Page 76 of A Dangerous Heart
Eli pulled away, lifting his hand to reveal the rusty knife in his tight grip. “Pa’s a bad man.” He blinked away tears. “I’ll help you fight him.”
Oh, Eli.
Isaac put his hand on Eli’s shoulder. “You’re a good boy. And you’re gonna grow to be a good man. One I would be proud to call my son.”
Eli pulled in a mighty sniff, fighting to hold back more tears.
“Your job now is to stay safe. Leave Victor to me.” Isaac took the knife from Eli, moved to the back of the tent, and quickly slashed the canvas. He lifted a corner for Eli.
“Drew will be watching for you. Look for his horse, Solomon. Go!” he urged.
Eli scrambled out and fled.
As Isaac crawled out of the back of the tent, a volley of shots rang out, pitting the tops of the tents.
Must be Danna.
“Call them off, McGraw!” Victor shouted. Isaac peered around the tent to see Victor standing in the open, one arm around Clare’s neck and shoulders, holding her like a shield. In his other hand, he held a gun pointed under her chin.
Nick and Drew sat on horseback a few yards away, rifles trained on Victor. Eli was in the saddle with Drew. The way Victor was holding Clare, jerking her close, neither brother had a clear shot.
Heart pounding in his ears, Isaac stood tall and stepped out into the open.
Clare was his wife. And this was his fight.
Clare’s eyes locked onto Isaac’s as he emerged from behind the tent. Her heart surged with a mixture of surprise and terror—he’d come for her! His face was set with grim determination, not pale and shaky like before. Her eyes darted to the gun, still in its holster at his side.
What did it mean? Was he bluffing?
He stepped forward, and Victor dragged her one step back. The two men were in a standoff. Clare’s mind shuffled through her limited options.
“I have the blasting caps,” she said quickly, desperate to stall. “I can take you to them.”
He jabbed the barrel deeper in her neck. She gasped for breath.
“What am I gonna do with them now?” he snarled in her ear. “You’ve ruined everything.”
Clare skimmed the scene around her. Victor’s heist was well and truly foiled. Two men were sprawled out, dead on the ground, their blood staining the hard dirt. Danna and Jack stood near the fourth tent with their guns on Shorty and Tom Crow, the outlaws’ hands raised above their heads. Ed and a man she didn’t know had given chase when the two others had ridden away from the camp.
“Run,” she told Victor. “You can still get away.”
His arm tightened around her neck. In addition to the McGraws and Danna and her deputies, two men on horseback were patrolling on opposite sides of what was left of the camp. Victor wouldn’t escape. And he seemed to know it.
“Let her go, Victor,” Isaac called.
She felt Victor’s rising desperation in his jerky breaths and erratic movements. His arm tightened around her neck. Victor would never give up. He’d once said he’d never go to prison. He’d die first. He was in this to the death. His or hers.
Isaac’s eyes were shadowed as his hand hovered over his holstered gun.
Anguish tore at her heart. She didn’t want to give him another reason to punish himself.
Her mind flashed back to the first time they’d met, at the train station. What had she thought then? That he was dangerous and handsome? Now she knew his heart. She raised her chin, feeling the gun barrel jab into her neck.
Isaac’s eyes narrowed. “It’s no use, Barlow,” he warned. “You’re surrounded.”
Victor’s finger twitched on the trigger, and Isaac went very still, eyes locked on the movement.
I love you, Clare mouthed. She saw his eyes widen as the words registered.
