Ruth Hanson

America, 1887. In a country healing from the horrors of the Civil War, the American West has never been more treacherous. Evil men do as they please, and the often faulty and corrupt justice system does little to nothing to help their victims. Enter the Railwalkers. Bandits whose only goal is to punish those whom the law has allowed to walk free. Some think they're an 28 legend, meant to scare would-be criminals into submission. Some see them as no different than the murderers they kill, while to others, they are angels of mercy. To Violet Donovan, they are family. Growing up as the sole heiress to the sizable Donovan estate, Violet's place of privilege allowed her wild spirit to flourish. Despite the pressures of her sex -- find a husband, stay pretty, have children, be subservient, don't speak out of line -- Violet is passionate, loud, stubborn, and untamed. However, at the ripe, marriageable age of twenty, Violet faces the fact that she may have to give in to her mother's wishes and marry mean, ugly Eustace Carpenter, the only other family name in their little town with comparable worth. But Violet's life changes forever when she is saved from an attacker by a strange woman. A woman who, like Violet, doesn't exactly fit the mold. Unfortunately Violet gets mixed up in a murder charge and has to leave everything she knows for a life on the run from the law. Through divine intervention, she and the woman cross paths again, and Violet comes to know her and her comrades. They are Mei Wong, Linus Cooper, Sitting Bear, and Rory McNab. The infamous Railwalker gang.

The Railwalkers

She fucks girls. Violet had been raised with high morals, the same as anybody, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew the basics of what a husband and wife did behind closed doors. Additionally (now more than ever), she understood the desires that lurked in evil men’s hearts. And yet…two women? How was that possible, how did it work? After the initial shock, Violet was stuck on the simple mechanics of it all. Charlie had taught her most of what she knew about copulation. When a man was ready to father children, he would penetrate his wife and, God willing, spread his seed. What more was there? Violet’s mind had been so high in the clouds that she barely noticed when they set off again. Maple walked slowly beside the rest, allowing Violet’s thoughts to wander.


“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Mei said after a few hours on the road. Huī had stepped up beside Maple at a sturdy pace, his black coat shimmering in the late morning sunlight. “Something on your mind?”


Chapter 37