The Beast House Read Online Free PDF Page A

crashed it, shaking his head and sounding extremely sincere as he stared at the man. He was shorter than his friend, with a crewcut and a chubby boyish face. His neck was thick. His T-shirt was stretched taut over his broad shoulders and bulging chest. The brass buckle of his belt read Colt. He wore blue jeans that looked brand-new. Their cuffs were rolled up about three inches. He wore scuffed cowboy boots with pointed toes. Tyler figured he must be gay. That would mean his friend was, too.
    The friend squatted down, bringing his face close to the kneeling man. “Now here’s the plan,” he said in a calm voice. “You get to your feet and apologize to the ladies. You pay them for the antenna. Then you go back to your pickup and stay there.”
    “What if I don’t?” he muttered.
    The man patted his shoulder. Gently, he said, “I’ll let Jack rip your face off.”
    They stood up. The big man turned to Nora and Tyler. He kept his head down. He rubbed a sleeve across his mouth to wipe the blood away. He made gasping, sobbing sounds as he reached into a rear pocket and took out his wallet. He pulled out a tendollar bill and held it out to Tyler with a shaking, redstained hand. Jack leaned in close, and eyed the bill. “Cheap bastard,” he said. He snatched away the wallet. He plucked out a twenty, took the ten from the man, and gave them both to Tyler. Then he handed the wallet back.
    “Now apologize,” said the lean one.
    “Sorry,” he murmured without looking up.
    “It’s quite all right,” Nora said. She took a step toward him, arms stiff at her sides, and shot a fist into his groin. His breath exploded out. He dropped to the ground clutching himself, and Nora slammed a knee into his bleeding nose. The blow knocked him backward. The lean man hopped out of his way. The blocky one named Jack ginned at Nora and began to clap.

CHAPTER THREE
    “Nora Branson.” She offered her hand to the muscle-bound man.
    “Jack Wyatt,” he said, shaking it.
    “Tyler Moran,” Tyler said, and shook hands with the lean one.
    “Abe Clanton.”
    “Names like a couple of gunslingers,” Nora said, shaking with Abe as Tyler squeezed Jack’s hand. She was surprised by his gentle grip.
    “Yup,” Jack said. “We’re mean hombres.”
    Looking past Abe, Tyler saw the big man stagger down the side of the ditch and climb into his pickup.
    “I guess this was our lucky day,” Nora said.
    “We saw him force you off the road,” Abe explained. “We were right behind you.”
    “Good thing. That was great of you guys to stop. A lot of people would’ve kept on going.”
    “Yes,” Tyler said. “We sure appreciate it.”
    Abe nodded slightly. He looked into her eyes with a steady, probing gaze. It made her nervous. She wanted to look away, but couldn’t. “Did he hurt you?”
    Tyler shook her head. “Not much.”
    “That’s his blood, I hope.”
    “I think so.”
    “Look,” Nora said, “you guys are heading north? Why don’t we all stop somewhere, we’ll buy you a drink?”
    The suggestion made Tyler’s pulse quicken. She glanced down at her torn, bloody blouse. “I can’t go in anywhere like this.”
    “So change,” Nora said.
    “I guess I could.”
    “How about it, fellas?”
    “Fine by me,” Abe said.
    Jack rubbed his hands together. “All right.”
    “Why don’t you follow us?” Nora asked. “First decent place we spot, we’ll pull in.”
    “It’s a deal.”
    “Whoops,” Nora said. “One second. We’re stuck here.” She nodded toward the rear of the car.
    “Gotcha,” Jack said.
    Abe leaned over the driver’s seat. He released the emergency brake. He gripped the steering wheel and open door, and pushed while Jack shoved the rear end. The little Omin rolled away from the ditch. Abe reset the brake. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll wait up ahead for you.”
    “See you in a bit,” Nora said.
    As the men started toward their car, Tyler knelt on the passenger seat and took a plastic container of