“That was the first time I screamed,” she shot back, indignant. She couldn’t begin to count the number of times she wanted to shriek in total panic, and each time she swallowed it. “Did you find Dylan?”
“Unfortunately.”
Beth’s heart sank. “Damn,” she said softly, getting to her feet. Her legs were cramped, and she stumbled a bit before she righted herself, but MacGowan didn’t make any effort to help her. “He was so young.”
“Still is,” MacGowan said in a disgruntled voice. “Hey, brat, show yourself. Our little nun thinks I killed you.”
The lanky teenager appeared out of the heavy foliage, a sullen expression on his face. “I can take care of myself,” he muttered.
“Yeah, right. That’s why you were still trussed up like a Christmas goose when I found you,” MacGowan drawled.
“I thought the others had killed him, not you,” Beth snapped. “And I told you, I’m not a nun. I’m not even Catholic.”
“Close enough, Sister Beth,” he said. He was deliberately taunting her, and she knew she shouldn’t rise to the provocation, but she couldn’t help it. She bit back her retort. “And I’ve already lost one meal ticket – I’m not about to let go of another.”
“Such nobility of spirit,” Beth said under her breath.
“You betcha, lady,” he shot back. “I’ve been stuck in a hellhole for almost three years – I want the good life when I get back to civilization.”
“Three years?” She didn’t bother to hide the shock in her voice. “I didn’t realize . . .”
“And I don’t need your bleeding heart fixating on me. Money will soothe my wounded soul just fine. And if you feel like throwing in a mercy fuck on the side I’d be grateful.”
“Dude, that’s no way to get a chick,” Dylan scoffed.
MacGowan glanced at him, amused. “Really? You can give me pointers while we head down the mountain. Based on your vast experience, no doubt.”
“Hey, I’ve had lots of pussy in my life.” He cast an uneasy glance at Beth. “Excuse me, Sister Beth.”
“I’m not a nun,” she said through gritted teeth as they started, single file, down the winding trail.
“Sure she is,” MacGowan said. “Pay no attention to her. I want to hear how an infant like you gets pussy.”
“I’m sixteen!” he protested. “And I live in Hollywood. I’ve been getting laid since I was twelve.”
“Great,” MacGowan muttered. “What cougar got to you?”
“None of your business. And I like my chicks young, just a year or two older than I am. Even Sister Beth is too old.”
She felt ridiculously offended. “I’m not . . .” she began, but his words drowned her out.
“Your mistake. Sister Beth feels like a prime piece of ass to me, and I’m a connoisseur in these things.”
“Would you mind not discussing me like I’m a side of beef?”
They both ignored her as they continued down the path, and she had to hurry to keep up with them.
“You haven’t been laid in three years,” Dylan scoffed. “A heifer would look like a prime piece to you.”
Enough was enough. “Are you calling me a cow?” Beth demanded in a dangerous voice.
MacGowan glanced back at her, and in the fitful moonlight she could see the shadow of a smile in his dark face. “A very young cow,” he said, amused. “Calm down, Sister Beth. He’s too young to appreciate your mature charms.”
“I’m thirty-one years old,” she snapped. “And I’m not a goddamned nun.”
He laughed out loud then. “You get kidnapped by rebels, threatened by a psychopath, fall off a cliff and face death around every corner and the only thing that can make you swear is being called a nun? You should have said you weren’t a goddamned cow.”
“Go to hell,” she muttered.