Suretta struggled to her feet again, looking like some bloody figure from a nightmare.
Paco stepped closer and put his pistol to the back of her head, firing twice.
This time she stayed down.
Ike didn’t look steady on his feet, but Ramona and Anita hurried to him, one on each side to hold him upright. He kissed Ramona and smiled at Anita, then looked at Paco for several seconds. “I’m good with what you did.”
“I am sure you are.”
Ramona whispered in Ike’s ear.
Ike said, “If there’s anything you want from this place, you can go ahead and get it.”
Paco said, “Why?”
Ramona said, “Because I’m going to let it burn to the ground.”
“If you will allow me, so I have more time to search, I will watch it for you until it is ash, and then leave this part of Mexico forever.”
“As you wish.”
Kelly still clung to Hunter, and she hugged this smart, tough, loyal kid just as hard. Hunter said, “We make a good team.”
Kelly said, “I hope you’re always around so I can come see you.”
“I’ll never be far, okay? You need me, you call.”
“Promise?”
She put out her pinky finger, “Double pinky promise.” Kelly smiled wide as the two locked pinky fingers and shook.
Kelly relaxed slightly, but still stayed close to Hunter, touching her with a hand, or leaning closer so her arm touched hers.
Hunter’s hip throbbed so bad she wanted to cry. She pushed down her jeans to check it.
The wound looked angry and the edges of it pursed outward, swollen and puckered. She inspected it, seeing the bu
llet had struck the top of her hipbone and bounced out to leave one ragged hole that wasn’t deep, but bruised the dickens out of her side and hip. Her pants around the hole were soaked with blood.
Kelly looked at it wide-eyed. “I’ll be back.” She ran into the house and a minute later returned with two small plastic sacks, giving one to Ramona and keeping the other to take to Hunter. Both sacks contained bandages, gauze, scissors, ointments, and peroxide.
“Thanks.”
“I can do it for you, if you want.”
Hunter nodded, and Kelly had her hip and forearm cleaned and bandaged in quick time. Hunter said, “Where’d you learn all that?”
“YouTube.”
Hunter looked at her. This child had endured so much, and yet pushed through it all to still help others.
“What?” Kelly said, noticing Hunter’s appraisal.
“Oh nothing, just how beautiful you are.”
Kelly blushed hard, her cheeks bright pink spots. “I don’t think so.”
“Trust me, you-are-beautiful.” She hugged the child again, and both held the embrace for a while.