by Penny Ash
“You might want to get another shirt out, that one has some holes and burn marks on the back,” he said in answer to her startled look.
She blushed. “Oh, right, can you hand me the blue bag?” He silently berated the unknown cause of the fear that colored her voice.
He managed to pull the bag she indicated out and handed it to her. She set it on the seat and opened it, rummaging through it and slipping an old white cotton shirt out. She closed the bag, and he glanced around the parking lot.
An old black El Camino pulled into the parking lot, and he felt the blood drain from his face. Dell caught Alison’s arm, and she froze, looking at him with a startled expression on her face. He knew he must look like he’d seen a ghost.
“Get in the truck.” He gave her a push toward the cab of the truck.
She didn’t move fast enough, and he reached past her and shoved her bag over, then caught her up and tossed her onto the seat. He closed the door as quietly as he could, then quickly walked around the truck and got in. Watching the disturbingly familiar figure of the El Camino’s driver walk into the building, he tried to tell himself there were hundreds of vehicles like the black car and lots of men who liked those tacky embroidered western shirts.
When the man disappeared inside, Dell started the truck and took the long way around the back of the building before pulling out onto the highway again. Once on the road, he accelerated and kept looking in the rearview mirror. Thinking about the phone number in his wallet, he decided it might be a very good idea to make a call from the first payphone he could find.
*
Alison sat stiffly in the passenger seat, hugging her bag to herself and keeping an eye on Dell. Something back at the visitor’s center had scared him. Badly. He finally relaxed with a heavy sigh.
“Um, what…” she began
“I thought I saw someone I knew back there. Not someone I want to see again.”
“Oh.” She could understand that; she didn’t want to see Ryan again either. But she wasn’t afraid of him, not like what she’d seen in Dell’s eyes.
They rode in silence again. Dell glanced over at her and she sighed. She knew she probably looked like she’d jump out of the truck at the least little thing.
“Listen, uh, Alison, I won’t hurt you,” he said.
“Okay,” she said, humoring him.
“I thought I saw a guy back there that got me arrested for something I didn’t do. If it really was him, it’s not safe anywhere around here. He’s a killer,” he said.
“Oh.” She glanced out the back window and was relieved to see the highway was empty.
“It probably wasn’t him.” He laughed suddenly. “I feel so stupid.”
Alison looked at him for a long moment. She made up her mind; she’d trust him until he gave her reason not to. “Yeah, but better to be safe than sorry,” she said, pondering the can of pepper spray in her purse.
“Good point.” He smiled at her.
* * * *
They stopped at a fast food restaurant in Gallup to pick up something to eat. Dell pulled out his wallet and took out a business card and a twenty dollar bill. “If it’s all right with you, we’ll keep going until we get to Albuquerque,” he said.
“Fine with me,” Alison said.
“Take this and get lunch; I’m not picky. I need to make a phone call,” he said, handing her the money.
Alison took the bill and watched him walk toward a bank of payphones. She shivered slightly and turned to go inside and order. The partial name she had seen on the card Dell held had read “Agent” something next to a very official looking seal. What was she getting involved in, she wondered, as she entered the fast food restaurant.
*
Dell picked up the receiver, dialing zero and waiting impatiently until the operator came on. He read the number to her and waited while she put his call through. He thought about his meeting with the FBI when they’d come to release him from prison while the phone rang. He counted fifteen rings before someone finally answered and put him through to Agent Davis.
“You told me to call if I saw Wilson Long,” Dell said.
“Have you made contact with him?” Davis asked. Dell heard an odd note of excitement in the agent’s voice.
Dell waved away a fly. “No,” he said. “And I don’t plan to if I can help it. I saw him. I think. I hope he didn’t see me.” He kept an eye on the cars coming and going around him.
“The FBI has been after Wilson Long for approximately eleven years, Mr. Blackfeather,” Agent Davis said. “We could use your help.”
“Why? I mean he’s always been an annoying, weird son of a bitch but…” Dell was puzzled. He’d grown up with Wilson and never had any idea he was a criminal until he killed Tommy.
“We suspect Wilson Long is responsible for a number of murders. That’s all you really need to know.” The FBI agent sounded tired.
“Damn.” Dell felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.
“Yes. And since you know him, we’d like you to call us if you should happen to see him again.”
“Why can’t the sheriff or the police just pick him up?” Dell asked.
“Because his crimes are all committed on reservations, and that makes him our problem.” Davis’s voice was grim.
“Shit.” Dell couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“Just where did you see him?” Davis asked.
“Painted Desert Visitor’s Center. On I-40. He was going in when we got there,” Dell said.
“We? Someone is with you?”
“Yeah, I got a woman with me, there a law against that? That’s why I didn’t hang around.”
He heard the agent sigh heavily. “No, no law against it, but it’s not a very good idea.”
“I thought it was an excellent idea at the time.” Dell smiled to himself
“All right. Well, thank you for calling us. If you see Long again, be sure you let us know.”
