Murphy's Law (The Bounty Hunter Series - Book 1) by Laurie LeClair Page A

win this fight.”
    Murphy sucked in a breath, rising up to his feet to stand beside her. She felt the tension pulse in the air all around her. They waited.
    “Game’s on, Sheriff.”
    “I’ll fire. If it ain’t you. It’ll be him.”
    “You hurt either one of us and you’re a dead man.” She nodded slightly to his cohorts. “They’ll back me up, won’t you fellas? Would you rather have Murphy and me alive and us take you to the gold or side with this half-ass bully? All he’s going to do is sell you guys down the river once the gold’s in his hands. He’ll never share an ounce with you.”
    Off to her right, she heard the distinct sound of a gun hammer being cocked back. Somehow she knew it was trained on her.
    The sheriff laughed. “You think you’re so smart. See? They’re siding with me.”
    The guy holding the gun shifted; she heard the slight scrape of his boot. “She’s right, Sheriff, we need her more than we need you. Put the gun down.” It was the older, tall thick guy.
    “Very funny, jackoff. Quit being an ass and take her gun from her.”
    “Can’t.”
    “For Christ’s sakes,” he swore. “Dumbass, go get the gun from her.”
    “Me? Why me? She already got me in the shoulder.” Fear etched his voice.
    The blackness crowded in, like tunnel vision. She couldn’t see the buffoon. But she knew he didn’t have the guts for this. Her decision warred in her. She could take him out. Make him pay for what he’d done to her and her family already. Or, she could...
    “You,” she called out.
    “You talking to me?” he asked.
    “Yeah, you. You got a kid on the way, right? You got a woman who’s sticking by your sorry ass, right?”
    “You heard right.”
    “I’m giving you an out. Take it or leave it. Walk away now.”
    The sheriff snickered. “Fat chance. I own him.”
    “You hear him? He’s laughing at you,” Echo said. “You think when all this is said and done the sheriff’s going to keep you around? He doesn’t like witnesses. He doesn’t like sharing.”
    “But-but we made a deal,” the buffoon countered.
    “Has he ever kept his end of the bargain with anyone else?” she baited, praying her hunches were right.
    “Fuck,” he swore. “You were going to stab me in the back, weren’t you?”
    “Shut up,” the sheriff barked. Echo wasn’t sure if he directed it to her or to the buffoon.
    “Deal is,” Echo nearly choked on what she was about to offer him, “you walk away right now.” She cut him off before he could say anything. “High tail it out of here, pack up your shit, and get your lady and unborn kid outta the States. She wants to go to Mexico. Cross the border in El Paso. They’ll be people there. Tell them Echo sent you. They’ll get you into Mexico and help you disappear.” She sucked in a breath. Shock shot through her. Where had that knowledge come from?
    Murphy’s sharp intake of air told her he was just as surprised she’d remembered that much.
    “How can I be sure you’re not lying to me?” the buffoon asked.
    “You can’t. But I’m your best thing going right at the moment.”
    “Don’t listen to the bitch,” the sheriff said.
    Boots shuffled along the barn floor. “I’m outta here,” the buffoon said. His footsteps picked up pace as he rushed to the door. A few seconds later, the sound of a truck door slamming and then the roar of the engine filled the tense air.
    Echo said, “One down, Sheriff. I got all day to talk these guys into defecting.”
    “No need, honey,” the tall, older guy said. “Sheriff Hornsby, your time is up.”
    “What the fuck you talking about? I’m the brains of this operation. Why, you ain’t going to get far without me. Fact is, you make a move without me and your ass will be in jail, locked up.”
    “Not gonna happen,” the big guy promised.
    She heard the click of the trigger a second before the shot blasted through the air.

 
     
     

Chapter 13
     
     
    Murphy watched the flash of gunfire.