The thought annoyed her and she sat up. As she got off the bed, the mattress creaked slightly. Ranger’s eyes suddenly popped open.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Dana said.
“That’s okay. I’m a just a light sleeper.” He stood, then stretched.
By the time she’d found her shoes and slipped them on, Ranger had slid the chair back into place beside the wall and left the room.
“It’s already eight. When do we leave?” she asked, going to join him in the living room.
“As soon as you get your disguise back on,” he answered. He was gazing out the window toward the road. It was dark, but clear, and with the living room light still off he wasn’t presenting a silhouette to anyone outside. “But there’s a stop I want to make before we hit the bars. It may narrow our search. I’ll tell you about it once we’re on our way.”
Dana freshened her makeup-she was wearing more than she ever would have outside a disguise-and picked out a short, jet-black wig she’d found in the back of the closet. When she looked in the mirror, she barely recognized herself.
They were in the car and on the highway ten minutes later, driving west toward the city. He looked over to appraise her, then back to the road. “You look sexy,” he said with a quirky half smile.
Her heart did a little dance, but she quickly checked herself. She knew it was all an act. “It must be the new wig. It’s completely black, no lighter highlights anywhere. It changes my whole look.”
“No, it’s the way you fill out those tops…and the jeans, too.”
“The same can be said about you,” she answered.
He burst out laughing. “Thanks, darling. It’s good to know I’m appreciated. Now if you’d let me show you my appreciation in a more…tangible way.”
“Shouldn’t we be concentrating on what we have to do next?” she chided in her best teacher’s voice.
“You’re too wound up,” he said quietly. “Try to relax,” he said, glancing at her lap.
That’s when she suddenly realized that she’d bunched up the bottom hem of her sweater into her fists. “Oops. Stage fright, I guess.”
“Stop worrying. I’ve got your back,” he said, his voice soft as a summer breeze.
As their gazes met, she felt herself drowning in those dark eyes that promised far more than she could accept. “Neither one of us has put all our cards on the table, Ranger. You don’t trust me, and I can’t say I trust you, either. We can’t go beyond that.”
He looked back at the highway, where traffic was starting to pick up as they got closer to Farmington. “You can trust one thing. I won’t let anything happen to you,” he answered.
“That’s because you need me to ID the medicine man’s killers,” she said, determined not to let him see how much that admission hurt.
“That’s one reason. But there are others.” When they stopped at a traffic light, he cupped her chin and made her look at him. “Your own instincts tell you that there’s more between us. Trust yourself.”
She tore her gaze away. Her instincts…They told her that she wanted him and he wanted her, that there was more than just a physical attraction between them. But she’d heard how he was manipulating her to get information.
“We’re about to stick our necks way out tonight. I’ve got to know that I can trust you and you’ve got to believe I’ve got your back. If we aren’t in complete agreement on that much, our chances of success are slim.”
“No problems there,” she said. “Now tell me where we’re going first.”
“About a year ago we hired a guy at Birdsong Enterprises who turned out to be a thief. He was caught stealing tools from the shop. But he and I got along, and though I had to fire him, there were no grudges. I learned later that the guy’s got a bit of a gambling problem and is always looking for a way to make a few quick bucks. If I approach him just right, he may give us a few leads.”
“So we’re going to his home?”
“No. There’s a tough-man competition, in this case an illegal cage fight, that he attends regularly. I’m guessing we’ll find him there. But brace yourself. It’s brutal, with few rules, all for a cash prize.”
Out of all the recreational sports she’d hoped never to see, this one topped the list. “Okay,” she said, managing to keep her voice steady. “Just don’t be surprised if I throw up on somebody.”
“You don’t have to watch. Just stick close to me-no matter what. Got that?”
“Not a problem.” Dana tried to prepare herself. She even hated school fights, pulling boys with bloody noses off each other. But she’d do what had to be done. Somehow, she hoped.
They arrived less than twenty minutes later. The fight was being held in a large metal warehouse located in an industrial section just southeast of downtown. Vehicles lined the curbs on both sides of the street, and Dana could see mostly young men, some with beer bottles in hand, walking toward the structure.
“It’s packed,” she said. “I never thought so many people would be interested.”
“Yeah, it’s popular, and most who come bet heavily on their favorite fighters. The promoters switch locations all the time to avoid getting raided, and there are rumors that officers are being paid to look the other way. I got tonight’s location earlier from a source at my workplace.”
Three big goons with handheld radios stood beside the only entrance, a double door at the side of the structure above a small loading dock. After handing over a forty-dollar admittance fee for the two of them, they walked into the two-story structure. Judging from the signs outside, it had been a former maintenance garage for oil service company vehicles. But whatever oil smell might have lingered was overwhelmed by the odor of dust, beer, stale tobacco and sweat.
Hundreds of people were crowded around a hexagonal, wire-covered framework atop a makeshift stage in the center of the big room. Two slightly overweight men were swinging wildly at each other with bare fists. Between the grunts from the center of the ring, and the ebb and flow of voices from the crowd, the place literally vibrated with the rawness of underground life.
Ranger held her hand tightly, and when he glanced over at her, she was looking down at her feet. He was certain she’d never seen anything even remotely like this.
Dana didn’t say a word, though she would have had to shout to be heard, and he couldn’t think of anything to say that would help her now. Finally she looked up, holding her head high at last, and gave him a stiff-lipped smile.
Ranger switched his gaze to the people around and ahead of them, ignoring the shouts, raised beer bottles and the money being waved around. He was searching for Jimmy Brownhat.
The people were crowded elbow to elbow around the cage. Ranger surveyed the faces slowly and methodically. Then, at long last, he spotted Jimmy across the room, standing on a pallet against a wall, high enough for an unobstructed view. He was shouting encouragement to one of the fighters.
As the crowd roared almost in unison, Jimmy looked away, shaking his head. Judging from the groans among the cheers, one of the fighters had either just delivered a knockout punch, or his opponent had thrown in the towel. Jimmy jumped off the pallet, and started walking in the direction of the entrance.
“He’s leaving. We need to catch up to him before he disappears,” Ranger said, elbowing his way through the mass of people.
The press of the crowd forced Ranger to switch directions quickly, but as they went through a maze of angry losers, he felt Dana’s hand slip away from his. Ranger turned around, but before he’d even taken a step, three people pushed in between them.
Looking around, Dana waved him on. “Go! I’ll catch up.”
Dana changed directions, heading for the closest open area. Just as the mass of people around her began to thin, someone grabbed her arm.