Page 94 of Close Quarters

“A little. Sorry.”

“Aww,” said the one who was obviously enjoying this in his own cocky way. “I think that one’s gonna piss his pants, Edgar.”

The leader, Edgar, glanced at his friend before looking back at us. “Shut it, Keith. We’ll give him a little understanding. Dragged out of his bed in the middle of the night with a bunch of us all loaded? That’s gonna shake people.”

“He looks like he’s going to do more than shake,” Keith said. “Thought you Texas boys were supposed to be made of that good shit. With them iron cajónes.”

“They’re supposed to be steel,” Elliot muttered behind me, shuffling his feet nervously. “I think that’s the phrase.”

“E,” I hissed quietly, unsure if I wanted him to shut up, but I needed him to calm down. These guys were way too in control for him to get freaked out and do something impulsive.

“Right, stopping,” he mumbled, still subtly shifting his weight. That, at the very least, I could tolerate if it meant he was staying in control. These guys weren’t exactly jumpy and were already aware he was borderline freaking out, so I didn’t think they’d take his behavior as threatening.

“So, what brings you two to this neck of the woods?” Edgar asked, tugging at his dirt-covered jeans. Which begged the question of where they’d come from since I didn’t see any horses or vehicles nearby. That meant they had to have walked, but from where? There wasn’t anything nearby that anyone could comfortably walk to or from.

“Sheep,” Elliot answered quickly. “We were looking for sheep that got out.”

“Mhmm, and from where?”

“Isaiah Ranch.”

Keith grinned. “Well, we got us a couple of hardened criminals. Just look at that one. You can see he’s tough as nails.”

Again, I bristled, knowing he was mocking Elliot, but kept my mouth shut. Just like we didn’t need Elliot to panic and do something stupid, I didn’t need to lose my temper and do something stupid. We were still alive, so they clearly wanted something from us, though whether that was going to last remained to be seen.

“Didn’t think they sent you folks out this far,” Edgar said, eyes on me.

“Surprised me too,” Elliot said with a little laugh. “I guess they’re starting to trust us. Probably going to give us a promotion…I hope.”

I dared to look at him, watching as his eyes darted around the assembled group. There was no denying he was riled up and practically vibrating, but…I don’t know. Something felt odd about it. I couldn’t figure out the problem, but there was something wrong with how he acted.

“Promotion?” Edgar asked slowly.

“Yeah, like, when you’re in the program, you start at the lowest level, we call them Tiers. We’re at the bottom tier, but they’ve been really good about trusting us, so I kinda think they might be giving us a promotion to the next tier soon,” Elliot said, glancing toward Keith and then back to Edgar. “So you know, we’re just…doing what we can, what we’re supposed to do. We’re not…trouble.”

“I can see that,” Edgar said with a snort, though I didn’t like how his eyes settled and stayed on me for a few too many heartbeats. “Or at least that’s what I’m hoping.”

“We have no idea who you are,” I said, glancing between him and Keith. “Other than two whole names, which tells us nothing. All we see are a handful of guys, guns, and a whole lot of things that aren’t our business.”

“Know something about minding your own business, do you?” Edgar asked with an arched brow.

“Grew up in the shittiest part of Dallas. You learn to mind your own business, or you become part of that business.”

“Seems like you must’ve got into someone’s business if you ended up at that ranch.”

“Not…really.”

“Oh?” he asked, cocking his head and, for the first time showing interest in something we had to say. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or the worst outcome possible. “Well, now you’re going to need to explain that one to me.”

I looked around, taking in the sight of the other four men. They had formed a tight semi-circle around us, essentially fencing us in. “You want to know why I ended up at the ranch?”

Edgar chuckled. “I know enough about that place to know you got into the ranch because of good behavior. But I’m real curious why you ended up going to prison in the first place.”

“Why?”

“Does it matter? Last I checked, we’ve got five men and five guns, you’ve got two half-asleep, scared men and not enough clothes to survive the night on your own.”

If I wasn’t mistaken, that was two threats in one sentence. We do what they say, or they use those guns on us, or they leave us out to the elements. It also made me immediately aware how cold it was now the sun was long gone. Even the ground under my bare feet was cool and would probably be freezing soon. We were finally at the time of year when the nights in a desert could be just as harsh as the daytime in summer.

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