She smiled and nodded. “Not even close.”
He laughed at her reaction. “You’re going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”
THEY GROUPED TOGETHER IN THE CENTER of town, everybody clasping weapons and standing so their backs were together. It wasn’t a big group, but they were strong.
“What direction do you think they’ll come from?” Boone asked from his place between Danielle and Jackie. He was grim, ready for a fight.
“I think they’re going to come from multiple directions,” Cooper replied. “That’s why I thought this was the best location to take our stand. They can only approach from two directions, which cuts down on the potential for one of us being separated.”
“That was smart.”
Hannah stood between Arnie and Cooper, the former of whom was carrying a huge shotgun, which was apparently loaded with silver bullets. She found the entire prospect laughable but didn’t give voice to her opinion.
She was antsy, fervently wishing that the attack would come sooner rather than later, when whispering started in the back of her mind.
I told you I would come.
She froze, her eyes jerking in the other direction, and she frowned when she realized a heavy fog was starting to roll in.
“What do you make of that?” Tyler asked, nerves on full display.
“It has to be coming from this creature,” Cooper replied. “There was no fog in the forecast.”
Arnie snorted. “Right, because forecasters are never wrong.”
“It’s him,” Hannah announced, gripping the sword tighter. “It’s definitely him. I ... he’s here.”
Cooper slid her a worried look. “How do you know that?”
“Because he showed this to me in my dreams.”
A muscle worked in Cooper’s jaw as he tried to tamp down the rising panic. She wasn’t safe here. He knew that and allowed her to participate anyway. It was a mistake ... and now it was too late to force her upstairs to relative safety. “You’re talking about the dreams you told me about. You just had them the one time, right?”
She shook her head as she met his gaze. “I’ve had them almost every night since this started.”
“Even last night?” Frustration coursed through him when she nodded. “We were together last night. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“So you could do what?” Her tone was practical. “What were you going to do? It was my head.”
“And our boogeyman was invading it,” Boone noted. “That probably would’ve been a helpful bit of information, Hannah. I’m not going to lie.”
She made a protesting sound. “I didn’t know.”
On impulse, Cooper slid his free arm around her and gave her a tight side hug. “It doesn’t matter now. We’re in this and we’re going to do the best that we can. We don’t have any other choices.”
She lifted her chin so she could stare directly into his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He pressed a hard kiss to the corner of her mouth, jerking up his head when something hissed. The sound was closer than he would’ve liked. “They’re here.”
“Oh, you think?” Boone’s sarcastic side was on full display as he gripped his sword and stared at a woman approaching through the fog. “Madeline Dwyer,” he intoned. “She was the first one to go missing.”
“That Heather woman is over here,” Jackie called out.
Hannah flicked her eyes in that direction. “Don’t hurt her unless you have to. I ... .” She trailed off when another figure appeared in front of her. This one she recognized, and the frozen eyes and pale skin were enough to make her blood run cold. “Becky.”
“What?” Danielle shifted to see, but Boone slapped her arm to keep her in place.
“Focus this way,” he ordered. “We have to keep in formation. We’ll die if we don’t.”
Hannah’s mouth was dry as she stared at the woman’s face. Up until this point, she wasn’t certain Becky was really one of the fallen. The dry goods clerk was petulant enough to hide like the others suggested, and then come out at the exact wrong time. It didn’t look like that was the case this go-around, though.
“What’s wrong, Hannah?” a male voice called out from somewhere behind Becky. “Aren’t you happy to see your old friend?”
Cooper furrowed his brow as he shifted from one foot to the other. The snake women appeared to be in some sort of holding pattern, although it was anyone’s guess how long that would last. “Do you recognize that voice?” he asked on a whisper.
That was a good question, Hannah mused. There was no doubt the voice was familiar, but where did she know it from? Then, a silhouette appeared in the fog. The creature was still a good fifty feet away, his features hidden, but Hannah knew.
“Nick.”
He laughed in delight, clapping his hands. “I’m so glad you recognize me. This would be absolutely no fun if you didn’t.”
“Who is Nick?” Boone queried.
“The new bartender,” Tyler replied. “I had no idea he was evil. It’s too bad. He’s cute.”
“And a monster,” Jackie added.
“That, too.”
Hannah licked her lips and forced herself to remain calm. For some reason, knowing it was Nick she was facing off with had her feeling bolder. “I guess I should’ve guessed it was you.” She was rueful. “You’re the new element here.”
“I did wonder if I was moving too soon given my position in this town, but I couldn’t stop myself.” Nick stopped walking when he was only a few feet away. His eyes gleamed an odd yellow color that made Hannah distinctly uncomfortable. They definitely looked like snake eyes. “I have compulsions that have to be fed.”
“I bet.” Hannah refused to give in to her fear and instead remained calm. “That story you told about your mother trying to kill you.”
He was blasé. “What about it?”
“It was true, wasn’t it?”
