Wildfire in His Arms Read Online Free Page A

more lucrative than your usual jobs.”
    â€œI doubt that.”
    â€œWell, they will be when you add them up. And it won’t be that difficult to find these men. I’ve gathered a lot of information on these miscreants that I’ll turn over to you, much more than is mentioned on their posters—known friends and family members, everywhere they’ve broken the law, any associates they might have, or if they’re loners. I’ve kept a lot of notes, and I’ve been doing this for a couple years now. I would just ask that you telegraph me in Virginia each time you bring one of them in, so I can let my superiors know that even while I’m taking care of family matters, I’m still keeping to my schedule.”
    Degan nodded. “As long as your superiors don’t track me down afterward to try and talk me into continuing in that line of work.”
    John chuckled. “I’ll keep your name out of it.”

Chapter Four

    T HE LEATHER SATCHEL JOHN Hayes had given Degan resembled a small, thin valise without a handle, but it had a lock and key. Degan didn’t open it when he got to his hotel room after bidding John good-bye. He merely dropped it on the floor with his saddlebags and his own valise. Sleep was his first order of business. But when he lay down on the bed, he didn’t drift off right away.
    The words lawman and bounty hunter kept running through his mind. Neither occupation suited his temperament, yet he’d still agreed to the job. Because a friend had asked. No, because while he’d never admit it to anyone, he actually liked helping people. It gave a sense of purpose to his wandering. And John Hayes was good people.
    When Degan woke it was midafternoon, too early for dinner, too late for lunch, but he was hungry. He continued to ignore John’s leather satchel and went downstairs and found the hotel dining room closed just as he’d expected.
    The same clerk in the lobby who had checked Degan in gave him the names of restaurants nearby, although he wasn’t sure if they were open either. Degan’s scowl had the clerk quickly adding, “But if you will wait in the dining room, I will have something brought to you.”
    â€œTo my room instead?”
    â€œCertainly, sir. Immediately.”
    Degan went back upstairs. His room was nicely appointed, finer than any of the other hotel rooms he’d stayed in since coming West, so he wouldn’t mind spending a few days here if he had to. Being able to eat in his room was a nice bonus. The less time he spent in public, the better. He hoped the barkeep he’d met that morning wasn’t a gossip. If he was, the sheriff would know by now that Degan was in town. Even though the sheriff wouldn’t know his name, that wouldn’t necessarily stop him from seeking Degan out.
    He stood at the window for a few minutes. It provided a panoramic view of Helena, which was spread out over the low hills that circled the downtown area. The streets, and there were many of them, reminded him of home because they were so crowded in the late afternoon. The West had always been a place where people could start fresh. But much of the region still wasn’t safe for settlers. Soon it would be. John’s mission to round up the outlaws who preyed on settlers was important. Progress, real progress, was coming to the West with the railroads.
    Still waiting for his food, Degan opened John’s satchel and spread out the papers on his bed. He counted twenty wanted posters. Each of them had a page or two of John’s scrawled notes attached to it. One poster featured Big Jim Mosley. That was convenient. Degan only had to capture two outlaws now. He could cross Mosley off John’s list since Degan had killed the man last year in Wyoming. He hadn’t known Mosley was wanted for murder, but since the man had tried to shoot him in the back, he wasn’t surprised. Apparently the sheriff of that town