SHE OFFERED HERSELF LIKE A WOMAN WHO HAD NOTHING LEFT TO TRADE—BUT WHEN THE RANCHER SAW WHERE HER EYES WENT, HE REALIZED THE THING THEY WANTED WASN’T HER BODY. IT WAS IN THE BAG.
She stood in his doorway with blood dried down her sleeve, dust on her face, and a voice too tired to tremble right. He thought she was trying to bargain for safety until her eyes flicked once toward the saddlebag behind her horse and the riders on the horizon grew bigger. By the time Elias…
