'Why? ' 'It's complicated.'
'That's an excuse, not an answer.' Ryan sent the chair flying backward
when he stood up and leaned against the desk. Both men ignored the
crash that followed as the chair struck the wall, their gazes were
fixed on each other.
A long minute passed in silence before Ryan made up his mind. 'All
right, I'll tell you why I chose you for the job. A long time ago I
started getting curious about you when I heard about the trouble you
ran into down near Abilene and how you handled it.'
'I'm sure the story was exaggerated.'
'No, it wasn't. I checked it out. You knew what they were going to do
to that woman, and yout' 'Like I said, ' Cole interrupted, 'the story
was exaggerated.'
'You shot through her to get him.' 'I shot through her arm, that's
all. The bullet didn't touch bone. She only got a nick.'
'But that same bullet killed him.
' 'He needed to die.' 'I can give you at least twenty other
examples.
' 'I'm good with a gun. So what? ' 'You want the best reason of
all?
' 'Yes.'
'You think like they do.'
'Like who? ' 'The bastards who came in here and killed all those
people.'
'Son of a bitch! ' Cole roared. 'Do you think I could do something
like this? ' Ryan diffused his anger. 'No, I don't think you could do
something like this. I said you think like they do. You can get into
their minds, Cole.
I've tried, but I can't do it.'
'You're nuts, Ryan.'
'Maybe, but I need a man who won't hesitate and who doesn't mind
bending the law in certain situations. I also have to trust him, and I
trust you.'
