dawn.”
“You’re sure,” he said. His grip had become bruising. She didn’t think he realized it. “You’re sure they’re out of commission.”
She found her footing again. Suddenly calm and steady, she held his gaze. She said gently, “I’m quite sure. I knew what I was doing, and I promise you, I put them down hard.”
The expression on his face had turned raw, and those beautiful dark eyes of his filled with a remembered nightmare. He whispered, “Damn, I wish I could have seen that.”
His pain reached her again. She had to swallow because a lump had grown in her throat. If she could just get some time alone, she might be able to find a way to insulate herself from shit like this.
He still gripped her shoulders hard. She put her hands over his, her palms sliding over their wide, corded strength. “I wish you could have seen it too,” she said. “Right now, though, you need to explain to me what’s going on. It has something to do with the mine, doesn’t it?”
That snapped his gaze back to the present.
He said, “Yes.”
A quick rap sounded at the door, then it opened and Jackson stepped in, carrying a bundle of clothes. “I dunno, Precious,” Jackson said. “I guess you might be able to find something in this to tide you over for the night. Do you still need the keys to my truck?”
A sudden twinkle lit Claudia’s green gaze, and Luis bit back a grin. Reluctant to break the connection with her, he didn’t look away, nor did he release his hold. He said, “My name is Luis Alvaraz. Now that Claudia is back safe, apparently the transportation issue is no longer quite so urgent.”
“Huh,” said Jackson. “Well, that’s got to be a good thing, right?”
“Yes, it is,” Luis said. “For the moment.”
Then he had to give in to the inevitable as Claudia pulled gently out of his hold. She said to Jackson, “I still want you to leave for Fresno, as quickly as possible. Would you do that, please?”
Jackson nodded thoughtfully. “Guess we no longer need that all-night poker game, do we?”
“No,” Luis said. He accepted the bundle of clothes from the older male and looked through them. He added, “Please tell Stewart that I will make sure his clinic is reimbursed for the healing potions.”
“Will do,” Jackson said, and he paused. “You ever gonna tell me what’s going on?”
“There’s trouble with the mine,” Luis said. He glanced at Claudia and fell silent.
Jackson poked his tongue in his cheek, and looked back and forth between the two of them. Then he sighed. “All right, I’ll leave, but only if you promise to tell me the whole story sometime.”
“I promise.” Luis offered his hand and said gravely, “I owe you more than I can repay.”
Jackson shook his hand. “So that means I can sock you with your own vet bill?”
He grinned. “I expect you to.”
Then Jackson and Claudia looked at each other. Jackson’s voice turned gruff. “You’re not gonna just disappear when my back is turned, are you?”
She shook her head, her eyes smiling. “I owe you too, at least a few Heinekens. Maybe even a diner dinner.”
“Right,” Jackson said. He heaved a sigh as he looked around the trailer. “Don’t bother to lock up when you leave. I keep hoping somebody’ll steal that old TV.”
Chapter Six
Death
Claudia followed Jackson to the door. Luis turned away, giving the other two their moment alone. He shook out a pair of faded blue sweatpants, held them against his waist and considered the length. They ended mid-calf.
The door opened and closed. Then Claudia expelled a soft gust of air, and he knew without looking that she was laughing. “You’re going to look like the Incredible Hulk.”
“I know,” he said.
“Give me those,” she said. “I’ll hack off the elasticated hem.”
He handed them over and inspected the T-shirts in the bundle. They were all too small for the width of his shoulders. He gave up on the clothes, tossed them aside,
Jennifer Brown
Charles Barkley
Yoon Ha Lee
Rachel Caine
Christina Baker Kline
Brian Jacques
K E Lane
Maggie Plummer
Ross E. Dunn
Suki Fleet