Bounty on a Baron

Chapter Thirty

Decker left the house knowing that Brand had turned this entire contest to his own advantage. He had waited for Decker to move inside the house, and then had left by the front door, closing it behind him. He probably hadn’t expected that trick with the note to work any more than Decker had expected his trick with the hat on the end of the gun to work.

Now Brand had moved the battle to the streets of the town, where he would probably assume that Decker would be concerned with the welfare of innocent bystanders.

If Brand was not concerned, then he had obviously given up all chances of saving his life in Broadus.

Now he was only trying to save his life.

Brand was undecided.

Initially he’d wondered if he wouldn’t be foolish not to go to the livery, saddle up, and ride out, but he knew that all that would do was postpone this showdown between him and Decker. He knew Decker’s reputation as a bulldog. He hunted one man until he caught him, no matter how long it took.

That kind of man would have to be taken care of now, when he had the chance.

Now he was undecided as to whether he should stay on street level or move to the rooftops. He had the whole town to play with, having effectively put Decker at a disadvantage.

It was then that he realized he was actually enjoying this.

With the whole town at his command, he was like a kid in a candy store.

Where should he go first?

Josephine only heard the shots because she had been listening for them. There was one shot, then a long silence as she sat hardly breathing until she heard the second one. After that she stood up and moved toward the batwing doors.

She stopped there. It took her a few seconds to become aware that the bartender, Potts, was behind her.

“You don’t want to go out there,” he said gently.

“Yes,” she said, “I do…but I won’t.”

She didn’t want either man to be killed because each was watching out for her.

Or would either one of them even be worried about that?