"Your wife."
He looked at her.
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"Fire."
"How?"
"Men attacked my ranch."
Isabela was silent.
"Did they kill her?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too."
The silence that followed was not uncomfortable.
It was shared.
Then Isabela said:
"I don't think we were brought together by accident."
Elias looked at her.
"Neither do I."
Before he could say more, a gunshot cracked through the canyon.
Elias threw himself forward.
The bullet struck the rock behind him.
"Down!"
Three more shots followed.
Elias dragged Isabela behind a boulder.
"How many?"
She listened.
"At least six."
"Eight."
She looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Eight rifles."
She smiled despite the danger.
"You're counting?"
"I count when I'm nervous."
"Then you must be terrified."
"Very."
They waited.
The attackers began moving closer.
Elias looked at Isabela.
"You can shoot?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Can you?"
He smiled.
"Fair question."
She drew two pistols.
Elias stared.
"You've been hiding those?"
"I have been married for three days."
"And already you're keeping secrets."
"You're keeping some too."
A rifle fired.
Isabela fired back.
A man shouted.
Elias laughed.
"What?"
"You shot him."
"I noticed."
They fought together.
Elias covered the western ridge.
Isabela covered the eastern side.
Their movements were surprisingly synchronized.
After several minutes, the attackers retreated.
One man remained.
Elias caught him before he could escape.
He dragged him into the firelight.
The man was young.
Terrified.
"Who sent you?"
The man said nothing.
Elias pressed the barrel of his revolver against the man's chest.
"Samuel?"
The man's eyes moved.
That was enough.
"Where is he?"
The man swallowed.
"North."
"Where?"
"Black Hollow."
Isabela stepped closer.
"What is at Black Hollow?"
The man looked at her.
His face went pale.
"The fort."
"What fort?"
"The old army fort."
Elias's expression changed.
"Fort Mercer?"
The man nodded.
"Samuel has men there."
"How many?"
"Twenty."
Elias released him.
The man ran.
Isabela stared.
"Why let him go?"
"Because he will tell Samuel we survived."
"That's what you want."
"Exactly."
They rode north.
By morning, Elias had formed a plan.
They would reach Black Hollow.
They would enter the fort.
They would find the original records proving what Samuel and his allies had done.
Then they would return to Nantan.
But they did not know Samuel had already anticipated them.
Inside Fort Mercer, Samuel Carter stood beside a table covered with maps.
A tall man named Victor Hale stood across from him.
"Boone is alive."
Samuel cursed.
"And the girl?"
"With him."
Victor smiled.
"Then they will come here."
Samuel looked at the map.
"Good."
He pointed to Black Hollow.
"We finish it here."
The Truth in the Old Fort
Fort Mercer had been abandoned for years.
Its wooden walls leaned beneath the weight of weather and time.
Elias and Isabela approached after dark.
They left their horses half a mile away.
Elias studied the fort.
"No guards."
"That's worse," Isabela whispered.
"Agreed."
They entered through a broken section of wall.
Inside, the fort seemed empty.
Then Elias noticed footprints.
Fresh.
"Someone is here."
They moved silently.
At the main building, Isabela found a hidden cellar.
Inside were boxes.
Documents.
Maps.
Letters.
Elias opened one.
His hands began shaking.
It contained payments to soldiers.
Payments to land agents.
Names of settlers.
Orders to provoke attacks.
At the bottom was Samuel Carter's signature.
Isabela found another document.
Her mother's name appeared.
Mary Bell.
There was a report describing her death.
But the report was false.
It claimed Mary had been killed by Apache warriors.
Isabela stared at the page.
"My mother was murdered."
Elias put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes."
She closed her eyes.
"I spent years believing my father was responsible."
"Nantan saved you."
"I know."
A noise came from upstairs.
They froze.
Voices.
Samuel.
Elias recognized him immediately.
"I know you're here, Boone!"
Isabela looked at Elias.
"We're trapped."
"Not yet."
Elias grabbed the documents.
They climbed through a narrow passage beneath the floor.
It opened behind the old stable.
They escaped into the darkness.
But Samuel had already seen them.
"After them!"
Men flooded into the yard.
Elias and Isabela ran.
They reached their horses.
Gunfire erupted.
Elias mounted.
Isabela followed.
They raced into the desert.
Bullets struck the ground around them.
They rode hard until the fort disappeared behind the hills.
Then Isabela suddenly cried out.
Elias turned.
Blood covered her sleeve.
"You've been shot."
"It's only a graze."
"Stop."
"We can't."
"Stop!"
She finally pulled her horse alongside him.
Elias examined the wound.
The bullet had torn the upper arm.
Not deep.
But painful.
He wrapped it.
She watched him.
"You were afraid."
"Yes."
"For me."
"Yes."
She smiled.
"Why?"
Elias looked at her.
"Because you're my wife."
"Only because of that?"
He said nothing.
She waited.
Finally he answered.
"No."
The desert seemed to disappear around them.
"I don't know when it happened," he said. "Maybe when you spoke to me like I was worth trusting. Maybe when you showed me your scar and expected me to turn away. Maybe when you rode beside me tonight."
Isabela's eyes softened.
"I think I know."
"What?"
"When I stopped being afraid of you."
Elias leaned toward her.
She met him halfway.
Their kiss was gentle.