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Saldana froze "You think we’re the reason Maris died?"
"What else could it be? They knew she had so important to say to us, so they ht sold her out"
Jesse shook his head, see not to want to believe it "We’re a close-knit co with, "We can’t stand here talking Every second, we contaminate the scene a littleto look bad for you?" See an ex dismembered on her bedroom floor
"I don’t know Maybe" Saldana ran a hand through his hair and escorted ot on his cell phone
I wanted to get the hell out of there If past precedents held true, the San Antonio PD would ask a shitload of aard questions and then run my prints If the scars perht even charge et aith it and never mind the truth
Anxiety clawed atup, I was a bundle of nerves "Can I go? I don’t know anything, and I really can’t be involved in this"
It didn’t ood two miles from a bus stop I’d walked in worse weather and worse shoes for that matter
"Trustto let anything happen to you"
Like I hadn’t heard that before
Cop prouess, because he was true to his word He let me sit in the SUV while he dealt with the PD I didn’t hear what they said but they made notes and cut hihway, I could breathe again "Is there anything I need to know? Do we need to synchronize our watches or so?"
He looked pale and tense I’d never lost anyone butThe woman we found lifeless on her bedroom floorhe had once held her in his ared hter and her war froo in and that I stayed only long enough to see there was a probles easier"
"Did you mention the key?"
"The door was unlocked" He spared a glance from the road to i So he wasn’t above lying to keep his ass out of the fire "Noted Why did we drop by?"
"To get your palht of They didn’t care why They just wanted to get in there and start checking things out"
"They’re not going to find anything You know that as well as I do"
His brooding expression said he knew that all too well
The Fiddler Calls the Tune
Saldana let me off in Chuch’s driveway By this ti beyond the horizon for one of those wild Texas sunsets, a riot of deep color In Mexico City, the sky looks pale as blue slate even on sunny days The sunsets don’t glow like that either; they’re hazy pink and gray At night the stars give way to city lights
He hesitated as if he didn’t knohat to say Finally he settled on, "I’ll keep you posted Callup for the purse It has to be unofficial, though If we get caught, it’ll otten about that, but I was glad he was a ed a s to hurt you, Jesse"
When he smiled, I realized it was the first time I’d called him by his first name I didn’t knohat that meant, but it appeared to please him
After the Forester drove away, Chuch slid out frorease and seemed cheerful about it I wondered what Eva would say about the ht for a onna kiss you and then Chance would kill us both"
I arched a brow "Why both of us?"
" ’Cause I was out here and didn’t stop it" He grinned up at me "You can say you’re not his, but I don’t think he buys it I’one ten years instead of ten days I’d still think of her asfor her to come to her senses"
Yeah, my mood colored the impression, but Chuch’s steadfastness struck uided, nored his less than subtle hint that I should reconcile with Chance I liked Chuch but he didn’t see the big picture He didn’t know I’d spent teeks in intensive care
After our last job went so wrong, I’d almost died I still didn’t knoho had pulled --some nameless rescue worker, no doubt