I asked. Three posted at all times, Rook answered. One at the canyon entrance, two up high watching the ridges. They're looking for lawmen or rival outfits. He glanced at us.
Not for someone riding in with a gift for Varick Holt. So how do we play it? Sihaya asked. Rook didn't hesitate. I ride in with you tied behind my saddle, he said.
Tell Holt I found you hiding near your brother's old cabin, that I figured he'd want to deal with you himself. He tapped the map. While I get close to him, learn what I can about the caravan plan, you keep him distracted. Give him a story he wants to hear. I didn't like any part of it, but it was the best shot we had.
What about me? I asked. You take the high ground, Rook said. Set up in the rocks overlooking the camp, close enough to cover us if things go bad, but far enough the lookouts don't spot you. How do we stay in touch?
I asked. We don't, Rook Vatcher said plainly. Once Sihaya and I ride into that camp, we're on our own until we can signal you. The plan had a hundred ways to fall apart, but it was the only shot we had to get the information needed to stop Varick Holt's ambush on the Ash Trail Caravan. That night, while we finished preparing, Sihaya and I found ourselves alone again on Garrick's porch.
The sky was thick with stars, and the night air carried the scent of wild flowers and open earth. You afraid? I asked. I am, she admitted. But not of Holt.
I'm afraid of what might happen to you if this goes wrong. Nothing's going to happen to me, I said, taking her hand. And not to you, either. I won't allow it. She squeezed my fingers gently.
Dax, there's something I need to tell you about my brother and Varick Holt. What is it? Cairo wasn't just working for him, she said quietly. He was his right hand for nearly 2 years. He knew everything.
Where everybody was buried, literally and otherwise. The weight of that hit hard. When he tried to leave, she went on. Holt didn't just kill him to keep him quiet. He tortured him, trying to find out if he'd told anyone what he knew.
My jaw tightened. Holt thinks you know what Cairo knew, I said. She nodded. That's why they've been hunting me so hard. It's not just revenge.
It's about protecting his secrets. That changed everything. This plan just got a whole lot more dangerous, I said. If Holt suspects, even for a second, you're lying to him, he'll kill me slow, she finished. I know, she added softly.
But those secrets, they're the key to bringing all of it down. If I can get to his records, his plans, his contacts, we could end it. Not just the caravan ambush, everything. Her voice steadied. The kidnappings, the killings, the corruption.