Ambushed by a Bloodthirsty Gang (Preview)

Prologue

David Reed squatted just outside the window of the shack, his heart beating a mile a minute. His mouth was dry as a bone. He tried to generate enough saliva to moisten his mouth and swallow but it just wasn’t there.

As quietly as he could, his eyes still on the netting fluttering in the soft breeze of the evening, he reached down to his waist. His canteen was attached to his belt by a holder and he carefully detached it. The quiet snap sent a tingle of anxiety over his skin but he wasn’t making as much noise as the men inside the building.

David twisted the top off the canteen and turned it up so the water splashed into his mouth. He knew exactly why his mouth was so dry. He was nervous.

David had worked as a bounty hunter for nearly five years. He was looking for a way out and was hoping this would be his last bounty. There was a chance at a huge payout if these three men could be taken down.

Unfortunately, David was alone. He didn’t have a partner and wasn’t working with the local sheriff and deputies. He hadn’t told anyone the gang of three were hiding out in Deep River. It was a little town and they hadn’t caused any problems yet.

Someone had tipped them off, though. They knew they were wanted, and this was the second time David had found them when they were in the process of picking up stakes and getting out of town. They moved whenever someone of authority was getting close. David had figured that out, but he had yet to understand how they were doing it. The only conclusion he’d come to so far was that they were in communication with someone who knew what the law was doing and when they were doing it.

And where.

On the other hand, it made sense for someone to be working with the gang. They were brutes, unwashed men who enjoyed wreaking havoc and causing pain to innocent people, be it physical or just by poking fun in the meanest of ways. They didn’t make any friends outside their trio and were basically obnoxious to everyone. But they were in possession of some very valuable gems and jewelry, a specific medallion on the end of a chain in particular.

The medallion was part of a group of items stolen from a museum in Dallas, Texas. David wasn’t the only one looking for the men or the medallion. But he seemed to consistently be the closest.

David had been pursuing them for the last four months. They always gave him the slip-up or engaged him in confrontations that he lost. He was lucky on several occasions that he wasn’t shot to death. He’d had plenty of time to get a partner or find someone to help him when he was ready to get the medallion from the men, like he was right now.

David wasn’t a match for the three men. He wasn’t excessively strong or a sharpshooter. What he wanted most of all was to get the medallion from them peacefully and return it for the massive reward.

The men inside were rushing about as if they’d lived in the shack for years. They were shouting obscenities and expletives at each other as they blamed each other for being discovered.

“I don’t get it,” the man David knew as Tuck Vandaguard shouted angrily. “Ya gotta be talkin’ to somebody. Cuz it ain’t me!” He threw his towel down on the sack he was filling as if it weighed a ton.

“It ain’t me either!” Josh Pierce growled. He was the biggest of the three, with large tree-trunk arms and glaring eyes that bulged out of his head. He used that intimidating look to scare people into doing what he wanted them to. “You boys get yerselves together! I’m gettin’ sick of movin’ around.”

“Ya picked the wrong thing for yer life, then!” The third man, Clyde Dunker, was a short, speckled individual who was actually the most brutal of them all and enjoyed killing like a child loves Christmas. He laughed as he spoke.

“Shut up, Clyde!”

David listened to them, turning his back to the exterior wall and resting his head against it. He could stand there as long as he wanted; he wasn’t going in the shack. They would kill him. Clyde might even decide to torture him a little bit first.

He hadn’t expected them to be in this state of panic when he came out to the shack. He’d been hoping they were already asleep. Just once, he’d thought he might have luck on his side.

But it wasn’t.

And his luck only got worse when the door at the back of the shack was yanked open and Josh stepped out. He came immediately around the side of the building and stopped short, just a few feet away from David.

“Well, howdy,” Josh said, one corner of his lip curling up in disdain. “If it ain’t the bounty hunter.”

David’s courage had already flown out the window, but it was far too late to run. Josh would catch him and either stomp him into the ground or shoot him.

“I just want the medallion,” he said, wishing the voice in his ear didn’t sound so weak. He was sure Josh would hear and smell his fear. “We can end this peacefully, if you just give it to me.”

Josh laughed heartily, throwing his large head back. “Give it to you?” He managed to get the rhetorical question out before falling into laughter again.

The laughter would bring the other men out in short time. Rather than be killed right then and there or risk a long, lengthy torture at the hands of Clyde Dunker, David spun on his heel and took off for the darkness of the woods.

The sun was down and the only light came from the moon. But his fear made his eyes sharp and as he ran for his life, Josh’s ringing laughter behind him, David decided he needed some help—and there was only one person who would be willing to do it.

Link Mason.

