The cowboy hadn’t fared much better. Another beefy man stood behind him. No doubt he had a gun stuck in his back. That must have been why Calloway had moved away so quickly.
The lawman gave a tight shake of his head, acknowledging the situation. It was also a warning that she had better not get anyone hurt.
“I will give you this,” she said. “You are always one step ahead.” She had to gather her thoughts and find his weak point. She had a multitude of weapons hidden in her dress, but she wasn’t willing to risk Calloway’s and Delaney’s lives. And Julian was very much aware of that.
“Yes, I’m never without a plan.”
She casually glanced to the right and the left.
Where was Barnes?
Julian twirled her around the room in his arms. There were weapons under tables and in the rafters, none of which she could get to while on the dance floor. Until she knew where Barnes was, keeping Julian occupied was her best bet.
“The deal is,” he said, “you don’t kill me on the dance floor and your friends get to live. At least for the next few minutes.”
“You’re a monster.” She gave him her most insincere smile.
“Ah, not a monster, luv. A maestro. And you are my favorite opera to direct. Such a tragic life filled with such adversity. One wonders how you’ve survived it all.”
“You mean how I survived you.” She despised him even more for bringing up her past. He was one of the few who knew the dirtiest details of her life. She had been foolish enough to bare her soul to him in a moment of weakness she would regret forever.
Julian devoured weakness like she did her morning toast. He fed off of fear and angst.
They glided across the floor. An elegant dancer, he caught the eye of many of the young women standing around, none of whom paid any attention to the thugs holding her friends captive.
“I’ve grown tired of your game Julian. Let’s move it along, please.”
His grip on her hand tightened painfully. “Patience, luv. It’s been so long since I’ve held you like this.” His hand on her waist tightened, and his filed nails pressed into the tender flesh even through the corset. “Don’t tell me you haven’t missed me—being in my arms like this—just a little bit.”
Pure hatred and disgust crawled down her spine, but she would not to react. She refused to give any sign that she was under duress.
A murmur rippled through the crowd, and instinct made her snap her head toward the door.
“Ah, our guests have arrived,” Julian’s voice held immense joy. “This is going to be fun. I have a wonderful new test for you. They may be twice your size, but I have a feeling you’ll come through this with even greater strength. And if you don’t, well then, luv, you don’t really deserve to live.”
She tried to twist to see whom he was talking about, but he held her tight. “More corpses, Julian? Can’t you find better playmates?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t pleasant. “I will admit to a bit of grave robbing in the name of science. My work is important, and certain things, as distasteful as they might be, must be done.” He twirled around the corner.
“More of your bloodsucking demons, then?” She feigned boredom. “Really, Julian. That one is getting old.”
“Oh, I’ve moved on. I’ve heard you investigated the cattle my pets killed, and I suspect you believe they are the ones responsible. But you would only be partly right, dear one. You know I’m discreet, if nothing else. I will admit that they may have had a bit too much to drink, but I’ve made a few tweaks. In the future, they’ll have more control because they won’t have lost all of their humanity.”
Her stomach dropped, and she thought of the plague in Houston. “You’re using live specimens now. Your demons aren’t reanimated anymore, are they?”
He had the nerve to wink at her. “I’ll never tell. Demons, you say? I quite like that. Now back to the matter at hand. You have no idea that your rancher’s beef was torn by something completely different, do you?”
She sighed. “I know it’s some kind of lycanthrope.”
Julian tossed his head back and gave a hearty laugh. “Such a clever girl you are. You know, I adore you as much for your brain as I do your beauty. And you are quite close.” His hand slipped up to just under her breast.
“If you value your limbs, you’ll kindly move your hand back to where it was,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Tsk. Tsk. Luv, I would have thought after that little tangle in the barn with Hoffman’s men that you’d be a little less prudish.”
She stumbled at the memory of the wretched men who had held her prisoner, but she kept her face passive.
Julian pulled her tighter to keep her from falling. “Oh, darling. I can see it still hurts. That was not one of my tests. If Hoffman’s men hadn’t disappeared, I would have taken care of them for you. No one hurts my luv, except for me,” he whispered in her ear. “It pains you to think about what that horrid man did to you in the barn, so let’s change the subject. You have more on your hands than you could ever imagine. This lovely town is filled to the brim with paranormals, and now they know you’re after them. Plus, you have those pesky assassins trying to kill you. Aren’t you a popular girl?”
Filled with paranormals? “What are you—” The smell hit her then. Felines.
She was allergic to cats.
But then another wave of their scent wafted over her. No, not just a cat. A panther.
She spun out of Julian’s hands and slammed into a hard chest. Strong arms wrapped around her, squeezing the breath from her body, but not before she got a nose full of its panther scent.
The thing grunted.
Standing nearly seven feet tall and having a good two hundred pounds on her, she was at its mercy. It circled a hand around her neck.
Julian stood behind her and clapped his hands. “This is going to be such a good show. I’ll be watching,” he said and she heard his footsteps fall away.
Her fierce hatred toward Julian shifted to the massive creature in front of her.
