The Accomplice by Marcus Galloway Read Free Book Online Page B

comforting to the gambler.
    “What’d you say you had?” Mike grunted. “Queens?” Although the subtle shrug he got from Virgil widened the grin on his face, that celebration didn’t last long once he looked over to Doc. Bit by bit, Mike’s grin dried up and finally blew away. The mention of queens didn’t rattle the dentist in the slightest. Glancing down at his own cards, Mike felt as if his innards were being squeezed in a clamp.
    “I heard you was lucky,” Mike said to Doc. “I also heard you was a cheat. What I know for damn sure you want me to call so bad you can taste it.” Without another word, he pitched his cards onto the table so roughly that they flipped over to reveal a pair of kings. “I’ll get you next time.”
    Doc turned his cards over and set them down. There was plenty of paint to be found, but none of it matched.
    “Ace high?” Mike snarled.
    The cowboy gaped at the cards as if they’d come alive and started to dance.
    Virgil let out a disgusted sigh but tipped his hat to the dentist. “You got me, Doc. You’d have a hell of a career in theater.”
    “Possibly,” Doc replied. The southern drawl in his voice lent it even more of an amused tone. “But I’d rather be up close to my audience. More fun that way.” He reached out and pulled in a portion of the chips while looking over to Mike.
    The miner laughed under his breath at first, but then out loud. It was a sad, regretful laugh that was directed more at himself than the situation. “Good game, Doc. Next time, I’ll know to listen to my gut.”
    “And next time, I’ll try to draw better cards.”
    Mike was seething. His fingers curled around the edge of the table with such power that his knuckles turned white. “You . . . bluffed me . . . with an . . . ace high ?”
    “The night’s young, Mike,” Doc drawled. “And you’ve got to admit it was a hell of a ride.”
    Letting out a breath that was like steam coming from a bull’s nostrils, Mike stood up and lifted his side of the table with him. Chips scattered and cards fluttered through the air as the heavy table knocked into both Virgil and the miner. By the time the edge of the table slammed against the floor, Mike was reaching for his gun.
    “Aww hell,” Caleb grunted as he jumped behind the bar. “Here we go.”

[6]
    Caleb jumped onto the bar, slid a few inches over the polished surface, and then dropped down on the other side. He could already hear hell breaking loose behind him, and the money needed to fix the damages rang up like there was a cash register in his head. Glasses were breaking, and chairs were surely to follow, making the stitches in his face the least of Caleb’s pains.
    “What’s happening?” Hank asked as he crouched down to try to help Caleb to his feet.
    But Caleb was already upright and searching the saloon around him. When he saw the first glint of bared iron, he grabbed hold of the barkeep’s shirt and pulled him down behind the bar. A gunshot barked through the air as the table that had played host to Mike’s game rolled lazily on the floor.
    “Just what I thought would happen, that’s what,” Caleb snarled.
    “You knew there was gonna be a fight?”
    “I had a real good suspicion.”
    “Should I call the law?”
    “No,” Caleb said as he began searching behind the bar. Finding what he was after, he grabbed hold of the sawed-off shotgun and made sure it was loaded. “I’ll take care of this myself.”
     
     
    The first gunshot had come from another table not too far from where Doc was sitting. Even though there wasn’t actually a table in front of him any longer, he remained in his seat and looked around as though he was merely sampling a passing breeze. Apparently, someone had tried to take advantage of the sudden turmoil by grabbing the money from another table.
    It didn’t seem as though they were going to get away with it.
    “You’re dead, Holliday,” Mike said as he kicked his chair onto the floor behind