Heart of an Outlaw *First in the Crane Gang series*

Chapter Seventeen

 Chapter Seventeen 

Gill felt a tremor of excitement in his gut as he stared down at the dark, quiet estate that he, Wyatt and Jane were preparing to break into. He shook his head and fought the urge to slap himself. 

Excited?! He should not feel excited about robbing decent working foks of their hard earned pssessions. 

Maybe he was more like his father than he’d ever realized. Maybe skin and eye clolor hadn’t been the only traits that he’d gotten from the man. 

Gil shifted painfully in the saddle. Damnation! He wanted to forget about the terrible mistake he’d made hours ago with Jeb but that throbbing in his backside was serving as a reminder about the delicious pleasure the man had given him. 

“Alright, Gill. Here’s how this works,” Jane whispered in the moonlight. “Quiet in, quiet out. We don’t kill anybody. Occasionally we gotta knock a man out cod but we ain’t murderers.” 

“Outlaws with a conscience?” Gill mused. 

Jane nodded. “That’s us. A bunch of conscientious folks if you’ve ever meant some.” 

Gill chuckled and Wyatt scribbled furiously in his notepad. Both Jane and Gill waited patiently for him to finish. Wyatt held up the notepad. ’If we killed them, it would make us the same as them. Rich men kill.’

Gill tipped his head thoughtfully. “I’ve known killers from every walk of life,” he countered. 

Jane grumbled under her breath. “Rich men are evil, Gill. Money corrupts folks minds.” 

Gill remembered then that her husband had been murdered by a rich man who had felt entitled to have everything he wanted. He could certainly understand her animosity toward those types of people. “You’re stealing their money,” Gill reminded her. “Aren’t you worried it might corrupt you?” 

Wyatt tapped his shoulder and Gill looked over at him. Wyatt shook his head and mouthed. ‘We don’t keep it.’ Then he made a big show of pretending to hand things out. ‘Give it away.’

Gill was grateful to finally be getting answers. “To who?” 

“People who need it more,” Jane cut in. “Now let’s get to work. Jeb’ll be worried if we’re not at the rally point on time.” 

Gill frowned with frustration and confusion. Did these people consider themselves to be the Robin Hoods of the west? Did they steal from the rich to feed the poor? 

And if so, how did Gill feel about that? He’d always seen things as being black or white--right or wrong. The longer he spent with this gang and these people, the more that was changing. 

***

Jeb grinned with satisfaction. Come morning the rich, fat bastard who lived here would have a hell of a time rounding up the thousands of head of cattle that had escaped through the fresh holes in his fences.