He was now recruiting as well as creating monsters. Lovely.
“I didn’t realize how easy it would be to kill you, hunter, or I would have done it long ago,” the beast of a man growled. Glittering eyes on a face full of hair bore into her. Nearby, a few gasps signaled the moment others had noticed the beast on the dance floor.
“Fire!” A male voice yelled, and women screamed.
The dancers fled toward the two exits. Not one person still in their proximity seemed to notice a giant man was about to strangle her.
There was no smoke, only a diversion
Such was her life.
“I’m not sure I’ve had the pleasure,” she squeaked.
The hand tightened around her neck as he lifted her off the ground.
A blackness in her peripheral vision meant she was losing oxygen fast. Thankfully, he had lifted her high enough so that they were face-to-face.
A face full of whiskers and feral yellow eyes stared back at her. She hated panthers. They were absolutely impossible.
Dizziness overwhelmed her, so she did the only thing she could. She lifted a booted heel, flipped the switch with the toe of her other foot, and jabbed the knife in the toe of her boot into his manhood.
“Arrrrwoooo,” the panther cried, dropping her to clutch his genitals.
She hit the ground and rolled.
Fierce growls surrounded her and she turned to see part of his pack pushing through the retreating crowd. There was an ungodly scream and then a panic ensued. Where the townspeople had been leaving in an orderly manner, now there was a mad rush. Fire was no longer the only threat.
This helped in one way, as it distracted the pack enough for her to edge toward the refreshment table and grab her gun from the hiding place underneath.
Now would be a really great time for Barnes to bring in the cavalry. But as soon as she had the thought, she knew there would be no cavalry. Something had happened to Barnes, but she
didn’t have time to worry. She had to protect Calloway and Delaney. As usual, if she wanted to stay alive, it was up to her to make it happen.
Two of the panthers advanced toward her. Ripping her skirts back and revealing her leathers underneath, she reached for her belt of silver bullets and jammed a round into the gun as the first panther reached for her.
She blew a hole in his chest.
Seeing their friend writhe in pain as he took his last breath, the other panthers retreated slightly. What was left of the townspeople in the crowd took the hint and stampeded toward the doors. The room was finally empty but for a small handful of panthers and Julian, lurking to the side with an evil, gleeful expression on his face. One of the panthers held Delaney, another had Calloway, and the rest restrained other women Maisy didn’t know. But she had fought her share of werepanthers and knew exactly where they hurt the most.
Their sense of honor. Panthers were proud and saw women as nothing more than breeding machines.
“What kind of panther uses a human as a shield? I’m one small woman. Are you such cowards?” she taunted.
The panthers growled.
One of the women they held shrieked.
Maisy’s head already hurt from nearly having the life squeezed out of her and the screaming was most annoying. Keeping a calm head in these situations really was the only way to survive.
“Stop that, you ninny,” she hissed. But the woman paid no notice and continued on.
The panther holding the woman bared his teeth and shook her.
Her screeching faded and she became a limp doll. Hopefully, she had only passed out. Though he could have rattled her brain so hard it killed her.
“Your alpha is on the floor and out of commission,” Maisy said. “And you stand there holding women as shields. You’re weak.”
Growling again.
“Fine. If you’re so tough, which one of you is next? Certainly one of you must be his second. Come forward, coward.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Calloway quietly take out the man holding him, driving his bowie knife backward into the cat’s heart. The other panthers were focused on her. But as she watched, one of the panthers sniffed the air and then turned quickly to lunge at Calloway. The marshal lifted an elbow at the last moment, popping the creature’s head back as he slit its throat.
And he called her a vicious killer.
A scream sounded behind her. She had to protect Delaney and the other women. Poor Delaney had been through so much already, but she didn’t scream. She watched Maisy carefully as if looking for some kind of sign. As one of the werepanthers sauntered around the periphery of the circle, Delaney flashed something in her hand. It glinted silver—a blade.
And Delaney was a woman who knew how to use it, of that she had no doubt.
Maisy held the gun on the panthers. They were at a standstill, and there was only one thing for her to do.
“I challenge the next in line.”
The panthers grunted, as if this were the most idiotic thing she could have said.
They were right.
“Your alpha can’t fight, so one of you must step up.”
The smallest of the panthers stepped forward. He was probably just under seven feet and about two hundred and fifty pounds. His plaid shirt pulled across his shoulders as if it were one size too small.
“We don’t fight women,” the lycanthrope said with a sneer.
His pride laughed with him. “Yeah, we use them for other things,” the one holding Delaney slid a big hand down her cheek. To her credit, she didn’t even flinch but kept her eyes trained on Maisy.
Disgusting creatures.
“So you’re the Beta?” she asked.
He didn’t bother to answer. Stealthily he shifted closer to her.
She had to take the advantage now, or none of them would survive.
Over the advancing panther’s shoulder she winked at Delaney, and slid a vial out of her pocket.
The shop owner gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
Tossing the vial of silver nitrate at the panther’s face, Maisy prayed for good aim and then ducked. Rather than pausing in his advance, he lunged, slamming her hard into the wooden floor.
