“You don’t have to sit up on my account,” Radcliff told her. “You took quite the beating.”
“Yeah? I’m feeling better though. Besides, you should have seen the other guy.”
“I did, it wasn’t pretty, but I have to admit I liked seeing it all the same. I would have sworn coyotes ate that bastard.”
“Shaw thought the same thing. To be honest, I was leaning toward that as well. Turns out it was wishful thinking.”
“People don’t usually get up after being shot five times.”
“Yeah, though it looks like only four actually broke the skin.”
“He won’t be getting back up this time.”
“If I’d shot him in the head last time, I would have saved everyone a lot of trouble. How’s Marv?”
“Better than his bike and a whole lot better than those three guys on ice back at their clubhouse.”
“Seriously, how is he? He saved my life back there.”
“Well, his chopper took most of the bullets and he knocked himself out cold when he fell down.”
“Most of the bullets?”
“Unfortunately, not all of them. They took a lot of bullets out of him and sewed him back up. He’s got a fighting chance and I’ve got a feeling that dude is a fighter.”
“He’s going to be pissed I told you guys about the clubhouse. That one was supposed to stay between the two of us.”
“Yeah, but I’m glad you did. Failing to report a triple homicide would be considered a felony and while I like the way things are going with you and me, I’d have a hard time overlooking that.”
“Yeah, that would be asking a little much,” Margot agreed. She couldn’t help thinking how he had delayed taking in Dean Stone the day Mal had tried to kill S
tone for the cartel. Radcliff was a straight-laced guy and he had already stepped over the line for her. He’d nearly got himself killed in the process. Margot had decided at the time that she’d never ask him for that kind of favor again.
“I’m not going to ask what you would have done if Brantley hadn’t shown up.”
“I’d have done the right thing.”
Radcliff looked like he was going to ask her what she meant by the right thing but decided he didn’t want to know. Instead, he told her, “Marv will have to get over it. If you hadn’t put two in Brantley’s skull, I suspect he would have made sure Marv didn’t get that fighting chance. Until you and Shaw came along, I don’t think Brantley left many witnesses. I get the feeling he was thorough.”
“You think there are more bodies out in the desert other than Randy and his mother?”
“I know there are. It’s too good of a place to bury bodies for there not to be. I’d make an educated guess that a fairly high number belong to Deputy Brantley.”
“I guess we’ll never know.”
“Probably not.”
“So, do you think he was ‘the cowboy’ Mal was talking about?”
“It makes sense. He certainly dressed the part and he certainly worked for the cartel. I’d say he showed himself to be very determined and he took things personally. He could have been long gone, but instead, he stuck around to try to take you out.”
“Is it possible all this cartel shit is over?”
“I think it might be. Would have been easier to let Mal kill Dean Stone.”
“Maybe, but maybe not. You wouldn’t have let him just walk.”
“No, I wouldn’t have.”