Ria’s sharp tone had him raising an eyebrow. “Just being friendly. Not often you see an honest-to-God saloon, with a whorehouse.”
“Plenty of brothels all around the galaxy.”
“Yeah, but none with this kind of old-fashioned charm.”
She made a harrumphing sound. “The diseases are all the same. How about we remember why we’re here? How are we going to find Lastite Lala?”
Suddenly, a deafeningboomthundered through the town. The horses shied, Zayn’s rearing up on his hind legs. It took all his strength to stay seated and calm it down. Surprisingly, Ria managed to soothe her horse by talking softly to it.
Ahead, a huge cloud of smoke rose in the shape of a mushroom above the dusty roofs.
He smiled. “How about we start at the explosion?”
She nodded and pointed her horse in the direction of the billowing smoke. A small crowd had gathered around a large hole in the ground. Smoke had turned the air hazy, but it was clearing quickly.
“You crazy-ass idiot.” One man in a battered brown hat and boots was stamping his feet, his face red.
Beside him, another man hopped from one foot to the other, slapping at his singed trousers. “I’m not the idiot. She is.” He stabbed a finger across the hole.
Zayn heard the riotous laughter now. Through the clearing smoke, he saw a tiny slip of a girl dancing around in circles. She was dressed in a pink-checkered shirt and black trousers with a short, white, frilly skirt over the top. Her hair was a shocking shade of neon pink.
“Blow it up, blow it high, blow it up into the sky.” The girl did a pirouette. “You morons shouldn’t have tried to steal my stuff. You can’t just come in and take someone’s explosives.” She wagged a finger at them. “Bad, bad manners.”
“I guess we found Lastite Lala,” Ria murmured.
Yep, they certainly had.
“You blew up our house,” Burned Pants yelled. “All our stuff.”
Lala poked out her tongue. “I saw you beating that horse of yours, Ray Baker. She never did anything to you.”
“And you destroyed the train line up to our mining claim.” The other man was red in the face. “All because of a damned horse.”
“No, Clint. The train line is for what you did to Clarissa over at the saloon. She was covered in bruises, you bully.”
“You crazy bitch,” Ray spat.
Lala paused. “What did you call me?”
The men looked at each other, nerves wafting off them.
“Did you call me a crazy bitch?” She looked over at the crowd. “Did they?”
There was a murmur of “yeses.”
She broke out into a wide grin. “Why, thank you.”
Ria shook her head. “She’s certifiable.”
“Should be fun taking her with us then,” Zayn said.
It was then he saw Ray and Clint drawing their weapons and taking aim at the girl.
Pulling his blade from its sheath, he broke into a sprint.
CHAPTER TEN
“Zayn!” Ria tried to call him back, but he was already running toward the men.
