Page 78 of Fire Peak

Glancing at Nick, Charlie caught a quick jerk of his head, aimed at the woods. He was trying to give her a message, but she had no idea what. If he meant, run for the woods, he could forget it. Running might pull out her stitches.

“I hired you to find out about that couple in the woods. You never told me shit about them.”

“You know something, Solomon? You weren’t completely honest with me, were you?”

“What are you yarning on about?” The old man focused entirely on Nick now. If Charlie wanted to run, she could. She could dash behind the trailer, then into the Jeep. Go for help. That was probably what Nick was planning, what all his little gestures had been about.

“You heard them talking, but you never said they were speaking another language.” Nick leaned forward, waving an accusing hand at the old miner.

“Fuck you,” growled Solomon.

Don’t poke the bear. He might change his mind and blast away at Nick, and no matter how pissed she was at him, she didn’t want him to get shot next to a fire pit swarming with mosquitoes. Or anywhere.

An idea flashed through her mind.

“How about this, Solomon. Why don’t you look for yourself?” As soon as she had Solomon’s attention, she stood up and turned her back to him, hands on the waistband of her shorts. “I’ll show you exactly where the perilium came from. Maybe you’ll see something we missed.”

She could have just lifted the hem of her shorts, as she’d done with Hailey. But that wouldn’t be nearly as effective. She unsnapped her shorts and shimmied them down below the level of her bandage. She had no clue about Solomon’s sexuality, but it didn’t matter. Anyone’s attention would be drawn by someone pulling down their own pants. He might even be curious about her wound and the potential effects of perilium.

It worked. With her back turned, her butt exposed to the mountain air, she missed the key moment, but she heard it. A quick chopping sound, a grunt, then silence.

She turned around to find Solomon slumped in his lawn chair, his gun dangling from his hand. It would have fallen to the ground, but it had gotten caught on one of his gnarled knuckles. That little detail made her heart soften toward him, even though she was still pissed that he’d done something as dumb as pulling a gun on them.

She refastened her shorts. “Is he okay?”

“Of course. He’ll be unconscious for a bit, and he’ll have a headache, but that’s it. Nice distraction.” Nick bent down next to the old man and gently extracted the pistol from his hand, then put on the safety.

“Thanks.” She fought the urge to dive into his arms and cling to him. Her heart was still beating fast, adrenaline jumping through her system. “So when someone pulls a gun on you, isn’t it true that you have the right to search their premises?”

“Absolutely. It’s written into the international rules of investigations,” Nick said dryly. He came to her side and hugged an arm around her. “Are you okay?”

She gave up on her plan to keep a distance between them and relaxed against his solid form. His steady heartbeat calmed her. They were okay. Everything was okay. “I think so. But that was wild.”

“Yup. Can’t say I saw that coming.” He pressed a kiss into her hair. “You handled it like a pro.”

“That’s because I didn’t believe he was actually going to fire that thing at us. But that might have been a coping mechanism. Do you think it’s worth searching his place?”

“Maybe.”

They both looked over at his camper, which was a larger, more deluxe version of the one at his mining claim. Sunseeker, it proclaimed itself. A large bottle of propane was propped against its side, and several solar panels were mounted to the roof. Off-grid living at its finest.

The sound of a groan distracted them—Solomon waking up.

“You are one hard-headed man.” As a visual warning, Nick flashed him the pearl-handled gun. “Thought you’d be out for another hour.”

“I’m a tough nut.” He coughed, let loose a wad of spit, then straightened up. “That gun ain’t even loaded, by the way.”

“I’ll keep hold of it for now anyway. So. Our turn to dig for more information. What else do you know about that couple out by your claim?”

“More than you think.” Solomon rubbed the back of his head and winced. “You motherfucker.”

“Hey, I went easy on you and you know it. A little ice and you’ll be fine. Now come on. You weren’t worried about some random couple you didn’t know. There’s more to the story, isn’t there?”

“Okay, okay. But if I tell you, you gotta do something for me.”

“What?”

“Don’t tell anyone else about that perilium.”

---