She brought her gun up and fired a shot between the beta’s eyes. He fell forward, his entire weight on top of her.
Oh, bother.
The fall knocked the breath out of her, and she struggled to scoot out from under him. But it was impossible to lift the dead weight.
At least her arms were free. She shifted slightly so she could see the other panthers.
The one holding the limp woman seemed to stall for a moment as if trying to figure out what had happened.
Then he glared at Maisy and tossed the woman to the floor.
Boom! She fired off another shot.
She heard another panther howl and prayed Delaney hit her mark. She wouldn’t have a second chance.
There were three more panthers descending toward Maisy, but with the stupid oaf on top of her, she couldn’t get the proper angle to fire. Bringing up her knees as much as she could, she shoved the beast with all her might. He only moved a few inches, but it was enough for her to squirm out from underneath.
Then a giant hand covered her face and slammed her head back into the floor. Lights flashed, and she couldn’t focus.
This was no way for a woman of dignity to die, sprawled on a floor like a piece of limp cheese fallen from the table. Even though she couldn’t see, she aimed the gun directly in front of her and fired. She knew she hit something because she heard an enormous thud to her left.
Vision blurred, she reached into her pockets and pulled out another vial. If she remembered correctly how she had stashed them, this one should have been acid.
She gasped painfully as air finally filled her lungs.
Maisy couldn’t see what it was, but could sense a figure coming. She leveled Mabel with one hand, and prepared to throw the vial with the other.
“Ho, wait Maisy, it’s me. You’re okay. We got the rest of them,” Calloway’s voice came through the fog. “Though you didn’t leave us much to clean up. We’re all okay now.”
They were safe.
“Good, good,” she said. “Barnes?”
“Here, lassie, though a little late to the festivities thanks to a rifle butt to the forehead.” The fog lifted, and she could finally see the faces around her.
“Found him out back, face down in the dirt,” Garretson, her client, said. “So I guess these things are what ate my cattle.” He toed one of the dead men with his boot. “Never seen anything like it. Heard rumors, but—hell this is the craziest mess I’ve ever seen.”
Maisy coughed, unable to speak.
Calloway sat next to her. “Yes, you never know what you might run into in these parts,” the marshal said as his eyes met hers. Clasping her hand to his chest, he propped her head up on his knee.
“Your boyfriend slipped out the back before I could get to him,” he whispered. His thumb ran across her fingers.
Damn. Julian had escaped—again. “Not mine.” Her scratchy throat demanded water.
The hand around hers tightened.
“You’re a tough one,” he said, “but if you die on me right now, I’m going to tan your hide.
Maisy smiled as she succumbed to the darkness.
Chapter Nine
The Iron Witch
Maisy sat up with a gasp, panting as she tried to catch her breath. At least she tried to sit up. The crypt didn’t leave much room for that, and she nearly knocked herself out again after slamming her head into the lid. She pulled the lever to open the box. Chilly air rushed over her.
She glanced down at her naked body. Except for a few bruises, which were healing quickly, she was no worse for the wear. She grabbed her robe from the hook beside the compartment and slipped it around her shoulders.
“You sleep in a coffin.”
She jumped, not realizing Calloway sat in the lone chair in her bedroom
car.
He’d just seen her backside, one of her best features as far as she was concerned, and that was all he had to say?
“It’s a healing chamber.” She tied the robe around her waist and shoved her feet into a pair of silk slippers. “What are you doing here? Have you no sense of privacy or propriety?”
“Wanted to make sure you were okay. It didn’t look good when we first brought you here.”
“Well, you can go now. I’m fine. Wait, did you say we?”
“Barnes and Delaney are here. We didn’t think it would be safe to leave her in town without any protection. I hope you don’t mind.”
She stared at him, confused.
“That we brought her to the train. I know how much you value your privacy.”
“Not as much as I value her life.” Maisy leaned against her wardrobe. “She’s a fighter, that one.”
He cocked his head. “She killed one of the panthers with a silver pocket knife, so I have to agree. Out of the six, you killed the majority of them. The deputies said there were more outside, but when you killed the first two, they took off.” His glance landed on her décolleté for the briefest second. Well, at least he was human. She was beginning to wonder if she’d become an old hag.
“You certainly hang out with an odd bunch. Barnes explained to me so that I would know what to look out for with the, uh, panthers, if they came back for revenge,” he said. “And the last one you shot had started to shift into panther form, so I figured that part out fairly quickly.”
She shivered as she remembered her head slamming into the wood.
“I appreciate your help with them,” she said honestly.
“You didn’t need my help as far as I could see. You handled it just fine.” Was there a hint of admiration in his voice?
She stood straight and headed for the dining car. Calloway followed. “Oh, what happened to the woman who fainted? And the rest of the captives?”
“She has a mild head injury and a few scratches, but other than that she’s fine. The others are safe and back with their families. The whole town is grateful to you.”
A Riveting Affair (Entangled Ever After) Page 28