Chapter One

Annabeth Mason gazed out at the sunset, watching for her brother to come home. Link was five years older and had been taking care of her since their parents died in a fire that took everything and left him in charge of her at the age of eighteen.

He was now sheriff of the little town of Twin Oaks, Wyoming. Neither had left the town to do any traveling. Beth didn’t really mind. She wasn’t the traveling type, she told herself. There was plenty of time in the future and she had all she needed right there in Twin Oaks.

It was almost six when she saw her brother turn off the main road onto the wide path that led up to their small farmhouse. Link had purchased the land, and some of the men in town came to help build the cottage on it shortly after. They had moved out of the shack they were renting and had been “home” ever since.

Moxey, a black and white tuxedo cat who happened to be Beth’s favorite animal in the world, was curled up on her lap. She hesitated before moving the cat off, unwilling to disturb the peace. Moxey clearly resented having to get down from her warm cushion and Beth murmured, “So sorry, my dear Moxey, but here comes Link.”

Moxey gave her a meowed response before moving to the edge of the porch steps and curling up in a spot where the sun was still shining.

Beth also went to the edge of the porch and stood with her arms crossed over her chest, watching and waiting for her brother to get to the house. The path wasn’t all that long and he was there shortly, pulling the small wagon to the side. He halted the horses in front of the large double doors to the barn.

Flashing a smile over his shoulder, Link called out, “Fancy a dinner in town? I’ve got some news and thought we’d discuss it over something nice.”

Beth lifted her eyebrows and blinked at him rapidly. “Sir, are you saying the food I make for you isn’t nice? My food is garbage?”

Link laughed, slapping the reins lightly to make the horses move again, pulling them to the side so they would circle around in front of the house. Beth began down the steps.

“Not at all, sister dear!” he responded to her teasing.

She grinned at him. “So you have news, do you? What kind of news? You haven’t found a sweetheart and you’re getting married and want me to leave, are you? Or have you?” Beth put on a confused face just to be silly.

Link let out another laugh, shaking his head. “No, of course not. Come on, I’ll tell you about it on the way there. I’d like to get back before it gets too dark. I guess we have about an hour and a half.”

It only took seven minutes to get to the restaurant from their farmhouse. She nodded, turning back to the steps. “Let me get a shawl. I don’t know if the temperature might drop.”

Link nodded. “Good idea.”

As they rode to town, Link told her about a telegram he’d gotten that day from an old friend turned bounty hunter named David Reed. Beth didn’t remember him, but apparently he had worked as a deputy under Link for a short time before taking off to do what he now did for a living.

It seemed a bit odd that Link had never mentioned the deputy in any capacity, but as far as she could tell, Link was certain the telegram was from the ex-deputy.

“He’s a good man but… well, he tries to take on too much. Like this gang he’s going after. He needs my help and I understand that, but I’m not sure why he doesn’t leave that particular group of men to the Texas Rangers. Or the local authorities wherever they are hiding out.”

“Well, why does he want your help in the first place?” Beth asked curiously. He raised his eyebrows at her and she chuckled softly. “I’m sure you’re an amazing lawman, brother dear, but for this particular gang… you don’t have any experience with them, do you? Is that why he wants your help?”

Link shook his head. “I think it’s more because they’re heading this way. He thinks they’ll pass through town, or come very close, and he wants me to meet him halfway. Try to stop them from getting any further than Twin Oaks.”

Beth thought about that for a moment. Her brother was a talented man. He could track people through the woods around town with no problem. But he hadn’t traveled before. He couldn’t guide someone through woods he wasn’t familiar with.

Her mind worked through the issue until she finally nodded. “Okay, so you’re going to meet him halfway, and if those men do make it back to Twin Oaks, you should be able to apprehend them easier. But you want to keep them from even coming here. Is that right?”

Link nodded. “You’ve got it, sister.”

“Have you heard of these men before? Do you know what crimes they’ve committed and how dangerous they are?”

Link looked thoughtful. She wondered if he was going to tell her the truth. He was no liar, but to keep Beth from being terrified the whole time he was gone, he might want to sugarcoat it for her.

He sighed and she knew he was going to tell her the truth.

“They are dangerous men, Beth. They have a lot of men after them. From what David says and from what I’ve heard from others, they’ve given him the slip more than anyone else. He always seems to be in the same place as them, if not right away then he tracks them down. He’s a good tracker.”

“He needs that for the profession he’s in,” Beth responded, “and I hope you know I’m going to be sick with worry over you if I don’t hear from you. How long will you be gone?”

“I’m thinking about three weeks. It’s going to take me a week to get to the town he wants to meet up in.”

