Vengeance of the Orphan Brothers (Preview)

Prologue

Corbin Leray peered out at the horizon, squinting his eyes against the setting sun. He spoke out of the corner of his mouth, even though there was no one else but him and his big brother in the middle of a great plain with a single abandoned church. It was falling down, decrepit, the ghost town they’d just ridden through to get to it dead and empty.

“We gotta do something before it’s nighttime,” he murmured to Isaac. His brother was thirteen years older and had raised him almost like a father would after their parents died ten years ago. They’d been working as bounty hunters since he turned eighteen, and now he was twenty-two.

“On the contrary,” Isaac mumbled softly, “if we wait till night, we’ll see if he lights a fire. If he doesn’t, we light our torches and go in and get him while he’s sleeping. Easy as pie.”

Corbin grunted. “Ain’t that a bit like cheating? Never pegged you for a cheater, brother.”

Isaac chuckled. “It ain’t cheating. It’s just taking the easy road. Who says everything we do in life has to be difficult? Maybe it can be easy sometimes. You ever think of that?”

Corbin shook his head, letting out a soft laugh. “No, can’t say that I have.”

“Well, you should sit and ponder it sometimes. You’d be surprised by how much you learn when you just sit and think.”

Corbin didn’t want to ask what Isaac could possibly have meant by that. Was he saying he learned from his own thoughts? What was he learning? How little he actually knew?

This made him laugh harder but he suppressed the sound. He didn’t want Bradley Harlington to hear him in the church. The outlaw might come out shooting. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for getting them both killed.

Without speaking, they set off for the church at the same time, crouching, leaving their horses far enough from the church not to draw notice from anyone inside.

Inside the church was one of the most prolific thieves in the area. He always wore dirty rags and smelled bad, having no personal hygiene whatsoever.

Corbin wasn’t much looking forward to taking him to Oak Tree Springs, the town closest to where he and his brother conducted most of their hunts. Oregon was a complex mixture of mountains, streams, hills and valleys. Corbin loved it.

He’d always told himself the only way he would ever leave Oregon was if he was asked to help out the Texas Rangers. He loved reading about the Texas Rangers and would be honored to work with them. But that wouldn’t happen. He was just a kid next to his more experienced and knowledgeable brother.

This was the last hunt he and his brother would do for money from the magistrates. From now on, they planned to be guns-for-hire. The pay was much better, and Isaac thought it would also be a good way to get out of Oregon. Though Corbin had expressed his desire to stay in Oregon, Isaac had told him it was a good thing to broaden your horizons and see new things.

Corbin lifted up slightly from his crouched position under one of the broken windows of the church. If there had been a conversation going on inside, he would have heard it loud and clear. But the silence made him curious. Was Harlington alone? He didn’t have the reputation of a man who belonged to any gang. He was a solo criminal. The ones on their own were the easiest to capture. Gangs were easier to track but obviously posed more of a threat.

Isaac jostled his leg with his elbow and Corbin crouched back down.

“The inside is really dusty and everything is old and broken,” he reported. “There’s three pews left that have stood the test of time. There’s a lot of papers and debris, don’t know how those things got there.”

“Been lots of travelers come through here,” Isaac said softly. “What’s he doin’ in there?”

“Looks like he’s readin’. Or sleepin’. Hard to tell.”

“It would be easier if you knew which one,” Isaac grumbled.

“Okay, he’s definitely sleepin’. I didn’t see any book in his hands and his eyes look closed.”

Isaac didn’t ask how he could possibly have seen that from where they were standing. He nodded.

“So let’s go in and get him. And I don’t want him on my horse. He stinks. I can smell him from here. How does he not notice?”

“He knows. It keeps people away from him.”

“I’m just saying if you want him on my horse, he’s goin’ to the nearest stream and takin’ a bath first.”

“Let’s get him and we’ll figure all this out afterward.”

Corbin nodded. The two of them stood up, went calmly to the front of the church, and strode in without resistance or argument.

Chapter One

The evidence of autumn gently making its way into Oregon was clear for all to see. Soon, the trees would be colorful and bright, and then naked as skeletons. It was Isaac’s favorite time of year, or it used to be when he was a younger man. Now, pushing fifty, he had creaking bones and felt like the years were piling on top of him, like he was carrying the weight of an elephant on his shoulders.

He urged his horse to move forward. He had to keep up with his younger brother.

“You see anything?” he asked, speaking louder than he intended. Corbin looked over his shoulder, giving him a bewildered expression.

“No? You?”

