Page 69 of At Love’s Command

“Out with it, man.”

Still Matt hesitated, searching for a way to be truthful yet tactful.

Burkett shoved his chair away from the table, the scrape echoing loudly in the quiet room. “It was Charlie, wasn’t it? He did something stupid.” He paced away from the table, as if ashamed to face the men assembled in his kitchen. He blew out an audible breath, then slowly turned and met Matt’s gaze. “Tell me. All of it.”

“Best I can figure, Charlie suspected you might not pay the initial ransom, so he and Taggart came up with an alternate plan.”

The starch drained out of Burkett, aging him before their eyes. He grabbed the chairback in front of him. “Are you . . .” He swallowed and tried again. “Are you telling me my son willingly connived with Taggart? That he intentionally put his sister in danger?”

“Charlie would never!” Darla abandoned her post by the stove and moved to Burkett’s side. She placed a hand on his arm. “He might be a scamp and a troublemaker, but he’d never do anything to hurt Jo.”

Preach scratched at a spot on his whiskered jaw. “A desperate man can do unthinkable things when cornered, ma’am,” he said, his voice sober. “Things he’d never consider under normal circumstances.”

Tears filled the housekeeper’s eyes as she shook her head. “I won’t believe it. You don’t know him. You don’t know how close those two were when they were children. After they lost their mother . . .” Her words broke off in a quiet sob.

Burkett cupped his hand over hers where it lay on his arm. “They haven’t been children for years, Darla. The boy’s changed. He’s been on a destructive path for a while now. I tried to correct his course, but he’s as hardheaded as his old man. Determined to go his own way even if the path leads to a jail cell . . . or worse.” He looked up from the woman at his side. “But Darla’s right about one thing. Charlie might turn his back on me, but he’d never harm Jo.”

“I believe he thought he could keep her safe,” Matt said, knowing it would be small comfort. Burkett knew as well as he did that once in the outlaw camp, Charlie would have zero bargaining power with Taggart. He was a means to an end—a way to ensure Taggart got his money. Nothing more.

“Fool,” Burkett muttered.

“Taggart sent men by train to scout out the nearby towns and spotted us in Chatfield. We made a run for it, but our horses were spent. Taggart’s were fresh. We made a stand in a shallow wash. I left Charlie to guard his sister. They both had strict orders to flee if the battle turned against us.”

“Jo’s never been one to follow orders blindly,” Burkett observed, the hint of a sad smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “She tends to make up her own mind about things.”

Matt’s lips twitched upward. “I know. I made her swear to leave. She gave her word.”

Burkett nodded. “Smart move. About the only way to guarantee her cooperation.”

“Her cooperation wasn’t enough.” Matt frowned. This part of the tale still chapped his hide. “Taggart advanced under a flag of truce, and while our attention was fixed on the outlaws, Charlie held a gun on Josie and dragged her into the line of fire, using her as a shield to keep either side from firing.”

Darla let out a whimper, and Burkett’s expression closed down completely.

“Taggart acted as if taking Josie hostage had been part of the plan from the start. Probably figured they could get more ransom for her than for Charlie.”

Burkett grimaced. “Five thousand dollars.”

Preach let out a low whistle.

“I don’t know how they expect me to pull that kind of money together on such short notice. I only keep about five hundred dollars in the safe here at the ranch. I planned to drag Dorchester out of church this mornin’ to withdraw the rest. It’ll come near to bankrupting me, but I can’t risk Jo’s safety. I’ll sell off some of my breeding stock if need be. I’ve got some mares that will fetch a good price at auction. I might lose my army contracts for the next few years while we rebuild, but Gringolet’s reputation will survive.”

Matt didn’t doubt that, nor Burkett’s ability to rebuild, but it would take more than a few years if he lost his best mares. Matt shifted in his seat, his stitches pulling tight and making him check his movement. The doc they’d pulled out of bed last night hadn’t been too happy about the interruption, but with Preach’s encouragement, he had cleaned and closed the wound.

“I can’t guarantee to get your money back,” Matt said, his voice hardening, “but you should know that as soon as Josie is safe, the Horsemen will be running Taggart to ground.”

Burkett raised a brow. “What percentage you askin’?”

Matt shook his head. “No finder’s fee.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “This is personal.”

Flashes of his last encounter with Taggart rose to torment him. The outlaw’s blade against Josie’s face. His arm around her waist. His taunting smirk. For a moment, the rage inside Matt ran so hot, he didn’t trust himself to speak.

Preach took over the tale. “Using the lady doc as leverage, Taggart stole our horses, our weapons, and even our boots. Tied us up and left us stranded in the middle of nowhere. Then, as he rode off with your daughter in hand, he shot the captain and left him for dead.”

Matt worked his jaw and forced air into his lungs, cooling the rage into ice-cold determination.

“He took the woman I love.” Matt claimed Josie with a voice that brooked no argument. It was truth. One he wouldn’t dance around any longer. One no one in this room could change. He glanced up at Burkett. Not even her father. “He has to pay.”

Burkett met his stare, his face hard, his gaze assessing. Then he released his grip on the back of his chair, straightened, and gave a slow nod. “Eddie,” he said without turning his focus away from Matt, “get these men some weapons. We’ve got an outlaw to hunt.”