Wood logs in the fireplaces shifted and collapsed, creating a cloud of scarlet sparks to fly upwards. Everleigh flinched, but Armis stared at the map—his callused hand stroking the stubble on his chin as realization hit him all at once. He tugged on his collar. Ever since getting on the road for the Oregon coast, nothing had gone right. His father would be so disappointed in the way things turned out.

“Did Chuck see the truck?” Coyote took a seat at the table.

“I’m sure he saw it,” Armis muttered and glanced at Everleigh. “What’s wrong?”

She chewed her lip while tracing a finger across the map—her eyes shifting back and forth from the Legend. Corbin peered over her shoulder with one hand on the small of her back as she cocked her head to the side. “Did the number of women change because of me?” 

“I believe so.” Armis nodded. “And we know Chuck had a fancy communications gadget in his basement. Which means he was in touch with someone. My guess is the government.”

Coyote leaned forward with his elbows propped on the wooden surface, their breakfast cold, and pressed his fingers to his temples. “We would be foolish to think otherwise. Which means I’ll need to get the three of you across the border tonight.”

“Woah, wait!” Armis held up his hands. “Corbin is not coming.”

“Like hell, I’m not!” 

“You are not my responsibility, nor my priority,” Armis replied. “Everleigh is.” 

Corbin rested his hands on Everleigh’s shoulders as if staking a claim and stared at him. “She’s my priority too!”

“You’ll slow us down!”

“Wait just a damn minute.” Coyote stood and leaned over the table, his knuckles pressing into the surface. “I’m the one getting you across, so I decide who goes and who doesn’t. Got it?”

Armis straightened his posture and motioned between himself and Everleigh. “We made a deal with you, and our deal did not include him.”

“Well, as the one getting you across, I have the right to bend that deal,” Coyote snipped. “So I say he’s going.”

“No.” Armis pounded the table and hunched over it with his palms digging into the map. “From the moment he came into our lives, nothing good has happened. I will not endanger my sister anymore!”

“Armis,” Everleigh piped up. “I will not go without him. He is one of us now.”

There was silence.

Coyote smoothed his hair back with his palms and studied everyone. His icy grey eyes menacing as they shifted to each one of them, voicing his hierarchy. But Armis folded his arms and glared from Coyote to Corbin—his feet practically tutting the ground like a bull. Coyote shifted his weight from one foot to the other with a tight set of his jaw and raised a brow at him as if saying not to test his patience. Wanting the standoff to be over, Everleigh pivoted to Corbin’s side and weaved her hand through his—the message clear. 

Armis exhaled and said through his teeth, “Fine.”

“Good!” Coyote clapped. “Because we should prepare. Let’s start by seeing what y’all are made of, and then I’ll know what kinds of weapons to take with us.”

“We can handle anything you give us,” Armis replied.

“Yeah, well, I need to see it to believe it.”

“Is it that dangerous crossing border?” Everleigh asked.

“Yes. We’ll be going through the backdoor, so we need to prepare for anything—bears, military, hidden snipers, etc. It’s not as easy to get into Canada as it once was. In fact, you’d have better luck fleeing to Mexico where my friend Archibald could help you, but it’s too late for that since the government is on your tail.”

∆∆∆

The cans sitting on the fallen tree log flew one by one as Armis landed every target—a rifle in hand. The grin he wore illuminated his face. Despite the pain still lingering in his injured arm, his accuracy remained the same. Plus, he loved showing off the skills their father taught him. It reminded people not to underestimate them, and beside him, Everleigh slung her knives at the rotten apples plotted on a low hanging tree branch. Coyote stood back, twisting tiny tendrils of his beard, his eyes bouncing from sibling to sibling, studying them. 

Corbin, however, kept his sights on Armis. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the man was intimidating with a gun. It was as if he were a pendulum, programmed ever so perfectly to swing without error. 

Armis shot the last can and lowered the rifle with the barrel aimed downward. “Who’s next?”

“How about we make this more interesting?” Coyote replied. “We’ll spread out some targets and you guys can show us your Butch Cassidy ways.”

Everleigh and Armis glanced at each other with a grin. Obstacle courses weren’t new to them. When they were young, their father created new challenges every day to prepare them for sticky situations. Certainly whatever Coyote had in mind would be a piece of cake. 

While he and Corbin arranged the targets, they stood back to back in the tall grass with eyes closed, giggling over memories of their father’s crazy ideas. Like the time he made them jump off the roof and land on hay, all while shooting at the target on the weather vane.

“Alright, you can peek now,” Coyote announced. 

Both siblings opened their eyes and kept their backs together. Without a word between them, they knew what to do, as if their father’s voice was whispering in their ear. Keeps your backs together. Lock onto your targets. Pick them off from the outside and make your way to the middle. Dig into the madness.

They were ready to show off when Domino’s horse began stomping the ground and grunting. In the distance birds vacated a tree, cawing as they flew away. Armis lowered his weapon, his brows furrowed, and motioned for Everleigh to do the same.

“Down. Get down.” Coyote signaled as he crouched in the tall grass.

