Page 58 of Rawhide and Ransom

A faint smile twisted Edward’s mouth. “I’d like that, sir.”

Running Bear inclined his head at him as he backed down the steps. “It’s a date. I’ll be in touch about the details.” Hopping back on his Harley, he revved the motor and took off again.

He didn’t have a clue what was in the message Edward sent his mother. All he knew was that she was absent when he arrived at his brother’s hospital room.

Ace’s feet moved restlessly at the foot of his bed. “Is that you, Ros?” He wheezed out the words around the oxygen tube whooshing air up his nose.

“It’s your brother, Uri.” It had been so long since the two of them had last seen each other that Running Bear hadn’t known what to expect. He knew his brother was dying, but it was still hard to see the skeletal version of him sprawled on the hospital bed. Ace’s skin looked as thin as paper. It was stretched over his face, leaving gaunt hollows beneath his cheek bones. Blue and purplish smudges outlined his eyes.

Ace turned his face to the wall. “What do you want?”

“I want you to listen. That’s it.” Running Bear quietly shared the highlights of Rosamund’s long list of crimes, unsure if his brother would believe him. “She’s going to jail, Ace. It’s only a matter of time. Your stepson is working with Mirabelle Gilbert as we speak to help put her behind bars. I don’t know how Edward found out about Mirabelle, but he did, and he’s chosen a side. It’s the beginning of the end for Rosamund. You know it, and I know it.”

Ace was silent for so long that Running Bear feared he’d fallen asleep or worse. However, he finally swiveled his head back toward Running Bear.

His face was slick with tears. “Did she kill Chayton?”

“I don’t know.” It was the truth. His nephew’s death remained an unsolved mystery. “What I do know is that she performed a hit-and-run on Annalee twice and tried to burn down Gilbert Farm with Miley locked in her bedroom. Fortunately, Miley had the sense to break a window and skedaddle out of there before it was too late.”

An ugly sob escaped Ace. “Even if she didn’t kill him, it sounds like she’s capable of it.”

“I believe that to be the case, and I’m as sorry as I can be about it. I’ll pray for her.” There was one other promise Running Bear could give, and he gave it willingly. “I’ll also protect Edward with my life. You have my word.”

“Please do.” Ace’s breathing became labored. “He’s going to need an ally after I’m gone.” He fell into a coughing fit. It was several minutes before he could speak again. “She doesn’t yet know what I’ve done, and she’ll want someone to pay. I don’t want that someone to be Edward.”

Running Bear’s insides twisted with foreboding. “What have you done, Ace?”

Ace fell into another fit of coughing that left him breathless and wheezing. “I changed…my will…again. Everything I own…will go to…Annalee.”

Running Bear gaped at him in alarm, knowing that the most likely person who’d pay would be his own daughter-in-law. As if she didn’t already have a big enough target on her head!

A rattling sound made him break off the rest of the sentence.

“Ace,” he gasped, leaning over his brother’s bed.

Ace’s eyes were closed, and he was no longer breathing.

“Ace,” Running Bear said again, inwardly pleading with his brother to stay with him a little longer.

Ace’s eyes popped open, and the look he gave him was full of love and longing. Then he closed his eyes again, and his chest fell for the last time.

The only sound remaining in the room was the whoosh of oxygen that was no longer needed.

“Oh, my brother, my brother!” Running Bear knelt beside his bed, weeping out his final goodbye. “You’re in the Lord’s hands now, and there’s no better place you could be.” Ace Dakota’s fight was over.

Uri Dakota’s fight, however, was still in full swing.

A nurse found him there and gently placed her hands on his shoulders. “Take all the time you need,” she said softly. “I’ll be right around the corner.”

Chapter 10: The Unraveling

One week later

Annalee didn’t like knowing Running Bear was out of town. There’d always been something comforting about knowing he was outside Hawk’s cabin. Somewhere nearby. Always keeping watch over them and the land he loved so much.

He’d reached out to the tribal council a few days ago to inform them that he’d rushed to his brother’s bedside at the hospital. Apparently, he’d arrived right before Ace had passed away.

Annalee was thankful for any final moments he’d gotten to spend with his brother. She could only hope they’d finally made their peace with each other. She was sad, though. Sad for his loss. Sad about him being gone for so long. Just sad.

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