all about.”
“But I’m going to, partner. No way are you leaving me in the dark. I spent too many months sitting on my ass, doubting my own sanity. If there’s something good to come out of all this, I’m not letting you hold me back because you think you’re doing me a favor.”
“Are we a little sensitive?”
“Sensitive?” she said, her voice rising. “We’re pissed.”
Theo chuckled then grew silent. The footpath forked. He lifted his head as though scenting the air then headed down the path to the right. “Does Chappa know you’re this stubborn?” he asked, continuing the conversation.
Sin sought darker shadows in the forest around them. A breeze sifted through the trees, but other than the soft sigh of leaves there was only silence around them. “Jake knows all my faults,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Ask him. He’ll give you a list.”
“And he’s still riding with you?” he asked, softly. “Must be love.”
Sin’s breath caught. “It’s something anyway,” she denied.
“Liar.”
Sin didn’t like the little thrill of sensual excitement that flared when his voice deepened. She already had one handsome man who was more than she could handle.
“Looks like I’m going to have to have a man-to-man talk with your guy.”
“Man-to-man? Is that what you are?”
“Don’t be a smartass.”
A distant snap drew her attention. She held up her hand.
Theo halted instantly beside her. She heard it again—a faint crackling of leaves just off the path.
Theo grabbed her upper arm and pulled her behind him. Together, they entered the woods.
It was no different than trailing a human through a deserted area. Something she’d done before. Something she’d trained for.
Maybe the lanky man in the fatigue jacket had been exactly what he appeared. A transient looking for an isolated place to sleep.
Even if he was a criminal seeking to evade arrest, maybe the dangers wouldn’t be any different than she’d faced before in her line of work. Walking into a trap. Having a bullet rip through the brush and trees around them. Not being able to see her quarry in a darkness relieved only by the faint slivers of light that made it through the canopy of the live oaks above them.
A rustling of leaves sounded closer than before, and they both froze. Theo turned to her and pointed toward the ground.
She gave her head a violent shake.
His lips thinned, but he crouched lower, and taking slow, quiet steps, continued in the direction of the noise.
Sin stayed right on his ass, glancing back often to make sure the transient didn’t backtrack and come up behind them.
A breeze sifted past; moonlight brightened above them. There was a clearing just ahead. They paused at the edge, scoping out the area. It was empty.
A figure darted from the tree line toward a grassy mound at the center of the clearing.
Sin only caught a fleeting glimpse of his face as he passed them, but it was enough to lift the hairs on the back of her neck. His indistinct face, glowing eyes—
Theo’s hand closed on her upper arm, squeezing hard. His dark eyes bored into hers.
She gave him a sharp nod.
Theo shot out from behind a tree.
Sin took a deep breath, tightened her fingers around her pistol grip, and rushed into the clearing.