"Dax Calder." "The one who took down the Jameson crew alone?" "That was a long time ago." I said. "I'm trying to be someone else now." "Someone like what?"
"The kind of man who stops men like Varick Holt before they ruin more lives." Rook didn't answer right away. He just stood there. Studying both of us. Then finally, he jerked his head toward the cabin.
"All right." He said. "Come on." "Let's talk." The cabin was small. But it had the feel of a place someone had worked hard to make into a home.
Books lined a shelf. A guitar rested in the corner. And the smell of fresh bread drifted from the back. "I've been out of that life 6 months." Rook said. Pouring coffee into tin cups.
"Got a little garden. A few chickens. Nobody shooting at me. Ain't much. But it's honest."
"Sihaya's brother tried to walk away, too." I said quietly. "Holt killed him for it." Rook's hand tightened around his cup. "How long you think before he decides you know too much to let live?" Sihaya added. Silence hung in the room.
"What exactly are you asking of me?" He said at last. "Help us get inside Holt's operation." I said. "We need to know his plans for the Ash Trail Caravan and turn some of his men against him." Rook let out a dry breath. "You're talking about suicide."
"Holt doesn't trust anyone. Especially not someone who walked away. He'd kill me the second he saw me." "Not if you bring him something he wants." Sihaya said. Rook frowned.
"Like what?" She and I exchanged a glance. We'd thought about it on the ride out here. But saying it out loud made it real. "Me." She said.
Rook nearly choked on his coffee. "You out of your mind?" "You want me to hand you over to Holt?" "Not exactly." Sihaya said calmly. "Just enough to make him believe you captured me.
That gets you close to him. Close enough to gather information. Maybe even pull some of his men to our side." "And then what?" Rook shot back. "How do you plan on getting out alive?"
"That's where I come in." I said. "While you're inside, I'll be positioned close enough to cover you when things go bad." "When doesn't it?" Rook Vatcher muttered dryly. "Not with Varick Holt in the picture." I answered.
Rook went quiet after that. Staring out the window at the peaceful valley he'd been trying to call home. When he finally spoke, his voice carried a weight to it. "Cairo saved my life twice when we rode with Holt." He said. "I owe him.
And I owe his sister seeing Holt pay for what he did." Sihaya stepped forward. "So." "Will you help us?" Rook nodded once.
"I'll help. But we do it my way, my plan. He leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp again. Holt's smart, suspicious. If we're going to fool him, we've got to be smarter.
What do you have in mind? I asked. A hard smile crept across his face. Holt's got a weakness, revenge. If he thinks I'm bringing him Cairo's sister to settle a score, he won't kill her right away.
He'll want to savor it, show it off. He paused. That buys us time. It was a solid plan, but it meant putting Sihaya right in the middle of Holt's camp. Every instinct I had pushed against it.
There's got to be another way, I said. There isn't, Sihaya replied, her voice firm as iron. This is our best chance to save those families and make Holt pay for what he did to my brother. I looked at her and saw that same unbreakable resolve that had carried her this far. She wasn't backing down.
And deep down, I knew she was right. All right, I said at last. But we do this smart, careful. First sign something goes wrong, we pull out. Agreed, she said.
Rook gave a short nod. Then we start planning. If this is going to work, we need to think through every way it can fall apart. The next 2 days were nothing but planning. Rook knew Holt's operation better than anyone, and he walked us through every detail.
How the camp was laid out, their routines, the personalities of Holt's top men. Holt's main camp sits in Dead Horse Canyon, Rook said, sketching out a rough map on a piece of paper. About 30 men total, but they're not all there at once. Half of them are usually out on jobs or scouting. What about guards?
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.