Angel Gone Bad Read Online Free PDF

before we play poker.”
    â€œAnd you think a livery stable is a likely place?” Rune asked skeptically. “You could’ve changed out in the country, but you wouldn’t. I thought you wanted a hotel—”
    â€œI want safety and privacy. From what I understand, Manny’s is the place to get it.”
    â€œMakes no sense.”
    â€œWhere have you been living in the Bend?”
    â€œNo place. I pay for a bath and a shave. I keep my things in my saddlebags. That way there’s no record of where I’m staying and no prying eyes.”
    â€œWhere do you keep your saddlebags, saddle, and horse?”
    Rune ground his teeth at her logic. “You made your point. I can sleep with my horse. But you need something better.”
    â€œI’ll get it, too. And it won’t include sleeping with your horse.”
    â€œThere’s nothing wrong with my horse.”
    â€œI didn’t say there was. I just prefer not to sleep with an animal many times my size and weight.”
    â€œI’m not that much bigger than you.”
    She shook her head, green eyes sparkling. “I sleep alone.”
    â€œCould get mighty lonely.”
    â€œI’m not going to discuss it.” She pointed again. “Please stop at Manny’s. If my information isn’t correct, then we can reconsider my plan.”
    When Rune had thought about Angel in prison, she’d always been compliant with his wishes. In reality, she was about as stubborn and ornery as a mule. If he didn’t want to argue all night and call attention to them, he was going to have to give up and give in. He pulled over in front of Manny’s Livery Stable.
    A guy walked out, stopped, and put his hands on his hips. He had a grizzled beard and wild mane of black hair touched with silver. He wore faded blue jeans and a red plaid shirt. He studied their horse and buggy and then spit tobacco on the ground. “What can I do for you folks?”
    â€œLady sent me,” Angel said, adjusting her blond wig. “She said if I ever needed a safe place to stay in the Bend to see Manny.”
    â€œYou’re at the right place.” He spit on the ground again and then looked at her through narrowed eyes. “You’re Lady’s friend?”
    â€œYes. I met her in Indian Territory.”
    â€œShe’s not singing around here, not lately.”
    â€œLady . . . Lady Gone Bad?” Rune felt as if he’d been poleaxed. “You two know the most famous female singer in the West?”
    Manny shrugged. “See her now and again.”
    â€œBut Angel, how can you know her? Lady’s an outlaw!” Rune turned to look at her in amazement.
    â€œSo they say.” Angel raised her chin. “I don’t believe she’s ever been convicted of a crime.”
    Manny chuckled and then spit another stream of tobacco.
    â€œThat doesn’t make Lady innocent. That makes her good at her job.” Rune looked from one to the other, feeling like he was missing something important.
    â€œLady is a creative inspiration,” Angel said. “I made a point of meeting her at Robber’s Cave when we were there to hear her sing.”
    â€œI never saw her up close.” Rune thought back. Angel had left him at one point, but she hadn’t been gone long. That must have been when she’d met the singer. “We were there when she got inspired to write that ballad, weren’t we?”
    â€œOh, yes! ‘Lady Gone Bad’s Shoot-out at Stone Corral’ is great. But I like ‘Lady Gone Bad’s Firefight at Boggy Saloon’ even better. You know she creates her ballads from real-life experiences. That’s what inspired me to do the same with my novels.”
    â€œI can see you admire her,” Rune said, still puzzled. “But you met her only one time. Why would you call her a friend? And why would she send you here?”
    Manny cleared his throat, rubbing his