𝘍𝘖𝘙𝘎𝘐𝘝𝘌𝘕𝘌𝘚𝘚 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘙𝘌𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘉𝘜𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕 | ʀᴅʀ

Chapter Twenty-Three

1895: Texas

Rosalie shrieked as she pulled Blitz to the side, evading another bullet fired off by the lawmen hot on her tail. Blitz's hooves kicked up dust as she rode, the Texas sun high in the sky and beating down on her tanned skin, abused by the long, summer days, the bandana around her face suffocating from the heat and her heavy breathing.

"I coulda' sworn there were less of them there!" John cried, galloping beside her on Chester, the brown stallion fighting to keep up with the quick pace Rosalie was setting as they fled the scene.

"Less of them! Less of them he says!" Mac reiterated with a dry laugh, shaking his head as the trio took a sharp turn. The lawmen were hot on their tail as he pulled up on Rosalie's other side.

He gave John a nasty look over the top of his bandana. "How 'bout next time, we use our fuckin' head instead of firin' our gun when we're tryna be sneaky!" He shouted, Annie neighing underneath him in displeasure as another shot was fired in their direction.

Rosalie shouted in aggravation and unholstered her revolver. She fired two shots behind her, placing them into the chests of a couple lawmen.

There were at least eight of them in total, and they were angry. Not that she could blame them—mostly because of all the money they took from the local bank, and because John had shot the teller.

"John, I'm gonna kill you when we get back to camp!" Rosalie shouted over the thundering of hooves and the shots being fired off at them.

"The feller pulled a gun on me!" John cried in defense as he fired a shot over his shoulder, taking down another lawman. "What the hell was I 'posed to do?!"

Mac scoffed and shook his head. "I don't know?! Die at that point?!"

"Mac!" Rosalie scolded as she shot a glare at him.

Mac didn't say anything more or acknowledge her disapproval. He faced forward and rode hard, kicking up speed as he pushed past Rosalie, his eyes darting around at their dry, rocky terrain that was mostly a vast, open space, save for the canyon in the distance.

"Let's ride in there!" Mac shouted. "We'll lose 'em!"

There was a silent agreement as the trio pushed on, riding away from the Texan town that had a small population, but a bank stuffed with cash.

It was supposed to be a safe, secluded place for the wealthy to hide away their money as the town wasn't frequented by citizens passing through, but they weren't very successful in that, as Rosalie had discovered its contents and scoped it out days prior. The bank had lots of guards, but they weren't very well trained. This made it a seemingly easy target for them to sneak in, threaten the teller to open the safe, and get out under the oblivious guards' noses.

That was until John went and shot the teller, giving away their cover.

The trio rode into the canyon, the lawmen firing on them wildly as they pursued. Rosalie hissed and ducked underneath a bullet as it whizzed past her. She held on tight to Blitz's reins as they evaded the law at breakneck speeds.

Mac fired over his shoulder, placing a shot in one's forehead and another in a lawman's chest, their bodies crumpling and hitting the ground in bloody puddles.

"This way!" Mac called, turning sharply around a curve in the canyon and running up the side, heading further up into the rocky terrain.

"How far are we plannin' to go?!" John called.

Rosalie grit her teeth and shot him a harsh look. "As far as we have to go! So shut up!"

John shrunk under her gaze. He knew he was in trouble. It would only take one word from her for Mac to go berserk on him as he was already at the end of his rope. So, he shut his mouth gladly and continued to ride, the sounds of the law fading behind them as they didn't want to risk riding further into the winding, rocky territory just to chase some outlaws, cash be damned.