“How does he know that’s where the gang of men is going next?”

Link shook his head. “I don’t know. He does, though. He’s right nine out of ten times. I’m gonna trust his instincts.”

Beth understood why.

As soon as the siblings stepped in the restaurant, they were accosted by a sweet, middle-aged woman with bright blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was the coordinator for all things entertainment in Twin Oaks.

“Beth! I’m so glad to have caught up with you!” she gushed, rushing over to the table where Beth and Link were seated. “You know what’s coming up, don’t you? The annual spring festival! And we’re going to be having that wonderful play about the coming of spring. Will you be able to direct again this year?”

Beth flushed, pinching her lips in a smile. “Oh, yes, Mrs. Brandywine! I would love to do that.”

“That’s wonderful!” the woman exclaimed, clapping her thin hands together lightly. “Thank you, dear, I knew I could count on you. And don’t worry! You’ll have help this year!”

Beth was curious about that. She’d never had help with the children before. Then again, the spring play they’d put on the year before had been simple and clean, the children all cooperating with her nearly every time. Besides, someone’s mother was usually there to get a glimpse of their child’s behavior in public almost all the times they’d practiced, which was three to four times a week.

“Yes. I haven’t found the right person yet, but I will!”

Beth flashed her a brilliant smile. “I’m sure you will, Mrs. Brandywine. I’m sure you will.”

Chapter Two

Jason McBride pushed one hand through his dark hair to get it out of his eyes. He needed a haircut. That would have to be put on the agenda so he would find time to do it. There was so much work to be done around the ranch and he was two men down because of a stomach illness that was going around town.

He pulled open the doors to the barn one at a time, swinging them wide so he could get the wagon out. He could hear the men calling out to the cattle in the pasture. At least he had two of his usual four. His ranch wasn’t huge and he couldn’t afford to pay for any more help. But he didn’t mind putting in more work than usual, since it was his property. He was glad he had the men he did, and they were willing to put in more effort when necessary, as well. They were loyal to him and he was grateful for that.

Besides, paying for more outside help would mean less money for the household staff and he wasn’t about to give up his three favorite and most loyal helpers: his housekeeper, gardener, and cook.

Jason stepped into the hay spread out on the floor and walked forward. He nearly tripped on a rope that had apparently just been thrown down. It looked like someone had started to wind it but had given up halfway through and decided to just toss it in the barn.

He thought about his men, wondering which one was that lazy. Or maybe there was another reason this had happened? He liked to give people the benefit of the doubt.

Jason wasn’t the kind of man who liked to be confrontational. He just wanted peace. He’d had a hard time growing up and the last thing he wanted was to live any sort of dangerous lifestyle. He craved quiet, so he could spend time thinking. Jason liked to think. It was the best way to figure things out. If he couldn’t resolve his quandary on his own, he knew a few wise old men who would give him advice if he asked.

He bent over and picked up the rope, pulling on it until he reached the end and let the rest go. As it flopped to the ground, he began to wind it around his arm. His eyes were on the hook jutting out of a nearby load-bearing pole. He walked toward it.

“Ohhh, Jaaaasooooonnn.”

Tingles lit up Jason’s skin, rolling from his neck down his entire body and settling in his boots. He shivered. That was Mrs. Brandywine. She had to be coming to recruit him for something or other.

Jason let out a quick chuckle, turning to the opening of the barn. He could see the smartly dressed woman sitting proper and straight in a pink buggy with black trimmings. She was wearing pink and Jason wondered if she had a market on the color. He grinned. He had no ill feelings for the busybody. He expected she wanted him to “volunteer” for something. Probably having to do with the upcoming spring festival, which she never let anyone forget about.

Jason took long strides to the opening of the barn and called out to her, “Here I am, Mrs. Brandywine! What can I do for you?”

“Ah!” The refined lady jerked her body in his direction, making her horses whinny with irritation when she tugged on the reins at the same time. “Jason! My dear boy! I am so glad to see you! You are looking quite… quite healthy!”

Jason was flattered. He knew she, like most of the other ladies in town, considered him to be one of the prime eligible bachelors in Twin Oaks, if not at the top of the list. He was one of at least a dozen young men still unmarried in their early twenties and currently unattached to any ladies in town through courtship. But he was, according to what he’d heard, the best looking. And the most successful on his own, without the benefit of any help.

He didn’t take any of the compliments to heart. He was humble by nature. Still, it felt good when the ladies ogled him just for a moment, reminding him that he was an attractive man.

“Thank you, Mrs. Brandywine. You’re looking quite healthy yourself.” He grinned wide.

She blushed, turning her eyes away as she stopped the horses pulling her buggy. She held a hand out to him.

