Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild Hawk (Dark Cloth) Read Online Free PDF Page B

went impassive, his gaze riveted to Mandy’s. Life is a continuous circle, and many paths are entwined.
    Mandy peeked up at McKinney. His eyes were brutal, his laugh cruel, like a man who saw, clearly, the moment when he knew he tasted victory. “Bet you want to know who hired me.”
    Hawk’s eyes were cold as the northern sea. His gaze dropped to Mandy’s.
    Mandy met his gaze, remembering her words to him at the hotel. The path, which has been crossed, crosses between you and me—and your revenge.
    Mandy braced herself. “He knows, McKinney.”
    McKinney’s arm slacked in surprise. “Wh-hat?”
    Mandy’s gaze never left Hawk’s. “He knows.” She went completely still—waiting.
    McKinney’s jaw jerked up and down like a cow chewing its cud, unable to reconcile his loss of control.
    “Let her go, McKinney,” Hawk’s voice held no more emotion than he would show for life—for one so without.
    McKinney snarled, but his words lay limp between them. “What? You going to kill this woman, too?” His gun left Mandy’s head with lightning speed.
    But not fast enough.
    A gun exploded. Blood spattered all over Mandy. She heard a gurgle of surprise from McKinney, and he abruptly let her go.
    She stumbled forward.
    She turned as though in slow motion, her hands to her mouth. She bent and ran for the back door.
    Meg followed and held her while she sucked deep breaths of fresh air into her lungs. When they heard the volley of shots from the front, they both ran on shaky legs back to the front of the store.
    “Now what’s happening?” Meg yelled at Cord.
    “They were waiting for him,” Cord shot back and dove to stop Mandy from going out the door.
    Mandy fought him, staring out of the window in horror, wanting to turn away but unable to obey her brain’s simple command.
    Cord worked to restrain her. “Were you saying something about death wishes?” he said to Meg, grabbing Mandy around the middle and yanking her away from the door.
    Meg raised a brow. “Who? Me? No. I believe that’s what Hawk said.” She indicated out the window.
    Mandy wouldn’t contemplate how they had heard those words until much later. But, for now, Hawk stood on one side of his horse. The horse was wounded and buckled, as though slammed by some unseen force, then went down. Hawk, himself, had been shot at least once that Mandy could see.
    One man lay in the street, another on the opposite sidewalk. Neither was moving.
    As Mandy watched, Hawk dropped another from the roof, with the rifle he’d removed from his scabbard. Then, all was quiet, except for his horse’s pained cries.
    She watched, with tears rolling down her face, as Hawk stroked the horse. He was saying goodbye. He drew his pistol, and she turned her head. She heard the shot; felt the deafening silence that filled the empty space left behind, where only moments before chaos had been the driving force. Only then did she realize how badly Hawk himself had been shot.
    She shook off Cord’s hands and raced out the door. When she was within a few feet of him, she stopped. Hawk’s gun hung loosely in his grip as though his world had collapsed. His shoulders were pressed down as if by an unseen weight. “How is it I did not sense the trap?” he got out between clenched teeth when he noticed her. The gun slipped from his fingers. His knees buckled, and he went down beside his horse.
    Meg yelled at the gathering crowd for the doc.
    Mandy knelt over Hawk. There was a bullet in his shoulder, but he also had one that appeared to have passed through his right side, and there was blood everywhere. She brought his head to her lap. “It was McCandle,” she whispered. “He’s been in touch with someone. I’m sorry—I didn’t realize to what extent, until now—I sensed something new in him—but I couldn’t get a clear sense of what.”
    Hawk sucked in a breath, belying the depth of his pain. “Be careful, Mandy. You’ll be especially vulnerable now—watch even those you