Page 76 of Cavern of Silence

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"I'm just tired. Is it okay if I go to sleep?"

Tinker nods. "Yes, but can I get your picture first for the passport?"

She asks Julieta, "Do I look okay?"

Julieta takes her hand. "Give us a minute in the bathroom? There's some mascara under your eyes."

Tinker points to a door. "Have at it."

They leave, and Tinker shakes his head.

"What now?"

"What's her real age?"

"Forty-two."

He whistles.

Before he can say anything else, I tell him I'm going to check on Hunter. I grab two beers from the fridge and go out on the deck.

It's a beautiful, clear night. Stars sparkle in the sky, and the moon shines bright. A wolf howls in the distance.

I hand Hunter a beer and sit next to him. "Are you going to stay out here all night?"

He grunts. "Might just do that."

"What's going on?"

"I can't stay in the dark any longer. If Vanessa doesn't tell me what happened, I can't protect her."

I can understand his position. I want to know everything, too, but Vanessa and Julieta have been through a lot. It's going to require patience on our parts.

"She just needs some more time."

He swallows a sip of beer. "No. She's never going to disclose it."

"I don't think that's true."

"Easy for you to say."

My chest tightens.Here we go."What does that mean?"

"Julieta told you her secrets."

"No, she didn't. She only told me a few things."

"That's more than I got."

Silence.

I'm tempted to tell him what Julieta disclosed, but I promised her I wouldn't. What's between a man and a woman is between them and no one else. I won't betray her trust.

"Was Julieta running drugs?"

My pulse spikes. "What? No!"

"What about the border crossing?"

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