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the rocks, keeping close to the ground. His instincts told him not to let his outline be caught against the light of the moon. He rounded a massive boulder and saw her: the silver bitch. She was lying on her side, her neck and shoulder a mass of bloody fur. He went to her and tried to lift her with his snout, but she only whined. |
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''Get up!" his mind screamed. "Get up! They're coming!" |
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The she-wolf's eyes were twin pools of agony. He could smell the sickly-sweet odor of death oozing out of her with each staccato beat of her heart. Behind him he heard movement in the trees at the edge of the forest and panic seized his heart. He couldn't think. He had to get away, but he couldn't just leave her. |
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The she-wolf whined and licked his nose and he blinked back almost human tears. He placed his fangs at her throat. |
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"I'm sorry," his mind said. "I'm so sorry." |
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The penthouse at the Albuquerque Hilton was the size of a small warehouse. It had been lavishly furnished in leathers and accented with Navaho rugs and kachina dolls. The three outer walls were made of clear Plexiglas. The east wall gave a view of Sandia Crest, the opposite wall overlooked Old Town. |
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When the buzzer sounded, Conrad put aside the local paper he had been reading and went to the door. |
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The man in the hall was black and thin as a rail and had a neatly trimmed goatee. |
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"I have a message from Ms. Rand." |
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Conrad looked the man up and down. The stranger had on a dark three-piece suit, his shoes were polished, and he was wearing a watch that had to have cost a thousand bucks. But Conrad knew better than to take a chance. |
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