Alex sighed. “Sadly, I don’t think that’s going to deter him. The man is just stupid enough to try something new.”
For the next mile, they rode along in silence, their bodies swaying to the rhythm of the wagon. Empty of dead animals, they paid a kid in the livery stable to clean out the mess. Now they couldn’t wait to return home. To their bride.
Alex who sat beside Jesse suddenly sat up. Is that Ian and Whitmore?”
“Looks like them. Something’s wrong.”
Jesse pulled the wagon to a halt. “Fuck. We didn’t see Frank in town.”
“Don’t be jumping to conclusions,” Alex said, but his stomach tightened with nerves.
Ian and Whitmore rode up to them. Whitmore shook his head. “Thank goodness we found you.”
“Mattie received this message while I was out in the barn,” he said and handed the note to Jesse. Alex peered over his shoulder.
“Son of a bitch. Who brought her this message?”
“Some kid. He was probably hired to do the job,” Ian said.
“I’m going to kill him,” Jesse said, his rage exploding.
“Calm down, Jesse, it’s a trap. The plan is to draw us there and then kill us. We’ve got to outsmart them.”
Jesse’s face flushed red with rage and Alex just wanted to beat them.
At least Alex knew where they’d taken Mattie. But had they kept her there? And if that scumbag Frank touched her, he would make certain his death was slow and painful.
Quickly, they climbed down from the wagon.
“Can we trade horses? You can take the wagon back. We’re going after Mattie.”
“Of course,” Whitmore said.
The man sighed. “Be careful. That Frank is a sly one.”
“No worries,” Jesse said. “He’s a dead man.”
Quickly they switched horses. With a kick to the side of their fresh mounts, they took off, eager to find Frank and dash his hopes of marrying Mattie once and for all. There was no turning back. She was theirs.
It took nearly an hour to reach her former home. Her place now was with them. They stopped at the bottom of the hill and gazed at the house. Close to dark, no lights were on. There was no movement at the house and yet he felt certain she was there. Being held against her will.
“He’ll be expecting us at the front door,” Jesse said, gazing at the house.
“Look up there at the window, there’s movement. He’s just waiting for us to ride in and he’ll pick us off one by one.”
“Where’s Edward hiding out?”
They sat watching the house for another thirty minutes. “I’m tired of waiting. Let’s go get our woman.”
Just then a wagon came rolling into the yard. “It’s Edward and who is that with him?”
“Son of a bitch, he brought the judge. Look, the man’s hands are tied. As soon as we’re dead, he’s going to marry Mattie to Frank.”
As Alex stared, his fists clenched, his chest was ready to explode with the rage that consumed him. “Let’s wait until he gets inside the house with the judge, then we’ll sneak around to the back of the house. Once I’m in position, then you come around the side of the house to the front door. By coming around the house, he won’t be able to see you.”
Jesse smiled. “We come at them from both doors. I’ll knock real polite like and then pound them.”
“And I’ll surprise them from the back.”