“Yeah, sure.” Dell hung up and adjusted his old black cowboy hat. He walked across the parking lot and into the restaurant, his hands shaking. A memory surfaced. He had tossed a half empty pack of cigarettes to Wilson before driving away from the house that night. A chill swept over him when he realized he’d probably still be in prison if he hadn’t given Wilson his last couple of cigarettes. They’d pulled the DNA that had freed him off one of those butts.
* * * *
Alison was waiting for their lunch order by the pickup counter when Dell walked in. She appeared to be less tense and smiled when she saw him. He walked up, and she handed him the change from his twenty, brushing her fingertips over his palm. He felt an answering twitch in his jeans. Their order arrived, and he quickly picked up the bags.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Yeah, in just a minute.” She started toward the restrooms.
Dell stood and watched her along with the kid behind the counter. The sway in her walk all but begged him to follow her.
“Damn, she got a fine ass,” the kid said.
Dell gave him an amused look. “You know, commenting like that on somebody’s woman while they’re right next to you is not exactly healthy. But you’re right, it is a very fine ass,” he said with a chuckle. He left the kid stammering and red-faced to meet Alison at the door.
* * * *
She opened the bag from the restaurant and pulled out the food. Laying everything on the seat, she picked up one of the hamburgers, unwrapping it and handing it to him.
She watched him for a few minutes, choosing her opening. “So, what did this guy get you arrested for?”
Dell glanced at her, startled. The seriousness of his expression let her know it was probably something bad. “Murder,” he answered shortly.
“Murder,” she repeated. “But you didn’t do it?”
“No, I didn’t.” He sighed.
“Oh.” She waited for him to continue.
“I spent a year in jail and four years in prison because I trusted the wrong peop
le,” he said sourly.
“Oh,” she said again. She finished her food and gathered up the trash. Sitting back, she watched the road.
*
He shifted in his seat. Well, that did it, she’d run off screaming the next place they stopped. Not getting laid tonight, Dell old boy.
“So, you want to talk about it?” Alison asked.
He glanced over at her, surprised. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, I would.” Dell took a deep breath and found himself telling her about finding Tommy dead and Elsie testifying against him, covering for Wilson. He told her about the hell of prison and the relief when he was let out. Everything came pouring out, right down to the hurt at the way the town had reacted.
“This Wilson, he’s the one who did all this?” Alison asked.
“Yeah. I’d still be in there if Elsie’s grandmother hadn’t found her diary after Elsie died,” Dell said. “She wrote everything down.”
“And this guy is who you thought you saw back at the visitor’s center?” Alison shivered.
“Yeah, I really hope it wasn’t, though,” Dell said.
Chapter Four
Dell looked around for a place to stop for the night. He suddenly realized that even though she didn’t speak much, he would miss Alison when she was gone. He glanced over at her, wondering what she’d say if he just asked her to spend the night with him. Nah, she wouldn’t; she’s too classy, and besides, she hasn’t shown the slightest bit of that sort of interest in you, he lectured himself silently.
“You never said where you’d like me to drop you off,” he said.
“I don’t know. I guess I haven’t thought that far ahead,” she said in a quiet voice. She looked thoughtful. “Just let me out somewhere well-lit where there’s a phone.”
“Well, I could take you wherever you had planned to go,” he said, watching the traffic and carefully not looking at her. He did his best to keep his expression neutral.
“I wouldn’t want to keep you from wherever you were going,” she said, her voice toneless, squashing the little bubble of hope that tried to rise inside him.
“Oh. Well. I wasn’t going anywhere particular, just as far as I can get from Montana.” He couldn’t quite keep the disappointment out of his voice.
He heard Alison sigh and watched her from the corner of his eye as she thought for a few seconds. “Okay, let’s find someplace to stop for the night. We can have dinner and discuss this.”
“Sounds good to me.” Dell smiled and pulled into the parking lot of a cafe on the outskirts of the city.
Dell followed Alison into the busy restaurant. In the closed area of the café’s entranceway, he noticed for the first time that she smelled like sweet, musky, vanilla and spices. His mouth watered. The hostess seated them, leaving their menus. “So what made you decide to leave Los Angeles?” Dell asked as he picked up the laminated card and started to read it.
Alison was quiet for awhile, looking down at her menu. Dell began to think maybe he had overstepped and opened his mouth to apologize. She raised her eyes to meet his gaze and he stopped, waiting for what she was about to say. Laying the menu down, she took a deep breath.
“Ah, well, I just got tired of all the games,” she said.
The waitress arrived just then, interrupting Alison’s story. Dell gave the woman a dirty look and quickly gave their order.
“Games?” Dell asked when the waitress finally walked away, his voice curious.
“Yeah, mind games, control games, manipulation. I’m just tired of all of it,” she said.
“Oh, yeah, I don’t know why people just can’t be honest with each other.” He smiled at her and felt a little tingle when she blushed again. She returned his smile, and his heart skipped a beat.
“So, anyway, I got home from one of the social engagements Ryan insisted I go to and found him in bed with one of his Hollywood clients. The glamorous life is highly over rated.” She studied her placemat and began to tear little bits of paper from it.
“I’m sorry.” Dell reached across the table and stilled her hands.
