Authors: Ashlynn Monroe
“How do you
think the two of us can pull it off?”
Justice
balked. “I’ve never been involved in a robbery with less than four people!”
“You,
little lady, will be able to walk right up to the gold. We won’t even have to
draw our guns.”
“You’re
crazy.”
“I’m not
crazy.
I’ll even buy your train ticket.”
“I’m a
wanted woman.
I can’t very well stroll onto
a train.
There are wanted posters
everywhere, with my picture all over them.”
“I’ve seen
those pictures, sweetness. You in that lovely hat and that lovely trench coat, with
your hair up under your hat? You look like a young man in the posters, not a
woman.
You could easily board a train in
a respectable dress and loose hair.
Not
a single passenger would suspect you.
I’ll even buy you a nice dress.
What do you say?”
“You’re not
a lawman, right?”
His laugh
was loud and honest.
“Honey,
I’ve been called a lot of things but ‘lawman’ isn’t one of them.
You’d know who I am if you went north to
My wanted posters out number yours two to one.
I’m not exactly a law abiding citizen.”
“I need to
think about this. I’m no coward, but I’m no fool and it’s a ballsy plan,”
Justice told him. “I’ll be at the boarding house down the street until
Friday.
Come see me Friday morning and
I’ll give you my answer.” She ended with a curt nod.
As she left the alley she realized she had
never even asked Sexy his name. It made her grit her teeth at her own
stupidity.
How was she supposed to
investigate a nameless man?
****
When she
arrived at Lucy’s boarding house, the matronly woman gave a quick cry and rushed
over to her.
“Child,
I’ve missed you something fierce!” Lucy cried, hugging Justice as though she
were a long lost daughter, “You look like you need a good meal and a bath.
Come in.
I’ve got a nice room just waiting for you.”
Justice had
saved Lucy’s son’s life when he had found himself indebted to some thugs.
The men had taken him out into the wilderness
to kill him. Justice had brought the young man back home alive.
Lucy had taken more
than one bullet out of Justice and had lovingly nurtured her through her
recovery on those occasions.
Coming back
to Lucy’s was as close as she ever got to a homecoming.
Justice hugged the
woman back and followed her inside.
Exhausted and ready for the promised comforts, Justice inhaled the clean
lavender scent of the boarding house as they walked inside.
It felt good to be home.
Chapter Three
Where was she?
She couldn’t remember what she had been doing
before she had gone to sleep.
She could
feel the hard ground underneath her thin bedroll.
A canvas tent was over her, dark in the
dusk.
Memory came flooding back in
terrible, painful flashes. Her sisters were gone. She was alone.
Her eye caught a strange weapon, different
from any she had ever seen before, but a gun was a gun.
She grabbed it off the ground just as heavy
footsteps sounded outside the tent and a head popped into the flap.
Shaking, Justice pointed the weapon at the
interloper. She had killed the man at the rectory and she would kill this one
too if necessary.
“Hey there, little lady.” His voice
was shaky, as if scared, and youthful. “I’m not like Hugh.
You were lying in the sand and I thought
about just leaving you, but well, my mama taught me better than that.
You’re safe here.
I ain’t a dirty rapist.”
Justice didn’t lower the weapon, but
she stopped shaking.
“Where is my sister?” she questioned
him accusingly. “Why didn’t you go after her?”
“I’m no fool either,” the man
answered, “Hugh woulda
killed me as soon
as look at me if I went and followed him.
We left the rest of the gang for a reason.
We’ve traveled together too long.
It was time we went in many directions so the
law couldn’t follow. Now,
I’m no saint,
but I’d never hurt a woman.
I’m sorry
but I can’t help your sister.”
“I have to get her back!” Justice
cried.
Heath had the courtesy to look a little
ashamed.
“There ain’t a thing we can do
about it.
Hugh’d shoot us both if we tried to help
her.
He’s never killed a woman, so at
least that’s something.”
It was little comfort to Justice.
“I assume you are a thief,” Justice
said. “I guess I can’t judge you.
I used
to be a nun, kind of still might be one.”
“You’re a nun? Jesus!” He looked
horrified.
“Oh Goddamn! Oh, I’m so sorry
for my mouth.”
She couldn’t help her short bark of
laughter, as awful as things were it was either laugh or cry and she had never
been much of a crier.
“It’s alright. You’re Heath, right?”
“Yeah, I’m Heath.
I can take you back to your convent right
away.”
“No, I can’t go back there.” She
hefted the gun again. “Heath, there is something that you can do for me.”She
extended the weapon. “I want you to teach me how to use this, properly.”
Heath’s eyes grew large and round
and she heard him mutter, “Jesus” under his breath.
