Hearts Out of Time by Chris Lange Page A

up, will you?”
    Not a very sensible idea in his current condition.
    Jessica fired another round then quickly twisted her body to look at them. “No, stay down. We’re almost done.”
    He wouldn’t hear of it. Although sitting up proved a strenuous task, Weedon wasn’t yet out of the fight. “How many left, Jess?”
    “Only four and they’re disbanding.”
    “Good work.”
    She put more ammunition into her various weapons, but glanced aside without attempting to fire.
    “Look, Garrett, we have to know what they’re after. Stay here, back me up and I’ll go get one of them.”
    “I forbid it. I shall go instead.”
    “Oh, be sensible, will you? You’re the best shot and I’m the best rider. Jake can come if he likes, but we’re doing it my way.”
    Garrett must have known that Jessica was right, but having to allow her to go still seemed to rattle him.
    Just as Jake raised his head, Jessica turned away from the window and grabbed him by the vest. “Stop the train and get us horses. Hurry up!”
    He carried out her instructions and pulled the stop cord. A screeching noise filled the air, the brakes slowing the train down and bringing their motion to a halt. Clearly, the crew hadn’t taken any bullets in the head.
    Jake and Jessica rushed to the stable car.
    Garrett fired to cover their backs then threw his rifle on the nearest table. “Fear not, Miss Richardson. We lack ammunition but they disbanded, and we are out of harm’s way.”
    Tracy stood, her bunched-up muscles protesting at the sudden movement, and went to the window. The last two cowboys alive were riding away.
    With Garret next to her, she leaned out to get a better view. “Do you think they’ll catch up with them?”
    “I know not about him, but she will,” Garrett said. “She’s an astonishing rider, taught by her father. Gabriel Harring started training her in everything he knew from the day she turned two years old. She’s also a master at fencing and she fights like a man. I am truly glad she’s a member of our society for she is an excellent asset.”
    Weedon looked livelier than a few minutes ago, now sitting up and resting his back against an armchair. “Don’t forget to mention she harbors a fierce hatred toward vampires and she’s great at beheading them. Tracy, where are they? Can you see them?”
    Tracy gestured to the front of the train while she watched, impressed that Jessica didn’t seem to be in the least hindered by her dress. Astride her horse like a man, her calves bare, she exhibited white knickers. “Riding away. Jess is giving chase, but I can’t see Jake anywhere.”
    “Here I am. Well-prepared to assist you in any way I can, dear lady.”
    The unexpected reply came from the doorway opening onto the balcony just as the bad boy from the Wild West walked over to her. Startled by his entrance, she kept her mouth shut as Garrett lashed out.
    “Bloody hell, Cooper, what are you doing here?”
    His crude choice of words and harsher than steel tone left no doubt as to his irritated state of mind. Neither did his gaze on the gunslinger.
    “You shouldn’t have left Jessica alone,” Garrett said in a harsh tone. “Are you out of your mind?”
    Jake shook his head. “Not so. I believe my woman is quite capable of handling herself.”
    “Very well, I’ll go.”
    Eyes burning with anger, Garrett glared at Jake with such an expression of contempt that the gunslinger must have felt remorse, although it didn’t show in the slightest. Hatred and rage suffused the atmosphere. Tracy tensed. Would they start fighting each other? With a shrug, she turned her attention back to the plain.
    “Guys, look!” Excited anew with Jessica’s prowess, Tracy indicated the spot where the vampire huntress was catching up with a rider.
    The horses rode two abreast, full speed. One powerful shove and the cowboy was thrown down, biting dust. Slowing her steed, the huntress circled the man on the ground before dismounting near