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me a
bounty hunter. I hunt down bad guys.”
    “I know what a bounty hunter is. I do write
mysteries, you know. But seeing as how I’m not a fugitive, I don’t
see what it has to do with me.”
    “See, here’s the thing, one of the guys I’ve
been hunting found out about you and he hired someone to take you
out to get back at me.”
    Tonya stared at him for a long moment, still
not altogether convinced this wasn’t some sort of bizarre joke.
“Found out about me? What about me? I haven’t seen hide nor hair of
you in more than ten years,” she said, proud that she managed to
say it without a hint of emotion in her voice.
    Nate had the grace to look ashamed. A bit of
color rose up under his swarthy complexion as he looked down at the
toes of a pair of heavy boots that seemed to be primarily held
together with duct tape. Despite her anger, Tonya almost smiled.
Though he looked markedly different from the boy she’d once loved,
one thing about him hadn’t changed -- he still didn’t give a damn
about clothes.
    “That’s pretty much my fault. See, I’ve kind
of kept tabs on you over the years.”
    “How the hell do you kind of keep tabs on
someone?”
    “I mean, every now and then I’d check in just
to see how you were doing.”
    Tonya’s mouth opened but she was totally
incapable of making a sound. It was as though she’d suddenly been
anesthetized. Her throat was paralyzed which was bad enough, but
the fact that her brain didn’t want to function was even worse.
    “I think Maximilian was able to find you
because we have a mole in our organization.”
    Tonya was beginning to realize that Nate was
probably not an ordinary bounty hunter. She had no idea what he’d
gotten himself involved in, but she watched the news and with the
world’s current political state anything was possible. She started
to ask what organization he worked for then decided she didn’t want
to know. He probably wouldn’t tell her anyway. The panic that had
seized her vocal chords finally eased, at least a little bit.
“Can’t I just go home? This is just more than I can handle. My mama
will be losing her mind. And Callie is pregnant. She doesn’t need
to be upset.” The hysteria that she’d been holding off for quite a
while now came to the forefront and her voice rose to a strident
pitch that was painful even to her own ears.
    “I’ve got to get rid of this guy before I can
let you do that,” Nate said.
    “How long will that take?”
    “Right now I don’t know.”
    “You mean you want me to stay with you
indefinitely? I can’t do that. I have a life.”
    “You won’t if the Rooster gets a hold of you,
little sister.”
    “If I have any problems I’ll call the police
or hire security,” she said.
    “And get a whole lot more people killed. This
guy is ruthless. He’s not above gunning for your mama or anyone
else for that matter,” Nate said with a bleak expression.
    Tonya gasped. “Well, considering that you
threatened to kill a whole hotel full of folks I can’t see that he
could be any worse. Besides how is my disappearing going to keep
him from doing that anyway?”
    “You know I’d never hurt you or anyone you
cared about.”
    “No. I don’t know that. How could I,
considering?”
    “I meant physically. I know I hurt you
emotionally, but it couldn’t be helped,” he said.
    “I really don’t want to talk to you. Just
answer my question. How is my disappearing going to keep anyone
safe?” she said.
    “Because he’ll think you’re dead or being
held by a friend of his.”
    “This is absolutely bizarre. I have to at
least call my mother. She’s probably frantic by now. Someone was
bound to hear the gunshots behind the hotel, and then for me to
just disappear. You know she’s going to think the worst.”
    Nate shook his head. “I’m sorry. There wasn’t
supposed to be any gunfire. This should’ve been a simple extraction
that even a Boy Scout could’ve pulled off.” A muffled snort