****
Justice
shook herself from her reverie and strapped her guns on before tossing the last
of her possessions in her suitcase and snapping it shut.
She had tried to speak to Purity again, but
gotten nowhere.
Love and hate were too
close kin.
It made it harder for her
sister to see that she wasn’t a monster.
Lucy was
waiting for her by the door when she had finally finished packing and was ready
to leave the safe, loving comfort of the boarding house.
Tears filled Lucy’s eyes when she saw Justice
walk down the stairs.
Justice’s boots
and trench coat were fresh after a loving cleaning by the matron and Justice
wore a new corset and black leather britches.
Her hat sat proudly on her head.
She knew that Lucy would love to see her in a sweet calico dress and
high button boots, but that part of her had died a long time ago.
Justice was much more herself in her current
ensemble.
Hugging Lucy briefly, Justice
shoved an envelope in her hands and whispered, “Don’t open that until I’m long
gone, okay, Lucy?”
The
boarding house owner looked confused, but she nodded.
Justice gave her a small smile.
Three hundred dollars in small bills would go
a long way for the woman and Justice owed her every penny for all the times in
the last few years Lucy had bandaged and sheltered her.
Not that she had ever asked for repayment.
Blinking
into the hot, bright, morning sunlight, Justice dropped her pack and took her
sun goggles out of her bag.
She took off
her hat, slipped the leather strap over her head and tucked her hat into her
pack for safekeeping.
She patted
a big stallion on the rump as she walked past a line of horses at a trough. He
whinnied and snorted.
He would be very
unhappy in a moment when she started up her motorcycle.
Fast, steam powered, gleaming, and beautiful,
she tied her bag onto the back seat of her most prized possession and flicked a
speck of dust from the seat.
Justice
hated leaving it out in the open like this.
She would have to find a nice barn to hunker down in so she could clean
all the sand and grit out of its parts.
She
believed in taking care of what she owned and in knowing how it worked.
If she found herself caught out in open
desert and it stalled, she could die.
Knowing how to keep it running gave her an edge in the wilderness.
She was just about to open the boiler and get
the bike warmed up when a tall figure approached.
Justice had
almost forgotten that Sexy had a proposition for her.
Almost.
He beckoned her over into the shadows of the boarding house.
Looking about furtively, she followed
him.
He looked down at her and a small
smile curved his mouth.
She flipped up
the sun reflectors on her goggles so that only the clear glass stood between
her eyes and the delicious man.
“So, Beauty, have you given any thought to my proposition?
We stand to see a hundred thousand dollars a piece.”
Her mouth fell open in a very un-lady like gawk.
Had he really said a hundred grand?
Each?
She could take the risk for that.
She knew his plan was good.
Who
would recognize her in a dress?
“If you decide to give it a go, come find me.” He tucked a
piece of paper in her hand, then took her small chin in his large, calloused
hand.
His eyes held warm promises when he
spoke.
“I hope to see you again.”
She felt a little shudder run up her spine as he slunk away,
and realized that she had forgotten to ask his name again. She looked down at
the paper.
No name, he’d just written an
address in
Justice sighed at her own foolishness,
brought the paper to her bike, and carefully tucked it into her pack.
She threw some coal into the boiler and took
off running.
The bike started with a
glorious purr.
Jumping on, she felt the
wind rushing across her face, whipping strands of hair from her bun.
If she participated in the train robbery she would easily
have enough money to find Grace and to save Purity.
They could go live a quiet safe life and heal
together.
The thought of that sort of
freedom buoyed her heart sweetly.
She
hadn’t had this much hope since the day she left Heath to search for her
sisters.
****
Heath looked worried.
She hugged him and
whispered, “Thank you. You saved my life in so many ways, you’ll never know.”
He looked
uncomfortable when she pulled away.
She
could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn’t seem to be able to
speak.
Justice kissed his cheek.
If she had had a brother, she would have hoped
the man would be just like Heath.
“Justice—”
“I’ll be alright.
Thank you for the gun.
I’ll take good care of it.”
“Just don’t let it get
you killed.
You’re a fine woman,
Justice.
Hell, I’d even marry you, if
you’d let me.
Please reconsider going
out there alone.
The next guy who finds
you unconscious—that guy might do things to you.”
“I’ll never let my
guard down again.
I’ve learned a lot
from you.
With the money from our last
heist, I’ll be able to search for a long while.
Thank you for being such a noble and wonderful friend.”
“I’m a fool.
Should never have let you talk me into
teaching you how to shoot, how to steal.” He took a hand from her waist and
shoved it into his pocket, digging something out. “Here. Take this.
I might be damned but you’ve still got a
chance.”