Relentless Read Online Free

everything was set for them to leave first thing in the morning. When Dusty met him in the hallway, his first look at his daughter left him grinning broadly.
    “I’d say you’re about ready to ride out,” he told her, impressed by the change in her appearance.
    “Do you think so? Really?” Francie’s approval had been one thing, but she desperately needed her father’s.
    “Really,” he assured her; then he teased, “You know, I always wanted a son, too.”
    “And I always did want to be a boy.”
    Charley knew that was true enough.
    They both laughed.
    “You do need one more thing—” He disappeared into his study for a moment and then came back carrying a gun and holster.
    “If you’re riding shotgun with me, you’ve got to be ready for trouble.”
    Dusty took the holster from him and set it aside on the table in the hall. “Papa—”
    He heard the more serious note in her tone and looked her way, wondering if she was worried about leaving the following morning. “What, darling?”
    “Can we go down to the cemetery one more time and tell Mama good-bye?”
    “Let’s go.”
    He put his arm around her and they left the house together.
    In the predawn darkness the next morning, Dusty got dressed and strapped on the gun belt. As she grabbed up her gear and got ready to leave the house with her father, she knew her life was never going to be the same again.

Chapter Two
    One Year Later
    Texas Rangers Grant Spencer and Frank Thomas were after the deadly Les Jackson gang and believed they were closing in on the outlaws when they discovered the gang had split up. Grant’s frustration was real as he studied the direction of their tracks.
    “It looks like two of them headed toward Sunset, and the other two are riding north,” Grant told Frank.
    “They must know we’re after them,” Frank said.
    “Good. I want them running scared.” These outlaws were a bunch of thieves and murderers, and Grant wanted them brought to justice. “I’ll go after the ones riding for Sunset.”
    “Be careful.”
    They both knew what a lawless, dangerous town Sunset was.
    “Don’t worry. I will. You watch out, too.”
    They shared a knowing look before riding their separate ways. They had long miles to cover, but they knew all the hardship would be worth it whenthey finally caught up with Jackson and his men and put an end to their killing ways.
    It was much later that night when Les Jackson and Ugly Joe Williams sat around their small campfire unable to sleep.
    “Who do you think is after us?” Ugly Joe worried.
    “I’m thinking it’s the Texas Rangers.”
    “The Rangers?” Ugly Joe grew nervous at the thought.
    “Yeah. Whoever is on our trail don’t quit easy and knows exactly what they’re doing. This ain’t no small-town posse,” Les snarled in disgust. He’d always prided himself on being able to get clean away after one of his robberies or shoot-outs, and it infuriated him to be on the run after all these days.
    “Maybe now that we’ve split up, we’ll lose them,” Ugly Joe hoped.
    Les was quiet for a minute and then smiled coldly, suddenly wanting to get some revenge on the lawmen who were tracking them. “Or—maybe it’s time for us to stop running.”
    Ugly Joe looked at him as if he were crazy. “What are you talking about? If these are Rangers—”
    “Yeah, what if they are?”
    “We got to keep moving. We got to outrun them. Besides, we have to meet up with Jim and Cale like we planned. They’ll be expecting us, and if wedon’t show up on time, they might think something happened to us.”
    “Don’t you worry. We’ll be in Canyon Springs in plenty of time, but when we get to town, there won’t be anybody on our trail.”
    Ugly Joe wasn’t the brightest man around, but he finally figured out what Les was talking about. “So we’re going to set a trap for them?”
    “That’s right,” Les said, smiling real big. “And I know just the place where we can ambush whoever is tracking