Read Online Longarm Giant #30: Longarm and the Ambush at Holy Defiance by Tabor Evans - Free Book Online Page A

a bridge failure around Conifer.”
    Billy shook the young woman’s hand woodenly, staring at her as shiny-eyed as a love-struck schoolboy. Longarm stood slowly, feeling a grin like that of the cat that ate the canary flashing in his eyes and quirking his mouth corners.
    “How do you do, Miss Delacroix?” Longarm said, taking his cigar in his left hand and extending the right one to the girl. “I’m just pleased as punch to make your acquaintance.”
    She turned to him. Her eyes widened in mute horror. She gave a silent gasp. As she stared up at him, likely trying to convince herself that her imagination was playing a nasty trick on her, her exquisite face turned as frosty white as new-fallen snow on Christmas morning.
    Longarm tensed himself to catch her if she fell, because Miss Haven Delacroix looked like she was about to drop dead right there at his feet in Billy Vail’s office.

Chapter 8
    “Yes, sir…er, I mean, ma’am,” Longarm said, chuckling. “I thought for sure you was about to drop dead right there in Bily Vail’s office.”
    “Shut up, you clod.”
    She glowered at him from the seat facing him in the coach car of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe flyer heading through the rolling buttes south of Denver, climbing slowly toward Monarch Pass.
    “God, I’ve never been so humiliated in all my life,” she said, hardening her delicate lower jaw and turning to stare out the window at the as-yet snow-tipped Front Range looming in the west. “What a sour bucketful of luck, that was.” She turned to him again, smoke fairly curling from the corners of those beautiful, crystal-clear hazel eyes. “Finding you in Chief Marshal Vail’s office, waiting for
me
! To travel to Arizona with
you.
My
partner
!”
    She ground her jaws and groaned, turning her sharp gaze to the mountains once more.
    “Well, hey,” Longarm said, thoroughly enjoying himself, “at least we broke the ice back in Leadville.” He chuckled.
    She wasn’t listening. Turning to him, the nubs of hertapering cheeks flushed with horror, she said, “Do you think he knew? Do you think Chief Marshal Vail sensed that we’d met before?”
    “You mean do I think he sensed that we rutted like a couple of horny old dogs two nights before our meeting in his office—two
professionals
about to be
partnered up
together on an
official assignment
?” He knew it was not to his credit that he so enjoyed how horrified she was having her nasty secrets known to those who knew her not only by name but were about to work with her. “Nah, I don’t think so. He was too busy starin’ at your tits. Besides, we weren’t there long. Shit, we got out of the Federal Building just in time to meet the train.”
    “Please don’t talk like that. You’re a professional, for goodness sakes.”
    Longarm stared at her. Would he ever cease to be surprised by this girl?
    Scowling his amazement, he said, “Just the other night you were callin’ me…”
    She silenced him with a cold, admonishing stare. Looking around to make sure none of the other passengers was listening, she leaned forward to say just loudly enough for him to hear above the low roar of the coach car, its iron wheels clacking over the rail seams, “Would you please stop bringing that up? How was I supposed to know you and I would be working together? Imagine my horror!”
    “Ah, come on,” Longarm said, digging a small, flat traveling flask from his coat pocket. “It ain’t all that bad. You’re obviously a hardworking agent. If you weren’t, there ain’t no way ole Allan would have you on his role.”
    “God, do you have to speak in that fashion?”
    “Like what? Hell, I didn’t even curse that time.”
    “In that lowly, country manner, is what I meant. You are a deputy United States marshal, Marshal Long. A professional lawman. You should speak like a man worthy of his station.”
    Longarm studied her, trying not to take offense. He knew few other men who didn’t speak like he did.