Free Shadow's Stand by Sarah McCarty Page B

cave.”
“Quite a big one, once you get through the opening.”
Perfect. Shadow took off his hat. The damn cave was probably only big from her perspective, but he had a lot more height and twice her breadth. As soon as he got to the opening, he saw that she was right. He was going to lose a layer of skin squeezing in. Shit. He hated close spaces that made a man feel as if the walls were falling in.
“You coming?”
“Not in any way that I could’ve been enjoying,” he muttered, angling his body in.
“What?”
“Yeah, I’m coming.”
The cave widened three feet from the opening and was much bigger than he’d anticipated. At some point someone had hollowed out a larger area, bracing the sides with timbers. Three tunnels angled out from what he could see of the larger room. From somewhere beyond the darkness, he could hear rushing water. Rather than dank, the air was fresh. More than one opening, then? The thought of an escape route helped with the closed-in feeling.
Fei stood in the center of the big chamber, braiding her hair. Against the wall, he saw dark outlines of leather sacks and leather bags. No doubt supplies and bedding. It made sense that she’d stock the cave. It took time to dig gold. Hell, he looked around at the shoring. It’d taken time to do this.
The scratch of sulfur against rock broke the silence. Glass rattled against metal as she lit a lantern. The dim interior took on a golden glow. Picking up the lantern, she held it high and turned back toward him.
“This is my claim.”
Even with the lantern shedding light to the corners, there was nothing to inspire the pride in her voice.
“It’s well hidden.” The flat, gray rock absorbed the light. No flecks of gold shimmered and glowed. Darkening timbers vertically lined the walls and blended with the dirt around. “How did you find it?”
“I followed my father. He built it.”
He studied an unsupported opening. “Did he finish it?”
“No.”
Wonderful. His skin crawled with unease. “Then why did you come here?”
“I needed a place to hide.”
“From what?”
She shrugged. “Many things.”
He let the subject go for the time being.
“You found the gold here?”
She shook her head and pointed to an opening at the far end. “Farther back, by the waterfall.”
“Show me.”
Hefting the lantern, she led the way. Shadows wavered with the flickering flame. The walls seemed to waver with them. Shadow hated caves. The sound of the waterfall got louder, amplifying as the cavern grew in expanse. He was a little disappointed to see it was only about ten feet high. The stream curved away from the falls, widening until there was only a narrow shelf to the right side. Fei stopped at the shelf.
“Here.”
This time, when she lifted the lantern, he was impressed. Below the shallow surface, gold nuggets glimmered amidst the common rock. It was a king’s ransom, conveniently lying just below the surface, ready to be plucked. A fortune for which men would hunt and kill. And Fei sat on it all.
He picked up a nugget. It had the heft of gold. “You had it assayed?”
“Yes. It’s gold.”
“Did anyone see you bring it in?”
“Yes, but the rock I brought in was small and I pretended disappointment.”
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. But the assayer knew the truth. And men had killed for less than the hope of more. With Fei’s father gone so much, Fei would be an easy target. Son of a bitch. Sooner or later they would come for her. The hilt of Shadow’s knife slid into his grip with the easy welcome of a trusted friend. And when they showed, he’d be waiting. But he didn’t want Fei anywhere around, which meant the sooner he got on erasing their back trail, the better.
Catching Fei’s chin in his other hand, Shadow brought her gaze to his.
“Stay here and stay out of trouble.”

CHAPTER FIVE
     
F EI WAS OUT OF THE CAVE and into trouble within three hours. Not because she wanted to be but because Culbart’s ranch was only an