The Loner: The Blood of Renegades Read Online Free PDF

raced furiously. His options were limited. In the bad light he might be able to throw himself to the side, whirl around, and drill Kiley with a round from the Winchester before the man could shoot him. But Kiley would get at least one shot off, and the sound of the blasts would travel a long way over the desert. Leatherwood and the rest of the avenging angels would hear them and likely come galloping back.
    He decided for the moment the best thing to do was stall and wait for an opportunity. “All right,” he said with a defeated sigh. “They’re waiting up there while I check things out down here. You can go up and see for yourself.”
    “And turn my back on you?” Kiley laughed. “I don’t think so. You go up the trail first.”
    Conrad didn’t know Kiley, but the gunman didn’t know him, either. He had no idea Conrad Browning would never give in so easily.
    “All right,” he said as he started toward the ledge, dropping the Winchester. “Just be careful with that gun. I don’t want you shooting me accidentally.”
    “If I shoot you, it won’t be by accident.”
    Conrad stepped onto the ledge. He kept his hands in plain sight so Kiley wouldn’t get nervous and trigger-happy. In some places the path was so steep and rough he had to rest his left hand on the mesa wall to steady himself. He heard Kiley breathing hard a few steps behind him.
    If he climbed all the way to the top Kiley would realize Arturo and Selena weren’t there. He would be in the same position he’d been in when Kiley first got the drop on him. Conrad needed to turn the tables on the gunman.
    Recognizing the spot where he’d almost lost his balance Conrad stepped over the rock in the trail. Planting his foot, he kicked back. His boot heel hit the rock and sent it rolling down the trail right under Kiley’s feet.
    The gunman let out a startled yell. As Conrad swung around, he saw that dodging the rock had caused Kiley to lose his balance and fling out both arms to catch himself, which meant the gun in his hand wasn’t pointed at Conrad anymore.
    Lunging at the man Conrad reached out to close his hand over the revolver’s cylinder so the hammer would strike the web of flesh between his thumb and forefinger rather than the bullet in the chamber. In the same movement he swung a hard punch at Kiley’s head, intending to knock Kiley off the ledge and send him plummeting to the hard ground forty feet below. At the very least, a fall like that would injure the gunman enough to render him harmless for a while.
    Kiley jerked his head aside as the glancing blow scraped over his ear. Trying to wrestle his revolver out of Conrad’s grip he lowered his shoulder and bulled into him, slamming him against the mesa’s sandstone wall.
    Neither man said anything as they struggled on the narrow ledge. Kiley got a hand on Conrad’s throat and forced him toward the edge. Conrad planted his feet and jabbed a punch into Kiley’s midsection. The thought crossed Conrad’s mind that they might both topple off the ledge and fall to their deaths.
    He grabbed hold of Kiley’s duster and pulled himself closer. His knee came up, aimed at the gunman’s groin. Kiley twisted aside and took the blow on his thigh. He tightened his grip on Conrad’s throat and drove Conrad’s head against the rock with stunning force that made skyrockets explode inside his skull.
    As he fought to hold on to consciousness, Conrad threw his strength into another heave on the revolver and finally ripped it free of Kiley’s grasp. Slashing at the gunman’s head he felt the butt thud heavily against Kiley’s temple. Kiley groaned in pain and his grip on Conrad’s throat loosened. Conrad took the advantage and knocked Kiley’s hand away from him. For a split second, neither of them had hold of the other.
    Conrad pressed his back against the mesa and lifted his right foot in a kick that landed in Kiley’s belly. Kiley bent over and stumbled back a step, his right foot sliding off