"Got a little garden. A few chickens. Nobody shooting at me. Ain't much. But it's honest."
"Sihaya's brother tried to walk away, too." I said quietly. "Holt killed him for it." Rook's hand tightened around his cup. "How long you think before he decides you know too much to let live?" Sihaya added. Silence hung in the room.
"What exactly are you asking of me?" He said at last. "Help us get inside Holt's operation." I said. "We need to know his plans for the Ash Trail Caravan and turn some of his men against him." Rook let out a dry breath. "You're talking about suicide."
"Holt doesn't trust anyone. Especially not someone who walked away. He'd kill me the second he saw me." "Not if you bring him something he wants." Sihaya said. Rook frowned.
"Like what?" She and I exchanged a glance. We'd thought about it on the ride out here. But saying it out loud made it real. "Me." She said.
Rook nearly choked on his coffee. "You out of your mind?" "You want me to hand you over to Holt?" "Not exactly." Sihaya said calmly. "Just enough to make him believe you captured me.
That gets you close to him. Close enough to gather information. Maybe even pull some of his men to our side." "And then what?" Rook shot back. "How do you plan on getting out alive?"
"That's where I come in." I said. "While you're inside, I'll be positioned close enough to cover you when things go bad." "When doesn't it?" Rook Vatcher muttered dryly. "Not with Varick Holt in the picture." I answered.
Rook went quiet after that. Staring out the window at the peaceful valley he'd been trying to call home. When he finally spoke, his voice carried a weight to it. "Cairo saved my life twice when we rode with Holt." He said. "I owe him.
And I owe his sister seeing Holt pay for what he did." Sihaya stepped forward. "So." "Will you help us?" Rook nodded once.
"I'll help. But we do it my way, my plan. He leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp again. Holt's smart, suspicious. If we're going to fool him, we've got to be smarter.