“I only told you the truth. I’m not a liar.”
“You left out the part of the story where your mother wanted to kill you because you really were a monster,” Hannah pointed out. “You made yourself the victim in the story.”
“I was the victim,” Nick countered, his eyes flashing with malice. “She was my mother. She was supposed to protect me. Sure, she obviously wasn’t thrilled by what I was ... but that was hardly my fault.”
“How did it even happen?” Cooper queried, drawing the odd creature’s gaze to him. “How did a human woman give birth to you?”
“It was an accident really,” Nick replied. He was unusually chipper given the circumstances. “My father went through a window to seduce her. One of the neighbors saw, and before he could finish his ritual ... well ... he was shot by some idiot who thought he was protecting my mother.”
“Your father was an incubus,” Hannah surmised, things coming together in her head. “He raped your mother but was killed before he could end her. That resulted in her being pregnant.”
Nick’s eyes flashed with malice. “It wasn’t rape. Those women, including my mother, never had a word of complaint.”
“That’s because they were under his thrall and couldn’t complain.” Hannah felt sick to her stomach. “When did you find out what you were?”
“I think on some level I always knew,” he replied calmly. “I always knew I was different. When I was a small child, I found I had control over people ... especially women. It was a fun game for me to play.”
“And your mother recognized what you were,” Jackie surmised. “She was already disgusted because you were the child of her rapist, but realizing you were different only made matters worse.”
“So she said ... at least back then. She doesn’t say much of anything anymore. She’s locked up in a home. I tried to visit her when I got back to town — I’ve been away for a bit you see — but she freaked out and now the people at the hospital say I can’t visit again. That’s kind of a bummer because I love spending time with my mother.”
“You mean you love terrorizing her,” Hannah corrected. She still had questions, and even though she was ready to fight, she wanted her answers first. “How did you pick your victims?”
“I like a certain type of woman,” Nick replied casually. “I prefer they have a certain ... aesthetic value. I’ve been traveling the last few years. That makes keeping off the radar easier. I land in a spot for a few weeks, have some fun, and then take off again. There’s always been something inside that called me back here, though. Always.”
“Yes, you were just a poor boy yearning for home,” Hannah drawled. “What happened with June Dutton? Why did you kill her?”
“I didn’t kill her. She killed herself. That’s always what happens with my girls. I’m not sure why ... although I think it has something to do with the idea that they can’t hold onto me forever and the reality of that is too much for them to bear.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Your ego is ridiculous. Something must’ve happened with June, though. The rest of them ... they’re still here.”
“I always like four,” Nick explained. “It’s a nice, round number. I like four friends whenever I’m in a place. I had planned to stay here longer — and I’m still considering it if tonight goes as planned — but I’m going to have to change up my girls a bit here and there so I don’t get bored.”
“That doesn’t explain what happened to June,” Hannah persisted.
“June, well ... she just wasn’t a good fit. She kept fighting her condition. She shouldn’t have been able to do it. All I can guess is that there was an abnormality in her body chemistry. She kept waking up and screaming at me. There’s nothing I hate worse than a woman who won’t shut her trap.”
“The compound the coroner found in her body,” Boone suggested. “I’m guessing that he somehow controls them with that compound.”
“I’m not even sure how it works,” Nick admitted whimsically. “It’s just something I’ve always been able to do. June was the first to put up a fight. She had to go. I dosed her hard and sent her on her way with a suggestion. I couldn’t risk her returning to her life with grand tales of a monster who managed to control her mind, could I? Eventually, she might’ve been able to identify me.”
“Yes, that would’ve been a true shame,” Cooper drawled. “Why did you pick the cave on the bluff? Why did you decide to work at Casper Creek?”
“This place is magical,” Nick replied simply. “There’s an undercurrent of power here that simply cannot be denied. I felt it even when I visited as a kid. I was always drawn here. It was the first place I wanted to come when I returned ... and do you know what I saw when I came back?”
Hannah shook her head. “No. What?”
“You.”
Her blood ran cold. “Me?”
“Yes, you were the culmination of everything I ever wanted,” he explained. “You were powerful ... and sweet ... and oh, so pretty.” His teeth gleamed in the limited light. “You had the strength to be my true match rather than a mindless zombie. You were obviously different, which meant I had to approach you differently.
“The plan was to seduce you, make you fall in love with me,” he continued. “Getting the job out here was harder than I thought, though. It took weeks. When I finally did get it, you were already besotted with this idiot.” He inclined his head toward Cooper. “I didn’t think he would be an obstacle, but I turned out to be wrong.”
Anger started growing inside Hannah at the words. The notion that he planned on plucking her from her life and forcing her to be with him was infuriating. Because she still needed more information, she funneled her rage into the sword.
“Why did you kill Rick?” Cooper asked. “I mean ... what was in it for you?”
