Fire and ice (39 page)

"He probably did, too," Moses said. "Better you didn't, though."

Liam looked at him. "Thanks, Moses," he said with real gratitude. "You're the first person to say that to me. Everybody else seems to think Dyson should have been shot while resisting arrest. You should see what it's like when I go into headquarters. There isn't a trooper I know who can look at me without contempt."

"Bullshit," Moses said bluntly. "You did what was right, for you, for Dyson. Even for Jenny and Charlie. Don't matter what anyone else thinks, boy, only you. And your shoulders are big enough to carry the load. So carry it."

The old man stamped off to his truck. The engine turned over and the window rolled down. "Remember," the old man shouted. "Raven'll steal your woman and everything else that matters along with her, but only if you let him."

He slammed the truck into first. "Don't let him!"

The truck lunged off down the road, leaving Liam sitting on the steps, staring up at the raven, eyes bright with malicious knowledge, beak sharp and polished, ebony feathers smooth and gleaming.

"So?" he said. "Mind telling me what I do now?"

It croaked at him.

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