Free Outlaw Pass (9781101544785) by Charles G. West Page B

toward the tables. “Maybe you oughtn’t ask her right now. Bonnie’s right; it might be better to wait till you can catch her alone.”
    Adam looked at Mutt, then back at the table again. “Hell, who knows when that might be? She’ll probably go off somewhere with one of ’em, or all of ’em, and I don’t intend to wait around that long.”
    â€œJust when I was beginning to like you,” Bonnie commented drily as Adam walked away.
    â€œDon’t start writin’ his eulogy just yet,” Mutt said. “This might be interestin’ to watch.”
    None of the four men at the table noticed the tall, broad-shouldered man as he approached until he caught Lacey Brewer’s eye. When she continued to gaze in Adam’s direction, one of the men turned to see what had distracted her attention. “Who the hell is that?” he uttered, causing his companions to follow his gaze. Nothing more was said at the moment, while all four looked the stranger over thoroughly. The one who had spoken looked accusingly at Lacey and repeated, “Who the hell is that?” For it appeared he was coming to their table.
    â€œWhat are you asking me for?” Lacey replied. “I’ve never seen him before.” She paused a moment to appraise the approaching stranger. Then, with a mischievous smile, she said, “I believe I’d remember him if I had seen him before.”
    Her remark served to stir up a fit of jealousy that was already well developed in the man sitting close beside her. Adam could feel the intensity of the man’s gaze as he stopped beside the table and asked, “Are you Lacey Brewer?” She nodded, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
    â€œWhat about?” her companion demanded before she had a chance to respond.
    â€œWell, that would be between the lady and me,” Adam answered calmly as he made a quick judgment of the man’s potential for causing him trouble. He possessed an unusually youthful face, and he wore a thin black mustache, an obvious attempt to appear more mature.
    â€œIs that a fact?” the man replied. “Well, the answer is hell no, she can’t talk to you. She’s talkin’ to me.” He glanced smugly around him at his friends to get their smiles of approval. “Now, you can drag your ass back over to the bar with that old whore and that brokedown stage driver.” His last remark drew a snicker from one of his friends.
    Hoping to avoid an unpleasant encounter, but anxious to learn anything the girl might be able to tell him about Jake, Adam paused for a moment before pursuing the matter. He decided he wasn’t willing to waste time waiting for her belligerent friend’s permission. “Look, mister,” he said in as calm a voice as he could fashion, “I don’t want to interrupt your little party with Miss Brewer. I just want to ask her a couple of questions. Then you can have her right back.” He shifted his focus to the girl then. “Is that all right with you?”
    Still puzzled by the tall stranger’s interest in her, and curious to know what he wanted to ask her, Lacey shrugged and said, “I guess.”
    â€œThe hell you do,” the man said, and grabbed her arm to hold her in her chair. Glaring at Adam, he warned, “Now, I’ve had a bellyful of you. I ain’t gonna tell you again.” His free hand dropped to his side to rest on the pistol he wore.
    â€œMister,” Adam said, “I told you I’m not lookin’ for any trouble. I just wanna ask the lady a couple of questions. It’s not worth gettin’ riled up about. I’ll just take a minute, and you can go right on with your party.”
    One of the others at the table, an amused spectator to that point, decided to wade in on the fun. “Hell, Lon, he’s just lookin’ to get his ass whipped. Why don’t we take