The Union Read Online Free PDF Page B

Byrne came flying around the corner of the building, her hair loose and blowing wildly about her face, her green eyes flashing. In that instant, their gazes locked. Something ephemeral but powerful passed between them. An intimacy so deep and unexpected it caught Dietz off guard and shattered his senses. For a brief moment it was just the two of them—Keely and him. Both on the same side, and wildly opposed to each other.
    Fear for her safety, mingled with admiration for her courage, pumped through him, hammering at his heart, surprising him. Damn that woman for coming out into this crowd!
    The men around Keely looked startled by her appearance. Dietz saw them only peripherally. Without unlocking his gaze from hers, Dietz used his foot to push Waller over onto his back.
    "Go on home, Keely." His voice came out deeper, more drawling than he wanted. "This isn't something a lady should see."
     
    Keely's stomach felt tight and sick at the sight before her. How could McCullough just stand there and watch it happen? And yet as her gaze beheld his, she saw the spark of compassion in his eyes, his own horror at the spectacle before them. Maybe she could trust him.
    "No, indeed! This isn't something a human being should see!" Keely's heart pounded in her ears. Her hands trembled as she glanced around the crowd. "Shame on you! Shame on you all. Violence against the innocent and the weak never overcomes tyranny. Save your anger for the real culprits—the owners. Go after them where it hurts, in their pocketbooks."  
    Keely nodded to McCullough, turned on her heel, and retreated. But only around the corner, to the shadow of the building just out of McCullough's sight. She'd not go one step closer to home until she made certain they didn't kill the scab, until McCullough saved him as she'd challenged him to do. She pressed herself tightly against the building and dared to peek around the corner at the action still unfolding.
     
    Damn, a woman who obeys , Dietz thought. What an enigma that woman is turning out to be.
    Relieved she'd left, he looked down to the man at his feet. In a glance, he took in the delicate rise of Waller's chest. Maybe it wasn't too late to save him.
    Waller coughed, spitting up blood and water. "Thursday," he said only loud enough for Dietz to hear before his head rolled to the side and he passed out again.
    Dietz held his arms up with his palms out toward the crowd. His heart thudded in his ears. One wrong move and he joined Waller. "Thursday," Dietz shouted.  
    The crowd roared.  
    Dietz couldn't get the picture of Keely from his mind.
    "What time? Get the time!" Someone screamed from the audience. Another man moved in with a rope. Dietz pushed him away.
    "What's the point? He can't tell us more." Dietz cleared his throat. "Take this man." Dietz nudged Waller with the toe of his boot. "And dump him at the entrance of the Gem Mine."
    Several men stepped forward and hoisted Waller up.  
    Brown clapped Dietz on the back. "Good thinking, McCullough." The judge nodded, smiling. "Let the boys take him." He chuckled. "Can you imagine those scabs up there at the Gem quaking in their boots? Wonder how long it'll take them to get up the nerve to open up and bring Waller in."
    Dietz forced a smile. "Thank you, Judge."
    The judge nodded toward the bar. "Let's get us something to drink while we plan what to do about that train load of scabs we're expecting. First drink's on me."
    The judge prattled on, gloating about their triumph, but Dietz wasn't listening. In his mind, he kept seeing Keely coming around the corner, kept feeling the stun of it. He had trouble on his hands with that woman. Big trouble, and most of it deep down in his own core where she stirred something in him that he didn't like feeling—not one bit.
     
    As the crowd dispersed, Keely darted back around the corner and turned to tip her head back against the wall and release a pent up sigh. "Yes," she whispered and pounded the air in victory. The