Saint (20 page)

The blanket slid to the dirt floor
unheeded. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Every part of her was alive and hot,
straining to take in the strength radiating from him, the fiery heat of his
tongue, the animal maleness that threatened to consume her whole.

Then he stiffened against her, muttering an
oath as he dragged his mouth from hers. “I don’t want this,” he said raggedly.

It was as though he had breathed life into
her, then took it away. “Will hiding me behind Joan make it go away?”

He grunted harshly. “No, but it’ll keep me
from taking you to bed and making a bigger mistake. I’m not capable of feeling
those emotions anymore.” He set her away from him and took up the fallen
blanket, briskly drying her feet. “And I don’t need you catching pneumonia. Put
your shoes and socks back on.”

Francis stuck his head through the
entrance. “Gabe’s back.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Harris said
over his shoulder.

“No hurry. Guy’s still unconscious.”

He rose, giving her a hard look. “Stay
here.”

Her mind was whirling with thoughts of him,
them, the uncertain future. “Wait. What are you going to do him?”

“You don’t want to know.”

* * * * *

“Francis, go sit with Maria.” He was back
under control now, but for a few short minutes Maria had been hell on his
system.

Gabe was leaning against a nearby tree,
casually chewing on a wad of tobacco, their victim lying at his feet.

“Did you get anything out of him?”

“Nothing useful,” Gabe spit. “Just a
shitbag peon following orders. Juarez said to blow up the mountain—they blew it
up. I don’t know where these guys trained, but I wouldn’t use ’em to guard my
fishing pole.”

“Did he mention Maria?” Seth glanced down
at the shitbag.

“Just that they were supposed to
exterminate any female hereabouts bearing a resemblance to her description.
What do you want me to do with him?”

“Bury him. Let Juarez figure out what
happened.”

“Benito boy may send another team if he
doesn’t hear back from them. I wouldn’t count out the chopper pilot either. He
might have orders to meet them at a rendezvous point.”

“We’ll be long gone by then. Another day
and a half at most and we’ll be on our way to Joan’s.”

Gabe hefted the trussed body over his
shoulder.

“I trust I don’t have to tell you she’s off
limits,” Seth said of Maria.

“You don’t have to tell me. But you might
mention it to Francis. He mothers her.”

“How long have you been clean, Gabe?”

“Totally clean?” The oilman met his stare
evenly. “Since you douched out my system.”

“Then it won’t be a problem if we come
across a bag of goodies along the way.”

“I can handle it.”

Seth nodded curtly, accepting him at his
word.

Joan was back inside the cave when he
returned. Francis had taken up a place beside Maria, saying something low that
made her laugh. It was hard to tell with the preacher whether he was walking
the line or just being his normally charming self. The only time Francis really
lost control was when he went too long without a hair of the dog.

“Francis, take the first watch.”

“Where’s Gabriel?” Maria asked.

“He’s coming. Bed down and get some sleep.
We have to move out early.”

“Where’s the man he was supposed to have
brought back?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you, Angelface?” Francis
picked up his rifle, slinging it over his shoulder. “The guy tripped and hit
his head on a rock. Bang—out like a light. Did he ever come to, Colonel?”

“No.”

“That’s a damn shame.” Francis shook his
head mournfully. “Joan, give me a piece of that gum you’ve got hidden in your
satchel. I know it’s there.”

“I didn’t bring any gum,” Joan grunted.

“You always bring gum. Hand it over.”

Joan scowled, but reached for his satchel.

As he took the gum from Joan’s hand,
Francis’ elbow connected with the black man’s jaw. “That’s for lyin’ to me.”

Joan never even flinched. Unconcerned and
unrepentant, Francis disappeared through the rock.

Seth shook his head at Joan, settling
against the cool rock wall to stretch his legs out in front of him. “I don’t
know why you bother to hide it from him. He knows you carry it for emergencies.”

“How long has it been for him?” Joan asked.

He shrugged. Francis could do more drunk on
his ass than most men could on their best day. “Little more than a week.”

“Does Francis chew gum to keep from
smoking?” Maria asked.

“No. He just likes the flavor Joan puts in
it.”

“Can I have some?”

Hell no
, he
thought as Joan sent him a cautious look. “You can’t chew gum and sleep at the
same time,” he replied, closing his eyes. “You might choke.”

* * * * *

The next day’s hike was just as fatiguing
as the previous day but Maria kept up, ignoring her sore, protesting muscles as
best she could. Sleeping huddled against a damp rock wall the night before hadn’t
helped. After a breakfast of cold rations, Francis took pity on her and gave
her a jacket to wear until the early morning mist cleared and the sun’s heat
started to bake the sweat from her pores.

Situated between the preacher and the
archangel once again, she was hell bent on making the trek under her own steam
in case Joan was overcome with the urge to walk off another ledge with her
draped over his back. She was going to have nightmares about that for years.

Toward midday Seth halted for a break near
a small stream. The cool water felt like heaven against her skin. She rinsed
the grime from her face and arms and removed her shoes to soak her bruised
feet. And was content for the moment, until Harris decided to play doctor
again.

“Let me look.”

She shifted her leg away from his
outstretched hand. “Leave my feet alone.”

“I said let me look.” He caught her ankle
and swung her around. Maria gritted her teeth as his fingers pressed against a
particularly tender spot.

“Does that hurt?”

“No.”

He examined the other foot, performing the
same tortuous movements. “These thin tennis shoes aren’t much protection. When
we get down the mountain, we’ll get something better suited.”

