Page 10 of The Hero Within
Panic knotted within him. He was shit out of luck these days. Johnny drained the last inch out of the bottle of whiskey that had been sitting in front of him, and then tugged the black hat down over his eyes. Looked like it was time to move on, before she spotted him. That was one ghost from the past he was better off avoiding.
"I'll take you," called a husky voice.
Johnny froze.
Eden turned toward the stranger at the back of the bar, her black tank straining over those generous tits, and Johnny suddenly realized what every other man in the bar was thinking.
Fresh meat. A gorgeous, slightly vulnerable woman who'd just proclaimed to the world she was carrying enough money to make a desperate man cross the Divide.
"And who are you?" Eden demanded.
"Tom Agoura." The stranger grinned through his black beard as he pushed away from the table. "But you can call me Black Tom."
"Black Tom," she repeated dubiously. "And you can guide me and my friend across the Divide? We need to get to Cortez City in a hurry."
Black Tom's expression tightened at the mention of a companion, but then he smiled, all slow and lazy enough to make Johnny's fists twitch.
"Sure." Tom gestured toward the door. "Why don't we go meet yourfriendand discuss this matter in a more private setting? Then we can talk about price and what you're willing to pay. The Divide's a dangerous place for a pretty girl like you."
Don't get involved.
She won't thank you for it.
And neither of them had noticed him, here in the shadows of the bar. Johnny could let her walk out of here, let her walk right out of his life.
She'd never even know he was there.
Eden smiled. "Sure. But you'd best walk in front of me. Myfriendis a little twitchy with his trigger finger, and he's got ideas about the right way to talk to a lady."
Johnny held his breath. Maybe she didn't need his help. Maybe she would stroll right on out of his life, and her friend would keep her safe.
But Black Tom's smile held all kinds of sins, and Johnny's pulse kicked hard as something shiftedbeneathhis skin.
He flinched and looked at the thick veins in his forearm.What the hell?The warg within him rarely flexed its muscles—he'd had control over it for over twenty years.
All the hairs on the back of Johnny's neck lifted as Black Tom headed for the exit. "After me, then."
Tom strode through the bar doors, sending them swinging. Eden didn't even look around as she followed him out.
And then she was gone, vanishing like the remnants of a beautiful dream, where Johnny could almost recall the details, but not quite.
A bullet dodged.
A collision avoided.
But if he let her walk out of here with Black Tom, then he knew he'd never forget this moment—the moment when his one last chance of redemption slipped through his fingers.
Sure it's got to do with redemption?
Johnny's eyes narrowed. His fingernails started to itch, as if they were trying to turn into claws.
Getting involved with Eden McClain was the worst idea he'd ever had. Her brother, Adam, might have forgiven him for his role in inflicting Adam with the warg curse, but she wouldn't have.
Not when she'd been the bargaining chip used to condemn her brother to hell.
"Fuck." He snatched his bag with a growl. "Of all the shitholes left in the world, she had to walk into mine...."
"I need a guide to Cortez City,"Eden said, striding along in the wake of Black Tom. The Rim-side town was more shanty than actual civilization, and she couldn't stop her heart from rabbiting in her chest.