They all sunk low and listened as Coyote’s wide, alert eyes scanned the acreage. Everleigh squeezed Armis’s hand, and he squeezed back. It was an all too familiar feeling of danger lurking and causing the hair on her neck to grow slick with sweat. Corbin did a crab-like crawl toward them and nestled by Everleigh’s side, cradling her with his arm.

“Here. Take this,” she said, shoving a spare gun in his hand. 

“I’m not that good at shooting,” he admitted in a whisper. 

“Here’s the safety.” She guided his finger to the switch on the side. Then she smoothed his finger down toward another switch. “This releases the bullets in the grip. Right now it’s full, but here’s an extra clip. Aim for something big. Limbs, head, chest. It’s harder to miss that way.”

“That easy, huh?”

“It’s as good as it gets for now.”

A rumble of car engines echoed through the field, and Coyote rose upright, his shotgun aimed at the oncoming visitors.

“We got company. Don’t mention a word about that truck,” he said over his shoulder.

“Who’s coming?” Corbin asked.

“Looks like the Sheriff.” Coyote gestured for them to stand. “Just let me do the talking. Not sure why he’s here, but I’m hoping it’s harmless. He’s a friend of mine.”

Two trucks eased their way toward them and stopped just a few feet from where they stood. The first person to step out was a man in a wide-brimmed cowboy hat. He adjusted his sheepskin suede vest and smoothed down the red flannel shirt underneath. Despite being several inches shorter than his companions, the man walked with authority to match the metal star on his chest. 

“How’s it going, Coyote? I heard you had visitors.”

“It’s just Domino’s nephew and his wife and her brother.” Coyote stepped forward, his shotgun facing down, causing the group of men to come to a halt. “So, what brings you here? The moonshine in my cellar is one-hundred percent legal.”

“Oh, I know,” the sheriff replied and cleared his throat. “Look, I’m not here to cause trouble. We just came to collect the girl.”

“What?” Corbin blurted, and Armis stepped in front of her.

“Hold on a sec.” Coyote lifted his hand. “She’s a married woman. She’s not going anywhere.”

“Scan her arm.” A man with the sheriff said, and another man stepped forward.

“Scan her arm?” Coyote objected. “Hold on. You can’t just come onto my property and start your demands.”

“Right now, you don’t have a say in what we do,” the man replied.

“And who the hell are you?” Coyote asked.

“These men are with the government,” the Sheriff sighed, and Coyote’s face colored with rage.  

“Henry, why would you bring them around here after what happened with my sister!?”

“I’m sorry,” the sheriff replied. “They just want the girl.”

“Well, they can’t have her!” Armis shouted. 

“Scan her arm,” the man ordered again, and his companion proceeded forward. 

“Everleigh…” Armis said. “Stay behind us. We’re gonna shoot these fools. Ready, Corbin?”

“No, but let’s do this.” He swallowed.

“Go.” Armis raised his weapon, and the man with the scanner received a bullet in his forehead — his skull smoking as his body fell backward. Then he extended his arms and began shooting the men closest to him. Corbin did the same while Everleigh aimed her gun over their shoulders, picking off the middle. The government men dropped so fast that Coyote barely got the chance to fire his weapon, but he made it count and shot the leader in the chest. 

“Stop! Stop!” the sheriff shouted, his hands covering his ears while shrinking back. They shifted their guns in his direction, and he trembled. “You should have just handed her over! Now it’s too late.”

“What do you mean?”

This time an even louder rumble bellowed through the air as four matte black trucks drove at full speed toward them with blue, red, and white lights flashing on the dashboards. Rifles emerged from the passenger windows as men stuck their heads and arms out, aiming to shoot. 

“I can’t help you now. It’s out of my hands,” the sheriff directed to Coyote. “You should have just handed her over.”

“Run!” Coyote shouted to the three of them.

They bolted towards the woods, dodging the bullets hitting the ground near their feet, when Corbin screeched and clasped his arm. Blood dripped through his fingers, but he kept running until Armis tripped and dragged his leg, gnashing his teeth with the familiar burn of a bullet in his flesh. Everleigh skidded to a halt and backtracked to grab him, but he motioned for the woods.

“GO. Keep running!”

“I can’t leave you.” 

“You need to run, Everleigh!” Corbin shoved her towards the woods, but she latched onto Armis and dug heels into the ground.

“I can’t leave him!” 

“I’ll help him. You need to run!” Corbin ordered.

“RUN!” Armis pushed her.

“Go. I’ve got him.” Corbin urged, and she turned on her heels, dashing for the woods. 

By the time Corbin got Armis to his feet, the men had them surrounded at gunpoint and wrestled to the ground, along with Coyote. As the men pinned their arms behind their backs, they helplessly watched as two others ran into the woods after Everleigh.

