Coleman's voice boomed through the canyon. "I know you're up there. Come down. Let's talk like reasonable men."
"Last time we talked, you tried to sell my wife," Rhett called back. "Wife?" Coleman laughed. "You married the property? That's rich."
Beside Rhett, Ayah went rigid. He could feel fury radiating off her. "She's not property," Rhett said. "She's a person."
"And yeah, we got married. Legal and everything." That wasn't true. Not yet. But it would be if they survived this.
Coleman's smile faded. "Doesn't matter what you call her. The law says—" "The law is wrong." "Maybe, but it's still the law, and I enforce it."
Coleman gestured to his men. "You're outnumbered. Outgunned. And you've got nowhere to run."
"So here's what's going to happen. You're going to come down, hand over whatever papers you stole from Vickers's office, and the woman is going to come with me. Do that, and I'll make sure you hang quick instead of slow." "That's a generous offer," Rhett said.
"Here's mine. You ride out of here. Tell Vickers his operation is done. And maybe you get to keep breathing. How's that sound?"
Coleman laughed again. "You've got guts, Callaway. Stupid, but guts." He raised his hand. "Boys, persuade them."
The men raised their rifles. Rhett fired first. His shot took the hat off one of the men, and everyone scattered for cover. Gunfire erupted.
Bullets pinged off rock, ricocheting through the canyon. Ayah fired too. Steady, controlled, better than Rhett expected. She hit one man in the leg, and he went down screaming.
But there were too many of them, and they had too much ammunition. For every shot Rhett and Ayah fired, three came back. Rock chips flew. Dust filled the air.
Rhett's ears rang from the noise. "We can't hold this position!" he shouted over the gunfire. "Where do we go?" "Good question!"
Below them, Coleman's men were spreading out, trying to flank their position. Behind them was nothing but canyon wall. They were trapped. A bullet cracked past Rhett's head close enough that he felt the heat.
He returned fire and dropped another man, but his rifle clicked empty. He grabbed his revolver, but it only had six shots left, and there were still eight men down there. Then the sky opened up. Not rain.
Not this time. Thunder. A deep rolling sound that came from everywhere and nowhere, shaking the ground beneath them. The horses screamed and reared.