Reese Read Online Free PDF Page A

have you been living?"
    He blinked at her sarcastic tone. "Excuse me?"
    "Soldiers of any type prey on anything they can."
    "Why would you say that?"
    "I'm in Texas today because of soldiers, and both sides are to blame. I don't trust government outlaws any more than I trust El Diablo's."
    "You don't have to worry about my men."
    "I'd better not. I'm trusting you to keep them in line. I brought you here to help. Don't make me regret it."
    Though he continued to sit on the couch, seeming relaxed, his eyes sparked green fire in the glow of the lantern flames. "And what if we decided to go rogue like wild animals? What would you do about that, Miss McKendrick?"
    She could not show weakness with this man, so she moved closer, until her skirt brushed the tip of his boot, and glared down her long nose at him. "I'd shoot you, Reese, like a wild animal, and bury you where no one would ever find you."
    He stood in one supple movement, now staring down at her. Even though her heart fluttered with fear, she refused to retreat, since that was what he wanted. Mary was often afraid, but that never stopped her from getting the job done.
    "I'd like to see you try," he whispered.
    "Cross me and you will." Big words, her mind taunted, words she couldn't back up or she wouldn't have hired Reese and his men in the first place. But words like that, once said, could not be taken back or you'd lose whatever ground you'd gained by saying them.
    A deep chuckle from the doorway caused Mary to step back. Her heel came down on her skirt, and she stumbled.
    Reese snatched her shoulders, and pulled her against him. The heat that flooded the length of her body made her mind mush, and for a moment she just stared at the man who seemed to have appeared by magic in the room. Mary had not even heard the door open.
    The youngest of the six lounged between the foyer and the dining room. His face was that of Lucifer's finest—dark, haunted, and beautiful.
    "Quit sneaking up on people, Kid. One of these days you're going to get shot."
    "Sounds like you are the one who will be shot, mi capitan. La mujer, she has courage."
    "Mind your own business."
    "But you are my business. If you are shot by an irate woman, what will we do?" His tone was amused, but the dark eyes, focused on Reese, were filled with concern. "Without you we are merely five separate lost souls. With you, however, we are six that become one."
    "Go away, Rico. She won't shoot me."
    "No?" Rico looked Mary up, then all the way down. "I am not so certain."
    But he left, sliding on silent feet toward the rear of the hotel. While she couldn't hear Rico's boots, the tromp of several others' filled the room as the men went upstairs.
    "You can let me go now," she said.
    "Can I? Why, thank you, ma'am."
    His breath brushed her cheek, and she shivered, as much from that as from the cool air that whooshed over her when he moved to stand by the window. The man gave off heat like a stovepipe.
    "You were all soldiers, weren't you?"
    "Why would you say that?"
    "I don't know, Captain. Why?"
    "What difference does it make what we were, it's what we are that should concern you."
    "And don't think it doesn't. So they follow you because you were their captain?"
    "I wasn't their captain." He turned, and she could tell by the set of his face that the subject was closed. For now. "It's dark. I'll walk you home."
    The thought of Reese walking her home like a beau sent a shred of panic through Mary. She had no idea how to behave with a man who made her feel as he did. So she talked too fast and too much. "That isn't necessary. I live behind the school. In a little cabin. I used to board with each student for a week, but when people started leaving, I was able to take the cabin for my own. It's quite adorable, really. I just have to walk a few buildings down and turn."
    "How convenient," he drawled.
    Mary blushed. What did that mean? Since she didn't know, she kept on talking. "Tomorrow you can come by the school and we'll talk