Page 33 of A Redemption Mountain Christmas
“All right, folks, you know the drill,” he barked. “Nobody move and nobody gets hurt. We’re here to make a little withdrawal.” He tossed a burlap sack at the nearest teller. “Start filling it, nice and easy now.”
The teller’s hands shook violently as he shoveled bills into the sack. Eliza’s heart pounded, her thoughts racing. How would she and the others get out of this alive?
In McCall’s, Spencer kept his gaze on the lone figure on horseback, still holding the reins of three riderless mounts. The man’s face was obscured by a hat and turned-up collar, but his posture seemed strangely tense and alert.
Spencer’s instincts tingled. Setting down his coffee cup, he caught Cash Coulter’s attention. “Take a look.” He nodded toward the odd scene outside. “What do you make of that?”
Cash peered out through the frosted window, eyes narrowing. “Nothing good.”
The deputy pushed his cup of coffee aside as his hand dropped casually to rest on the butt of his holstered revolver. Spencer felt his own Colt heavy and reassuring at his hip.
As Cash shifted to stand, the door opened. Deputies Shane Banderas and Hawke DeBell entered the restaurant. Before they could sit down, Cash explained the situation. The three deputies talked among themselves, then left the restaurant through the back and raced for the bank’s rear entrance, pistols drawn.
Spencer watched them rush off, his concern for Eliza elevating. Leaving McCall’s through the front door, he strode toward the bank, doing his best not to catch the attention of the stranger holding the horses. Judging by Cash’s behavior, he figured the deputies believed something was going on inside the bank.
He slowed his pace, moving through the swirling snow toward the suspicious stranger outside the bank. As he drew closer, the man’s head jerked up, eyes widening in alarm when he spotted Spencer.
“You need help with those horses?”
The man sputtered, tugging his hat brim lower. “No. Just waiting for some folks.”
Spencer’s gaze flicked to the bank. A prickle of unease crept up his neck. “In this storm?”
Before the man could respond, their attention turned at the sound of gunshots inside the bank. The front door burst open, and a burly man appeared.
“Time to go!”
Inside, the back door of the bank crashed open. Eliza dropped to the floor as a volley of shots from the outlaws boomed through the bank. She glanced up in time to see three deputies cut down two of the robbers immediately. The third, the leader of the outlaws, made it halfway out the front before a final crack of a six-shooter dropped him onto the snow-covered boards.
Eliza’s heart hammered as the gunshots faded. Near the front door, a stray bullet had shattered the glass of a lantern near the body of the burly outlaw.
A tense silence fell as the deputies crept forward. Eliza slowly sat up, shaking but unharmed. Spencer appeared, his tall frame silhouetted in the doorway.
“Eliza!” He rushed to her side, gripping her shoulders. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, throat tightening. Wordlessly, she let him pull her close, welcoming the strength and comfort of his embrace.
Spencer held Eliza tight, one hand gently cradling the back of her head. She clutched at his shirt, breathing in the familiarscent of horses and leather. The terror of the last few moments slowly ebbed away.
“It’s over now,” Spencer murmured.
Eliza nodded against his chest. She took a deep, steadying breath before easing back to meet his gaze. His eyes searched her face, full of concern.
“I’m all right,” she assured him.
Spencer exhaled in relief. He brushed a stray lock of hair back from her face, his touch lingering.
Eliza glanced past him at the bodies on the floor. The deputies were checking them for signs of life. She stepped around Spencer and went to kneel beside one of the robbers. After a moment, she shook her head grimly. She checked the next man and, finally, the leader of the gang, whose body still lay partway outside on the boardwalk.
“This one’s gone, too,” she said.
Spencer watched her, eyebrows raised in surprise. He hadn’t expected such stoicism from the big city doctor. But Eliza had proven herself made of sterner stuff than he first thought.
“What went on here?” Horace Clausen, the president of the bank, stepped over the body in the doorway and looked around. Snow swirled around as he stood, staring at the carnage. Behind him, Rachel and Dax looked inside, faces tense.
“Excuse me.” Gabe slipped around those blocking the doorway, stepping inside the bank and walking around. He looked at his deputies.
“Everyone all right?” Gabe’s gaze moved between Spencer and Eliza.