He stared at her for a moment, wondering what she was doing. Did she have something she wanted to give him? He jerked forward, realizing she was waiting for him to help her down.

Flushing from his neck to the roots of his hair, Jason closed the distance between them and grabbed the woman’s hand a little tighter than he’d intended.

She reacted with a bit of shock and giggled as she stepped down, squeezing his hand in return. She must have thought it was intentional.

Jason let go but did so in an appropriate way, not snatching his hand away like he wanted to.

“I have been just searching all over town for someone to help me, Jason, and I really think you are the best candidate for the job.”

Jason grunted, resting his hands on his hips, winking as he said, “The best last candidate, huh? I’m the last man standing. Everyone else has said no, am I correct, madam?”

He made sure he added a playful tone to his words so she wouldn’t be offended. As expected, she blushed furiously and rested three fingers against her mahogany-painted lips. “No, not… not all… I was just passing by, thinking about it, and I thought, why, I haven’t even asked Jason yet. And what a fine pair they would be, working together.”

Jason was interested. “Who will I be working with?” he asked, several local men coming to mind.

“Beth Mason.”

He hoped Mrs. Brandywine wasn’t looking at him when he heard Beth’s name. He couldn’t help staring at the woman, wondering if he’d heard right. “Did you say Beth Mason?” he asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

Mrs. Brandywine smiled. “Yes. I thought that might perk you up.”

“I can free up some time, I think,” Jason said thoughtfully, his eyes drifting away from the woman as he was now picturing Beth in his mind.

“I’m sure you can.” The woman laughed. “Listen, I’ve already been there, went last night to talk to her about it and she doesn’t know yet that you’ll be the one helping her out this year. All you have to do is show up at the community building next Tuesday night. She’ll get everything started and coordinated and tell you what you need to do, okay?”

Jason was having a hard time containing his excitement. He felt like a little boy on Christmas morning. “I’ll be there.”

“Thank you, my dear.”

Mrs. Brandywine moved to get back in her buggy, and Jason jumped to help her.

“Oh, I forgot to ask… what am I doing?”

The woman laughed. “You’ll help her with the kids’ play this year. She did it alone last year and needed help. I think you’ll be perfect for it. Especially since you agreed before you even found out what you were doing. You’re wonderful with children! Don’t you worry at all!”

Chapter Three

David was surprised by how swelteringly hot it was that afternoon. He was seated at one of many stone tables outside a café with no glass in the windows and no door blocking the entrance. He wasn’t the only one enjoying a chilled beer that day. Several of the other tables were occupied by men who looked just like him… alone, out of place, a wanderer, a man without a true home.

He lifted a thin magazine he’d picked up at the newsstand and waved it in front of his face. Closing his eyes, he tried to enjoy the hot air that made his sweat feel cold on his skin.

Bugs whizzed around his head with seemingly no direction or purpose other than to irritate and possibly bite him. He swatted at them with the thin bundle of paper.

The smell of something rotten met his nose and he curled his lip in disgust. Looking around, he saw two young boys trudging into the café with an older man David assumed was their father. They had mud on their legs from the knees down, all three of them. The closer they got, David realized that was mud from a pig pen. It wasn’t just mud they were carrying around with them.

He felt his stomach twist. He had to leave. Right then and there.

He shoved one hand in his pocket and felt around with his fingers until he found a coin. He recognized it and pulled it out. A quarter. He wanted change. Money was tight. He glanced over his shoulder to get the barman’s attention but the focus was now on the man and his two sons. It might take some time before he could get his change.

With the most reluctant gesture he could possibly make, David purposefully set the quarter on the table and stared at it as he slid it across to his one glass of beer—still almost half-full at that point—with one index finger.

He took his finger away and looked at the quarter. It hurt him to leave that much for one glass of beer. He resisted the urge to take it back and bring some coins in later instead.

He left the quarter behind, having to pull himself away from the table.

Just as David neared the gate of the thigh-high wrought-iron fence around the stone café, he stopped abruptly and listened with intensity. He could hear the sound of horses’ hooves beating on the ground with ferocity. They were coming closer… closer… closer…

He hurried out to his horse, ready to jump in the saddle should he see what he expected to see. He wasn’t the only one who’d become interested in what was happening. He was suddenly surrounded by people on all sides as they strained their necks to see where the ruckus was coming from.

Raised men’s voices added to the mix of horses’ hooves, shouting in angry tones.

David braced himself, waiting for the sound of gunshots.

A cloud of dust to the west alerted everyone where the riders were coming from. David pushed his way through the crowd around him, which was becoming dense, and got to his horse as fast as he could.

