Bret Sanders' Hawk 2 by Bret Sanders

Author:Bret Sanders [Sanders, Bret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Piccadilly
Published: 2023-04-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

FOR A TIME Hawk was afraid Marleah would be in a state of permanent shock. She hadn’t spoken since he’d helped her on the horse, having to cradle her in his arms because of the raw blisters. Now she stood in a corner of the smallest but best of the buildings that remained in the deserted mining camp on Rivas Mesa. The rest of the structures were either open to the weather or collapsed completely. She stared out a window at a ragged line of purple hills.

Earlier he had managed to find a large tin tub in the deserted quarters of a mine official. He brought the tub to the shack he had made his headquarters. It was built against a rock, which protected the dwelling from the violent winds that raked this high desert mesa.

Out of dull eyes she watched him build up a fire in a rusted stove and get water from a nearby spring to prepare a bath. The sheepskin coat she wore was badly stained; its former owner had been careless with tobacco juice,

“Why don’t you sit down and rest?” he suggested, then instantly recalled the blisters he had seen on her body. In monosyllables she had related her story, including the origin of her blisters. “I can see why you would want to stand,” he said, trying to smile.

She swallowed and a little life seemed to return to the large violet eyes. “I guess I haven’t really thanked you for what you did.”

He was relieved that her voice was stronger, that the eyes, even though bloodshot and reflecting the agony of her ordeal, looked at him directly. “Four less scum on the face of the earth.”

“I never saw one man kill another before today. I had a feeling there was a certain pleasure in it for you.”

He shook his head. “The same as if you’d stepped on a snake or a scorpion. They’re of damn little use to anybody.”

“A snake and scorpion have a certain place in the scheme of things, I guess,” she said. “Those men had none.”

He tested the heating water with fingertips. It was reasonably warm. “Can you manage the tub?”

“I can’t sit, but I can kneel.” She gave him a wavering smile of thanks when he filled the tub with buckets from the stove. With a faint show of modesty, she turned her back before removing the coat Then, as if suddenly remembering there were no secrets between them, she faced him boldly, reached out for his hand so he could steady her into the tub.

When he handed her a piece of yellow soap his mouth hardened when, once again, he saw the ugly burn marks on her buttocks.

Cautiously she knelt down into the tin tub. “Is anyone likely to come here?” She gestured toward the south window that overlooked the desert floor below.

“Possibly, but so far I’ve been left alone. If we do have visitors, I’ll be ready.” He gestured at a rifle on a table.

She began to soap her body.

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