"Give me the copies."
"No."
"Then tell me where the original is."
Evelyn said nothing.
Pike sighed.
"You've inherited your mother's stubbornness."
Evelyn froze.
"You knew my mother?"
Pike smiled.
"Your mother knew more than she should have."
Caleb noticed Evelyn's expression.
"What happened to her?"
Pike's smile faded.
"She died."
"How?"
Pike looked at Evelyn.
"An accident."
Evelyn stared at him.
"My mother was afraid of you."
Pike said nothing.
That silence was answer enough.
Caleb moved first.
He kicked over a wooden bench.
The room exploded into chaos.
Gunfire cracked through the church.
Caleb dragged Evelyn behind the altar.
Wood splintered around them.
"Can you run?"
"Yes."
"Then when I say go, don't stop."
He fired twice.
One man dropped his weapon.
Another stumbled backward.
Caleb grabbed Evelyn's arm.
"Now!"
They ran through a side door.
They reached the cemetery behind the church.
Bullets struck the earth around them.
Evelyn stumbled.
Caleb caught her.
"Keep moving."
They reached the horses.
Then a shot rang out.
Caleb jerked.
Evelyn screamed.
He fell against the saddle.
Blood spread across his shirt.
"Caleb!"
"I'm fine."
"You've been shot."
"Later."
He pushed himself onto his horse.
Evelyn mounted beside him.
They rode into the darkness.
Behind them, Pike shouted:
"You can't hide forever!"
Caleb looked back.
"No."
He whispered.
"We won't."
They rode toward the hills.
By dawn, they reached an abandoned ranch cabin.
Caleb slid from his horse.
Evelyn helped him inside.
The bullet had only grazed his shoulder.
She cleaned the wound while he sat silently.
"You knew my mother."
Caleb looked at her.
"No."
"Pike said she knew too much."
"I heard him."
"My mother died twelve years ago."
Caleb remained silent.
Evelyn stared at him.
"Why did you become a gunslinger?"
He looked toward the window.
"Because once, I believed killing bad men would make the world better."
"And?"
"It didn't."
"What happened?"
"I lost my brother."
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Caleb shrugged.
"Sorry doesn't change much."
"No."
She tied the bandage.
"But sometimes it keeps people from believing they're alone."
Caleb looked at her.
Something changed between them.
Not romance.
Not yet.
Something more basic.
Trust.
Outside, thunder rolled across the mountains.
A storm was coming.
Evelyn opened the satchel containing her copies.
"We need to get these to someone outside town."
"Who?"
"There is a federal marshal in Santa Fe."
"How do you know?"
"My mother told me."
Caleb frowned.
"Before she died?"
Evelyn nodded.
"She told me that if anything happened to her, I should find Marshal Nathaniel Cole."
Caleb stood.
"Then that's where we're going."
But before they could leave, hoofbeats sounded outside.
Several riders.
Caleb looked through the window.
"Pike."
Evelyn's face went pale.
"No."
Caleb checked his revolver.
"He followed us."
Then another sound came.
A rifle shot.
The cabin window shattered.
Caleb pulled Evelyn to the floor.
"We're surrounded."
THE SHERIFF'S CHOICE
Back in Las Vegas, Sheriff Amos Mercer stood alone in his office.
Pike had returned before sunrise.
He placed a pistol on the desk.
"Your daughter ran with Roark."
Amos stared at him.
"Where?"
Pike smiled.
"That's what you're going to find out."
Amos said nothing.
Pike leaned closer.
"You owe me."
"I've paid you enough."
"No."
Pike's voice became quiet.
"You owe me your silence."
Amos looked at the badge on his chest.
For years, he had believed he could survive by obeying.
But now his daughter was running for her life.
And the truth was finally impossible to ignore.
"What if I refuse?"
Pike smiled.
"Then your daughter dies."
Amos closed his eyes.
He remembered Evelyn as a little girl.
Running through the yard.
Holding wildflowers.
Calling him Papa.
He remembered teaching her how to read.
Teaching her that the law mattered.
He had broken every lesson he had ever given her.
When he opened his eyes, something had changed.
"You'll never touch her again."
Pike laughed.
"You think you're suddenly brave?"
"No."
Amos reached for his revolver.
"I'm simply tired."
Pike moved first.
The gunshot echoed through the office.
Amos collapsed.