“Saddled? Me?” Zander’s voice was icy. He turned and stared Joe directly in the eye. “I believe you should reconsider. Will I be able to function, Quinn?”

Joe’s eyes narrowed as his gaze held Zander’s for a long minute. Then he turned away and started back toward the trail. “Yes, you can function. Just keep up with me.”

Zander watched him for an instant, then moved after him. His tone was low, almost conversational, as he said, “Do you know, you arrogant son of a bitch, I may take you out before we even get close to Doane.”

CHAPTER

16

Ghost Town

“YOU’RE STALLING,” DOANE SAID harshly. “You’ve done everything you had to do to repair what you did to my boy. Now complete him.” He reached into the sack in which he’d stored all the equipment of hers that he’d taken from the coinery and pulled out the flat wooden box. “Give him sight.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. They’re only glass eyeballs,” Eve said. “He won’t be able to see except in your imagination.”

“And yours,” Doane said softly. “That’s what you’re afraid of, isn’t it? He’s blind now, but you’re afraid that he’ll look at you and be able to see how to destroy you.”

“I’m not afraid.” Reluctant, not afraid, she tried to convince herself. This strange, overpowering, emotional involvement she’d developed with Kevin might be pure hallucination or something more malignantly mystical, but she must not let fear enter into it. “And he can’t destroy me. Only I can do that.”

“Then give my Kevin his eyes, and we’ll see who is right.”

She hesitated, then opened the box. “Blue eyes. The color of the sky. They should be pitch-black.” She lifted the left eye out of the box. She took a deep breath and carefully placed the eye in the orbital socket.

Fast. Do it fast.

Get it over with.

She took the right eyeball and placed it into the socket.

“There it is. He’s done.” She stepped back, avoiding looking at the reconstruction. “Happy, Doane?”

“Oh, yes.” His eyes were glittering with tears as he stared at the skull. “It’s all there, all the beauty, all the power. How handsome he is. How could they kill anything that glorious?”

“How? With a great deal of skill and a strong stomach to combat the stench of him.”

“Bitch!” His hand lashed out, backhanding her, bringing her to her knees. “Even at this perfect moment, you manage to spoil it for me.” His fingers were buried in her hair, and he jerked her head back. “Look at him. He wants you to look at him.”

She was looking at Kevin. She couldn’t help it unless she closed her eyes, and she knew Doane would force her to open them.

Yes, Kevin was beautiful, as Lucifer must have been beautiful. She could even see the power that she had never meant to give those features. It had just come …

And, God help her, she could see the shining blue eyes staring, seeing her. It was not possible that adding those eyes had made his face come alive. She would not accept it. As long as she didn’t accept that nightmare, it did not exist.

Mine. Have you. Have her.

The hell you do.

“So handsome,” Doane whispered. “No one could ever resist him. You won’t be able to do it either. He’ll reach out for your Bonnie, and you’ll fall on your knees begging him to take you, too.”

“Try me. It won’t happen like that.”

“Yes, he’ll try you.” He stroked her hair gently before releasing it. “Soon. Very soon, Eve.” He stepped back. “Get up and get out of my way. I have to carefully package Kevin in his container, and I don’t want you near him.”

“Are you afraid I’ll tear him up again?” She got to her feet and moved away to stand by the window in the front of the barbershop. “I might be tempted.” But she stared out the window so she wouldn’t have to look back at the skull. “I hear that wolf howling again. He sounds hungry. Kevin wouldn’t stand a chance if he got hold of him.”

“He won’t get hold of him,” Doane snarled. “I’m going to go out and shoot that wolf and shut him up. I’ll bring back his head and throw it at your feet.”

“Do you really have time to go hunting? Or maybe you’ve decided that all your plans to kill Zander should be tossed aside. They haven’t been going so well, have they? Joe will find me, you know.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “When I got away from you, I gave him some extra time. He’s probably closing in on you now. These mountains aren’t safe for you any longer. Why don’t you leave here and go on the run?”

“Why don’t you be quiet?” He fastened the catches on the container in which he’d placed the skull. “I’ve considered the possibility that I might not be safe any longer. I’m taking care of it.” He lifted his head and glared at her. “If I have to do without killing Zander, I will do it. Kevin would forgive me. He really wants you more now than he does Zander.” His lips curled. “And he’ll get you, Eve. If I die, I’ll take you with me and give you to him to play with as he did the children. You’ll be too busy protecting yourself to know what he does to your Bonnie.”

“I believe both you and your son are full of hot air and bullshit,” Eve said curtly. “If his spirit still exists, he has no power. He’s just frantically scurrying around and trying to save those nightmare fantasies that don’t exist any longer.”

“You’ll see. He’ll enjoy—” Eve heard a soft ping and watched Doane take out his cell phone and check it. He smiled and thrust the phone back in his pocket. “Perhaps sooner than you might think.”

He strode across the shop, handcuffed her hands in front of her, and grasped her arm. “Come on. It’s time to move to phase two of our visit to this wonderful town.” He pushed her outside the door. “You were so interested in the saloon when we first arrived. Let’s see if it still holds its fascination for you.”

She stiffened. Had he found Zander’s gun and phone? “The saloon? Why?”

He didn’t answer, and a couple minutes later, she was across the street, and he was pushing open the door of the saloon.

Dimness.

Broken wood planks that served as a floor beneath her feet.

The smell of dust and mildew.

She could see the shape of a long bar across the large room with a broken mirror on the wall above it.

Yes.

But Doane wasn’t pushing her in that direction. He was heading toward a cupboard against the opposite wall.

“What are we doing here, Doane?”

“It’s sort of a holding cell for you. Don’t you like it? I have to leave you for an hour or two, and the barbershop is too small and exposed to the street.” He added maliciously, “What if those wolves came looking for Kevin and found you instead? Or perhaps Venable or Quinn might stumble on our little home away from home. I wouldn’t want to make it that easy for them.” They were next to the pine cupboard that must have been close to six feet high and four feet wide. “They used to store liquor in this cupboard during the wild days.” He threw open the two doors of the cupboard, and Eve was suddenly assaulted with the overpowering odor of sour whiskey. “No one is going to take you away from me, Eve. If I’m going to lose you, it’s going to be to Kevin.” He thrust her into the cupboard. “Or maybe the roof rats I’ve seen running all over this saloon. You’ve got to hope there isn’t one or two in that cupboard waiting to pounce.”

“You’ve taught me how to deal with rodents, Doane.” But the reference to Joe and Venable had made her nervous. She might have expected that Zander could have been sighted because she knew that was a possibility if Zander had managed to get up that ridge. But Joe? “Where are you going? Did Blick tell you that he saw any sign of Joe or Venable in the vicinity when he showed up earlier?”

“Do you think I’d tell you?”

“Or maybe it wasn’t Blick who came. Maybe you lied to me.”

He smiled. “Oh, it was most certainly Blick.” He slammed the cupboard door shut, and she was in darkness. “As to where I’m going, you’ll have to wonder. Did I catch sight of one of your brave heroes who want only to rescue you? Or am I only going after that wolf that you’ve been tormenting me with?” She heard the bolt of the lock slide in place. “I leave you to decide for yourself. Oh, and, if by some chance, the wolf or your lover do manage to kill me, then you may never be found in that cupboard. Not a pleasant death.” She heard him chuckle, the sound of his footsteps crossing the saloon, then the door slam.