“What if he holes up and shoots at us?” Zeke asked.
“There’s four of us, only one of him. Maybe two,” Albee said. “And we’ll be coming at him from four directions, plus the sheriff’s men below.”
Zeke nodded.
“Will, stay behind me,” Mac said. “If you ever had reason to obey me, this is it.”
“All right,” Will whispered. He took the uphill flank, with Mac nearby, the deputy facing the front door of the shack, and Zeke on the deputy’s far side.
Albee shouted, Zeke whooped in response, and the four of them charged the cabin.
Chapter 65: Finding Johnson
Mac kicked Valiente into a gallop down the hill. They crashed through the underbrush as fast as Valiente could take the descent. Will on Shanty rode behind him, and Mac prayed for the boy’s safety. He couldn’t let Will get hurt, or Jenny would never forgive him.
Mac kept himself between Will and the cabin as they attacked. He saw Albee ahead of him on his right, and he heard but couldn’t see Zeke beyond the deputy.
“Stay back, Will,” Mac shouted as they approached the cabin.
Will was petrified, his fingers clutching Shanty’s reins too tightly.
But he couldn’t hang back, even though Mac ordered him to. He was part of this posse, and each man had to protect the others. He’d learned that much in the Army. He had to act like a man. He might be scared, but he feared letting Mac or the others down more than injury to himself.
Mama would never forgive him if Mac were wounded or killed. Will knew how much Mama loved Mac—he’d known it all his life. Mac was the most important person in the world to Mama. And Will wasn’t about to let Mac come to harm now.
He urged Shanty down the hill behind Mac.
A shot rang out from the cabin. Mac dismounted, unsheathed his rifle, and dodged behind a tree. “Will,” he called. “Stay here with the horses.” Mac crouched low and crawled forward. Valiente and Shanty squealed behind him, and he hoped Will did as he’d ordered. He couldn’t take time to look.
More shots from the cabin, then Zeke and Albee returned fire. Mac raised his head above a downed tree log and saw Johnson peeking out the window. He hadn’t seen the man in almost eighteen years, but he recognized him. Mac aimed his rifle and fired.
Johnson ducked, then returned Mac’s fire. More bullets from Zeke and Albee.
Albee rushed down the hill and took cover behind a tree just outside the clearing. “Come out, Johnson. We’re here to arrest you for the attack on Jenny McDougall and her family.”
Johnson fired at the deputy. Zeke, Mac, and Albee shot back. Johnson let off another round.
Mac heard a moan from his right. Was it Albee or Zeke? He fired, then scuttled toward the moan. More shots from either Albee or Zeke.
After a pause, more shots from Johnson.
A crash on his left, slightly behind him.
“Will?” Mac turned to look.
“I’m fine. I think Albee’s shot.” Will raised a bit and fired at Johnson. “I’ll cover you.”
Mac shook his head. How’d Will learn about covering a man in a gun battle? “Stay here,” he told his son.
The moaning stopped, but Mac worked his way in that direction until he halted next to Albee. The deputy gasped, then his eyes glazed over, staring sightlessly until Mac closed them.
Just then Zeke approached Mac from the other direction. “Johnson ain’t shooting so fast now,” Zeke said. “I bet he’s almost out of bullets or maybe wounded. I’m going in. Cover me. When I signal, stop shooting.”
From right behind Mac, Will said, “Got it.” Damn it, the lad hadn’t obeyed—he’d followed Mac.
Mac and Will shot volleys at Johnson, and Johnson took single shots in return.
Zeke ran to the corner of the cabin. He waved. Mac and Will stopped shooting, and Zeke plunged through the doorway. A cry sounded, then Zeke pulled Johnson out of the shack with an arm around the villain’s neck.
As Will was reloading, he wondered whether he was firing on his own father. But he couldn’t do anything else. He was part of the posse, and his job was to cover Zeke.
He’d seen Deputy Albee go down. That’s when he’d rushed toward Mac. He couldn’t let either Mac or Zeke get hurt. They were part of his life—Johnson was not. Even if Johnson was his father by blood, the man was evil.
Will once told Joel Pershing he didn’t have to be like his drunken father. Zeke and Joel had the same father, and Zeke wasn’t a drunkard. Will didn’t have to be evil like Johnson or the other men who’d raped Mama.
As Will watched Mac close Albee’s eyes, he swallowed a huge lump in his throat. Mac was the man he wanted to be like. He wished Mac were his father in truth, but Mac had raised him, and that’s all that mattered.
Weapon now ready, Will fired at the cabin until Zeke’s signal to stop. When Zeke dragged Johnson into the clearing, Will followed Mac toward them.
