Page 21 (1/2)

It appeared that Dawg had been right after all

ELEVEN

"I hope the three of you have soood explanations, because I’ht now"

Sheriff Ezekiel Mayes, Zeke to his friends, didn’t bother glancing at Crista or Kelly Salyers, who had arrived at the diner with her fiancé within half an hour of the initial explosion He trained his light brown eyes on the three cousins instead, a hard frown pulling at his forehead

"Don’t look atbeneath the bright overhead lights "I just came by to make sure they were still alive" He nodded toward his cousins, a friendly s

The three cousins sat at the large, round table in the back of the dining room Kelly was placed between Rowdy and Natches, and Crista between Dawg and Natches The scene couldn’t have beenthe Mackay cousins’ reputations

"Zeke, you keep forgetting they’ve grown up" Kelly leaned forward, propping her chin on her hand as she braced her elbow on the table and grinned back at the sheriff with a winning s" The sheriff clucked in disapproval "Lying for these boys only gets everyone in trouble, Kelly Reht hi about the stalker who had nearly killed her and the three cousins last suht him faster if these three yahoos had toldthe yahoos in question "Aaze finally moved to Crista "Alex askedto help me out?"

She tried to s, I promise I’d tell you I don’t know runted at that "You have a homeh heat to burn your flesh off your bones, and you don’t knohy?"

Crista’s stoo a little easier on her," Dawg bit out "She doesn’t knohat the hell is going on, and neither do we I heard the ignition click and jerked her out of the vehicle in time It was that sis, you know"

Zeke’s gaze lingered a little too long on Dawg before he turned back to Crista "I’etting s see chair, straddling it with an easyhis darkly tanned forearms on the table as he stared back at Crista "Why does someone want to kill you, Crista Ann?"

She felt the color leech fro’s ar in closer to hers

"For God’s sake, Zeke," he snarled "Have a little compassion here"

Zeke didn’t take his eyes off her "Crista, you’re a sirl," he said softly "Alex raised you to think on your feet Let nored Dawg once by leaving the store and co out on her own She had alhtened, to consider ignoring hiain

"I don’t knohy" Her lips felt nuaze sharpened as Dawg’s hand tightened warningly on her shoulder

She could feel his heat surrounding her, but it wasn’t touching the core of ice that see She was lying through her teeth to friends now, covering up so on, then why did Alex call me last week and ask me to keep an extra eye on you?" he asked her then "He said you had entle but fir alone," she whispered "I was a little freaked out when I talked to him The house sounds funny sometimes"

And it did So around the house at night, though she had never been able to find any proof of it That wasn’t a lie, but it felt like one, because she wasn’t telling Zeke the whole truth

He sighed then "Anyone froht want to hurt you? What about that guy Alex said you were living with? Mark?"

"Mark Lessing" The tension around the table was suddenly thick enough to cut with a knife

Dawg tightened subtly, his body seeerous force

She looked at hilitter of an inner flah her body with dizzying force She sed tightly before forcing her gaze back to Zeke

"Mark wouldn’t hurt me He has no reason to want to hurt me"

"So your relationship with him ended amicably?" Zeke asked curiously "That’s a little unusual

Relationships don’t just end with no anger on either side"

"Nothing ended" She shrugged "I calanced at Dawg "You believe that?"

"What kind of ga asked then

Zeke blinked with a look of studied a Leave me in the dark, and that’s what I tend to do"

"He’s not playing any gaht to control the shaking of her li on Mark wouldn’t hurt me, and neither would anyone else I know I don’t knohat happened out there or why anyone would want to hurt me"

And she was a lousy liar