Page 29 of A Bride for Brodie

“And what kind is that?”

“A good woman.”

Lottie burst into laughter. “I’m the leastgoodwoman you’ll ever meet. Now, will you send someone to tell Jake that Mrs. Brodie Campbell is here to see him, please?”

A deep, gravelly voice came from behind her. “Turn around, Mrs. Campbell. Mr. Flannery will see you now.”

She slowly turned. Lottie learned in prison not to make any rash moves. The man she faced was large, with black hair and a nose that had been broken at least once as it leaned to one side.

He looked down at her. “My name is Joey and I work for Mr. Flannery. He would like to talk to you. Follow me, please.”

“Fine. Lead the way.”

“It’s amazing how you women escaped when you robbed the bank. That was a piece of work. I have to admit, I admire you for that.”

“We got caught. What is there to admire?” She turned to look over her shoulder. The entryway of the hall was crowded with men watching her.

“Eyes ahead. I admire you because you didn’t shoot anyone. Not one shot was fired, and you eluded the sheriff for a week. That’s pretty amazing.”

“Yes, it was, but we didn’t plan on killing anyone in the first place.” Suddenly, Lottie felt the gun in her hands before she’d shot her father. Then the shovel laid heavy in her hands as she buried him. Was this guilt over killing him? No, he needed to be killed, just for what he did to Maisie. The fact he’d abused Lottie was only part of the sins she’d killed him for. She took a deep breath, pushing her demons down and getting back to the present.Flannery has to agree to play me or my plan is all for naught, and there will be nothing I can do to help Brodie.

The interior of the hall was dark with just one wall sconce to light the long corridor. Most of the light emanated from the main room of the saloon.

Joey walked them down almost to the end of the hall and then stopped and knocked on the second door on her right. He knocked on the door and then listened.

“Come in.”

Joey opened the door and ushered her inside.

Sitting behind a large, dark wooden desk was Jake Flannery. With his brown hair slicked straight back with pomade, it looked black. Dark brows winged above coffee brown eyes.

He wore a dress shirt, open at the neck, with suspenders. Jake stood when Lottie entered and she saw he wore black suit pants.

“Mrs. Campbell, I’m very interested to know why you are here. Please take a seat. Would you like some tea or coffee?”

“Coffee, two sugars and cream, if you have it.” She sat on the hard wooden chair in front of Flannery’s desk.

He looked up at Joey. “You heard the woman. Get her coffee.”

“Yes, Mr. Flannery.”

She watched Joey leave the room and then returned her gaze to Jake. He dressed like a businessman but she had to remember he was nothing more than a thug who was threatening Brodie. He was slender and, without Joey, was no threat to her at all.

“What do you want, Mrs. Campbell? It’s taken a lot of guts for you to come here, so I think you believe it’s important.”

“I want to play you in a high stakes poker game for Brodie’s losses to you. I have one-thousand dollars that you might win. Will you take me up on my offer?” Then she narrowed her eyes and tilted her head a bit. “You have money, so that’s not why you want Brodie to come here with it rather than just send Joey for it. So I figure you’re thinking he’ll bring Ross with him. So, I want to know why you want to anger Ross? What do you have against him?”

“You’re a smart woman, Mrs. Campbell.”

“Call me Lottie. There are a lot of Mrs. Campbells.”

“Very well, Lottie.” He stood and paced behind his desk from one side of the room to the other. “It took me a long time to get Brodie’s losses to a point I knew he’d have to go to his big brother. Ross took something from me and I intend to make him pay for that.”

“What could Ross have taken from you that you need to punish Brodie for? It makes no sense.”

“Ross took Sally from me and then let her die.”

Lottie’s eyes widened as she leaned forward in the chair. “How can you say that he let her die? He was devastated when she was murdered and he took his revenge on Black Bart. That’s who you should be angry with. He was the one who murdered her.”