“Don’t tell me, Joan lives in the swamp and
I’ll need fireman’s boots to hike through it to reach his cabin.”

“He lives on an old plantation.”

She withdrew her foot from his hand and
plunged both back in the soothing water, reaching for the canteen to take a
sip. “I’ve never been to the deep south. It might prove informatively interesting.”

“You won’t be leaving the house.
Mississippi isn’t known for its cosmopolitan outlook on life. The people in his
neck of the woods are still segregated. Anybody sees you with Joan and the
speculation will start.”

“I guess the next thing you’re going to
tell me is that the Klan is still alive and working diligently to protect the
Godless from themselves.”

“I’m counting on it.”

She cut him a sideways look. “You’re
serious. You consider snatching me from Juarez’s greedy hands and throwing me
into a hornet’s nest a safe move?”

“I may need to make use of the hornets.
They don’t like his kind either, so if he shows up, we can stir the pot. It’s
time to move on. Stay between Gabe and Joan for the rest of the day.”

“Why?”

He made an exasperated sound. “I have my
reasons.”

One minute he was kissing her, the next she
was a pesky fly on his shoulder. “I’m not one of your soldiers, Harris. Don’t
expect me to follow blindly where you lead. I’m in this up to my neck, so you’ll
pardon me if I get a little bitchy at your continually condescending attitude.”

“It’s a distraction to Francis. All he
seems able to hear are Gabe’s attempts to keep you on your feet.”

“Then maybe you should stick him
between
Gabriel and Joan. I don’t need that oversized tank breathing down my back every
other step.” She blotted her feet dry with her socks and slipped her shoes on.

“I don’t want you pushing yourself too
hard.” He shoved to his feet and held out his hand.

She ignored the silent offer of assistance,
rising to adjust the green ribbon holding her ponytail. “Ask me if I care what
you want.” The first step left her sucking in air but she clamped her teeth
together and walked back to the group.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow as she passed
him. “What’s the matter, foot giving you trouble?”

“Leg cramp,” she threw over her shoulder. “You
should get one sometime.” The bruise on the bottom of her foot was killing her
but she would die before admitting it.

* * * * *

By later that afternoon she was dragging
ass. Her foot was throbbing mercilessly. The air was so thick and sticky with
humidity she felt like she was breathing through a wet blanket. Sweat covered
her body beneath the camouflage pants and her cotton shirt was permanently
stuck to her back and chest. Her hair hung limply in its ponytail, curling
wildly out of control.

Each step was agony. For the last couple of
hours she had ground her teeth against the pain, so much so her jaws were
beginning to ache. If he would just stop for a few moments so she could rest,
she was sure she could hold out until dusk, when the injury wouldn’t be so
noticeable. Because now it had become a matter of pride and hell would freeze
over before she’d cry uncle.

“Hold up,” Joan called out when they
reached the next slope. Gabe passed on the message. Harris doubled back to see
what the hold up was.

“She’s limping,” Joan told him
matter-of-factly.

“I’m not limping.”

“You are.”

“I have a leg cramp.” She glared at the
hulking busybody, challenging him to prove otherwise.

“Take five,” Seth said, turning to drop his
pack on the ground. “Where was that cramp again?”

“My ass.” She cut a look at Joan.

“Don’t get smart with me.”

“Want me to rub it for you?” Gabriel
offered, a sly grin creasing his face.

Assholes. This is what they’d all been
waiting for, in some form or another. For her to lose it and strike out.

“Sit down,” Seth ordered stonily, throwing
Gabe a warning look as he bent to remove her shoe and sock. “Your foot’s
swollen. You shouldn’t have walked on it this far. Why the hell didn’t you say
something?”

She shrugged indifferently. “I thought we’d
be stopping soon.” She nearly jumped out of her skin when he probed the same
tender area as before.

He wasn’t falling for the cramping
business, in either her leg or her ass. “Carry her,” he told Joan, slipping her
shoe back on to secure it loosely. “I’ll wrap it when we stop for the night.”

She knew if she protested he would accuse
her of impeding their progress out of spite. Still, she entered it for the
record. “I can make it.”

Harris shouldered Joan’s pack along with his
own. “So make Joan happy and pretend to be in excruciating pain.”

She glared at Joan again as he moved to
heft her onto his back. “Don’t you dare jump off any more cliffs.”

“I go where the colonel says to go. Here,
have a piece of gum.” He fished in his pocket and handed a stick up to her.

Gabriel chuckled as she unwrapped the gum
and folded it into her mouth. Maria pinned him with an expression he would have
been hard pressed to misinterpret.

As time passed, the sun began its descent
into the west. Her ankle was still throbbing, but because she’d been spared
walking on it for the last four or so hours, it was nothing she couldn’t
handle. Humming seemed to help.

“This gum is really good. Can I have
another piece?”

“No,” Joan grunted, picking his way down a
steep embankment.

“Why not?”

“One to a customer.”

“But the flavor’s all gone.” He acted as
though she was asking him to hand over his life savings.

“You can’t have any more gum, now would you
please stop that singing so I can concentrate?”

“Sorry.”

“Forget it.”

“You don’t have to get in a snit just
because I asked for another piece of gum.”

“I’m gonna stick a rag in your mouth,
missy, if you don’t pipe down.” He stumbled on a loose rock momentarily, but
managed to right them and continue down the slope.

“Joan, don’t drop me. I feel a little
dizzy.”

“I’m not going to drop you.” The giant
broke into a jog to catch up with the others, who were already gathering by a
cropping of boulders up ahead.

“Joan?”

“What?”

“I think I’m going to be sick.”