Isaac shook his head, pulling up beside his brother as they patrolled the perimeter of the Darden property. They’d been working for the Dardens for nearly five years. It was an enjoyable job. He liked the family. The father, Ulysses, was a kind man, soft-spoken and brilliant with numbers. Elizabeth, his wife, was much more outgoing, a vibrant spirit who fairly floated from one place to another. She was intelligent, too, but not as serious as her husband. They were wonderful examples for their daughters and tried to raise them with as much empathy and compassion as anyone could have.

Isaac had a particular fondness for their eldest daughter, Catherine. Everyone called her Cat, which fit her well. She had sharp features, like her father, long wavy blond hair she liked to wear down—much to her mother’s chagrin—and she had deep brown pools for eyes. It was a strange combination that made her stand out.

He’d never told anyone how he felt about Catherine and hoped he wouldn’t find himself in trouble over it. He was too old for her and worked for her parents as a hired gun to keep their property safe. He couldn’t very well put himself up as a possible suitor for their daughter.

Cat was a fiery young woman of twenty-five. She was closer to Corbin’s age, but there didn’t seem to be any love lost between those two. Isaac didn’t really understand his brother. He couldn’t remember any time in their lives that Corbin had expressed interest in any of the women that threw themselves at him. He was a good-looking man and had visited a few brothels with Isaac, but marriage seemed to be the last thing on Corbin’s mind.

Sometimes Isaac wondered if that was his fault.

“You know we’re not gonna find anything, right?” Corbin asked. “We never find anything worth reporting back to the Dardens. And they’re having an outside meal, cooking over a fire. You know how good that tastes when a proper cook does the work and we’re not in the middle of nowhere chasin’ down some bounty. Private or otherwise.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Isaac said. His stomach growled hungrily.

Nearing the end of their patrol, they were fairly close to the back of the house, where the family had gathered. The sun would be setting in about two hours, and they were enjoying the evening summer weather. Soon, they’d be able to smell meat cooking over the fire Ulysses had built in a big stone pit.

Isaac loved the outdoors. And he wouldn’t mind having the chance to talk to Cat for a bit. She was so intelligent, and such a good conversationalist.

They rode side by side to the back yard from the far side fence. Isaac hadn’t seen anything suspicious to report. He smiled when they approached the outdoor fun the Darden family was having. They could hear the daughters laughing and the booming voice of Mr. Ulysses Darden as he told what was probably a very long joke. His jokes always came with a long story preceding them.

They came around the four-foot-tall shrubbery through an opening that served as an entrance to the back yard. The Dardens had a wide, white circular table with chairs all around it, enough room for a group of eight. There were only the two daughters and their parents, but the Dardens enjoyed entertaining friends in their beautiful backyard, which was well-manicured with sculptures, flowerbeds, and a fountain in the middle. The fountain depicted a cherub pouring water from a pitcher.

When the family saw the brothers, they raised their voices in greeting, Cat and May lifting their arms high in the air as if they had just won a huge competition. They both leaped from their chairs and came running.

“Well, well, well,” Corbin said, amusement in his deep voice. “Looks like you’ve got some fans, brother dear.”

Isaac snorted. “Those girls aren’t interested in me, Corbin. You’re closer to their age than I am.”

He had to admit, though, the young ladies did often focus on him. But they weren’t this time. May went to Corbin’s horse and took the reins when he stopped the animal.

“Where have you two been! You almost missed out on the best jelly rolls Mama has ever made.”

Isaac admired the Darden matriarch. No one would have known how much money they had in their accounts by the look of it. They had one live-in maid, Angela, and if there was any cooking to be done, Elizabeth did it herself. She enjoyed cooking, she said, and the reward of her family’s smile.

He slid out of the saddle right after his brother.

Cat grabbed his hand, her smile big and beautiful. Isaac’s heart skipped a beat.

“Come and sit and eat with us. We’ll have a nice chat, maybe a walk through the flower gardens.”

Having her tug on his hand made him forget about his age, his past, his worries. He followed her to the table, shaking hands with her father and bowing politely to her mother.

“Sit, sit!” Elizabeth encouraged them both. “May, take those horses to the stables, my dear, and you come right back.”

“Okay, Mama,” May cried out, leading the horses to the stables a short distance away.

Chapter Two

Six months later, Corbin and Isaac were on the same patrol. This time, however, they had a purpose. They were looking for someone… or a bunch of someones.

Isaac was sure there were poachers in the woods around the Darden house. They’d lost two head of cattle and a pig so far. The thefts had happened at night and on Sunday when the family was gone.

“Remember when we first got to Jackson, lookin’ for those Irish gangsters?” Corbin was reminiscing. He knew Isaac wasn’t fond of thinking back to old cases, but Corbin had a reason for doing so this time.

