Peacemaker (9780698140820) by K. A. Stewart Page A

alone. The reds are all over this territory. I heard they can call down rockslides and flash floods to knock you clear off the mountain if they want.”
    Caleb allowed them to herd him back toward the homestead and the safety of numbers, but his mind was on the woman and the simple curiosity in her dark eyes. He had the distinct feeling that he’d been weighed and measured somehow. Had he passed whatever test she’d imposed on him?
Oh, Ernst, how I wish you’d have seen her.
    â€œAh, there you are Agent Marcus!” Warner and his men were already mounted, and Caleb was certain they’d have gladly left without him if not for the townsfolk’s insistence. “We were starting to get worried.”
    â€œNo worries. I was just doing a little scouting of my own.” He pointed in the vague direction he’d taken, hoping that no one would investigate. “I think they took the hauler toward the south, but I lost the trail in the rocks.”
    Warner smirked. “Then let us hope they blow themselves to kingdom come with it. It’s no less than they deserve for terrorizing good and decent people like this.” He walked his transport to the head of the column that had formed, and Caleb found his own mount now hitched to the Andersons’ wagon. “I hope you don’t mind, but since we had a hauler, I thought we could take more of their belongings if we used the wagon.”
    â€œNo, not at all. I’d have suggested the same.” He clambered into the wagon, settling his staff in the seat beside him. Driving the contraption was far preferable to riding the huge hauler. “Back to town?”
    â€œThe Andersons were going to be taken to my place, and I’ve offered to feed the men lunch for their efforts today, as well.” Warner smiled, smoothing his mustache. “That includes you, of course.”
    â€œA meal would be much appreciated. Thank you.” And he could get a look at the nearly fabled Warner ranch.
    As they slowly made their way back down to the plains, Caleb almost felt guilty for taking such an instant dislike to Abel Warner without just cause. The man obviously went out of his way to help the people of Hope in their dire straits. But the tiny voice in the back of Caleb’s mind warned him to listen to his instincts and Ernst’s. Something was not as it seemed.
    A cool breeze followed them out of the mountains, as if the land itself breathed a sigh of relief at their departure.

Chapter 4
    The Warner place was actually the A-bar-W Ranch, as seen branded into the flanks of the grazing cattle they passed. The herd was carefully watched by a pair of armed men on transports who waved as the small procession rumbled past.
    The ranch was nearly a town unto itself, surrounded by a fence of tightly stretched wire. Approximately every ten yards or so, another armed guard stood, and the blue arc of power could be seen hopping from fence post to fence post, powered by the men stationed at each one.
An arcane-powered fence. Interesting.
    The house was a sprawling two-story construction, ringed all the way around with a covered porch and many high windows. As they rode in, Caleb noted which windows contained dark shadows, the silhouettes of yet more armed guards. He added those to his mental tally of Warner’s men, feeling more uneasy as the count continued to climb. Why on earth did Warner need this many men, and a trained sniper on top of that?
    Schmidt disappeared the moment they arrived, and the Peacemaker spent the rest of the visit feeling the skin crawl across his shoulders. Somehow it was worse that the silent man hadn’t even acknowledged Caleb’s existence. Was he truly beneath the hired killer’s notice, or was Schmidt just biding his time?
Or awaiting his master’s orders?
    There were several outbuildings in sight, a smokehouse—so noted because of the fragrant aroma emanating from it—and a large building with