Chapter 6

Cody’s eyes grew wide. “What are you doing?” he asked, his body tensing.

The man continued to ignore him and set about skinning the dead animal, not caring that blood and god-knows-what-else was spilling onto the tabletop.

Cody could barely watch as the man peeled the pelt away from the meat and tossed it to the floor. Then, without a single glance at Cody, the man took the carcass outside. When he returned, the animal had been gutted.

“Hey, buddy, are you going to tell me what I’m doing here?” he asked.

The man might have been a muscular bear of a man, but Cody was no wimp, either. He had always been solidly built, and going to the gym three times a week had turned whatever flab he’d been carrying into rock-hard muscle. Nevertheless, he wasn’t fool enough to think he could take on the man in a fist fight and beat him, although he’d certainly be able to hold his own.

“Great,” he muttered. “A nut job.”

The man glared at him, but remained silent.