Love on the Line - Deeanne Gist [129]
The tension left his shoulders, his eyes filling with relief and appreciation. For the first time, he looked like the Luke she knew.
Grabbing her hands, he flipped them up and kissed them on the palms. “Thank you. I’d kiss you properly, but I’m not allowed. We need to leave in about twenty minutes. I’ll go get a hack and horse from the livery. Meanwhile, put on something which allows you to move as freely as possible.” He whipped open the door, then leaned back in. “Not your trousers, though. You hear?”
She nodded, then scurried to her room as soon as the door closed behind him.
Chapter Forty-One
Luke drew Honey Dew alongside Georgie at the juncture of Jackson and Fourth. She wore her brown calico, no hat, and a pair of men’s driving gloves. He was pleased to see how well she managed the hack and its horse.
“Wait here,” he told her.
She glanced at him.
He pointed up the street with a nod of his head. “That’s Duane and Blesinger. They’re on their way out.”
“Duane Pfeuffer? You can’t mean Duane and Mr. Blesinger are mixed up in all this.”
“Just sit tight. I’ll be right back.” Nudging Honey Dew, he trotted ahead hoping the men would recognize the horse and let their guard down.
Duane twisted around in his saddle, then grinned. “What in tarnation are you wearin’, Palmer? Ya don’t need to get all frocked up in fancy doodahs.”
Luke caught up to them. “Morning, Duane. Ludwig.”
“Look at ya. I didn’t even know ya had nothin’ other than them overalls.”
“What are you doing here?” Blesinger hissed. “You’re supposed to ride out with Necker.”
Instead of responding, Luke snatched Duane’s pistol out of its holster and turned it onto the men. “I’m going to need you to come with me.”
Blesinger immediately reached for his gun.
Luke cocked his. “Don’t even think about it.”
Freezing momentarily, the gun shop owner made a show of keeping his hands wide and high.
Duane’s smile faltered. “Are ya funning us? What’re ya doin’?”
He flipped his jacket back, revealing his badge. “I’m Lucious Landrum, Texas Ranger of Company ‘A.’ You’re under arrest.” In the seconds it took for the men to absorb the shock, the betrayal, then the panic, Luke grabbed Blesinger’s pistol, stuffed it in his own waistband, then gathered the reins of both horses. “Get off your mounts and keep those hands in the air.”
Duane looked at the Colt in Luke’s hand.
“I mean it, Duane. If you’ve really only been involved in two of the robberies, I’m hoping the judge will go easy on you. Either way, I’ll put in a good word for you.”
The boy’s body relaxed. “Aw, Judge Yoakum ain’t gonna do nothing.”
“Then, get on down.” He figured they’d find out soon enough Yoakum wasn’t the one who’d be making the decisions.
“But we’ll miss the robbery.”
Clearly, he still hadn’t been able to make the jump from Luke to Lucious.
“There is no robbery,” Blesinger gritted.
Luke had expected more resistance from the gun shop owner, but the man had a healthy respect for pistols and slowly dismounted.
“I don’t understand.” Duane slid off his horse, his brown eyes pleading for mercy. For a second chance.
But it wasn’t Luke’s to give. He just brought them in. The courts decided the rest. He tried not to think of Alec, yet the image of his brother being seized by Sheriff Glaser flashed through his mind. He recalled the trumped-up charges Glaser had heaped onto Alec and the resulting three-year term. But this was different. Duane’s crimes were real, not manufactured. Focusing on his task, he jumped to the ground and gave a whistle, signaling Georgie to join them.
“I thought ya were my friend. I trusted ya.”
His heart turned at the hurt coating Duane’s words. “That’s the thing about living outside the law, the men have no honor. You can’t trust any of them.”
“They ain’t the ones pretending to be my friend, all the while knowin’ they wasn’t. It’s the feller inside the law what’s doin’ that.”
“I wasn’t pretending about that. I like you. I like you a lot. But my orders are to bring in Comer and his gang, regardless of how I feel about them.”
“That’s the biggest