first rider deeper into the camp while the second rider started making his rounds at all the smaller tents. Within the space of a few seconds, preparations were being made to move out. It was plain to see that the men were ready to break camp at the first signal.
The tent where the first rider stopped was separated from the others by about twenty yards. It was larger than the rest, but still not quite big enough for anyone to stand up inside. Judging by the heavy breathing coming from it, the two people in there weren’t worried about standing up.
“Bertram,” the rider grunted as he swung down from his saddle. “Someone’s here to see you.”
The rustling inside the tent continued and was soon followed by a woman’s giggling. By this time, Nick and Joseph were also on their feet and keeping an eye on the rest of the camp. The few men there were tossing supplies onto the backs of horses and starting to wander to the west.
“I’m already seein’ someone,” Bertram replied from inside the tent. “A whole lot of someone.”
“It’s important.”
Bertram muttered a few quick words to the woman in the tent with him before crawling out and tugging his pants up over his waist. “What the hell’s the problem that it’s important enough to drag me outta that lady in there?” he asked amid the stench of his liquor-soaked breath.
“These two say we gotta pick up and head north.”
Bertram was still fidgeting with his belt and dealing with the playful hands that were trying to pull him back into the tent. When he finally took a moment to look at Nick and Joseph, he stopped and said, “Hey, I know you.”
Before Bertram could react, Nick drew his gun with a flick of his hand. The modified Schofield cleared leather and was aimed at the head of the rider who’d escorted Nick and Joseph to the tent. Meanwhile, Joseph had his own pistol in hand and pointed it at Bertram’s face.
“Get in the tent,” Nick said under his breath. Jamming the gun in their escort’s ribs, he added, “And do it real quick.”
The rider sighed and hunkered down so he could fit through the tent’s front flap. Nick removed the gun from the rider’s holster and shoved him into the tent with the heel of his boot. The rider fell face first onto a pile of blankets that were bundled up between a busty redhead’s legs. She scooted to the back of the tent and tried to take the blanket with her, but her legs were too weighed down for her to budge. With one foot snagged under the blanket, she draped one arm over her generous breasts and the other across her lower half.
Bertram kept his eyes on Joseph and nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know you. You’re that rancher from California.”
Joseph’s eyes were narrowed and seething with rage.
“Van Meter? Ain’t that your name?” Bertram asked.
Nick busied himself with tying up the rider with whatever he could find. The woman’s skirts weren’t being used at the moment, so he quickly knotted them around the man’s wrists. “You,” Nick said to the woman. “Tie up his ankles. And you,” he said, looking at Bertram, “shut your mouth.”
“I’d suggest you do what he says,” Joseph said quietly.
Bertram ran the tip of his tongue along his upper lip. “I remember your wife a whole lot more than I remember you. She tasted real good. I buried this tongue of mine so far into—”
Joseph lunged forward like a rattlesnake. He kept himself more or less upright with one hand braced against the ground inside the tent as he shoved the barrel of his gun against Bertram’s chest. When he pulled his trigger, only a muffled thump could be heard.
The woman’s eyes grew wide as saucers and her mouth dropped open when she saw Bertram’s body flail under the point-blank gunshot. Nick’s free hand shot out to clamp over her mouth and he leaned forward far enough to wind up on top of her.
The man at the wrong end of Nick’s gun had been shoved halfway outside the tent and had somehow pulled up half the stakes along the way. As the dirty canvas settled on top of them, Joseph pulled his trigger again. The sound of the gunshot was absorbed by Bertram’s chest in the same way that the redhead’s scream was absorbed by the palm of Nick’s hand.
Nick kept his gun pointed at the other man. “What’s your name?” he asked.
The confused look on the man’s face only got worse as Nick thumbed back the hammer of his Schofield.
“Your name,” Nick repeated.
That metallic click did its job and the man spat out, “Eddie.”
“Stay real quiet, Eddie, or my partner will put you to sleep just like he did your friend.”
Eddie glanced over at Bertram’s unmoving body, but didn’t have the courage to meet Joseph’s eyes. It was plain to see he couldn’t make much of a sound even if he wanted to.
Nick pulled the body in under the partially collapsed tent. Looking at the redhead, he said, “Come along with me and I’ll get you out of here. Be sure to look happy about it, or this won’t work.”
She nodded quickly and was all too anxious to get out from under the canvas.
When Nick stood up, he put a big smile on his face. Dropping his gun into its holster, he met the eyes of a few other men who were staring at the tent from their horses’ backs. “If you boys are gonna sleep with guns under your pillows, we might not bring our girls out here anymore.”
The men had begun to work their way over to the tent, and their faces brightened unanimously when they saw the naked redhead behind him. She brushed the dirt off her plump backside and legs. Remembering what Nick had told her, she put on a smile and did her best to cover herself with her hands.
Nick took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. “Good job, honey,” he whispered. “Just keep it up and we’ll all be out of here. Where are the other girls?”
“These boys must not’ve touched a woman in a good long while, because they finished quicker than you please. I’m the only one that needed to stay.” Nodding in response to the whistles and hoots that had started coming her way, the redhead added, “I haven’t gotten my fee yet, you know.”
“Earn it by smiling to these men and keeping your mouth shut.”
The other rider who’d met Nick and Joseph outside the camp rode toward them. Although he also took a long look at the redhead, he wasn’t as amused as the other men behind him. “Where’s Bertram?” he asked.
“He heard my message and left. He said the rest of you should do the same,” Nick replied. “Eddie headed out and told me to take this lady into town. He also paid me to show you men to that fort. I’ll gather up this tent and all for free.”
“I didn’t see Eddie ride away.”
“Weren’t you getting the rest of these boys moving?”