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of dime novels in the area of the livery Sam called his home provided
Liam with the clue to this young man s ultimate price.
Love Under Two Gunslingers 153
Liam offered him the chance to be one of the heroes he read
about.
It was a simple matter to convince Sam that Liam was a special
US Marshal on a secret mission. The fool gobbled up that story about
the notorious Benedict Brothers, aided and abetted by the infamous
Bat Masterson, a hero turned rogue, being the worst outlaws since the
James-Younger Gang.
He d even believed that Liam had connections, including a certain
very famous raconteur by the name of Ned Buntline, and that the
writer would be thrilled and honored to feature Sam as the hero of a
new series about the demise of these heinous criminals.
All Sam had to do for this great fortune to fall upon him was one
simple thing.
Liam had wondered how he was going to manage to kill Mrs.
Maddox. It hadn t taken him long to understand that the sheriff of
Denison was well-acquainted with the Benedicts nor for him to
realize Sheriff s deputies had been set about, vigilant, keeping an
extra close watch over Sarah Maddox.
Under normal circumstances, there would have been no way for
Liam to get close to her. So the challenge had become to make the
circumstances vary from the normal.
Once he realized that Mrs. Maddox was being kept in one of the
second floor rooms in the Katy Hotel a room, in fact, that looked
out onto Main Street then he knew exactly what he had to do.
He would be able to shoot her from the roof of the dry goods store
across the street if he could get her out onto the hotel s verandah roof.
The surface was sturdy and sound and only a couple of feet below the
room s only window.
He d instructed Sam on what to do precisely and where he needed
to stand once his assignment had been completed.
Liam checked his rifle, and then settled in to wait.
Slowly at first, as if dancing to a dreamy waltz, tendrils of smoke
flitted into the night sky from the back of the hotel. The building,
154 Cara Covington
made entirely of wood, would offer no resistance to the kerosene-
aided flames.
Liam didn t allow himself to think about any innocents who might
be caught in the conflagration about to erupt. If the poor sots had
retired to their beds after imbibing an abundance of drink, then their
deaths would be their own fault.
A man should never allow himself to be so out of control as to get
drunk.
The fire wasn t meant to be a killer, just a distraction. Anyone not
impeded by drink should have no difficulty escaping it.
Now he could hear the crackling of the flames as they began to eat
at the back of the hotel, consuming the dry wood and whatever trash
lay about in back of the building.
The fire proved hungry and ate voraciously.
Soon an orange glow lit the night, overcoming the stars so they
became invisible. Shouts of anger, fear, and panic filled the air. Sam
stood, his gaze transfixed as he watched the hotel begin to burn in
earnest. The boy had followed Liam s directions to the letter. A
shame, really.
Liam raised his rifle, his position on the roof a comfortable one.
He gently swung the weapon between his two targets.
The window above the verandah roof opened, and one of the
Benedicts slid out, dangled for a moment, then gained his feet.
Turning, he reached up, his focus on someone inside the room,
coaxing that person forward. A couple of bags came tumbling out,
and then he spotted dainty, feminine feet.
Liam waited until the man nearly had his arms around the woman.
He swung the gun to the right, aimed down, and fired.
Sam Jenkins was dead before he hit the ground.
Liam swung his rifle back toward his primary target, finding her
and those bothersome Benedicts just as a cloud of smoke floated
across the road and into his face. Determined, he bore down, blinked,
sighted down the barrel, and fired a second shot.
Love Under Two Gunslingers 155
* * * *
Caleb came awake and shot out of the bed.
Damn it. The hotel s on fire! He reached down, laid his hands
on Sarah, and pulled her to him.
Joshua!
Yeah? Oh, Christ. Fire!
I can smell it, Sarah said.
Caleb looked down into a face too pale with eyes too wide.
It s just like before, the smoke and the screams. My nightmare.
My worst nightmare.
Caleb knew she meant the Chicago fire and it was obvious she
harbored some horrible memories from the ordeal. Hating the
necessity, he gave her a single, hard shake.
Sarah, wake up. No nightmare. We can get out, but we have to
move now.
Joshua threw on his trousers and handed Caleb his. He reached for
Sarah s skirt, the one she d worn to dinner, and quickly helped her
into it.
Caleb saw Joshua had their woman safe and took a bare moment
to grab the saddle bag that contained their cash and one that had some
of Sarah s clothes in it.
He ran to the window, looked out, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Fire must be out the back. We don t dare chance the stairs. We
can gain the roof of the verandah, then the ground.
Yeah. Joshua threw on his shirt but didn t button it. He grabbed
his gun belt and fastened it quickly.
Sarah came fully awake, and Caleb sighed in relief when she
grabbed her skirt jacket, then reached for a few more of their things.
She didn t fuss, just jammed things into a bag and tossed it toward
the window.
156 Cara Covington
Caleb calculated that from the time he d awakened to this
moment, not three minutes had passed. Joshua threw open the
window.
I ll go first, make sure it s safe. You hand Sarah out to me.
Go, Caleb said.
The smell of smoke assailed them, and the sounds of panicked
shouts from outside nearly drowned out the crackling of the flames as
the dry wood of the building became fuel. Caleb caressed Sarah s
arms as Joshua disappeared out the window. He helped her sit her
bottom on the window ledge.
He s just below, see? His hands are not even two feet below the
window.
Hand me the bags. Let me toss them before you toss me.
Damn, you re bossy. I m not going to toss you. Caleb reached
down, scooped the three bags, and shoved them out the window.
Now, Sarah, Joshua shouted, and Caleb understood his brother
feared the building might explode into a fireball. They d seen it
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