Free Aces High by Kay Hooper Page B

going to start to smell a rat.”
    “They’re both pros,” she observed.
    He nodded, but said, “Still, one thread too tight and this whole thing’s going to unravel. Maybe we’d better talk to the others tonight.”
    Kyle nodded agreeably, then took aim with her rifle and put yet another neat hole through the target some yards away. Lucas gave her a pained look, but laughed warmly.
    Meanwhile, Skye found the others he sought gathered around the sheriff’s office in the dusty main street of the Old West town. The sheriff, a tall, lean man with copper hair and tawny eyes and a lazy air that was somewhat deceptive, straightened from his lounging pose to offer Skye a cheerful hello.
    Skye returned the greeting as he looked at him, then eyed the other three people. Both the ladies were tiny, and both were redheads, but the sheriff’s lady had an expression of serenity in her sea-green eyes that perfectly matched both her husband’s lazy calm and her own dignified costume of schoolteacher. The other redheaded lady, leaning back against the gunslinger who had both arms around her, had big, waiflike brown eyes that were bright with interest and a vivid face that made her as eye-catching as the scanty saloon girl costume she wore.
    Looking finally at the powerful dark man who was playing the role of gunslinger, a menacing figure due to his size, the faint scar on his lean cheek, and the all-black costume, Skye shook his head ruefully. “You people didn’t choose this park just because of Adrian’s threat,” he said definitely. “You wanted the chance to play dress-up.”
    Teddy Steele giggled engagingly. “No, because the guys would have worn commando outfits. It took me all of an hour to talk Zach into being the villain.”
    A deep chuckle rumbled from the gunslinger, and his powerful arms tightened gently around his wife. “This isn’t so bad,” he commented to Skye in an unexpectedly soft voice. “But I feel for Josh.”
    Rafferty Lewis laughed as well, pushing his white hat to the back of his head. “Face it, we’re all having fun with this. Even Josh. Better than a vacation. What’s up, Skye?”
    Skye repeated his decision to settle on the Ferris wheel as the site of the governor’s attempted assassination, leaning back against a hitching post as he spoke to them. Their reaction was much the same as Lucas’s and Kyle’s.
    “When does the balloon go up?” Teddy asked.
    “A week from Saturday, if all goes well,” Skye answered. “Right on schedule.” He felt an unusually steady gaze on him, and looked at the schoolteacher, whose eyes were gentle.
    “Are you all right?” she asked.
    He managed a smile. “Fine, Sarah.” He knew his control was strained to the breaking point, but until he had talked to Lucas and Kyle he’d believed he was hiding it well. Obviously not. Before anybody else could mention it, he said, “I’ll try to touch base with the others sometime today. Hagen said something about seeing the Wild West show, but I’ll try to keep him busy. Better stay alert, though.”
    “Thanks for the warning,” Zach said.
    Skye saluted them casually and left.
    There was a moment of silence after he’d gone, and then Teddy said reflectively, “Does anybody know if we’re unintentionally matchmaking?”
    Sarah looked at her. “It was that kind of tension, wasn’t it?”
    “I’d say so. And, according to Raven, Skye isn’t the type to get nervous professionally. This operation has to be a piece of cake to him. So what other reason could there be?”
    Rafferty sighed. “If we’ve learned anything by now, it has to be that where Hagen is, romance is. Against all odds. It isn’t really any of our business, though,” he added carefully.
    “No.” Zach’s deep voice was slow and thoughtful. “But if that’s the cause of Skye’s tension, he isn’t handling it well. And he’s the linchpin of the entire plan. Dane could step in, I suppose, if it comes to that. Maybe we’d better