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“No,…I’m just somebody-”
“Yes, you are her! Your picture was on the news this week! The Patrulla woman who shot down El Lobo because of love. Do you know where you are, what place this is?” Hunter nodded. Mora said, “You are brave, and beautiful, but you are at peril. There is no one in this town who will tolerate you here.”
Hunter leaned her hands on the desk, “I know the girl came into town last night. I’m not leaving without her, you understand that?”
Mora looked at her as he drained the snifter of brandy, “So you are tough, uh? Go into the town then, be tough with those people. They will make you their jugete, their plaything,” he waved his hand to dismiss her.
Hunter stood an extra moment so he would know she was leaving on her terms. She said, “If I find out you knew where the girl was, and didn’t tell me, I’ll come back for you.”
“And do what, hurt me?”
“You can bank on it.” Hunter walked out of Mora’s and back to the long lines of saloons and bordellos on the main street. Mora watched her through the window, then left his desk and went to a back room. He opened the door and told the men inside to get dressed, he had work for them.
***
Hunter was going to knock on every door until she found Anda, and that was all there was to it. The second saloon was called Villa’s, and Hunter beat on the door until a crack appeared in one of the glass panes. She gave up for now, and went to the third building, the one with the name El Longbranch.
She hadn’t knocked very long when the door opened. A young man with red-orange hair and no shirt stood in front of her. Hunter took inventory. He wasn’t tall, but Christ, he was built. Every muscle on his torso was hard and defined, like a well-conditioned athlete. He started to tell Hunter to leave but instead studied her for a moment, then said in English, “Anda’s in the back, come on in.”
Hunter didn’t move. The young man stopped halfway across the floor and turned back, “Come on, it’s okay.” She was trying to figure if it was a trap. The man said, “Look, you’re Hunter Kincaid, right?” Hunter nodded. He said, “My name’s Mingo Cruz, a
nd Anda told me you were a friend of Bobby Mata. She said you would come for her, too,” he scratched his head and grinned, “I just didn’t think it would be this morning.” Mingo started off and motioned with his hand for her to follow.
Hunter caught up with him at the hallway and asked, “When did you find her?”
“Oh, I didn’t find her, she came here lookin’ for me.”
“You know her?”
“First time we met was last night. She came in my saloon and asked for me, saying Bobby Mata told her to come.”
“Bobby?”
“Yeah,” he turned through a door and they entered the back room. The door beyond it was closed. Mingo continued, “I didn’t ask her much last night, but she said enough. She saw everything that happened, and everybody who was there. You do know Bobby’s dead, right?” Hunter nodded. He motioned for Hunter to sit down. “You want coffee? I’m gonna brew some.”
She sat at one end of the sofa and said, “Sure.” After he finished grinding the beans and putting them in the filter, she asked, “Where’s Anda?”
Mingo indicated the closed door with his head, “In there. I think she’s still sleepin’, but if you want to wake her, go ahead. She’ll be glad to see you. How do you take your coffee?”
“Black,” Hunter said right as the door opened and Anda came out, rubbing her eyes and wearing a black tee shirt that reached to mid-thigh, with SEMPER FI in red letters across the chest. When Anda saw Hunter stand up, she smiled ear-to-ear and walked to her, “I knew you would come,” Anda said in Spanish, hugging Hunter tight around the waist.
Hunter put her arms around the young girl and then put her cheek on top of Anda’s dark hair. It was soft and smelled clean and fresh-washed. “Are you all right?” Hunter asked. She couldn’t think of anything else to say without choking up.
“Yes, Mingo Cruz has protected me, and allowed me to stay here in his home.”
“I’m glad.”
Anda took a step back, still touching Hunter, and looked to the side at Mingo, then back, “I, too, am glad.”
Mingo walked over to them and gave each one a cup of coffee. Anda sat on the sofa beside Hunter, and Mingo plopped into the easy chair. Anda’s coffee had lots of milk and sugar in it, and her eyes grew big with the first sip. “What is this milk? It is wonderful!”
“It’s just regular milk.”
“From a cow, yes?”
“Yes.”
“It is delicious!”