∆∆∆

She weaved between the trees with branches whipping her body. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn’t bother to wipe them as she focussed on her destination. Corbin had said that Coyote lived close to the Canadian border. Maybe if she ran fast enough, she could make it across? In the distance, leaves crunched behind her, and in her peripheral vision, a dark, blurry form raced behind her. She locked her jaw, firing bullets over her shoulder, and kept pumping her feet forward despite the burn in her legs. The border had to be close, and she needed to make it there. She had to! Right as the clearing of trees came into view, and the hope in her heart bloomed, a set of hands yanked her backward, followed by a heavy thwack, catapulting the gun from her hand.

Like a cornered animal, she kicked and flung her balled fists in all directions. It was a haze as her hands connected several times while the two men fought to control her. One of them grabbed her legs while the other snatched her arms, but Everleigh thrashed and screamed. She released a foot, swinging her boot upward into the man’s chin, and he yelped, dropping her legs to bring his hands to his mouth. She slammed her head back into the other man’s nose with a crunch and heard him groan in pain, but he didn’t let her go. 

Removing the knife from her belt, she stabbed his belly, and this time, his grip loosened. She ripped herself free and attempted to run again until a surge of pain pulled on her scalp. The man she kicked in the chin yanked her backward by the hair, causing her to land on her bottom. He kicked her in the ribs, knocking the wind from her lungs, and her eyes grew wide as she gasped for air while attempting to crawl, but it was useless. Then he crouched down, lifting her head by the hair, and forced her to look at him before spitting a red mist, freckling Everleigh’s face with blood.

“This is for my friend over there.” He nodded toward the stabbed man, and with the pistol in his grip, he knocked her out cold.

∆∆∆

As Corbin and Armis lay pinned on the ground, they focussed on the woods, anxiously waiting while Coyote tried getting answers from the men. However, they ignored him, so the sheriff crouched down with a sigh.

“They have surveillance of the girl killing three men in one of their storage bunkers,” he explained. “And they’ve been going around showing her picture in different cities. This morning, someone in town recognized her photo and said she left the bar with you.”

Coyote cursed. “Is there no more damn loyalty in this town!”

“Look, bud, I don’t know what kinda trouble Domino’s nephew has gotten himself into, but this ain’t gonna end well for his lady.”

Coyote shook his head at the man. “Henry, why did you bring them here when you know what the government did to my family.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry, doesn’t cut it.”

“That’s enough!” hissed the man pinning Coyote down. “Shut your mouth.” 

“Looks like one of them has returned...” The sheriff pointed, and through the clearing of trees, a bloody face appeared. The man held his side with a grimace as he limped along with blood seeping through his shirt.

“That’s my girl.” Armis grinned. “Looks like she got him good too.”

“Thank God, she got away.” Corbin exhaled.

However, their celebration was short-lived as the other man stepped out of the woods with Everleigh slung over his shoulder. When they reached the rest of the group, he flopped her down as if she were a killed hunt. Her bleeding mouth opened, and her eyes fluttered as she struggled to gain consciousness. Armis squirmed under the boot, holding him down, and he spat out hateful curse words, condemning the men to a torturous death. But the men just laughed.

“Get her into the truck,” said the leading man, running the show.

“Where are you taking her?” Corbin dared to ask.

The main man studied Corbin, then said, “Boise. She’s just won a ticket to prison.”

“She has done nothing wrong,” Corbin replied.

“Hah!” the man scoffed. “She’s killed, three government officials. She’s headed for the lethal injection, and you three...” He glanced at Armis and Coyote. “Are meeting your maker as soon as I give the order.”

Corbin’s eyes flashed to Armis, fear coating his tongue in a surge of saliva. Yet Armis’s expression remained calm as he stared at the men line in front of them. It was as if he knew something they didn’t. 

“Boise is dry as a sack of bones,” Corbin spoke up, swallowing his fear several times. “But I can witch water. If you spare their lives and take me instead, I’ll help you.”

“Shut your mouth, Corbin!” Coyote shouted. “Don’t be stupid.”

“I can witch water!” he repeated.

“Dammit, Corbin!” Coyote shouted again. “What are you doing?”

All the men began looking at one another with raised brows before shifting to the head man. His eyes narrowed as he stood there, studying Corbin, but then he crouched by his side and took a fist full of Corbin’s hair, lifting his head. 

“Prove it.”

“From where I am, I can tell which of you have water sitting in your bellies right now. Not only that, I know you have water in those trucks.”

The main man smirked, and the corner of his lip twitched. “That proves nothing. You could just be guessing.”

“No.” Corbin shook his head. “I know exactly how many bottles and where they are in the truck. I can feel it.”

“Ok...” The main man nodded his head. “Enlighten us.”

“Two in the center console, two in the backseat passenger cup holders, and around twenty in the cooler in the trunk...” Corbin closed his lids, his eyes shifting about under the skin as he counted. “No, make that, a twenty-four pack of bottled waters. It’s the same for each truck.”

The main man stepped back, folding his arms. “And you said you could feel it?”

“Yes.” 

“Fascinating...” He brought a hand to his chin and paced back and forth, meditating. He bobbed his head as he chewed the insides of his cheeks and then stopped. “I’ll spare your two friends, but the girl is still paying for the death of my men.” 

“What? No!” Armis shouted.

But the man snapped his fingers. “Get them both into the truck!”