Shadow in Serenity by Terri Blackstock Page B

her breath at the number of investments he’d already logged there. “Nice prop,” she said. “Looks real legitimate.”
    He shook his head, still grinning. “You’re determined to make me out to be a liar, aren’t you?”
    “No,” she said, leaning over the table. “I’m determined to get you out of town. But first you’re going to give back all the money you’ve already gotten. What was the take today, Brisco? Ten thousand dollars? Twenty?”
    Logan got up wearily, and crossing his arms, looked down at her. “What are you so hostile about?”
    “You think this is hostility? Oh, no, this isn’t hostility. You haven’t seen hostility yet.”
    He dropped onto the couch and patted the spot next to him. “Sit down.”
    She gave a short laugh. “Yeah, right.”
    “No, really. If we’re going to talk like two adults, then I’d prefer that you sit down.”
    “I don’t really care what you prefer,” she said. “I didn’t come here to have a nice, cozy chat with you.”
    “No, you came to show me how tough you are.” He stood back up and leaned against the wall. “So why didn’t your husband come? Why does he let you fight these battles all alone?”
    “Brisco, by now I’m pretty sure that you’ve found out everything there is to know about me. I’m your biggest stumbling block in this town. So I’m sure you know that I’m a widow.”
    “Well, that explains how vulnerable your son is. He’s hungry for a man’s attention. I noticed that right away.”
    “Of course you did. It’s your job to spot people’s weaknesses. And right now you think Jason is my weakness. But it won’t work. If you insist on staying here until you’ve stolen all the town’s money, I’m going to make you sorry you ever took up crime as a profession. I’ve seen more cons than you’ve ever dreamed of. I’ve even been part of some. I’m not wrong.”
    “Oh, so that’s it,” he said. “You’re so distrustful because
you
can’t be trusted. You think I’m like you.”
    “You’re
nothing
like me,” she bit out. “I made something of my life in spite of my background. God washed me clean of all the garbage in my life, and these good people loved on me. I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep you from ruining them!”
    His expression was serious as he stared at her, and for a moment she thought she might be getting through to him. Then he took a long breath and said, “You’re really cute when you have that look in your eye. Do you know that?”
    She fought the impulse to slug him. “Give it up, Brisco. I can’t be charmed.”
    His eyes danced with the challenge. “Want to lay odds on that?”
    “I don’t gamble, but if I did I’d take that bet.”
    He laughed. “A hundred bucks says you’ll be chasing me before the month is up.” His eyes twinkled. “Winner take all.”
    For a moment, she stared at him, incredulous. What arrogance! This might even be fun. Winner take all, indeed. Lock, stock, and ego. “Like I said, I’m not a gambler.” Heading for the door, she looked back over her shoulder. “If you come near my son again, Brisco, I’ll hurt you.”
    Then she slammed out of his room.

six
    L ogan was grinning when she closed the door behind her. Slowly, he ambled to the window and watched her march down the steps to her motorcycle.
    Still chuckling, he went back to his logbook and flipped until he came to the pages of notes he’d taken about her — the pages he was glad she hadn’t seen. It was as complete as a dossier, and he was proud of it. He’d learned a lot about her today. Much more than he’d expected to. The citizens of Serenity didn’t even know they were being pumped for information. But Montague had taught him years ago that there was one difference between a successful huckster and a jailbird. And that was research.
    That was why he’d wound up in Serenity in the first place. After watching the
20/20
episode, he had researched all of western Texas, soaking up information