The waitress arrived with their order, and Dell decided it was time to change the subject and began to chat about safely ordinary stuff. She would tell him everything later, much later, if it mattered. They finished their dinner and sat there, neither one wanting to seem too eager to the other.
“So, where do you want to stay tonight?” he asked, finally bringing up what they both knew would happen.
Alison smiled faintly. “Anywhere with a clean bed, I’m not particular.” She looked up, straight into his black eyes, and a wave of white-hot desire crashed through him. He saw the answering need in her eyes; his stomach clenched and his mouth went dry.
“Well, there’s the motel across the parking lot,” he said, his voice growing a little deeper.
*
Alison couldn’t believe she was even remotely entertaining the idea of going to a motel room and having sex with a guy she’d known less than twenty-four hours. She felt like laughing at the freedom she felt. Suddenly, she smiled at him. “I think they’d like us to leave.”
“Yeah, so would I.” He smiled back at her and reached for the check.
Alison let him pay for their dinner and waited for him in the café entryway. When he came out, she held out her hand.
*
Dell took her hand, and his knees went weak when Alison laced her fingers through his.
The motel looked new. Dell was glad for that; he didn’t want their first night together to be spent in someplace seedy. They were silent for the short drive across the parking lot. He felt like a teenager on his first serious date as he pulled up to the breezeway entrance.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and hurried inside.
He smiled pleasantly at the desk clerk. “I’d like a room for two please,” he said.
* * * *
Dell got back in the truck and started it up, heading around to the back side of the building complex where the room he’d just rented was located. Dry mouthed and sweaty palmed, he glanced at Alison as he parked in front of the door to their room. The sunset gilded her hair, giving her an otherworldly glow that took his breath away.
He opened the door of the room and held it for her before following her inside. “You want both your bags brought in?”
She turned and smiled at him. “Yes, please.”
He brought her suitcases in, along with the one that contained his clothes. She was perched nervously on the edge of the bed. “I’m going to run across to the store; is there anything you want?” He would give her a little time alone to do whatever she needed to feel ready. A few more minutes on top of the time he’d already gone without wouldn’t make a lot of difference, not if it made her more comfortable.
“No, I’m fine,” she said, smiling.
Dell left her to get settled in the room and went to the little convenience store next to the motel. He bought a pack of cigarettes, a map of Texas, and a box of condoms, then headed back to the room. When he walked in, he heard her in the room’s small bathroom and smiled. He kicked off his boots and sat down on the bed, leaning back against the pillows she had stacked against the headboard.
Alison stepped out of the bathroom and pulled the door almost closed. He watched her walk toward him, a towel wrapped around her, and wiped his damp palms down his thighs. She stopped next to him, and he licked his lips. She was the most gorgeous woman he could ever remember seeing. Slowly, she reached up, untucked the towel, and let it fall to the floor. His chest tightened.
The dim light filtering around the closed drapes gave her skin a mysterious golden glow and turned her nipples a dusky rose. Dell rose to his knees and brushed the palms of his hands over her breasts. His gaze met her soft green eyes, and he hesitated, unable to breathe for a heartbeat. Then he dug his fingers into her thick, silky hair and covered her mouth with his. She tasted like toothpaste and fresh sweet woman, and it had to be the best thing he could remember ever tasting.
/> Alison slid her arms around him and clenched her fists in his blue, plaid shirt. Her body against his felt like a bonfire, her heat soaking through him. He sucked gently on her lower lip, tugging lightly, then plundering her mouth again, running the tip of his tongue over the inside of her lips before slowly twining with her tongue.
She pushed him back, gently breaking the kiss, and pulled his shirt out of his faded jeans. She unfastened each pearly snap and slid her hands slowly up over his chest. He let go of her just long enough to toss the shirt aside, then pulled her back against him, wrapping his arms around her and molding her to his body.
Alison tilted her head up, and he lowered his mouth to hers once more. The hardness of her nipples and the softness of her breasts pressed into his chest and sent a jolt straight to the burgeoning erection that throbbed against the fly of his jeans.
“It’s been a while, baby, I don’t know how long I’ll last,” he said urgently between kisses.
“It’s okay, we have all night,” she answered, her voice soft and thick with lust.
He reached between them with one hand, unbuttoning his jeans and lowering the zipper. She stepped back, and a soft sound of disappointment escaped him at the loss of her body against him. He groaned when she pushed his jeans and boxers down over his hips, freeing him.
He kicked them off and sat back on the bed, moving his hands over her waist and sliding them up to cup her breasts. She leaned into his touch and paused, reaching for a condom from the nightstand. He moved his hands to her waist again and leaned forward touching the tip of his tongue to one taut nipple and licking it before closing his mouth over it, kneading and probing gently. She moaned and he chuckled.
“Been awhile for you too, huh?” he asked, his lips against her skin.
She nodded and swallowed hard. “Uh huh, too long.” She opened the condom wrapper.
Dell lay back, pulling her with him until she knelt above him. “Let me put this on,” she said.
“Then do it, girl,” he said with a groan.
Alison rolled the latex over him, her fingers caressing and exploring, making him ache.
“Baby, not too much,” he said. Her hands stilled, and he fought to catch his breath.