man. Her man. God! It was so primitive. But then, love was primitive. It was an incredibly powerful, deep-seated thing that wasn't subject to rational control.
I opened the box and took out the gun. A nice fit in my hand. Small. Feminine. Almost pretty. "What's this? A Barbie Smith & Wesson?"
Kavanaugh looked grimly from me to the gun and back again. "It's enough firepower to stop someone in their tracks, if necessary, and allow you to get away. It may look pretty but it's plenty lethal." She sounded disapproving. "I don't know why Jack had to go and get some girlie-looking gun, but people do funny things. Maybe he thought you'd take it more readily if it was attractive." She quickly walked me through loading, holding, and firing. Doing what she could to protect me.
Pistol-packin' momma? I tried it on. It was a bad fit. I put the gun back in its box. Circumstances were forcing me to do a lot of strange things. This was just one more. "Tell Jack thanks a lot. And tell him that I've promised to be careful."
She nodded, a single, decisive bend of her head. She still seemed angry but I didn't think the anger was directed at me. She was angry that we were in this situation at all and she was angry that I was being treated like a girl. And I thought that part of her anger was that she, too, felt like she had to be protective, when what she wanted was to tell me to buck up and go give 'em hell. When she wanted the two of us to go over the hill together and bring back bad-guy scalps on our belts.
I wanted to stay. Just standing there with her, I felt closer to him. But I was running out of steam. "Is there anything else I should know? Anything special I should be looking for?"
She shook her head. "Just keep doing what you're doing. Keep your head down and your ears open. Don't do anything to get yourself noticed. Pay special attention to names... anyone who seems particularly militant, who might be a leader... anyone whose name comes up in other people's conversations a lot, that people seem to defer to." She turned to go. Stopped, considering, and turned back. "I know you think you've got to do this," she said, "and I understand that. But I'm not sure you understand how dangerous your situation is. These are not nice people, Thea. They don't play by our rules. They do horrible things." She shook her head, her lips tight as if she'd already said too much. "Just be careful, okay?"
I nodded and filed the information away for future processing, wondering if I could stay awake long enough to drive home. Right now, being careful meant keeping the car on the road. And home was a ridiculous term for where I was staying.
"I'll go first," she said. "You wait ten minutes before you leave. I'll be parked somewhere along the way, watching your back. But you won't see me."
The door creaked up for her, like a monster in chains, and ten minutes later it creaked down after me. Maybe next time I'd bring a can of WD-40. I watched carefully all the way home, but I didn't see Kavanaugh or anyone else. I parked beside the Dumpster, shoved Jack's gift into my bag, and got out, locking the car behind me.
Just as I was sticking my key into the lock, I saw the glowing red end of a cigarette on the porch beside me, and a voice from the darkness asked, "So, honey. Where you been?"
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Chapter 5
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Sure, Kavanaugh had warned me, yet only a minute before, the night had seemed benign. "Driving around," I said, trying to force the key into the lock.
"Kalyn said you were so tired you couldn't hardly stand up." Belligerent and disbelieving. Now I recognized the voice. The guy from the restaurant. The one who'd grabbed me. Roy something. Belcher.
Dammit! How I felt and where I went were no one's business. I made up a lie but didn't have to fake the shake in my voice. "I was. I am. But sometimes I think about my husband... that he might find me... or I think I see him. Then the fear comes and I can't sit still or sleep or anything, so I
I opened the box and took out the gun. A nice fit in my hand. Small. Feminine. Almost pretty. "What's this? A Barbie Smith & Wesson?"
Kavanaugh looked grimly from me to the gun and back again. "It's enough firepower to stop someone in their tracks, if necessary, and allow you to get away. It may look pretty but it's plenty lethal." She sounded disapproving. "I don't know why Jack had to go and get some girlie-looking gun, but people do funny things. Maybe he thought you'd take it more readily if it was attractive." She quickly walked me through loading, holding, and firing. Doing what she could to protect me.
Pistol-packin' momma? I tried it on. It was a bad fit. I put the gun back in its box. Circumstances were forcing me to do a lot of strange things. This was just one more. "Tell Jack thanks a lot. And tell him that I've promised to be careful."
She nodded, a single, decisive bend of her head. She still seemed angry but I didn't think the anger was directed at me. She was angry that we were in this situation at all and she was angry that I was being treated like a girl. And I thought that part of her anger was that she, too, felt like she had to be protective, when what she wanted was to tell me to buck up and go give 'em hell. When she wanted the two of us to go over the hill together and bring back bad-guy scalps on our belts.
I wanted to stay. Just standing there with her, I felt closer to him. But I was running out of steam. "Is there anything else I should know? Anything special I should be looking for?"
She shook her head. "Just keep doing what you're doing. Keep your head down and your ears open. Don't do anything to get yourself noticed. Pay special attention to names... anyone who seems particularly militant, who might be a leader... anyone whose name comes up in other people's conversations a lot, that people seem to defer to." She turned to go. Stopped, considering, and turned back. "I know you think you've got to do this," she said, "and I understand that. But I'm not sure you understand how dangerous your situation is. These are not nice people, Thea. They don't play by our rules. They do horrible things." She shook her head, her lips tight as if she'd already said too much. "Just be careful, okay?"
I nodded and filed the information away for future processing, wondering if I could stay awake long enough to drive home. Right now, being careful meant keeping the car on the road. And home was a ridiculous term for where I was staying.
"I'll go first," she said. "You wait ten minutes before you leave. I'll be parked somewhere along the way, watching your back. But you won't see me."
The door creaked up for her, like a monster in chains, and ten minutes later it creaked down after me. Maybe next time I'd bring a can of WD-40. I watched carefully all the way home, but I didn't see Kavanaugh or anyone else. I parked beside the Dumpster, shoved Jack's gift into my bag, and got out, locking the car behind me.
Just as I was sticking my key into the lock, I saw the glowing red end of a cigarette on the porch beside me, and a voice from the darkness asked, "So, honey. Where you been?"
Â
Â
Â
Chapter 5
Â
Sure, Kavanaugh had warned me, yet only a minute before, the night had seemed benign. "Driving around," I said, trying to force the key into the lock.
"Kalyn said you were so tired you couldn't hardly stand up." Belligerent and disbelieving. Now I recognized the voice. The guy from the restaurant. The one who'd grabbed me. Roy something. Belcher.
Dammit! How I felt and where I went were no one's business. I made up a lie but didn't have to fake the shake in my voice. "I was. I am. But sometimes I think about my husband... that he might find me... or I think I see him. Then the fear comes and I can't sit still or sleep or anything, so I
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