Innocence and the Outlaw

Chapter Eleven

"Let them go!" Leah exclaimed. "They've done nothing!"

"Shut her up." Boss stated and Yancy smacked Leah across the face. The blow hurt but not as bad as it would have if he hadn't cupped his hand. Leah still made an effort to look as if the hit had addled her. She dropped to her knees and cowered in front of Yancy.

"Keep your mouth shut, dammit!" Yancy growled and Leah could tell he meant it. She glanced at Chase and saw the muscles in his bare chest and arms flexing and jumping and she knew he was fighting a barely contained rage and the urge to jump to his feet and end Yancy's life. She wanted to wink at him, offer him some sign that she was okay and Yancy was helping but she knew she couldn't. Not with Boss watching.

"Keep your nasty hands off of my sister!" Chance yelled out. "If you want to hit someone come hit me!" Boss grinned and then closed the distance quickly and Leah screamed when he kicked her brother hard in the face. Chance went down hard in the dirt and as he pushed himself back up with his shoulder, Leah saw him spit blood.

She spared a glance up at Yancy and silently begged he and Tig to do whatever it was they were going to do. If she had to watch her brother be killed it would destroy her! She had already watched one man she cared about be shot and beaten to death. She couldn't watch it happen again!

"Tough man." Chase stated mockingly from where he sat calmly leaned again the post. Boss smiled at him.

"I liked you Chase. I had a lot of hopes for you. I thought maybe as you got older you would become more open to accepting authority."

"You have no authority over me." Chase replied. The sunlight caught his raven black hair and shimmered as he stuck out his bronze chest proudly. Leah was again swept off her feet by how handsome and proud he was. She only hoped he knew what he was doing.

"I'm going to be the man that kills you, Chase. I'd say that gives me authority enough." Boss replied as he walked closer to Chase. Leah wanted to protest when Yancy grabbed her and quickly moved her body behind his own and she probably would have if she hadn't seen the gun, her gun, tucked into the waistband of his pants. He turned his head just a bit and nodded at her.

"No white man can kill me." Chase stated and Boss laughed loudly.

"I killed your mama boy. Raped her good and proper and then put a bullet right between her eyes. Your pa didn't know of course, he just saw me as his good friend who offered him a place among my men when he was at his lowest after the love of his life was brutally murdered.

"I hate that our relationship had to come to this but Petey was like a son to me and I warned you again and again that I didn't put up with murder between my men."

Chase could have pointed out that Petey would have murdered Leah had Chase not intervened but it was clear that Boss didn't care about that. Knowing this mans deceit all these years, his false friendship, was enough to make Chase's blood boil.

Chase just had to get him close enough and he would make sure that the blade of the knife in his hands would end the bastards life for good. He would do it for his mother, his father and for Leah and the innocence the man had stolen from her when he'd killed Benjamin. Chase sneered at Boss and spit toward the mans boots.

"You are nothing. You are nothing to fear."

"Is that right?" Boss asked, his voice lowering as his temper snapped. He stepped close to Chase and crouched down to look him in the eyes.

"Do you know the real reason I hate you?" he whispered. "You are more than I ever was. People fear and respect you without a word from you. You demand attention without asking for it. My men look at you when they should look at me. This will teach them. I will rape your bitch just the same as I did your mother and I'll have her screaming my name before I'm done." Chase let out a roar of rage and several things happened at once.