“I remember,” Isaac said in his usual somber way. Corbin had expected nothing else.

“Do you realize it was the same scenario as our last run as bounty hunters? We were goin’ to an abandoned outpost that turned out to be a church and that ol’ doghead was layin’ in there asleep.”

“Doghead?” Isaac looked at him. “I ain’t never heard that before.”

Corbin shrugged. “Better than sayin’ dogbutt, ain’t it?”

Isaac laughed, which was the reason Corbin had used the odd expressions. “Yeah, Corbin, I remember it all.”

“Don’t you think it’s ironic that our last job for both of them was the same? We captured them the same way, too. They were asleep. We snuck in and roped ‘em up like them little calves we roped the other day. Hogtied and drag ‘em thru the mud!”

Corbin laughed with delight. They hadn’t really dragged the Irish outlaws through the mud. But they had tied them to the backs of their horses, just like they had done with the outlaw, Harlington, when they found his horse around the back of the church where part of the roof had caved in, making an enormous lean-to big enough for the animal to stand comfortably.

“What’s that?” Isaac spoke up, pulling Corbin from his thoughts.

Corbin turned his gaze in the direction Isaac was pointing. Part of the barbed wire stretched across from one post to another had been cut through from the top of the fence to the bottom.

“Looks like the wire’s been cut,” he said, urging his horse to move faster. Once he reached the wire, he slid out of the saddle and walked over to it, scanning the ground for footprints or hoof prints. He saw plenty of both, so mixed up they wouldn’t be able to learn anything from them. “How many you think were here?”

Isaac came up beside him. “Looks like maybe two or three from what I can see.”

“I think more. Six.” Corbin noted the prints left by the horses from the recent rain making the ground a bit soggy. As they rode off, they left distinct trails in the grass and dirt. He also knew what cow prints looked like. “They’ve made off with three more.”

He shook his head, glancing over at his brother, who looked furious.

“They’re gonna be really unhappy about this, Isaac. I mean, we might even see Ulysses get angry for once.” It hurt Corbin’s heart that they’d allowed another break-in and theft. They couldn’t be on patrol 24/7, but they should have at least been working in shifts.

Isaac grumbled something Corbin couldn’t make out, going back to his horse and pulling up into the saddle. “Come on. Let’s follow the tracks. That’s the least we can do.”

“You ride on ahead,” Corbin replied. “I’m gonna fix this fence enough so no other cows go wandering through. I’ll just pull the barbed wire over. We don’t want ‘em walking over these sharp points.”

“Hurry up. I’ll take your horse to the other side. Come through and do it from this side.” Isaac directed Corbin after leading his own horse and Corbin’s through the opening in the fence.

He waited the few minutes it took for Corbin to finish. It wasn’t hard work and all he really had to do was pull the fencing across the opening. He moved back when he was finished and got up in the saddle.

“Okay, let’s go.”

***

Ten minutes later, they were no longer on Darden property when they came upon a hunting cabin. Six horses grazed in a nearby clearing, each of them weighed down with a saddle. Isaac could even hear the bubbling sound of water nearby. The hunting cabin sat just inside the woods. Whoever had built it had cleared the edge of the woods enough to fit this cabin right in it, as if it had grown there.

The door and wooden shutters over the windows were a dull shade of yellow, as if they were quite weather-beaten.

“You think Darden knows about this cabin?” Corbin asked, keeping his voice low as they stuck by the trees, not wanting to be seen. They moved their horses slowly.

“I doubt it. It’s not on his property, so I don’t know why he would know.”

“They’ve been in this town for a long time. You don’t think they know their neighbors? Maybe share a hunting cabin every now and then?”

Isaac shrugged, narrowing his eyes at Corbin. “I don’t know, Corbin. Either way, the cows are branded for the Darden ranch. They don’t belong on any other property.”

“I didn’t see any cows out there with them horses,” Corbin added, twisting in his saddle to look at the clearing they were passing by. “Where do you think they kept ‘em? You think they put ‘em inside the house so they won’t be seen?”

Isaac grunted. Corbin wondered if that was meant to be a laugh. Isaac’s face had changed from frustrated to concerned. It was a look Corbin wasn’t used to and didn’t like to see.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, slowing his horse even more.

Isaac did the same thing. “I believe the men we’re looking for are in that cabin.” He turned serious eyes to Corbin. “I’m going to the other side. It’s a downward slope. There might be a back door. You stay up here and watch for my signal.”

“I might not be able to see you from here,” Corbin said, leaning to the side to see the cabin through the trees.”

“Then get to a position where you can. And watch me through your rifle scope if you need. I’m gonna get in through the back door. I’ll give you a signal and you take care of the front.”

