once, and it almost cost my brother his life.”
“I’m sorry, Luke.” Livy’s heart broke. Not even a man but old in the ways of the world. “I know there are people who only want to use you, but there are some who can be trusted. Mrs. Brooks is a good woman, and she has a heart of gold. Remember that.”
The barn door creaked open, and they ducked down, not speaking. Two men stepped outside, one clean-shaven, one bearded. The bearded man slapped the other one on the shoulder and sent him on his way before stepping back inside.
Livy made to rise.
Luke put a hand on her arm. “Wait.”
Moments later, the bearded man led out two horses, one saddled, one with a pack strapped across its back. He shut the doors, mounted, and rode toward the outskirts of town, leading the pack horse.
“Do you know who they are?” Livy asked.
“No. That’s why I followed him.”
“Luke, these men could be dangerous. Why don’t you tell the sheriff what you’ve seen?”
“Without a name or a face, it won’t do any good.”
“Then we can tell Sheriff Carter and Jake to come here and wait. They can catch them the next time.”
Luke shook his head. “He never takes the loot to the same place twice.”
Livy shook her head, exasperated. “You’ve followed him before, haven’t you? What’s going to happen to the others if you get yourself killed? Your friends are depending on you. You need to stop taking risks or at least tell the sheriff what you know to keep from being railroaded out of town or put in jail. I want to help, but you’re not making it easy.”
“I don’t know. . . .”
Livy tried another tactic, hoping she’d broken the ice with him. “I’d like to meet the others. I think you know by now you can trust me.”
“Maybe.”
A noise from behind them drew Livy’s attention.
Jake, making his late night rounds, headed straight toward them.
She whispered, “Now’s a good time for us to tell Jake what happened.”
“I—I can’t,” Luke said. Then he took off like cannon shot. Not more than thirty feet away, he sprawled on a patch of ice.
“Hey, you. Stop.” Jake rushed forward as Luke scrambled to his feet.
Livy did the only thing she could to protect the terrified boy. She walked out in plain sight and found herself staring down the barrel of a Colt .45.
Chapter Nineteen
“Livy?”
Jake’s hand shook, and he lowered the gun, feeling sick. He’d almost shot her. He stared at her, dressed head to toe in black, hair covered with a thick scarf. “What are you doing out here? It’s two in the morning.”
“I—”
“Who were you with?” He grabbed her by the arm, not giving her a chance to answer. “Come on, we’re going somewhere warm where we can talk.”
He pulled her down the boardwalk toward the jail. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. And he wanted to see Livy’s face when he got them.
Ten minutes later, he shut the door of the jail, turned up the lantern, and swung around to face her. He crossed his arms and glared at her. “I left you at the orphanage hours ago. What are you doing out here at this time of night?”
“You got any coffee?” she asked, pinching the tips of her gloves and pulling them off one finger at a time as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
His temper spiked a notch. She didn’t even like coffee. What was she trying to hide? “There.” He jabbed a finger at the coffeepot, filled with hours-old black slush.
She took her time removing her cloak and the black coat underneath it. Mud covered the patched hemline of her black dress. He waited until she’d taken a sip of the bitter brew. She winced, more reaction than he’d gotten when he asked her to explain herself.
“Livy, I’m sorry I yelled at you, but you scared the living daylights out of me. What were you doing?”
She tossed her head. “I took some food to the street kids, if you must know.”
Just like that? She’d been out delivering food to some kids at two in the morning? He raked a hand through his hair, his heartbeat just now returning to something akin to normal. She wasn’t like any other woman he’d ever known. His mother and Mrs. Warren and any other number of women wouldn’t be caught dead wandering the streets alone after dark—especially in shantytown. “Who were you with? I saw someone take off in the opposite