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“And what do you plan to do with her until you do?” the woman asked suspiciously.
“Don’t know,” Bryant said, refilling his glass from the liquor bottle between them, then eyed her sheepishly. “Maybe I could leave her here with you?”
The woman snorted her displeasure, pouring herself a delicate drink. “Over your dead body, boy. I’m done taking care of your dangerous strays.”
A slow smile slid on Bryant’s face. “Boy, is it? You know that I could easily be your own several times great-grandfather, Alice Mae Bautista.”
“And you’re proof that wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age.” She tossed back her own drink, then leaned forward, adding in lowered voice, “You’re sure that she doesn’t know who you really are, Michael? And more importantly—what. You didn’t shift in front of her, did you?”
“I did not,” he said indignantly. “I was back and dressed right after the bluddy Arcan shot me. Think he got a good look at my face, too, damn it all.”
“That’s a bad bit of luck, if so. And why in heaven’s name are that shirt and ugly petticoat of hers in tatters? Did you do that? There was a full moon last night, Michael, and I know that your kind gets riled up during these times.”
He glared at her saying, “I did not. She did that herself with my knife to make a bandage. Don’t you be looking at me that way, Alice. Pretty or not, I did not ravage the woman in any way.”
“Hmm. Well, keep your claws and other appendages well tucked in until you can get rid of the strange woman,” Alice said. “And I still say that it was more than suspicious that she suddenly appeared just when those Arcans did. Maybe you should go check with Ray to see if anyone’s heard of her before you...”
Stumbling back, I turned and limped to the bedroom, then headed straight to the open window facing away from the main street. Because once Michael Bryant and the other citizens of this old western town discovered my true origins, no telling what twisted tortures they would have in mind for me.
No, the safest place for me was back to that blasted time-teleporting cave and my twentieth century world.
Awkwardly I climbed out of the window, then swung and maneuvered my legs to catch and drop down onto the porch roof. Then I carefully slid down the supporting pole, crumbling painfully down onto my bad ankle in the process, muttering bad names.
“Miss McEwan!”
I looked up to see Bryant leaning out of the open bedroom window.
“What the hell are you doing down there?” he called down to me. “Get back inside here, woman!”
“See ya later, alligator,” I muttered, standing and touching my hand to my forehead in goodbye.
Quickly I limped across the short clearing and into the safety of the woods. In fact, I was rather proud of my clean escape, until I yelped and drew up short when Bryant suddenly appeared from the trees infrontof me.
“How!?”
“Never you mind that,” he said gripping my forearm just as I turned to limp away. “I think it’s time you and I had a talk.”
“No way!” I growled, viciously trying to rip out of his iron hold. “Let go of me!”
“Not until you answer a few of my questions,” he said, gripping harder.
“The answer to all of them is none of frigging beeswax. Now, let me go!”
Bryant released his hold. I turned to dart off, took one step. Then fell flat on my face in the brushy debris.
I started to stand, then collapsed again.
“Need some help?” he asked calmly, his arms crossing his chest.
I sliced a daggered look up at his smug expression, then called him a very colorful name that raised his brows.
Unable to stand after a few more cursing attempts, Bryant rolled his eyes, then scooped me up into his arms. I tried to fight his hold, but both us knew it was an impotent attempt, since I couldn’t walk two inches in any direction.
“I’m not answering your questions,” I warned giving his shoulder a hard punch(not his bad one—I had worked too hard the entire night not to further injure that area). He didn’t even have the decency to flinch.
“Sure, you are,” he said.
Bryant shocked me by not returning us to Alice’s place, but walking towards a nearby empty barn, kicking the door open, then carrying me towards a bale of hay and sat me down.
