Bound For Eden Read Online Free PDF Page B

managed to dodge the man’s meaty fist. The table went sprawling, sending cards and cash flying. The coins clattered across the bare floorboards and there was an instant rush as men grabbed for them. Luke swore. There went his winnings.
    He heard a bellow and looked up to find both men charging at him like wild bulls. There was no way he could escape both of them, so he resigned himself to the pain, lowered his head, and charged them right back.
    The collision rocked the room.
    â€˜What in all the seven hells is going on in here?’ Dolly screamed from the staircase.
    Luke didn’t look up. One of the brothers was down and winded, but the other was still standing, his scowl blacker than ever.
    â€˜Cheat,’ the man hissed under his breath.
    â€˜Come closer and say it,’ Luke suggested.
    â€˜Cheat!’ the man bellowed, rushing him again.
    Luke landed a punch, but then strong arms seized him from behind, immobilising him. He struggled, but the man’s grip was as strong as iron. Don’t tell me there’s another brother, he thought wryly.
    The man he’d punched laughed, rubbing his side, which still smarted from Luke’s fist. ‘Thanks, Bert.’ He approached Luke slowly. ‘My brothers and I don’t hold with cheats.’
    Behind him, the winded brother got to his feet. Luke figured he’d better act soon, or they’d be on top of him. Without warning, he threw his head back, smashing his captor full in the nose. He heard a grunt as he jerked free. Bert was bent double, clutching his broken nose, blood gushing over his hands. Luke planted his foot in the man’s belly and shoved him to his knees. One well aimed kick finished him off.
    He spun on his heel and pounded the next one full in the face before the man had even registered that he was free of Bert. The man went down like a dead weight.
    One left to go. This one was obviously having second thoughts though. He backed away slowly, holding both hands up, palms out.
    Luke heard laughter and looked up. On the landing beside Dolly stood a runty-looking man, wearing nothing but a sheet. He was lean and ropy with muscle and his face was pointy and sharp. He reminded Luke of a weasel. As Luke watched, the weasel tucked the sheet around his waist and gave Luke a round of applause. ‘I ain’t never seen a man take on my brothers and win,’ the weasel said. ‘Particularly Silas. He ain’t just big and mean, he’s crafty.’
    â€˜Which one’s Silas?’ Luke asked dryly.
    The weasel pointed to the body at Luke’s feet.
    â€˜I’d like to know who’s going to clean up the mess,’ Dolly sniped, pulling her wrapper tighter over her loose breasts.
    â€˜Not me, I want what I paid for,’ the weasel said, giving Luke a calculating look, before shoving Dolly back towards the bedroom. Luke was glad to see the Mexican climb the stairs and position himself firmly outside Dolly’s door, just in case she called for him. Luke didn’t like the look of that weasel at all.
    â€˜I think I managed to get most of the bills,’ a voice said tentatively at Luke’s elbow. He turned to see Ned O’Brien holding out a large portion of Luke’s winnings.
    â€˜Thanks,’ Luke said, surprised. He honestly hadn’t expected to recover any of it. He took the handful and peeled off a few bills for Mr O’Brien.
    â€˜Oh no,’ the man demurred.
    â€˜Please. It’s not often I get to meet an honest man.’ Luke pressed the money on him. ‘Let me buy you a drink too.’
    â€˜What about them?’ O’Brien asked nervously, glancing at the brothers. Travis was slapping Silas gingerly on the cheek, trying to rouse him, and Bert had his hands full trying to staunch his bleeding nose.
    â€˜I don’t reckon they’ll give us any more trouble tonight.’
    Luke was right. Eventually, once the blood had slowed to a trickle, Bert