Page 71 of Falling for the Cowgirl
But it was too late—she slammed Otis backward and in the same moment wrestled for his revolver. His grip was loose, and though he fumbled to keep hold of it, she had it out and in her grasp an instant later.
With the rope constricting her hands, she fought to find the trigger. Otis lunged at her, but she dove out of his way.
The crack of a gunshot came from somewhere near Jericho. She glanced his direction to find him on his feet with a gun in his bound hands. Where had he gotten the weapon?
With the knife still wedged in the stone, Hance cursed and reached for his holster. He cursed again as his hand came up empty. Jericho had Hance’s gun and was taking aim at one of the other men.
Only then did she notice the man was pointing his revolver at her.
“Shoot her now,” Hance called irritably.
But the man was too late. Jericho had already pulled the trigger and the bullet hit the fella, knocking him backward.
Otis caught his balance and came after her again, his face red and perspiring.
She easily sidestepped him. Then without a moment’s hesitation, she aimed the revolver. She wasn’t a sharpshooter like Dylan, but she knew enough about guns to hold her own. She had no intention of killing, only causing him enough pain that he’d be disabled from the fight.
She squeezed, and the gun blasted. As the bullet tore into him, he shouted and fell back, grasping the arm she’d shot.
Without waiting to see what Otis did next, she spun and pointed her weapon at Hance only to find that he’d freed his knife and was coming after her. She squeezed the trigger, but the bullet missed and pinged against the opposite wall, coming too close to Jericho, who was still exchanging shots with the other man.
She wanted to shoot at Hance again, but what if the next time the bullet found Jericho?
As if sensing her hesitancy, Hance advanced more quickly.
She bolted up the incline. She couldn’t let him get a hold of her again. If he did, he’d use her to control Jericho like he had before. She needed to get away, and fast, but she couldn’t use her hands to help in her escape, not with them tied in front of her.
As she scrambled toward the passageway, Hance grabbed her foot. She kicked him hard, nearly hitting him in the face, but in the next instant, he dragged her down as if she weighed nothing more than a gunnysack full of goose feathers.
He slammed an elbow against her hands, and the revolver flew from her grip. Before she could get her bearings, he held the knife up to her chest. With a triumphant gleam, he spun toward Jericho. “Put the gun down, or I start carving.”
Jericho was in the process of shooting, and this time the bullet hit its mark and his opponent collapsed.
“I said put it down, Bliss!” Hance pressed the blade into her chest by her upper arm, piercing through her garments and into her flesh. It sliced deep, and she cried out at the burning agony. “Next cut will be on her face!”
Jericho spun, took aim at Hance, and this time, he didn’t wait. He squeezed the trigger.
Hance’s eyes widened in a brief moment of surprise. As the bullet blasted into his chest, he rammed the knife into her. She screamed, the pain unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. Black dots flashed in front of her eyes. Bile rose swiftly. And in the next instant, the world went dark.
Chapter
23
“Ivy!” Jericho bolted across the cave toward her. His heart thudded worse than a whole herd of buffalos stampeding. She’d collapsed onto the floor, and Hance’s knife was wedged deep in her upper arm beneath her shoulder.
Before he could reach her, Otis grabbed the gun beside him, the one Ivy had dropped, and he pointed it straight at Jericho. “Stop right there.” The stout man’s face was creased with pain, and he was wheezing hard. Blood seeped into his shirtsleeve, staining it crimson.
Jericho slowed his steps and pointed the revolver at Otis. He’d used the last bullet of the six-shooter on Hance, but hopefully Otis wouldn’t realize it.
“I mean it. Stop. Or I’ll finish her off.” Otis swung the gun toward Ivy, aiming the barrel at her head. His hand shook with the effort, but his finger closed about the trigger and started to squeeze.
Jericho halted. “Don’t do it.”
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.”
“Because I’m the one who knows who you really are. Not her.”
“And who do you think I am?”
