The Tracker Read Online Free PDF

you. Just leave me be and let me return to my life.”
    “Can’t do that.” He took another step and then another.
    She squeezed the trigger.
    Nick reacted quickly, diving to his left. He’d hoped he’d be quick enough to get out of the way of the gun, but he wasn’t.
    Buckshot splayed out of the barrel, striking him in the right leg. Blinding pain seared through his thigh as the acrid smell of smoke filled his nostrils. He hit the ground hard.
    Ellie screamed. She stood on the porch, frozen, her hands still locked around the gun. Tears welled in her eyes as the truth of what she’d done sank in. The baby cried louder.
    Nick sucked in a breath, doing his best to ignore the blinding pain. “I didn’t think you had the guts.”
    “I told you to stop.”
    Wincing, he pushed himself up so that he was standing. Warm blood ran down his leg. He didn’t have to look at the wound to know it was bad.
    Upset, she lowered her gun.
    He took the opportunity and lunged at her like a wounded bear. He grabbed the gun and jerked it out of her hand. He gripped her arm.
    She tried to twist free. “Let go of me.”
    He could smell the coppery scent of his blood. He’d taken down men twice his size and meaner than Satan. Yet here he stood, likely bleeding to death, shot by a little bit of a woman.
    “You should have listened to me,” she wailed.
    “Thanks to you, it doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere.” His pant leg was wet with blood.
    The baby’s cries echoed in his skull. He felt dizzy.
    Soon his wound would get the better of him. Soon he’d pass out.
    His gaze dropped to hers. She was all that stood between him and death. A man could do all the planning he wanted but the truth was, plans were fragile. People who were quick to respond to change were the ones who survived.
    “If I die, you hang,” he lied. He regretted the raw fear in her eyes but there was no avoiding it. He needed her help.
    Ellie lifted her chin. “Who would care if I killed an outlaw? I’ll likely collect a reward.”
    A tense smile curved the edges of his lips. “Lady, I’m no outlaw.”
    She twisted her hands. “Of course you are.”
    He reached inside his vest pocket and pulled out the silver star that had belonged to Bobby Pool. He’d carried the star as a tribute to his friend. Now he prayed it would convince Ellie to save his life.
    Nick handed the star to Ellie before he dropped to his knees.
    She held it in her small hand. Her face contracted. She looked as though she was going to faint.

CHAPTER THREE
    E LLIE HAD SHOT a marshal!
    Her head spun. She could feel a hangman’s noose sliding around her neck.
    “You should have said something! If I had known you were a marshal, I wouldn’t have shot you.”
    He grimaced. “I’ll remember that next time.”
    She knelt beside him. Her hands trembled. “I thought marshals were supposed to wear their stars on their lapels? The sheriff in Butte always wears his star on his coat.”
    The marshal met her gaze. “Ellie, do we really have to go into this right now? I’m bleeding.” His voice was calm, as if they were sitting in church on Sunday.
    Ellie swallowed her panic and glanced down at his leg. “No, no. Of course not.” She reached for the torn fabric of his pant leg, ready to rip it free so she could get a better look at the wound.
    The marshal grabbed her wrist. “You know anything about bullet wounds?”
    Her skin tingled where he touched her. “Yes.” She’d seen her share at the Silver Slipper. “Let’s get you to bed.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and helped him up. He kept the bulk of his weight on his left leg.
    He winced. “Where’d you learn about wounds?”
    “Chin Lo, a medicine man who worked for Miss Adeline, taught me everything he knew.”
    “Let’s hope he knew a lot.”
    His dry humor caught her off guard. She looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. Instead of a menacing monster, she saw a man. A very attractive man.
    She