Priceless

measure.
    Even in the dim light, I watched in fascination as the colour crept up his neck and into his face. “Are you blushing, O’Shea?”
Milly, Milly, why didn’t I believe you about this power women have over men long ago?
    “Don’t tease him, Rylee. Any man would stare at what you’ve got.” Dox gave me a long wink; I knew he didn’t mean anything by it. I stretched my arms over my head, feeling O’Shea’s gaze linger on my skin, like a touch. If this was all it took to keep him quiet, then I needed to modify my regular wardrobe to be more like Milly, with skin-tight, revealing clothes. Anything to keep O’Shea off balance.
    “I’m not staring at you. I’m looking to see where all the blood came from. Or is it not yours?” His voice prickled with malice.
    I froze with my hands above my head. “You want me to leave them up here while you read me my rights?” Shimmying off the bar, I hopped to the floor, not lowering my hands. The world swayed and all thoughts of bravado left me as I concentrated on not falling flat on my face.
    Hands steadied me. “I guess that answers my question.” O’Shea’s voice rumbled too close for comfort. With a jerk, I slid out of his hands and backed up to the closest bar stool.
    “What do you want?” I snapped, no longer interested in playing games.
    “You mean to tell me that you don’t know? Adamson, I’d have thought after all these years you’d know I frequent the dives of New Mexico on my off days.” He pulled out a bar stool next to me and sat down.
    “Beer,” was all he said when Dox lifted his eyebrows. Of course, O’Shea couldn’t see what Dox really was, anymore than he could see a werewolf and not a large dog slinking toward him with his teeth bared.
    “Alex, here,” I said, my tone brooking no argument. Alex grumbled under his breath, something that could easily be written off by human ears as a growl.
    Pressing up against my leg, he glared at O’Shea, who turned to look at the “dog” at my side. “What is he?”
    “A mutt,” was my only answer. Dox put a coaster down in front of O’Shea, followed by an ice-cold beer that soaked through the paper coaster within seconds.
    O’Shea nodded his thanks and took a long drag off the bottle. “Best beer I’ve tasted in a long while, almost a hint of something in it. Can’t quite put my finger on it.”
    What the hell was this small chat shit? What was his game? As he and Dox discussed the different local brews, I slipped from my stool and headed to the back room where I knew Dox kept some spare clothes.
    A black t-shirt that was a little on the tight side and said “Suck it!” on the front was not my first choice, but the other option was an extra large that stated it was a tool shed. Nope, “Suck it!” didn’t look too bad, especially not with O’Shea waiting out front.
    Alex stayed at my side, his presence a steady comfort. If I wasn’t careful, I’d come to rely on him to be there, like a large teddy bear. I washed the blood off my arm and body then tugged the too-tight shirt on over my head.
    Stepping into the bar again, I was shocked to see O’Shea passed out on the bar.
    “What happened? I was only gone like five minutes.” I plucked open one of O’Shea’s eyelids.
    Dox laughed. “Well, after he dissed my place—again—I offered him some of the local juice.”
    I let out a groan. “Ogre beer?”
    He just smiled, didn’t even bother to nod. “Well, how long will he be out?” The stuff was potent. What moonshine was to water, Ogre Beer was to human alcohol. I’d never tried it myself, though apparently it was sweet and tangy. It was the after kick that worried me.
    “Oh, he’ll be out for about an hour, then have a hangover for at least another four,” Dox said, wiping down the bar around the FBI agent. And just where was his partner exactly? Nope, didn’t matter, wasn’t my issue.
    “I’ve gotta go then. If I can get a head start, maybe I can keep him out of the way this time.”
    Dox walked me to the door. “He’s the one who went after you, isn’t he?”
    Blinking away sudden tears, I cleared my throat and hid the moisture in my eyes with a hand through the hair. “Yeah, but he never could prove anything; not a motive, nothing. He just wanted to be right, to break the big case.”
    “Well, I’ll stall him much as I can.” He pulled me into a big hug, being careful of my arm, letting me go just as carefully.
    A cold nose bumped into my hand.