44 Book Four Read Online Free Page B

energy move around her. She wasn’t full of life, but she wasn’t dark either. The way it floated around her reminded me of Dr. Mortimer’s energy, the way it looked right after he had killed Nathaniel. I figured that Mo probably carried a deep sadness of some sort with her, buried behind walls.
    I finished ringing up the women. They were just buying beans. I was glad that we wouldn’t have to wait for them while they finished drinks.
    “Thanks, hon,” the older one said, pulling up her hood and heading out into the rain. After the bells rang and they were gone, Mo came up to me.
    “I hate that hon shit,” she said.
    “Me, too,” I said, smiling.
    I boxed up the remaining pastries and left it on the counter. Mike donated them to the homeless shelters and every morning they came by to pick up the day-olds right before we opened.
    I grabbed a pound of the dark roast espresso beans from the shelf, and put it next to the register so I wouldn’t forget to take it home. It was one of the perks of the job. Free beans every week.
    It was pouring outside now, heavy drops pounding on the roof in a steady rhythm.
    “Let’s call it,” Mo said. I nodded and she turned the sign over and brought down the blinds.
    Mo cleared out the cash register, counted the money, and took it in the back to put away in the safe. When she came back out, we both started working on the espresso bar. We were working again side by side in complete silence, and once again I caught myself looking over at her arms. 
    They really were striking. Both arms were covered in ink. Some of the tattoos were large, some small, all of them making some sort of statement. I made out a large heart with a crack down the middle, a girl holding an electric guitar, and a large cross.
    My eyes had stayed on them too long.
    “Thinking of getting one?” she said. I inhaled suddenly when our eyes met.
    I smiled awkwardly and shook my head. I tried to think of something smart to say, a good way to describe them that didn’t sound like those nervous women. They weren’t exactly beautiful, but they did have an interesting charm.
    “They’re so intricate,” I sputtered out finally, knowing how dumb it sounded.
    She looked down at the girl holding the guitar.
    “That’s supposed to be me playing,” she said, pointing. “And that’s the name of our band under it.”
    I moved a little closer and studied it.
    “No Mercy,” I said. “Cool.”
    She grabbed the broom for a final sweep around the store as I finished washing out the half and half canisters. It was crazy. In all the months since I had been working at Back Street, I realized that we had just had our first conversation.
    We finished up, closing only about 15 minutes earlier than usual. I phoned Kate, got her voicemail, and left a quick message telling her I was heading home.
    “You on tomorrow?” Mo asked, as we stood in the rain while she locked the front doors.
    “No,” I said.
    “Later,” she said.
    I watched as she took off across the asphalt, darting over the deep puddles. As I ran behind her, I realized that my Jeep was the only car parked in the lot and that Mo was walking. I caught sight of her sprinting away into the dark, wet night, turning off on Bond Street before I had a chance to offer her a ride home in the hard rain.
     

 
    CHAPTER 6
     
    The highway was empty and I stepped down on the accelerator, pushing the Jeep just past 65. I unrolled the window and let the warm air fill the car. It was a beautiful day with only a few clouds in the far distance, the sun high, looking down across the open desert.
    I hadn’t been out to the Badlands in a long time, hadn’t even been on this highway going east and cutting through the high desert in years. The hiking trail was only about 18 miles from town, but the landscape felt so removed and different from what I was used to. Gone were the mountain views and buttes and pine trees. This mostly flat, lonely land was filled with rocks and