Page 70 of The Sheriff and the Outlaw

“So, now you’re calling my dead brother a coward, too?” Austin shouted loudly beside her ear, nearly deafening.

“You admit that your brother beat her then? Did unspeakable things to her? I saw the bruises on her arms when I met her.” Daxton took a step closer. “Under those circumstances—self-defense, being beaten—no jury in the country would convict her.”

“I didn’t report it to the authorities.” Austin smirked, taking another step back. “Where I come from, we settle matters in our own way. We have our own justice. No need to get the law involved. Now that I have what I came for, I’ll be on my way.” He took another step back, pulling her along roughly. “But she’s coming with me.”

“No, she’s not—”

“Daxton, let me go,” Josey replied calmly, a tear trailing down her face. Her fate was sealed, hers and the baby’s. She would never be free of Austin. Never. But she could still save Daxton.

Austin froze, his body stiffening behind her. “Oh, so you’re in love with her!” He let out a sinister laugh. “Sorry, but this woman’s already spoken for. And she’ll meet him in Hell in just a few minutes... but not before I let my men have their way with her first. And maybe we can have a little target practice… before we hang her.”

“I don’t think so.” Colton walked up beside Daxton, with Wyatt and Harrison flanking him. “The lady is not going anywhere with you.”

Austin laughed as if it was the funniest joke he had ever heard. “You’re calling her a lady? That’s rich! If you only knew—”

“That’s enough!” Daxton took a step closer. “I’m giving you one more chance to let her go... then I’m killing you.”

Josey felt Austin’s shoulders shrug behind her. “If I let her go, then I’m dead anyway. What does it matter? Either way, I’m not going until she’s dead. I owe my brother that much.”

“You still have a chance to leave here alive,” Harrison said, stepping up beside Daxton. “Let her go and you can ride out of here. We’ll even give you a head start.” Then, he narrowed hiseyes. “But make no mistake about it: We will catch up to you… and soon.”

Austin laughed. “No, mister. She’s coming with me.”

When he backed up into the tree line, his men were hiding in the wings.

“Daxton! Look out!”

Then everything happened at once. Austin’s men started firing and Colton took down two in the blink of an eye. Austin pointed his gun at Daxton, but Josey knocked into him with her shoulder as hard as she could and then fell out of his arms and onto the ground, leaving Austin fully exposed.

Daxton raised his weapon, but Austin shot him in the shoulder, sending him to the ground.

“Daxton, no!” Josey screamed as tears sprang to her eyes.

Austin grabbed her up off the ground and held her in front of him, her feet dangling in midair like a ragdoll’s.

From the ground, Daxton lifted his weapon and took aim. Josey’s elbow flew into Austin's ribs again and moved to the side, giving Daxton a clear shot. In an instant, Daxton shot him right between the eyes. Austin’s grip loosened immediately, and she fell to the ground, out of reach. Red, crimson blood pooled from Daxton’s shoulder, but he dove toward Josey, covering her with his body, keeping her close to the ground. Wyatt and Harrison were fast, but Colton was faster, fighting it out until the rest of Austin’s men jumped on their horses and rode off.

“Are you okay?” Daxton asked as he stood, pulling her to her feet. Then he grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look in his eyes. “Josey, are you okay?”

Josey nodded as her body started shaking, unable to speak, glad that it was finally over. No matter what happened now, she would gladly endure it, for it would be nothing compared to what Austin had planned for her. When she thought of how close she had come to him killing both her and the baby….

“Hey, hey,” Daxton cooed, rubbing her back as he held her against his chest, her tears mixing with his blood. “It’s all over now. Shh.”

“You can take me to jail now. I don’t care.” Then she pulled back to look into his eyes. “I’m just glad it’s over. Thank you.”

Daxton chuckled, obviously from relief. “Josey, you’re not going to jail.”

“We’ll be right over here.” Colton smirked as he motioned discretely to the tree line, and then started checking the bodies littering the ground for life.

Daxton nodded.

“What are you talking about?” Josey sighed, looking into his eyes. “I mean, I killed Logan.”

“In self-defense,” Daxton corrected. “I don’t want to put more strain on you but tell me what happened.”

Colton, Wyatt, and Harrison were a discreet distance away giving them privacy, and now was as good a time as any. He had to know, and she wanted to tell him. Let the chips fall where they may. She just hoped they waited to fulfill the sentence until after the baby was born. At least now, her baby could have a life… without Logan or Austin Slater. Daxton was a good man. She knew he would raise it as his own... if something were to happen to her.

So, Josey told Daxton everything. About having first met Logan, how it was wonderful at first, how she had ignored the rumors. Then she told him how everything had changed, about the beatings and more, and then she told him what happened that night, that she had warned him to stay away from her, but that he still kept coming toward her. She told him about the struggle, and then Logan falling on top of her.

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