Free Lawman from Nogales (9781101544747) by Ralph W. Cotton Page A

the food on the table and ambled away.
    â€œI want to hire you to kill a man for me and for the Torres brothers.”
    â€œOh?” Sonora Charlie eyed him closely. “Teto and Luis are with you on this?”
    â€œOf course they are with me,” said Defoe. “Do you think I would use their names if they were not?”
    â€œWho do you—I mean they want us to kill?” Sonora Charlie asked. Cutting a bite of steak with a sharp knife from his boot well, he shoved the sizzling piece of meat into his mouth and chewed it vigorously.
    â€œThe lawman from Nogales who is causing such trouble for everyone,” Defoe said. “His name is Burrack. He is a Territory Ranger from Arizona. He rode out of here with a young Irish woman, headed south.”
    Sonora Charlie stopped chewing. So did Clyde, following his lead.
    â€œYou’re talking about Samuel Burrack,” said Sonara Charlie, “the sumbitch who killed Junior Lake and his pa.”
    â€œHis whole gang,” Clyde put in.
    â€œDoes that bother you?” Defoe asked.
    â€œNope. Does paying double bother you?” Sonora Charlie countered. “’Cause that’s what it’ll cost for this Ranger’s demise.”
    â€œYep, twice as much for the Ranger,” Clyde put in.
    â€œTwice what amount?” Defoe asked.
    Sonora stared at him as he began chewing again. He took his time swallowing his food.
    â€œThe Torres brothers know my price,” he said. “Just double it.”
    â€œAnd give us Hector,” Clyde cut in.
    Defoe looked back and forth between the two wild-eyed gunmen for a moment.
    â€œI saw a wooden gun case tucked under his bedroll. Does it matter if he’s packing a long-shooting rifle?”
    â€œNope.” Sonora Charlie shook his head.
    â€œCan we count on quick work from you?” Defoe asked.
    â€œDig a hole,” Sonora Charlie said.
    Â 
    Three miles outside Wild Roses, Hector Pasada stepped down from his horse and spun its reins around a hitch post out in front of a small dusty adobe. He leaned the shotgun against the post. Across a rocky yard, a skinny goat looked at him and let out a long bleat.
    At the sound, a young boy peered out the window. Seeing Hector, he bounced down barefoot into the yard and ran to him in a rising puff of dust.
    â€œ Papá is home! Mamá! Mamá! Papá is home!” the boy shouted as he ran.
    â€œPequeño hombre!” Hector called out as the excited child bounded through the dirt and leaped into the air.
    Hector caught the boy and swung in a full circle with the child pressed tightly in his arms.
    When he looked at the doorway and saw the young dark-haired woman staring out at him, he set the boy down.
    â€œAna!” Hector called out as he hurried toward the woman, a broad smile spread across his face. “It is about time I have come home to you, eh?”
    She accepted his kiss on her cheek coolly. Staring into his eyes, she said flatly, “I have prayed that you were not dead, shot down by one of the criminales you now call your amigos.”
    â€œPor favor, Ana,” Hector said. “They are not my amigos . But they are who I must be with when I am gone to make a living for you and my son.”
    At their sides, the boy hugged both Hector’s and his mother’s leg with both small arms. Ana Pasada looked down at the boy, then back up at Hector, expectantly.
    â€œ Sí , look what I have made working for the Frenchman!” He pulled out the gold coin. “Enough for flour and frijoles and perhaps even—”
    â€œHector!” Ana Pasada cut him off, gasping at the sight of the gold coin glittering in her husband’s hand. With a hand to her mouth she said in a hushed tone, “Who pays a man this much money? What did you have to do to earn it?”
    â€œThese Americanos pay well, Ana,” Hector said. Pressing the coin into her free hand, he added, “And do not worry, I