The rents cheap. Margo refused to let him win a single round. He had won far too much from her already.
So the rumors are true, then. Youre giving half of every dime you make to Blu so he can throw it away on that worthless fishing fleet your father left him.
The fleet isnt worthless. How dare you call it that! Furious, Margo fisted the bed with her good hand, then gritted her teeth as a sharp pain shot into her injured arm. Gasping for air, she said, The fleet was my daddys whole life. And Blu wants it to be his. One day itll be back to being the best fleet on the Gulf. It was once, it can be again.
Take it easy. Youre going to start bleeding again.
Margo leaned back and rested her head on the headboard and closed her eyes.
You should be more concerned with your own life. Your own future, not Blus.
My lifes perfect.
This is perfect?
Margo opened her eyes. This could have happened to anyone, anywhere in this city. Where have you been? The crime rate here is double to anywhere else, maybe triple. Now, are you going to sew me up or not?
He made a rude snort, then crossed his arms over his bare chest. Thats the favor? Stitch you up?
I havent asked anything of you. Nothing since The words lodged in Margos throat. She tried again. This isnt a whole lot worse than the time I got that fishhook in my leg. You cut the hook out and sewed me up, remember? Good as new, is what Mama said when she inspected the job youd done. Dont pretend you cant sew me back together because I know different.
A long minute ticked by.
Margo jerked her chin up a notch higher. Fix my arm good as new, old man. You owe me that much. And by most standards, Id say youre getting off cheap.
He flinched at her none-too-subtle reference to the past, then promptly got mad. This isnt some damn fishhook accident. Hell, youve been shot! Damn lucky to be alive by the looks of it! Another inch or two and
When did you take up shouting?
What?
I thought you hated irrational behavior. Doesnt shouting and ranting fall into that category?
I never rant!
Never say never, Margo taunted. Tonight I had to eat that word.
You could have died!
If thats true, and you care even a smidgen, Id think you would be willing to help me out.
Youre missing the point.
No, Margo argued, the point is, you owe me and Im here to collect. Now are you going to be a bastard and deny me, or sew me up so I dont bleed all over this expensive comforter?
He didnt move.
Loath to be reduced to pleading, Margo forced herself. Ry, please. I dont have anywhere else to go. If I go to Mamas, shell fly into a panic and start crying and praying both at the same time. She has high blood pressure now, and She could see he was weakening. I suppose I could pay to have it stitched up on the street. I never thought about that, and I know this guy on the waterfront who
The hell you will! He raked both hands through his hair.
Margo curiously watched him start to pace back and forth at the foot of the massive bed. She had always admired Rys ability to remain calm even in a crisis. Now she wondered what could have happened in the past two years to have changed that. This was not the same overconfident, almost cocky cop shed known two years ago. No, this new up-tight version appeared to be more human, even a bit vulnerable. And damn him, more likeable than the old versionthat is, if she didnt hate him so much.
She held her breath, watched him wear out the thick rug. Suddenly he stopped pacing and faced her. Its going to hurt like a son of a
Forewarned is
Not worth a damn if it doesnt change the fact. In this case, it wont. You need a local anesthetic.
I wont whine and call you names, if thats what youre worried about, Margo promised.
If I do this, Im going to expect a detailed account of what really happened. His eyes drilled her. What really happened, Margo? Not some damn story about a mugger in a hat bigger than his head.
Its the truth, she insisted.
He strode to the door, then turned back. Do I look stupid?
No, he didnt look stupid. He looked big and strong, and dammit, as handsome as ever. Margo hated to admit that one very disturbing fact, but he was Texas tough and remarkably well built, and
Margos gaze slid down his impressive bare chest. Further. Never one to mince words, she said, No, Ry, you dont look stupid. You look painfully uncomfortable. Do I still affect you, then?
Her blunt assessment of his aroused condition was met with a frustrated, crude one-liner. Then he was gone.
Feeling a little better, now that shed definitely won round one, Margo slumped against the headboard. Moments later she heard cupboard doors banging across the hall, followed by several colorful adjectives. He was angry, there was no question about that, but not so much so that he wouldnt help her, and thats all that mattered at the moment.
As his tirade faded, Margo sighed then closed her eyes. The soft patter of rain outside the second-story window became too obvious to ignore, and she soon began to listen to its hypnotic rhythm. Unlike her neighborhood, Rys was incredibly quiet. The tall hedge outside reminded her of a live castle wall with the power to shield and protect. There was no street noise, no glaring lights. Only an enormous amount of peace and quite.