“Yes.”
She remembered the blood, the sense of victory, the power. But she also remembered her beast’s inability to switch between battle and thought. “But she needs me, too. To think, to rationalize.” Licking her lips, she explained, “To bring her above the level of an animal. To make her . . . human.”
“Son of a bitch,” Blade swore again in a mix of shock and admiration.
Addy blushed and pressed against Isaiah. She’d forgotten about him.
“Do you know what this means, Isaiah?” Blade asked.
Isaiah smiled and brushed his fingers down her hot cheek. “Yeah, I do.”
Addy’s breath caught as his gaze held hers, all the love his man and beast were capable of feeling, all the love she could ever desire, showing in his eyes.
“Addy tamed the beast.”
19
THEY SAT ON THEIR HORSES HIGH ON THE BLUFF LOOKING down on the valley below. Three riders. Three different backgrounds. One Goal. Survival. Addy shook her head. How her life had changed in just three weeks. She touched the spot on her shoulder. Her beast stretched in contentment.
Beside her, Blade and Isaiah pulled their horses up.
“Beautiful country,” Blade said.
“Yes.”
Isaiah took her hand and squeezed. “Big enough to get lost in.”
Everywhere she looked there was wilderness. To the northwest were more mountains, and beyond them enough uncharted land for a hundred Reapers to get lost in. A week ago that thought would have terrified her. Today, it was exciting.
“Yes.” Fear and excitement shot through her in equal amounts.
“This is as far as I go,” Blade said, backing his horse up a couple steps.
“We’d be happy to have you come with us,” Addy told him. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Isaiah she liked Blade. He was sarcastic, and deadly, but he had a sharp wit and he’d proven himself a good friend.
“Thank you.”
But he wouldn’t she knew. Isaiah had explained the council, the laws, Blade’s position. Everyone had to find their own way. Hers and Isaiah’s was to the northwest. Blade’s was . . . She didn’t know.
“Where will you go?”
Blade exchanged a look with Isaiah. “I thought I’d drop in on an old friend.”
“And from there?”
He shrugged. His horse tossed his head. The bridle jingled. “I’ll see where the wind takes me.”
She smiled. “Well, I hope the wind takes you our way again.”
Isaiah made a growl in his throat. Blade laughed.
“Maybe, but not for a while.” His expression sobered. “You need to disappear.”
Isaiah nodded to the valley and squeezed her hand again. “Just let the land swallow us up.”
Both men looked at her. She knew why. Unlike her, they had no ties, but she had her bakery, her friends, her cousins. Disappearing into the wilderness meant cutting herself off from everything she knew. Everyone she loved. Some days she was all right with it. On others not. But no matter how the day went, no matter how her mood went, Isaiah was always there. Ready to give her what she needed. Sometimes even before she asked. He was a good man. Her man. And she was happy.
Her beast rumbled its approval.
“Maybe someday we can go home.”
“They’ll never stop hunting you,” Blade interjected.
She knew that. Just as she knew there was no going back. She was Reaper. Reaper law had been broken. There was a price on her head as well as Isaiah’s. She squeezed Isaiah’s hand. But at least she wasn’t alone. Not like the woman in the tintype. And in reality, what she was doing now was no different than what her parents had done, newly wedded, heading into Indian territory facing death every day, gambling everything on the hope of building a better life for themselves. “I just like to keep the possibility open.”
“Thinking that way will get you and Isaiah killed.”
“Leave her be, Blade,” Isaiah drawled.
“She needs to understand.”
“She understands, we both do.”
“It’s not just the Reapers you have to fear.” Removing his spyglass from his saddle horn, Blade handed it to Isaiah. He pointed to the far right corner of the valley.
“Look there.”
Isaiah took the spyglass and swore before handing it to Addy. She knew what she’d see before she saw it. Coming up the path they’d traveled two days ago was a lone horseman dressed in a brown duster and a dark brown hat, riding a flashy palomino. “Cole.”
“The man’s part hound,” Blade groused.
She slowly lowered the spyglass. “Maybe he didn’t get my message.”
“I delivered it personally,” Blade informed her. “He just doesn’t believe you’d leave willingly.”
“He doesn’t understand.”
“He needs to,” Isaiah cut in. “Or he’ll lead the Guardians right to us.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“He wouldn’t know he was doing it.”
Blade’s gaze met Isaiah’s over Addy’s head. “I could talk to him again before I head out.”
Addy sat up, hope blossoming. “Would you?”
“No!” Isaiah countered.
“Is that the man or Guardian talking?” Blade asked.
Isaiah looked into Addy’s big eyes, seeing the understanding of what Blade’s version of a talk would entail darken them with horror. She didn’t have to worry. He knew what family meant to her.
“Just me.”
“Reaper and man together?”
“We’re working out a truce.”
Blade jerked his chin in the direction of the valley. “You know leaving him is dangerous. He won’t give up.”
No, Cole was not known for giving up on those he loved. “Then I guess I’ll have to throw him off our trail.”
“You got tricks we haven’t tried yet?”
“A few.”
“Then you’d better haul them out.”
“I hear you.” Isaiah held out his hand. “Try to stay out of trouble.”
Blade shook it. “Where would be the fun in that?”
Isaiah shook his head. “Nowhere, I guess.”
Blade tipped his hat to Addy. “You watch your back, Addy. Don’t let this big lug run roughshod over you.”
“I won’t.”
With a tip of his hat, Blade headed down the mountain to the left toward the other side of the valley. The sound of hoofbeats faded quickly, leaving only the sound of the wind through the leaves and the birds in the trees. They were alone on the mountaintop, their future spread out before them. Isaiah turned to Addy. “You ready?”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead she glanced toward the speck that was Cole. Isaiah’s nerves were pulled taut, then Addy turned and her calm confident smile lit up his world. “Yes, I believe I am.” She touched her shoulder. “Any idea where we’re going?”
“Yes.” He looked into her eyes, seeing the strength, the woman. Seeing his future. He grazed the backs of his fingers down her cheek before resting his hand over hers and smiled. “Into our beginning.”
She leaned across the distance separating them, cupping his face in her hands. “I love you, Isaiah Jones.”
Son of a bitch. The words shot through him with the impact of a bullet. Isaiah could no more stop himself from pulling Addy off her horse and into his lap than he could stop taking his next breath. He needed to touch her, to hold her, to kiss her. Hip to hip, heart to heart, she settled against him. She was his. The gift he didn’t deserve. The gift he’d always cherish. The one he’d always love. His Addy. His sweets. He drew back just far enough to murmur, “And I love you, Addy Cameron. Today, and always, in this life and the next, long past the time when tomorrow stops coming, I’ll be loving you.”
Berkley Sensation titles by Sarah McCarty
PROMISES REVEAL
The Shadow Wranglers
CALEB
JARED
The Shadow Reapers
REAPER’S JUSTICE
Berkley Heat titles by Sarah McCarty
RUNNING WILD
WILD INSTINCT
Reaper's Justice Page 27