The Lawman's Redemption

“See something that strikes your fancy?” A kitten-soft voice spoke into his ear as a woman wrapped her arms around him.

At first he didn’t recognize the painted features. But something about her seemed familiar. “Daisy?”

The woman jumped at the name, then shook her head. “No, but for the right price, you can call me anything you want.”

Her voice was husky, as if she’d spent too much time in the smoke-filled room. She put her arm around him, turning him toward the stairs.

Will’s face heated, and he pulled away. “Sorry. I think you got the wrong idea. You reminded me of my old friend Daisy. I can see I was mistaken.”

Something flashed across the woman’s face as her woman-of-the-night expression softened.

“It’s not safe to talk here,” the woman whispered harshly. She took his hand, then led him out a side door linking the saloon to another building.

“I think you’ve got me wrong. I just want—”

She turned and pressed her fingers to his lips. “I want the same thing. But if you don’t come with me, we’re both going to be in trouble.”

Clearly this woman knew something about the situation. Was this another one of Ben’s games, designed to keep him from spying on whatever conversation was happening?

At this point, he wasn’t sure who to trust. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask God, but that had never done him much good, either. For all the prayers he’d prayed, his father was dead, his mother was still suffering from consumption, Ben Perry was still on the loose, and Will had lost his badge. No, it was up to Will to make sure things turned out right.

Before he could make up his mind about what to do, the woman had led him into a room and closed the door behind them.

“What’s your name?” he asked. “And what’s this got to do with Daisy?”

Though the lamplight wasn’t as dim as it had been in the saloon, it still wasn’t bright enough to make out more of her features, especially with the curtains drawn tightly closed. Only enough to confirm that while she looked like Daisy, it was only a faint resemblance.

She reached into a drawer and pulled out a handgun, aiming it directly at him.

“I’ll be asking the questions here. Starting with the ones you asked me. Who are you, and what do you know about my sister?”

Sister? At least it explained the resemblance. He took a step toward her. “Lady...”

With practiced movement, she cocked the gun. “Don’t come any closer. Answer my questions, or I’ll shoot.”

Will didn’t move. She held the gun as if she knew what she was doing. Even though he couldn’t see the look in her eyes, he was pretty sure she meant business. “With everyone around? They’d hear the gunshot. You’ll hang for sure.”

“No one’s going to hang a woman for defending herself against a robbery.” She gestured toward a chair in the corner of the room. “Sit. I can put a bullet in your skull faster than you can take a step to disarm me, so don’t even try.”

Cunning, he’d give her that.

“My name is Will Lawson. I knew Daisy back in Century City. We were working together to bring down Ben Perry and his gang, but she betrayed me. The last I saw her, she was riding on the back of Ben’s horse headed out of town.”

“Liar!” The woman took a step closer, making a point of getting him in her sight. “Daisy would have never willingly gone with Ben Perry.”

He could hear the doubt in her voice. “Then what are you doing here? It can’t be an accident that you’re in the same saloon.”

The woman loosened her grip on the gun. Not enough for him to feel safe in disarming her, but enough that he knew he could eventually talk her down. Especially if she hated Ben as much as he did.

“I knew Ben and his men back in Denver. Daisy disappeared from the convent school about the same time Ben was forced to leave town due to some unpleasant business. I’m a favorite of one of Ben’s men, and he sometimes tells me things. Just nothing about Daisy. But I know they had to have taken her. They’re working on a big score here in Leadville that’ll keep them here for a while. This may be my only chance to find her.”

Information that matched what Will knew about Ben’s activities shortly before arriving in Century City, including how Daisy had come to be with Ben in the first place.

But it still didn’t answer the question about why Daisy had betrayed him.

While he couldn’t offer the woman any comfort about Daisy’s last known whereabouts, at least he could offer himself as an ally.

And maybe gain an ally for himself. Did the big score she spoke of have anything to do with Mary? Could this be the break he needed to take Ben down once and for all?

“We’re on the same side,” Will told her. “I used to be a deputy in Century City. Daisy had told me that she wanted to get away from Ben. She sent me a note, saying she wanted me to meet her. While I was off trying to save Daisy, Ben and his gang robbed a bank. They fired me when Ben got away. I’m pretty sure the sheriff was on Ben’s payroll, but I can’t prove it.”

“So, what do you want with Daisy?”

Will shook his head. “Nothing. I was here trailing Ben, hoping to see if I could find out anything about his plans. I saw you and thought for a moment you might be Daisy, that’s all.”

“When did you last see her?” Her posture had softened enough that he didn’t think he was in danger of being shot anymore, but as long as she held the gun, he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Why don’t you put the gun down and then we can talk?”

“Fine.” She sat in a chair across from him and set the gun in her lap. “But don’t think I won’t shoot you. You wouldn’t be my first.”

Hard. In all the places where Daisy was soft. Where Mary... Will pushed the thought of the other woman aside. She had no business sneaking into his brain now. Not when he was face-to-face with the reminder of why he wouldn’t even consider getting involved with anyone connected to Ben Perry.

Will cleared his throat. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, are you going to tell me your name?”

From this angle, the light hit her face in such a way that he could see the detail of her features better. In daylight, he’d have never mistaken her for Daisy.

“Melissa. But I’m known as Mad Mel.” She picked up the gun again and studied it. “Came by the name honestly, if you know what I mean.”

Mel looked up at him. “I believe you were telling me about when you last saw my sister.”

Will took a deep breath. If she truly was mad, then she wouldn’t like his side of the story. Especially since she’d already made clear that Daisy would have never gotten involved with Ben.

“Last I saw her, she was getting on the back of a horse with Ben and riding out of Century City.”

A dark look crossed Mel’s face. “He must’ve been forcing her. Why didn’t you stop them?”

“Because I’d just been shot and lay bleeding in the middle of the street.” He declined to add the fact that Daisy was the one who’d shot him—on Ben’s order. Out of habit, he rubbed the still-healing spot that had laid him up for weeks. Sometimes he could feel the bullet still burning a hole in his belly, even though the doc said he’d gotten it all.

“He pulled a gun on her, then?” The tone in Mel’s voice was so hopeful that Will couldn’t let her keep believing a lie. Maybe Daisy had been that person at one point in time, but that wasn’t who she was anymore.

“No. She went willingly. Kissed him passionately before he helped her onto the horse.”

Oddly, that fact didn’t sting the way he’d thought it would. He’d replayed the scene over and over in his mind while recuperating, thinking that she’d have been kinder to him had she just killed him outright. But she hadn’t. She’d shot him and left him in a pool of his own blood, then kissed the man she’d once promised to help him bring down.

“Why would she do that?” Pain slashed across Mel’s face, and Will almost felt bad for telling her the truth.

“I don’t know,” he simply said. “I honestly don’t.”