Free Runaway by Bobbi Smith

pay!”
    Raymond swallowed nervously and knew Destiny was in big trouble. He hardly felt sorry for her, though. He just hoped that Bryce’s rage didn’t come down on him in the end. This battle was, after all, between Bryce and Destiny. He’d held up his part of the bargain. It wasn’t his fault Bryce couldn’t convince her to marry him.
    “I understand,” Raymond told Bryce. “Where do you want to start looking for her?”
    “We’ll start with her friends—with anybody she might have confided in or gone to for help.”
    Raymond wanted to find out what had happened between Bryce and Destiny last night to cause her to run away from home, but he knew better than to ask. Clearly, Bryce had come out the loser in their confrontation. Knowing what a vengeful man Bryce could be, Raymond was sure Destiny was going to pay the price for having made an enemy out of him. Raymond had no idea what Bryce intended to do to her once he’d found her, and he didn’t want to know. He would do what he could to help the other man track her down. He couldn’t risk having Bryce call his debt back in.

Chapter Seven
    Lane had managed to pick up the gang’s trail just out of town, and for the next day and a half, he stayed after them as they headed for the Circle D Ranch. Based on what Dolly had told him, he’d assumed they would ride to the ranch together, and then Cooper and the other men would move on while Seth settled in and took over running the place. So Lane was surprised and troubled when on the afternoon of his second day of tracking them, their trails split up. One lone rider continued on toward the ranch while the rest of the gang headed north.
    The discovery left him deeply troubled. Lane knew he was on the right trail. He knew he could follow Seth and easily catch up with the outlaw before he reached the ranch. Then he could wait at the ranch for the rest of the gang to show up. But he also knew he was only a day or so behind the main body of the gang. He was close to catching the killer Dan Cooper and the rest of his men, and if he could bring them in…
    Lane stared off after Seth’s trail for a long moment, trying to decide what to do. He wanted to arrest them all, but he couldn’t be in two places at once. Since they had gone in different directions, Lane thought it likely that the gang might be getting ready to hold up another stage or rob another bank, which meant more innocent people might be killed.
    That final realization made the decision for Lane, and he forgot about tracking down Seth.
    Lane went after Dan Cooper and his gunmen.
    It wouldn’t be easy bringing down the four outlaws on his own, but Lane was confident he could find a way. Once he’d taken care of them, he would go after Seth Rawlins.
    Lane followed the gang’s trail until dark and then was up before dawn the next day, eager to close in on them. He was convinced that nothing was going to stop him from catching up with Cooper. Then, around mid-morning, he saw black, roiling storm clouds coming in from the northwest. The storm was going to be a bad one, and Lane grew angry. He urged his horse to an even faster pace, hoping he could spot the gang in the distance, but his luck had run out. The storm struck swiftly and savagely. The harsh, torrential rains lasted for several hours and scoured the land. When, at last, the rain stopped, Lane rode out again, but he could find no trace of the gang’s trail.
    Frustration filled him. He wanted to keep searching in hopes that he might find some clue to the direction they were headed, but after several hours, he gave up. There was only one thing left for him to do—he was going after Seth Rawlins, and he would be ready and waiting at the Circle D when Cooper and his men showed up.
    Seth was feeling real good as he stretched out next to his small campfire and took a deep drink from the flask of whiskey he carried with him. After parting from Dan, he’d slowed his pace and had taken his time. He’d