Brotherhood of Evil Read Online Free PDF Page A

“it won’t be any time at all before a bunch of hombres are wanting to ride with us.”
    â€œWe’ll put together a gang that’ll make everybody in the territory forget about the old Shawcross outfit,” Nate added.
    Chuck nodded. “And you’ll be our second in command, Pete, since you’re the one who’s going to help us get the whole thing started.”
    Tomlin liked the way they called him Pete. Jack Shawcross and the other members of the gang had always made “Petey” sound like they were looking down on him. Between that newfound respect and the tequila, it was easy for him to smile and nod and agree to whatever they suggested.
    Chuck got the shotgun and gave it to Tomlin, telling him, “You’ll just be the distraction, Pete. When you step out and confront the Jensens, they’ll be looking at you, so it’ll be easier for us to take them from across the street.”
    â€œBut that’s not really the same as outdrawin’ ’em, is it?” Tomlin asked with a frown. “It’s almost like bush-whackin’.”
    For a second, anger flickered across the brothers’ faces, then Nate said, “No, it’s not the same thing at all. You’ve got to remember, they’ll all be dead and we’ll be the only ones left alive to tell the story. So we can tell it any way we want, can’t we?”
    â€œWell . . . I reckon that’s true . . .”
    â€œAs far as the rest of the world’s concerned, it’ll be a straight-up shootout,” Chuck said. “You know, if that’s how we wanted to play it, we could take them that way, too. This way is just simpler and quicker, that’s all.”
    Tomlin wasn’t sure about that. He had seen the way guns had appeared in the Jensens’ hands as if by magic, their movements way too quick for the eye to follow.
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    He shook his head to get rid of the memory and his uncertainty. Maybe Nate and Chuck were right.
    Anyway, it was how Tomlin came to find himself standing in the gathering shadows just inside the mouth of an alley, nervously clutching the shotgun, too late to back out. He had followed the Jensens as they left the hotel, walked a couple blocks to a restaurant for supper, and were on their way back to the hotel. He had thought they might go to one of Taos’s saloons and have a drink after they’d eaten, but that didn’t appear to be their plan.
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    As they walked out of the restaurant, Luke took a thin black cheroot from his shirt pocket and put it in his mouth. He didn’t set fire to the gasper, just left it there unlit. He was pleasantly full from the meal they had just enjoyed, and while the weather was a little raw, at least it wasn’t raining anymore.
    Despite that good feeling, he hadn’t changed his mind about his future plans, and he figured it was as good a time as any to broach the subject. “I guess you boys will be starting north for Colorado tomorrow.”
    â€œWe don’t mind waiting here until your money comes in, Luke. That shouldn’t take more than a few days.” Smoke paused, then added, “But that’s not what you were talking about, is it?”
    Luke chuckled around the cheroot. “Nobody could ever put anything over on you, Kirby, even when you were a kid.” He was the only one who used Smoke’s given name, and then only when something put him in mind of their childhood back in Missouri.
    â€œWhat are you getting at, Luke?” Matt asked. “Aren’t you coming back to the Sugarloaf with us?”
    Luke shook his head. “No, I don’t think I am. I believe once my money has come in, I’ll head on over into Texas.”
    â€œAnd do what?” Smoke asked. “Look for more outlaws you can bring in dead or alive?”
    â€œThat’s what I do,” Luke replied, his voice a little sharp.
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    Tomlin saw the four of them a