Darkness on Fire (18 page)

He held out the pieces of his shirt. “You’re good to go. Use these to wash up.”

Then he noticed a dark streak caught up in the curls of her hair. When he touched it, his hand came away bloody.

“Uh, looks like you need to wash your hair, too.”

Her eyes widened in horror as the implication of what he was saying sank in. “How am I going to do that from the edge of the water?”

She was right. “Maybe a quick rinse won’t get the job done. Maybe you should just go for broke and take a quick bath.”

Reggie studied the dark sheen of the water suspiciously, but finally she nodded. “All right, if you think it’s safe.”

“It should be,” he assured her, mentally crossing his fingers. “Give me a second so I can see what kind of supplies I have that you can use.”

He dumped the pack out on the ground and studied the contents: shampoo, a toothbrush, a bar of soap, and even a spare tunic. Damn, Devlin and Barak had thought of everything.

He arranged the items on a flat rock next to the edge of the water. “Here you go, Reggie. I’ll turn my back, but I’ll stay close by in case you need me.”

He did as promised, but listened to make sure she was doing all right. The rustle of fabric sliding down skin, the almost silent plop of something dropping down on the ground, and then the splash of water, followed by a bloodcurdling squeal.

What the hell? He spun back around, gun in hand and ready to defend her against all comers. Except no one was there except a totally nude Reggie, standing thigh deep in the water and glaring back at him.

“I thought you said the water was just a little cold!”

He tried not to laugh, he really did. But she was so cute, standing there naked and absolutely furious. She had no idea how clearly he could see in the dark, so she wasn’t trying to cover up. At least the little lost girl was gone, momentarily replaced by her usual feisty nature.

“Yeah, I may have exaggerated a bit on that point,” he said, trying to sound apologetic and failing miserably.

“You think, you big jerk?”

She gave him a disgusted look and then gingerly waded out farther into the water. “Remind me to get even with you for this.”

We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster eBook.

Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Pocket Books.

or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com