“You have thrown away your home, your reputation, everything your parents gave you.”
Abigail raised the rifle.
“My parents taught me better than to confuse reputation with goodness.”
Gideon Strake drew his pistol.
Mateo’s Winchester cracked.
The pistol flew from Strake’s hand.
Strake shouted and clutched his bleeding fingers.
Isaiah fired from the opposite ridge.
His bullet struck the ground inches ahead of Rusk’s horse.
“Next one moves upward,” Isaiah called.
One deputy immediately lowered his weapon.
Another looked at Rusk.
“You said there was one man.”
Rusk turned. “There are two.”
“There’s three,” Abigail said.
The deputy stared at her rifle.
“Right.”
One of Strake’s ranch hands slowly raised both hands.
“I’m paid to move cattle.”
He dropped his rifle.
“Not enough for this.”
The second ranch hand followed.
Rusk looked around as his posse dissolved.
“You cowards.”
Isaiah laughed from above.
“Cowards are men who need seven friends to hang one woman.”
Rusk’s face twisted.
“This territory will hunt you.”
Mateo finally stepped into view on the ledge.
“Maybe.”
“You think you can hide forever?”
“No.”
Mateo lowered the barrel slightly.
“But today is enough.”
Rusk looked toward Abigail.
“You will regret choosing him.”
She stared back.
“I already regret trusting you.”
That landed harder.
Rusk gathered his reins.
“This is not finished.”
Abigail answered before Mateo could.
“For you, maybe.”
She lowered the rifle.
“For me, it already is.”
Rusk turned his horse.
The remaining men followed.
No one looked back.
For nearly a month, Abigail, Mateo, and Isaiah traveled through the southern Arizona country. They stayed away from roads, slept beneath overhangs, and traded quietly at ranches where people cared more about weather than wanted posters. Stories from Red Hollow followed them anyway.
Some said Mateo had shot six deputies during the rescue.
Others claimed Abigail murdered Judge Bell before escaping.
One newspaper in Tucson described her as a woman bewitched by a savage outlaw.
Abigail read that one twice.
Then she laughed so hard Mateo thought something was wrong.
“What?”
She handed him the paper.
He read the headline.