“What if there’s no back door?”

“Bet there’s a window.” Isaac clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll make it work,” he said.

Chapter Three

Corbin moved as swiftly as he could, inching up the side of the hill, trying to stay out of sight. He kept as close an eye on his brother as he could while he was in motion. Isaac glanced back at Corbin, who lifted one hand and nodded. Isaac had to search for him, but the movement caught his eye fairly quickly. He nodded back and went around the cabin so Corbin couldn’t see him anymore.

Corbin pushed through a bit more of the brush until he found the perfect spot. He didn’t want to go too far up because it would just take that much longer to get down to the cabin when it was time to attack or to help his brother. But he couldn’t see Isaac from where he was. How would he know when to shoot at the cabin? Was he waiting for the men to come running out?

He thought about the other times he and Isaac had gone hunting for men and found them hiding out in places like this. The usual routine was one would go down and kick in the door while the other waited outside at a safe distance to shoot the men who tried to escape. He figured that was the strategy they were using this time. If he went too high, he might not hear his brother kick in a door or shout.

He was surprised by how nervous he was. Perhaps because they weren’t on Darden land. How much authority did they have? He laid himself on the ridge so he could look down at the cabin. It wouldn’t take him long to slide down the hillside when the time came.

He adjusted his rifle as he laid on his stomach, holding it steady on a rock. Closing one eye, he peered through the scope bolted to the top of his rifle. He could see his brother again, but only a bit of him. He had run to the front of the cabin and then turned around, going to the back of the house. Once he was there, Corbin could see him full-body.

Isaac had made a three-quarter circle around the cabin to see if there was anyone guarding outside and to get a better view, if he could, through the windows. Isaac went to the back door, which was in a place Corbin could see.

So when Isaac backed up, preparing to kick in the door, Corbin readied himself. He clenched his hands tightly around the rifle. He had to be still, completely still. He couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that they weren’t on Darden land and they weren’t bounty hunters anymore; they were privately employed. They didn’t have the authority to go around doing the work of the law.

Plus, if there were six men in that cabin, what was Isaac walking into?

Corbin sighed. He had to trust his brother. Whatever he’d seen in the cabin, it must have been safe enough for him to ready himself to bust in.

Corbin’s heartbeat sped up. His blood raced through his veins, his breathing shallow as he waited for Isaac to make a move. When his brother did move, it was in a completely different direction than Corbin was expecting.

Instead of jumping forward and kicking down the door, his brother retreated down the few steps and darted around to the side of the back porch, which was small but lifted off the ground. He ducked under the floorboards just as a man came out the back door.

Corbin froze. There was little chance the man would turn and see him but he couldn’t help being afraid to move, lest he make a sound or shift the ground so rocks fell down the hillside near him. The only movement he dared to make was to slide the rifle inch by inch while he looked through the scope at his brother.

Isaac had been forced to crouch tightly into the space below the porch. Corbin could tell it was uncomfortable. He contemplated what he could do for Isaac but couldn’t think of anything. If Corbin tried to draw attention to himself, it wouldn’t take but a few moments for that bandit to alert the ones inside.

Much to his relief, and probably Isaac’s as well, the bandit didn’t stay on the porch long. He seemed to be checking something, as if they’d heard Isaac and sent him out to make sure there was no one there.

The next few moments were crucial. As soon as the bandit turned to go inside and Corbin could no longer see his face, he lifted one arm and waved it. He and his brother had used this tactic on many occasions. Each time, the outcome was different. But they were used to working together as one, and Isaac knew exactly what to do. Corbin was sure of it.

Chapter Four

When Isaac saw his brother waving his arm, he knew just what to do. That meant he could get out of his hiding spot. He darted around the porch and ran as fast as he could up the steps to the door, which was just swinging shut. The man who was going inside heard his boots on the wooden porch and turned around, but by that time Isaac was already on him.

Isaac had released the length of rope he kept in one of his belt loops and wrapped it around the man’s neck. He pulled tight, spinning the bandit so he faced away from Isaac. Once he had a hand free, he snatched the gun from the holster at his side and held it to the bandit’s head.

He’d already gotten a pretty good look at the inside of the cabin through the windows but he scanned from left to right anyway, making sure he wasn’t about to be shot.

Since he had the bandit by the neck, he could use him as a shield. The others in the one large room had pulled their guns, but luckily for his hostage, they didn’t shoot. He wouldn’t have been hit, but their buddy would have.

There were four men in the cabin that he could see, other than his hostage. He would have sworn he’d seen the tracks of six men, but five was close enough. He didn’t see any cows, which made no sense to him because he didn’t see any outside either.

