Saint (11 page)

“Juarez,” Francis said, chewing on his
toothpick.

“Uh, huh.” Gabriel nodded. “Shit.”

“Shit’s right.”

Harris had dumped her. Left her here to
spin her wheels while he supposedly went in search of Will. But had he? Really?
“So, everybody knows all about Benito Juarez. Isn’t that convenient.”

Gabriel’s expression remained mundane.
“Well, I don’t know about convenient.”

“Why
are you here?”

“We’re not allowed to discuss missions with
outsiders,” he replied calmly, looking at her the same way Francis had, like
she didn’t have a clue about what she’d done.

“Mission,” she repeated dumbly. Now she was
a mission? “You can fill this whole damn cabin up with soldiers if you want,
but until I get some answers, don’t expect my cooperation.”

* * * * *

“She’s ridin’ the edge, huh?” Gabriel
observed when the door to Maria’s room slammed shut.

“She was doing better ’til you showed up.
The colonel said he would take care of it before he left, but she’s a stubborn
one. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Pretty too.”

“Don’t even think about it, Gabe.”

“Think about what?”

“You
know
what.”

Gabriel scowled. “I’m not going to touch
her.”

“See that you don’t.” Francis rose to clear
the table. “I intend to return her to the colonel in the same, if not better,
condition than I received her.”

“You get damn cantankerous when you’re on
the wagon.”

“I have to tone down my sparkling
personality some way. There’s a crate of gear in the shed. Go over it and make
sure everything’s intact. Put your horse in the barn.”

“What about the woman? You gonna let her
sit in her room all day and brood?”

“I’m gonna to give her a choice.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Gabriel
pushed back his chair and headed out the door to see to his Mercedes.

* * * * *

Francis knocked and opened the door anyway
when she refused to answer. But he stayed by the door, lounging against the
frame. “Angelface, I don’t take too much to sulking, so I’m gonna break one of
my own rules. You have a choice of the day’s activities. You can train with me,
and maybe you’ll even manage to knock me off my feet today, or you can help
Gabe in the shed. Personally, I’d go with me. Gabe has a problem keeping his
hands to himself. But I’ll leave that up to you.”

“Neither.”

“Sorry. There’s only A or B to choose from.
I can’t leave you in here by yourself all day. I have to train.”

“Why, are we going to war?” She felt as if
she were caught in a whirlpool and was about to be sucked under. Will was gone
and nobody was telling her anything.

“Wars come in all shapes and sizes. When
you took on Juarez it was the same as waving a red cape in front of a bull. He
charged and missed, but you’d better be ready for the next round.”

“Bulls are colorblind, Francis. I’ll face
Juarez across a courtroom and beat him. Legally.”

“You got something against staying alive,
sweetheart?”

“I have something against vigilantes taking
the law into their own hands. I’m sorry if that seems like an outdated notion
to you, but it causes more problems than it solves. Juarez can chase me all
over the globe, but unless he kills me I’m going to be in that courtroom, and I’m
going put him away, along with his dirty accomplices who think they’re above
the law.”

He actually smirked at her. “Spoken like a
true believer. And are Juarez’s constitutional rights more important than those
whose lives he’ll snuff out on the way to victory lane?”

Maria slid from the bed to stare out the
window. Dawn was just beginning to break over the mountain. “I never wanted
anyone to die in the process. But lowering myself to his level defeats the
purpose. Just like participating in, or having knowledge of, any unlawful acts
against Juarez is—”

“Good God, you sound like one of those
pillar-and-stone lawyers who just checked out of law school and haven’t as yet
had to apply that highborn theory to real life. Look honey, we’re not gathering
to launch nuclear missiles at the guy, okay? We’re just trying to keep you in
one piece. If you knew what Juarez was capable of, you’d think of it in terms
of self-preservation. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared for the worst, because in
real life, when you least expect it, the worst is on you before you can blink.
Just because you train for a battle doesn’t mean you’ll have to fight it. It’s
knowing you can if you’re forced to.”

“I don’t like being kept in the dark,
Francis.”

“I’m just as much in the dark as you are,
Angel. The colonel didn’t tell me what his plans are other than to find Will.
My job is to watch over you ’til he gets back.”

“Then why the hell am I running all over
this mountain?” She turned to face him. “Why is Gabriel here?”

“You’ll thank me the next time a mugger
steals your purse and you have to shinny up a tree after him. And you’re sleeping
now. Both of which are beneficial, if you ask me. You sittin’ around here
worrying isn’t going to change anything.”

She didn’t sleep, she passed out from
fatigue. “Why is everyone so concerned with my mental state? I told Harris and
I’m telling you, I’m fine.”

“Well, Miss Fine, here’s the deal. You
can’t stay in here alone. You have to be in close proximity to either Gabe or
me at all times. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t pick me, but I’ll get over
it. Eventually.”

The devil she knew or the one she didn’t.
“Fine,” she sighed, resigning herself to another day of aching muscles and sore
feet. “But I’m not climbing anything today.”

“I knew you’d pick me.”

* * * * *

Later that afternoon Francis insisted they
do the hand-to-hand thing again. Gabriel took up a crouched stance and motioned
for her to come at him. “Okay, sister, let’s get it on.”

Oh, uh uh. He had not just called her
sister. She didn’t know which was more exhausting, the physical workout or
their consistent refusal to use her name. “Would it be asking too much to be
called by my name, just once?”

“Pick a name, I’ll oblige.”

“Maria.”

“Pick another.”

“Why won’t you say my name?”

“Makes it personal.” Francis dragged on his
cigarette from his perch on the porch railing, where he’d elected to watch her
try to take down the former Marine. “We don’t like to get personal. Ain’t that
right, Gabe?”