To his utter astonishment, he pulled his horse up to the edge of the road as it came out from the alleyway just in time to see the very men he was looking for riding past at breakneck speed. He pulled back gently on the reins.

“Whoa…” he murmured gently, not wanting to spook his horse. The stampede of horses and riders that went past would surely have frightened the animal if David didn’t keep him calm. He leaned forward, his eyes moving from left to right, looking for the perfect opportunity to go out into the street and join the pursuit. He didn’t recognize the deputies and the sheriff as they went past. He wouldn’t have, though, as he hadn’t been through that particular town before.

Finally, an opportunity came and David’s horse jumped out into the fray. He quickly matched the speed of the horses in front of him, passing one of the three deputies almost immediately.

David was nearly ecstatic. This was the first time he’d joined others pursuing these three men. This time, he would see them arrested, shot, or both. This time, he would see them go to jail. And he would cash in on the reward. Alone or not, he was there and he expected his fair cut.

He’d let them know all about that later, though. His dark eyes concentrated on those specks in the distance, barely seen through the cloud of dust that rose up in the air behind them, blocking his view of them significantly.

“We can’t lose them,” he murmured. “Come on, fellas. Let’s do it. Let’s get the man.”

David kept his pep talk to himself but had to admit it made him feel better.

If they kept going in that direction, the town would end and they would be riding out into the plains of Wyoming. They were heading in the direction of Twin Oaks, where David had spent a significant amount of time. He’d contacted Link because he knew his old friend still had a great reputation, even after all these years.

Now it looked like he might not need Link, after all. Then the reward would be his and his alone.

Not that he wanted to cut Link out of anything profitable. But if they were able to capture the gang now, that meant a lot more money in his pocket.

He rode hard and fast after the gang, keeping his eyes on the biggest one, Josh. He was looking forward to seeing that one caught, that was for sure. Clyde might be the meanest and nastiest of the three, but it was Josh who was the fists in the operation. He had beat David on several occasions bare-fisted, throwing punches that had left David needing stitches and bleeding from the nose.

He held a deep-seated hatred for that man and longed for the opportunity to throw just one solid punch at the man.

Besides, it was Josh who carried the medallion. David was almost a hundred percent sure of it.

They’d chased after the men past the town line and out into the country beyond. The sheriff and his deputies were yelling to each other, but David couldn’t quite catch what they were saying. While they shouted, they gestured wildly.

David got the impression there was something in the road ahead. Perhaps an obstacle of some kind that these men knew about because they lived here. David had never stopped in the town before. He leaned to one side and then the other, looking ahead of him at the gang of men as they rode side by side at a frantic pace to get away from the lawmen.

He couldn’t see beyond them. He stood up in the stirrups for a moment, trying to see above them and into the distance down the road.

It wasn’t until they came up on the obstacle that David understood why the men were yelling and gesturing.

The three men ahead of them suddenly broke up, two going in one direction at a fork in the road, Clyde riding off on his own. Without stopping, the sheriff and one of his deputies took off after Josh and Tuck.

David had to think fast. He was approaching the fork quickly. Which way should he go? Did Josh really have the medallion? Or was Clyde carrying it now? That was all David wanted. He wanted it more than he wanted to capture the gang and stop them. He wanted to get his hands on that medallion and reap the rewards.

His quest for the medallion and his certainty that Josh had it and would meet up with Clyde later made David turn his horse in the direction of the two men with the sheriff and a deputy chasing after them. He would have flipped a coin if he could have. He had about as much chance of being right that way.

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“Ambushed by a Bloodthirsty Gang” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

Jason McBride is a simple rancher who lives a quiet life until he stumbles upon a gold medallion while hiking. That night, he hears a noise and his sleep soon turns into a bloody nightmare. He witnesses a group of people fighting and shooting a mysterious man, but he gets hit and falls unconscious. After he wakes up, he’s faced with a crime scene; a gun in his hand, two dead men, and blood everywhere. All evidence points to him as a murderer…

He will have to fight like hell to prove his innocence…

Annabeth Mason is the little sister of the town’s sheriff. She longs for adventure and has a secret crush on Jason. When he becomes the main suspect in a case of murder, she will have to confront even her own brother in order to find the real killer.

Could this be the adventure she’s always been dreaming of?

Jason defends himself with Beth by his side, but they discover a far darker plot is afoot. One that involves a lot more than a piece of jewelry and could threaten the future of the entire town. Steel and gunfire soon prove to be the only solution towards justice…

“Ambushed by a Bloodthirsty Gang” is a historical adventure novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cliffhangers, only pure unadulterated action.

Get your copy from Amazon!