Isaac wouldn’t let his confusion cause him to make mistakes. He had to be clear-headed, but all of this seemed too strange to him.

“Where are the cows?” he asked, looking around his hostage at the other men in the cabin. “If you tell me that, I’ll let your buddy go and you’ll let me walk out of here.”

“We ain’t got your cows,” one of the men said in a snickering tone. Isaac turned his gun on that fellow and cocked it, shaking his head.

“This ain’t a laughing matter. I’ll shoot you dead right here. Where are the cows?”

Isaac strove to be cautious. He was aware that he might be about to get his arm blown off. He pulled the gun back to the head of the man he was holding prisoner and growled, “Tell me where you put the cows!”

Corbin would be there soon. He had no doubt these men would tell them what they knew when he came through the front door.

Just then, Corbin burst through the door, using the knob like a polite person would do but swinging it open hard so it banged against the table next to the entrance.

“And here’s my brother to make sure you answer our questions.”

Corbin came in like a thunderstorm. He was a good fighter. Isaac was glad he didn’t have to do much of that anymore. He could always rely on Corbin for his strength. Isaac could still fight, just not as long or as hard as he used to.

Corbin went through the four men like mincemeat. He jumped on the first, felling him with one punch to the side of the head. Two of the others jumped on him, attacking from either side but Corbin managed to fight them both off. Where Corbin had learned to move like that, Isaac didn’t know. It must have been natural because he’d trained Corbin and raised him practically on his own after their parents died.

It wasn’t long before both men were moaning on the ground. That left one, other than Isaac’s hostage. He looked scared to death, with both hands up in the air and the widest eyes Isaac had ever seen.

“Tell me what I want to know,” Isaac said to the man he was holding, jerking him back and forth a little bit to put some more fear in him. “Where are the cows?”

“They got released,” the man said, his fingers pulling at the rope, though they did no good. His voice was so tight when he spoke Isaac felt the need to loosen the rope around his neck. The man was noticeably relieved and swallowed visibly. “We were told to release them.”

Isaac frowned. “What? Why? Why would you release them after stealing them?’

“I don’t know why,” the man said. “That’s just what we were paid to do.”

Chills erupted over Isaac’s entire body when he realized what must have happened. He turned to his brother, taking a few steps into the room, pulling the hostage with him.

“Corbin,” he said, his voice low. “I think something’s happened at the Darden house. I think we were meant to find this and to be pulled away from the house.”

Corbin’s face washed white with horror. “Oh no,” he said breathlessly. “Do you want me to go back and check? What are we gonna do with these men?”

“You’re stronger. You take this fella.” He shifted the noose to Corbin, who grabbed it from him. “I’m gonna go check. You tie these fellas up. I saw some more rope in the back there by the door.” He jerked his head, indicating the back of the cabin where he’d come in.

Corbin nodded, taking the rope without a word. Isaac didn’t have to say anything. He knew that.

Passing the last bandit who was still conscious, he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “Help him get that rope.”

The bandit nodded obediently and headed for Corbin, who looked at him menacingly.

“You give me trouble and you’ll regret it,” Corbin said in a stern voice.

Isaac ran out the door and up the hill to get back to his horse. He had to get to the property now. He was terrified that they had left the family unprotected. He liked Mr. Darden but he wasn’t a fighting man.

What would he do if he got back and they were all dead?

Isaac would never forgive himself. Never.

Chapter Five

Isaac could see the house in the distance. His horse was already at a gallop, and he wished the animal could run faster. He leaned forward, as if that would get him there quicker.

About fifty yards from the house, Isaac saw the front door open and one of the women came out. He narrowed his eyes, focusing to see that it was Cat, judging by her height and the color of the dress she was wearing. It was yellow with white swirls and reached just below her knees. It was fashionable and looked good on her, he had thought that morning when they’d had breakfast with the family.

Now, the way she’d stumbled out of the house, he knew something was wrong. She was bent slightly and it looked like her hair was in strings. Her yellow and white dress was spattered with dark spots. Was that blood?

Isaac’s heart raced. He had to get there faster. He wished he could fly.

It only took a few more minutes to get to her. She was holding onto the railing, crying, her eyes already swollen from her tears. He slid out of the saddle as soon as he was at the porch and ran up, gathering her in his arms.

“Cat, what’s happened? Where is everyone? Are you all right? Is this your blood?”

“They took them!” Cat sobbed into her hands, her eyes darting from side to side as if she looking for whoever she was talking about.

“Who? And who took them? Cat, talk to me!” Isaac held her at arm’s length, bending forward so he could look her in the eyes.