“That’s a fact.” Gabriel frowned at her,
still in crouch stance. “You gonna get with the program anytime today, sister,
or jaw my ear off?”

Maria sprang forward, hoping to catch him
off guard. He flipped her over his shoulder like a sack of cotton, but caught
her before she landed on the hard packed dirt.

“My wife’s about your size and she can take
me down if she’s riled enough.”

She let Gabriel help her to her feet and
walked back to her starting place. “You’re married?”

“To the meanest little filly in Texas.”

“Maybe you’re not as good as you used to
be, slick,” Francis goaded. “I guess floating around in an oil barrel all day
tends to make a man lazy. ’Course that doesn’t say much for you, Angelface.”

“Kiss ass, Francis.” Gabriel reached down
to draw a knife from his boot, flinging it to the ground with a flick of his
wrist. The point landed in the dirt at her feet. “Now.” Gabriel crouched again.
“Pick up that knife, girlie, and I’ll show you how to disarm a man about to
slice open your gullet.”

She picked up the lethal hunting knife,
twisting the blade in her hand to study it. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

“Stop being a pansy-ass and pay attention.”

“Maybe she needs a little reward to work
for,” Francis suggested.

“Like what?”

“Like calling me by my name if I can manage
to move you from that spot,” she said before they could come up with something.
“My real name. Not honey or sister or ma’am.” She kind of liked Angelface, so
she didn’t throw that one into the mix.

Gabriel considered for a moment, then
nodded. “You’re on, little girl. But you have to get within six inches of any
part of my anatomy with that knife.”

“Any part?”

“Any part,” he confirmed.

Okay, well, how hard could it be? She took
up attack stance, meeting Gabriel’s green gaze evenly. Which part of his
anatomy would he expect her to go for, she wondered? Arm? Shoulder? The smirk
on his face? She lunged forward, diving to the ground, aiming for his boot and
cried out when Gabriel caught her wrist and twisted, forcing her to drop the
knife.

“Close.” He hauled her to her feet. “Try
again. Your eyes moved.”

She tried again. And again. And again after
that.

“Maybe tomorrow.” Gabriel ruffled her hair
playfully.

When he turned his back on her, she scooped
up the knife and caught him around the legs. With a grunt he crashed to the
ground, dragging her with him. Considering how big and wieldy the knife was, it
was a wonder she didn’t slice her own gullet open. The element of surprise
bought her those few extra seconds she needed to bury the tip of the blade in
the dirt next to his right boot.

Breathing heavily, she pushed to her feet,
dusting off her pants. “You said six inches. That’s less than three.”

“You been hogtied, hoss.” Francis laughed.

“Doesn’t count.” Gabriel rolled to his
feet, slipping the knife back into his boot. “We weren’t in stance.”

“You didn’t specify we had to be in stance,”
she pointed out.

“Well, you do.” Gabriel paid no attention
to her outrage, continuing up the steps into the house.

Well, she wasn’t about to let him get away
with crying foul. She followed him through the living room to the kitchen. “You
can’t make up the rules as you go. You said all I had to do was get the knife
within six inches of any body part. I did.”

“You cheated. You waited ’til my back was
turned.” He headed for the fridge to get a soda.

“You’re acting like a six-year-old,” she
accused.

“No, you’re whining because you cheated and
I called you on it.”

“I did
not
cheat. Francis.” She turned to the preacher for support as he
sauntered in behind them. “Tell him I didn’t cheat. He didn’t say one word
about having to be in stance.”

“You did cheat, Angelface. Normally I
wouldn’t have a problem with that, but seein’ as how you have a strict sense of
fair play, I’ll have to go with Gabe on this one. Damn, I’m hungry. Gabe, it’s
your night to cook. Call me when it’s ready.”

Gabriel continued to ignore her in favor of
studying the contents of the fridge. She didn’t know why it bothered her so
much, but it did. Folding her arms mutinously, she said, “I guess your wife
doesn’t cheat.”

“Every chance she gets.” He went to work pulling
items out of the fridge as if he were just as home in the kitchen as he was on
a battlefield. “If you’re gonna bend my ear, you can pull KP duty. Here.” He
hefted a sack of potatoes onto the table and slapped down a paring knife.

She wanted to tell him exactly which
orifice he could shove his KP into, but since she’d been here Harris and
Francis had been doing all the cooking and she hadn’t even offered to help. Not
that Harris would have wanted her help, but still, she should have offered. She
took the knife and sat down to peel. “Why does your wife get to cheat and I don’t?”

“She cheats to win and doesn’t give a damn
about the rules. You do. That’s dangerous. Your frustration made you strike out
to win only after you played by the rules and failed. When your life is at
stake there aren’t any rules, sister, only survival. And I’ll let you in on a
little secret. You’d better get used to the knife, because Juarez has a fondness
for it. Only he won’t give you a second chance.”

“So, in retrospect, I should have cheated
the first time.”

“Yep.”

After that Maria threw herself into the
grueling routine Francis and Gabriel set up for her. Not because she wanted to
prove she wasn’t a whiner, but because the rigorous maneuvers gave her
something to sink her teeth into, a way to work off the tension.

In the evenings Maria usually claimed the
porch swing for herself, rocking gently with a throw cover around her
shoulders, while Francis lounged on the steps smoking. Gabriel elected for one
of the wicker chairs, resting his alligator-skin boots on the railing.

The night sounds here were just the
opposite of the desert. All around them were the singing of crickets and
cicadas, the hooting owls, the scurrying of animals seeking out their nests.
Francis always became edgy toward evening. Gabriel mostly whittled on a stick.
But she could tell their minds were elsewhere.

It was almost like they were…waiting.