information on that poor man. Or maybe he was buying ropes to tie Lucius and throw him in the trunk. “Not if I have anything to say about it!”
Pyewacket began his nightly ritual of winding around her legs until she paid attention to him. She grabbed the cat comb and knelt to groom his long black coat. That accomplished, she fixed his evening food and he settled in front of the bowl to dig in.
She arranged with Mary Steubner to come over and care for Pyewacket. Nothing left to do except decide what to take. She wished he’d call. She was saving up a few more questions about the job.
It was eleven, late by Greenview standards, when the doorbell rang. A quick look from the peephole revealed Bailey. She opened the door. “I didn’t expect you. Do you know how late it is?” She had to admit he looked good. Even with a five o’clock shadow.
“May I come in? I got back from Portland and I took a chance you’d be up.”
“Portland? You drove to the Boise airport to catch a plane and get back here all in ten hours? Why’d you go there?” Maybe they had a better quality of shackles.
“Driving to Portland takes too long and Boise’s the nearest town that flies out. I have connections there who make the I.D.s. They’ll overnight them here the day after tomorrow. I also met with my clients and they gave me some bad news. They’re hedging their bets.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’ve hired another bounty hunter. They figure two going for Monroe is better than one. They also pay the bonus they offered only to the one who gets him first. I've got to get to Tahoe fast.”
He looked so tired that Tess felt bad about giving him a hard time...almost. “You’re having I.D.s made when I haven’t even said I'd go? Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?” She refused to make it easy for him.
“Don’t get all worked up.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Do you mind if I sit down?” At her nod, he walked over to the recliner and sank down with a sigh. “I was thinking about this chair all the way here.” He closed his eyes.
“Um, I’m glad you like my chair, but don’t fall asleep on me. We’ve got things to settle. What made you think I would take the job?” She sat down on the couch. Had she acted like a sure thing to him?
“I wanted to get things started. If you decided to say yes, I'd be ahead of schedule. If you didn’t, I'd have to take an extra day or two anyway to find someone else.” He yawned, pulled up the recliner’s lever and stretched his legs out with a contented smile. “It was a calculated risk. And with Rand on the case, I’m in more of a hurry.”
That made sense. It was irritating that he’d estimated correctly but, considering the way he made his living, he was probably used to it. She couldn’t hold it against him. “Rand? Do you know this bounty hunter?”
“One of the best in the business. Whatever it takes to get the collar. I told you I had a partner once. It didn’t work out, so we went solo.”
“I remember. Too competitive, you said. Any hard feelings to get in the way?” She couldn’t put her finger on it but had the feeling Bailey wasn’t telling her everything.
“We mutually agreed to go our separate ways. No more talk about my ex-partner. Stop stalling, Contessa. What’s your answer?”
“I'll take the job. But, you need to know up front; I won’t allow you to abuse that man, criminal or not. I'll be watching you.”
“The hunter being hunted, huh? Guess I'll have to be careful. Will you be armed?” He heaved himself out of the chair and stood over her, his eyes dark and dangerous.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Tess looked up. She stared at him, slowly covering every inch of his body. She looked down and up, lingering at points of interest. And there were many. “You’d be surprised.”
She smiled and let her tongue graze her lips. The truth was, she hadn’t played this man-woman game for years and it excited
Pyewacket began his nightly ritual of winding around her legs until she paid attention to him. She grabbed the cat comb and knelt to groom his long black coat. That accomplished, she fixed his evening food and he settled in front of the bowl to dig in.
She arranged with Mary Steubner to come over and care for Pyewacket. Nothing left to do except decide what to take. She wished he’d call. She was saving up a few more questions about the job.
It was eleven, late by Greenview standards, when the doorbell rang. A quick look from the peephole revealed Bailey. She opened the door. “I didn’t expect you. Do you know how late it is?” She had to admit he looked good. Even with a five o’clock shadow.
“May I come in? I got back from Portland and I took a chance you’d be up.”
“Portland? You drove to the Boise airport to catch a plane and get back here all in ten hours? Why’d you go there?” Maybe they had a better quality of shackles.
“Driving to Portland takes too long and Boise’s the nearest town that flies out. I have connections there who make the I.D.s. They’ll overnight them here the day after tomorrow. I also met with my clients and they gave me some bad news. They’re hedging their bets.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’ve hired another bounty hunter. They figure two going for Monroe is better than one. They also pay the bonus they offered only to the one who gets him first. I've got to get to Tahoe fast.”
He looked so tired that Tess felt bad about giving him a hard time...almost. “You’re having I.D.s made when I haven’t even said I'd go? Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?” She refused to make it easy for him.
“Don’t get all worked up.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Do you mind if I sit down?” At her nod, he walked over to the recliner and sank down with a sigh. “I was thinking about this chair all the way here.” He closed his eyes.
“Um, I’m glad you like my chair, but don’t fall asleep on me. We’ve got things to settle. What made you think I would take the job?” She sat down on the couch. Had she acted like a sure thing to him?
“I wanted to get things started. If you decided to say yes, I'd be ahead of schedule. If you didn’t, I'd have to take an extra day or two anyway to find someone else.” He yawned, pulled up the recliner’s lever and stretched his legs out with a contented smile. “It was a calculated risk. And with Rand on the case, I’m in more of a hurry.”
That made sense. It was irritating that he’d estimated correctly but, considering the way he made his living, he was probably used to it. She couldn’t hold it against him. “Rand? Do you know this bounty hunter?”
“One of the best in the business. Whatever it takes to get the collar. I told you I had a partner once. It didn’t work out, so we went solo.”
“I remember. Too competitive, you said. Any hard feelings to get in the way?” She couldn’t put her finger on it but had the feeling Bailey wasn’t telling her everything.
“We mutually agreed to go our separate ways. No more talk about my ex-partner. Stop stalling, Contessa. What’s your answer?”
“I'll take the job. But, you need to know up front; I won’t allow you to abuse that man, criminal or not. I'll be watching you.”
“The hunter being hunted, huh? Guess I'll have to be careful. Will you be armed?” He heaved himself out of the chair and stood over her, his eyes dark and dangerous.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Tess looked up. She stared at him, slowly covering every inch of his body. She looked down and up, lingering at points of interest. And there were many. “You’d be surprised.”
She smiled and let her tongue graze her lips. The truth was, she hadn’t played this man-woman game for years and it excited
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