Page 99 of Close Quarters

“Am I allowed to sit on that rock?” I asked, nodding toward the elevated one I’d used to sit with Elliot earlier. “Or do I sit like a kid in time out with my arms like this?”

Edgar snorted and waved me toward the rock. I looked over to see Elliot being marched off by Keith, his face tense, either from worry, fear, pain…or all of them. Our eyes met, and I could only stare back at him, unable to offer anything. The two of us were helpless, and I wished I could have offered him more.

But, with me being left here with only two of them, maybe…just maybe, I might have a chance to do something. Freeing myself from the zip ties would be tricky, especially with them behind my back. Plus, Julio and Edgar were still armed, and since no one had complained when Keith put my arms behind my back, they probably agreed I was more dangerous, putting them on alert.

Hell, Edgar had probably chosen Keith to take Elliot back because the guy was a bit fucking scary at times, and Elliot was plenty scared as it was. Well, and it looked like Keith was a little too pleased to start screwing with me, so Edgar probably didn’t trust him to stay in line when he wasn’t under a watchful eye. I only hoped Keith didn’t decide to take his ‘playtime’ urges out on Elliot.

“Don’t get killed,” I muttered as Elliot disappeared from sight, being taken around another of the large rock formations in the same direction the other two from earlier had gone.

“That’s some good advice,” Edgar said thoughtfully, dropping onto the rock across from me. “I’m hoping you take some of your advice.”

“I’m not looking to get killed,” I told him. “Even if I have a powerful feeling, you’re going to do it anyway.”

“If I were going to do that, then I would have already,” he said with a shrug.

“Or you’re just waiting to get us away from here. Kill us, and get rid of the evidence so people just think we took off and died somewhere instead of being killed.”

“So I’m lying to you?”

“Could be. I mean, I bet it’s a lot easier to keep people behaving when they think they still have a chance of living. They’re probably a lot more likely to get ballsy when they think they’re going to die either way.”

Edgar eyed me thoughtfully and then smiled…I didn’t like that smile. “You have lived a rough life, haven’t you?”

“Rough enough,” I said.

“But not so rough that you’re like us, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re like, but you’re clearly willing to kill. Or at least make it seem like you are. And considering it’s not too hard to figure out what kind of people would need to move stuff around here quietly, that tells me you are pretty willing to kill us.”

“Good,” he said, leaning back, pulling out a radio, and setting it beside him. “Keep that in mind. Because if you decide to do something stupid, it’s your friend that’s going to pay the price.”

I gritted my teeth. “That’s why you sent him with Keith. He’s your fucking attack dog.”

Edgar’s eyes widened in what looked like surprise. “Attack dog? No, no, that’s Julio here.”

Julio gave me a smirk and shot off a string of words I didn’t understand, though clearly he understood English just fine.

“What did he say?” I asked.

“Keith is a decent shooter, but he’s not someone you want in a fight,” Edgar explained, giving me a smile I liked even less than the last one. “But if you want to get something out of someone, or if, say, you need someone to pay dearly for their friend’s mistake, you don’t send a dog. You send a demon.”

Oh.

Oh, Elliot.

ELLIOT & RENO

I wasn’t sure what the protocol was when you were being dragged through the desert by what were probably members of a cartel. But trying to ask them not to be so rough as you stumbled through the dark probably wasn’t allowed. Still, he’d been dragging me for almost twenty minutes, and it didn’t look like we were getting any closer for me to have a moment to catch my breath.

“Can we slow down for a minute?” I asked as another couple of forced steps almost sent me reeling to the ground.

“Aww, poor thing,” Keith said beside me, chuckling as he continued to pull me along. “A shame we couldn’t have taken one of the horses for you. Then you could prance your butt back to the camp.”

“Coyote didn’t deserve that,” I shot back at him. “He was just trying to protect part of his herd.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you try to be a hero,” Keith chuckled, and I hated him for it. Everything about the situation seemed to be a big joke to him. “Probably why Eddy wants your little boy toy to stay behind with him. He seems like he’s the type to play the hero.”

Okay, I didn’t like how he’d referred to Reno, but I didn’t want to focus on that for the moment. “Why? Didn’t want him hurting you?”

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