Bed of Roses Read Online Free PDF

thief who has been in his grave for months?”
    “Brave?” Lorenzo rose from his chair. “Yes, Night Master was brave. He—”
    “If only I could find Night Master’s grave,” Pedro murmured. “With prayer I am sure I could bring him back to life.”
    “Bring him back to his wife?” Lorenzo said. “No, I do not think Night Master was married.”
    Zafiro pushed past the men and handed the medical supplies to Tia—thread and needles, a small pot of salve, and more bandages. “I have told all of you about the terrible feeling of dread that has been with me,” she said, her voice so shaky that it made her cough. “C-can you not understand that the fear has come because of this man, Sawyer Donovan?”
    Through his drunken daze Maclovio managed to note her genuine terror. He took hold of her trembling hand. “Then why did you have us bring him inside La Escondida? We could have taken him back to the convent. We could take him back right now.”
    Zafiro looked up into Maclovio’s bleary brown eyes. “You can hardly stand up, much less take this Sawyer Donovan back down the mountain! Besides, he has already seen the way into La Escondida. There is no use in taking him back to the nuns.”
    Maclovio nodded. “We could have left him outside to die.”
    “Die.” Zafiro spoke the word so quietly that she could not hear herself speak. Afraid as she was of the stranger in her house, she could not bear the thought of his death.
    Clasping her sapphire, she squeezed it as if she could crush it into a handful of blue powder. “I led him straight to La Escondida. I did not think, and I am very sorry. But I was so afraid! My only thought was to run from him. Now he has seen the secret entrance and knows where we hide. To others, finding La Escondida is like trying to find hay in a needle stack, but I brought this Sawyer Donovan straight to us!”
    “I will smash his face,” Maclovio declared, pushing up his sleeves and balling his fists. “I will—”
    “What is hay in a needle stack?” Pedro asked, rubbing his chin.
    Zafiro realized she’d mangled the expression. “I mean that finding La Escondida is almost impossible. But that does not matter anyway. What is important is that this Sawyer Donovan is the worst thing that has happened to us. Maclovio, stop it!” she shouted when Maclovio pulled back his arm and prepared to deliver a punch to Sawyer’s face.
    “I do not know a Sawyer Donovan,” Tia said. “But I tell you that you do not need to be afraid of my dear Francisco. We must hurry now, chiquita . His wounds will fester if we do not clean and stitch them.”
    “I asked to be alone with this man,” Azucar repeated, unfastening her scarlet gown. “It is the pleasure he will find in my arms that will heal him of his wounds.”
    Quickly, Zafiro stayed Azucar’s hand, trying to keep the woman from taking off her clothes. She then grabbed Maclovio’s arm as he again prepared to hit Sawyer. “Listen to me, all of you! The only way we will be safe with Sawyer here is if we do not say anything about who we are. He could be a lawman. A bounty hunter who would not think twice about turning you in to the law to be hanged. He could even be an outlaw who knows Luis, or—”
    “When he wakes up we will ask him who he is,” Maclovio said. “Then I will smash his face and—”
    “He does not know who he is,” Zafiro replied, still trying to keep Azucar from taking off her gown. “The nuns say he has lost his memory. But he could remember tomorrow, the day after, next week… When and if he remembers, we will be in even more danger. So I do not think I have to explain how important it is that he learn nothing about us. Now,” she said, turning Azucar toward the door, “out. Except for Tia, all of you out.”
    Grumbling and shuffling their feet, Azucar and the men headed toward the dim hall.
    Before he shut the door, however, Maclovio stepped back into the room. “But if he knows we are the Quintana Gang and