Page 82 of Small Town Hunter

“He’s wanted.”

“Wanted?”

“Yes. I’m a…I’m a bounty hunter.”

Her eyes get that round, shocked look I secretly find adorable.

“How much would you get for him?” She asks shrewdly.

“A lot. Big Boss man back home— McCall stole from him.”

“I came here with his wife and daughter. She seems nice.” Trina scowls. “You can’t bring them in, Crash. Dee helped me get away from a biker, and she gave me a ride all the way up here. You owe her.There!”

She’s found what she’s looking for in the bag. “What are these pills for?” She asks, shaking the bottle in my face. “These are antibiotics?”

I nod. I don’t have the strength to argue with her about McCall or his wife. Or even think.

“Okay. You’ll have to take them,” Trina says.

“Empty stomach.”

“Well, you have to try!” She studies the label, then hands me two pills. “Open.”

I put them in my mouth.

“Drink,” she says, uncapping the bottle and thrusting it under my nose.

“Yes Ma’am.”

I drink slowly, knowing it’s my best chance to get my strength back.

“You amaze me,” I tell her. “Nurse. Consider it.”

“Thanks,” she says, huddling close. “I was always good at getting people better.” I put my arm around her. I wish she wasn’t in here with me. I wish she was somewhere safe.

“I need you to tell me how the hell you ended up in here, Crash.”

And so with great effort I tell her the whole story, ending with the surprise attack that left me unconscious in front of the Serenity Motel.

“I hit an owl’s nest,” I tell her slowly. “When I first met you. Knocked it off the billboard, killed the chicks. I didn’t mean it— of course. But I…pissed off the hen.”

“You’re joking,” says Trina. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

I shrug. “The Ivory Barn Owl’s been compared to crows… They hold grudges, recognize…faces. I murdered…young.”

“Crash, I have never heard ofowlsattacking people.”

“Stranger things…”

“So…that man and his wife stole a lot of money from your boss?”

I nod.

“But she seemed so nice,” Trina sighed. “And her baby was so cute.”

“Irrelevant.”

Trina’s eyes widen. “Were you going tokill them?”

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