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Back The Last Mile Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Epigraph
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. EPILOGUE
  49. Teaser chapter

“I found something near the charcoal beds I thought you should see.”

Gage paused as he tied his bedroll into place at the bottom of his backpack. “What is it?”

“Broken pieces of clay. Black marks show very high heat.” He handed a jagged piece to Gage, who turned it over in his hand.

Abby took the broken shard and examined it. “Fire clay crucibles. I read about them.” She looked up at Gage. “Vessels that could withstand the heat it would have taken to melt the gold.”

Gage’s eyes made a quick search of their surroundings, spotted Kyle at the top of the hill, standing guard, then returned his attention to Mateo. “Show me.”

The pile of broken clay vessels lay within yards of the charcoal beds. Gage picked up one of the shards, and Abby did the same.

“This proves King was right,” she said. “They smelted the gold into ingots and transported them to Mexico.”

Gage shook his head. “There’s no way to know that. Not without more proof.”

“The proof is in the safe deposit box in Denver.”

Gage said nothing, just pocketed the broken piece of clay, turned, and started walking back to camp.

Abby looked up to see Kyle coming down off the hill. He glanced behind him, set a hand on his battered straw cowboy hat, and started running.

That’s when the first shots rang out.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

GAGE GRABBED ABBY AND DRAGGED HER DOWN BEHIND A BIG GRANITE boulder, drawing his .45 and firing several rounds in the direction the shots had come from. Mateo dove for cover in a shallow ravine. Kyle took several leaping strides and jumped in beside him, drew his weapon, and also started firing.

With limited ammunition, they didn’t waste rounds, just pulled off enough shots to let their attackers know they were armed and wouldn’t hesitate to defend themselves.

More shots rang out, pinging off the rocks around them. “We can’t move as long as they’ve got us pinned down,” Abby said. “What are we going to do?”

“What we aren’t going to do is sit here like ducks in a shooting gallery. Stay here.” Keeping low, he eased backward and dropped into the shallow ravine, then started making his way around to where Kyle and Mateo had taken cover.

“They’re in those rocks at the top of the ridge,” Kyle said when he reached them.

“How many?”

“Not sure,” Kyle said. “Two, maybe three.”

Gage clenched his jaw. He’d been sure they were out there. He’d been hoping to stay ahead of them. “I’m going to circle around to the right, come up on them from behind. First, I need my rifle.”

“You’re going to be pretty exposed,” Kyle said, spotting the 30.06 Winchester on the ground near Gage’s backpack.

“That’s why you’re going to cover me.”

Kyle glanced around. “Where’s Mateo?”