No Mercy by Cheyenne McCray Page A

if hoping Dylan wouldn’t want to talk. He did want
    to ask her more questions about the past, but he figured he’d stick with the present.
    He steered the truck down the empty highway. No one ahead and no one following. “Christie
    mentioned you’ve been in the restaurant business for some time.”
    Belle turned her gaze from the window and looked at him. “I started from the bottom up. I began
    as a dishwasher and moved on to bussing tables, then hostessing, waitressing, and on from there.
    Over the years, I transitioned my way to restaurant manager.”
    He felt a knot in his chest when he thought about her having to wash dishes just to survive after
    running away. “You manage a restaurant now?”
    “I did.” She let out a long sigh. She explained the circumstances leading up to walking out on
    her job.
    “What kind of ass—” Dylan let out his breath, “— idiot would refuse to let an employee leave for
    the death of a friend?”
    “Now I have job hunting in my future when I return to Houston.” She looked tense as she shifted
    in her seat. “But I’l be fine.” He wasn’t sure if she added the last words to reassure herself or him.
    He didn’t like the way it made him feel to think about her leaving and returning to Houston. A
    very big part of him wanted to claim her and tell her he was never letting her out of his sight again.
    He’d loved her with everything he had then, and now his heart wanted her back.
    What the hell was he thinking? She left once. What was to stop her from running again?
    But that had been because of her stepfather. She was an adult now and the bastard couldn’t
    hurt her.
    Dylan ground his teeth. It was taking every ounce of restraint he had not to drive straight to
    Harvey Driscoll’s home and beat the shit out of the sonofabitch. Dylan had always had a temper and
    it was only hard won control that kept him from acting on it.
    It took effort, but Dylan turned his thoughts to the present and the fact that they’d arrived.
    Leon Petroski’s business was located on a property near his house, which was one of the nicer
    homes in the area. Dylan pulled his truck up to a huge workshop where Leon was talking with a
    couple of men. They wore shirts with logos on the back that read Leon’s Pump and Well Service .
    Leon said something to the men who nodded, and walked to a truck bearing the same logo on
    the doors as they had on their shirts. The men were driving away by the time Dylan and Belle parked
    in front of Leon and his shop. The place was filled with heavy equipment, drilling and pump supplies.
    After Dylan helped Belle out of the truck, she hugged Leon and Dylan clapped his hand on his
    friend’s shoulder.
    56

    ***
“Thanks for stopping by.” Leon, who was tall and lean, adjusted a bal cap, pulling it down on his
    sandy blond hair. “It’s been crazy around here, and getting back to Bisbee over the next couple of
    days to give you the postcard would be difficult.”
    “Not a problem,” Dylan said.
    “G.I. Joe is up at the house.” Leon nodded in the direction of his home. “He seems to be settling
    in well.”
    Dylan nodded. “I appreciate you taking him in.” He looked over the shop and at the office building
    attached to the much larger workshop. “Some setup you have here.”
    “We keep busy.” Leon nodded in the direction of the office building. “I’l introduce you to my wife
    and get you that card.”
    “Does your wife work with you?” Belle walked on the opposite side of Leon from Dylan.
    Leon shook his head. “Jane owns a clothing boutique in Sierra Vista. She took the afternoon
    off.”
    He led them into the attached office building and wiped his work boots on a mat before stepping
    inside.
    A tall woman with short spiky hair glanced up from a paper she had been poring over as she sat
    behind a desk. She looked from Dylan to Belle and smiled as she stood.
    Leon made introductions. Jane had a firm grip as she greeted both Belle and Dylan.