Predator (Copper Mesa Eagles Book 1) by Roxie Noir, Amelie Hunt Page B

sliding out of the tray.
    It was so light it was unreadable. Seth rolled his eyes.
    I hate these things , he thought, and hit buttons until he had found out how to turn up the darkness.
    “Oh yeah,” said the guy at the desk, who was beginning to get interested. “It probably needs toner.”
    Thanks , Seth thought sarcastically. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another quarter, slotting it into the machine.
    Why does this thing only take quarters if a copy is fifteen cents? He thought.
    He hit the green button again, then raised his eyes to the parking lot.
    Two men got out of the car, both looking at Jules. They walked toward her, slowly, a menace in their steps that Seth couldn’t exactly identify, but the intimidation was evident.
    Before the machine had even finished scanning the deed, he was out the door again, the hot desert air in his face.
    “Juliana?” one of the men asked. He wasn’t wearing a suit, but his khakis had a neat seam down the front and his polo shirt was perfectly tucked into them.
    It wasn’t how people from the area dressed, not at all. Seth’s spine straightened.
    “Yes?” Jules answered, her arms crossed in front of herself.
    Seth moved to her side. He felt like every muscle in his body was twitching, jumping, like he was just daring these guys to try something on Jules.
    For now, the man seemed confused.
    “I thought you were on-site today,” he said. “What are you doing all the way out here?”
    At his side, Seth could almost feel Jules tremble.
    “The mine would have ruined peoples’ lives,” she said, not answering his question. “You were willing to wreck a whole town. A whole river , and who knows what else, just so you could make a little more money,” she said.
    He narrowed his eyes.
    “What do you mean would have ?” he asked. “Everything’s cleared the Utah Environmental Board. It doesn’t matter who you tell about porous sandstone and toxic runoff. It’s not illegal.”
    Jules didn’t say anything, and for the first time, the man seemed to notice Seth standing there.
    “Who the hell are you?” he asked.
    Seth shrugged, sneaking a glance back through the plate glass at Zach. His little brother was standing in front of the fax machine, looking down at it, pressing buttons.
    He needs more time , Seth realized. That’s what Jules was doing: preventing the two Quarcom men from coming inside. It was bad luck that they’d shown up more or less in the middle of nowhere, but Seth was glad that she’d noticed.
    “I’m just some guy,” he said, shrugging.
    In the store, Zach hit the buttons, balanced the copies in the feed, and waited.
    “No,” said the man in the polo shirt. The second man still hadn’t moved. “No, I’ve seen your face before.”
    “I don’t think so,” said Seth.
    Just try something , he thought. His hands itched to punch the guy who’d tried to take away his home, his town, his entire life , and he could feel the rage surging through him. Underneath his skin he could nearly feel the ripple of feathers, the urge to shift and tear the guy’s arms off or rip his throat out.
    It would feel so, so good to clock you , he thought.
    Then he felt Jules’s hand on his arm, like she’d read his thoughts, and he calmed down.
    “Don’t worry about it, Gilbert,” Jules said. “You’re barking up the wrong tree. This mine isn’t happening, and given what I found, I don’t think there are going to be more.”
    Inside the gas station, the paper started moving through the feed at an agonizing pace.
    God, I hope that thing works , thought Seth.  
    “I know who you are,” Gilbert said, suddenly. “You’re one of those hillbillies who thinks he owns that goddamn mesa.”
    “Nope,” said Seth. “I’m one of those hillbillies who does own that goddamn mesa, and who has documentation to back it up.”
    Gilbert hissed through his teeth, and tried to move around Seth, but Seth was too quick, blocking his way with his big, muscled