“It takes blood magic to keep my girls ... um ... happy,” Nick replied. “He saw me with Heather that night and I was running dangerously low on blood after what happened with June. Sometimes animal blood can be used as a stopgap — sorry about your goat, by the way, but I was in a bind — but human blood is a necessity.”
“You saw Heather that day in town,” Hannah surmised, more power flowing to the sword. “You decided you wanted her. Why? Because she was blond, had blue eyes? That’s your thing, right?”
“The heart wants what the heart wants.”
His smug reaction filled her with even more rage. “Rick was there. Maybe he came back for some reason. He saw you with Heather and joined the party. Maybe he isolated her from you because he sensed something was wrong. That’s what Arnie saw.
“Then you drew both of them away, probably to your cave,” she continued. “You couldn’t control Rick like you could Heather, so you decided to make him a suspect. That doesn’t explain why you drained him before dropping his body on Main Street, though.”
He held out his hands and shrugged. “I have a flare for theatrics.”
“You just like attention, whatever attention you can possibly get.” That’s when Hannah realized that it didn’t matter what he said. There was no explanation that would truly make her happy. There was nothing he could say that would comfort her when she tried to sleep tonight. Still, there was one more thing she needed to know. “Why did you take Becky?”
“Because I figured that would get you looking. I wanted to draw you away from the town. Away from him.” He glared at Cooper. “The only time you’ve left this place is when you went to the witch’s store and I couldn’t very well approach you there. I would’ve been outnumbered, even if I wanted to control them all, and it was likely I would’ve been overpowered.”
“You’re going to be overpowered here,” Hannah noted. “This is the end for you. You realize that, right?”
He snorted. “No. This is the end for them. It’s the start for you and me. With you at my side, we’ll be able to rule this place — this land — and draw power from it. Sure, we’ll have a few key positions to fill after we kill them, but you’ll be fine once you settle into your new life ... with me.”
Cooper made a growling noise deep in his throat. “I won’t let you touch her.”
“You’re not going to have a say in the matter.” Nick was firm. “You’re the first one I’m going to kill. In fact ... Becky, I think you know what to do.” He smiled fondly at the hypnotized woman as she started moving in Cooper’s direction. “I’m going to miss her when she’s gone. After tonight, though, I promise to be a one-woman man.”
That was it. Hannah couldn’t take another word. She smoothly stepped around Becky, drawing herself up straight and tall in front of Nick.
“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “This will be over quickly.”
“It will,” Hannah agreed, her smile sickly sweet. “It’s over already. You just don’t know it.” With those words, she plunged the sword into Nick’s chest. His eyes opened in surprise ... and fright. It was only then that he recognized his true plight. Hannah had a split second to wonder if he understood that his reign was over. Then, as he gasped and tried to wrap his hands around the glowing blade, her magic surged, building until it was practically a bomb that was set to go off. When it exploded, a bright light filled the sky. It was hot enough to burn away the fog, bright enough to turn night into day.
The last expression on his face that Hannah was able to register was one of resignation. He understood he’d lost ... and he was angry.
When the light blinked out, his body dropped to the ground. At the same moment, the hissing stopped. It was abrupt, the silence overwhelming, and when Hannah shifted she found Cooper holding an unconscious Becky in his arms. She’d fallen at the same moment Nick lost his life.
“Is she okay?” Hannah asked blankly, blinking as she tried to force herself to reality.
“She’s going to be fine,” Cooper answered automatically, shifting so he could swing her body up. “They’re all going to be fine. Thanks to you.”
“Okay. I need to sit down now, though. My knee really hurts.”
He chuckled. “I think you’ve earned it.”
19
Nineteen
Hannah was shaky when she moved to the bench in front of the saloon. She sank onto it, dropping the sword at her feet as the others grappled with the unconscious women.
“Hannah?” Cooper was desperate to get to her, but Becky was dead weight in his arms. Frustration overwhelmed him as he glanced back at the others. Everyone appeared to be occupied with the other women. “I’ll be over there in just a second,” he promised.
Hannah simply nodded. “Okay.” She felt numb after what happened, and it was difficult for her to look in the direction of Nick’s fallen body. She had no idea how long she sat in limbo because she lost track of time. When Cooper finally found her, she felt mildly disconnected ... although she offered him what she hoped was a pleasant smile. “That wasn’t so bad, huh?”
“Oh, baby.” He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear. “I promise it’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah.” She rested her head on his shoulder as he moved his hands up and down her back. “You did so good,” he whispered. “I didn’t even realize what you were going to do until it was already happening. I don’t think he did either.”
“I’m not even sure what I did,” she admitted. “I was just ... angry. He was so entitled ... and terrible ... and horrible. I wanted him to shut up.”
“Well, you shut him up.” Cooper stroked his hand over the back of her head, feeling helpless when she began to shudder. “Oh, baby, don’t shut down on me.” He was desperate to keep her with him. “You were amazing. You did exactly what you had to do.”
Hannah didn’t doubt that. Still, taking a man’s life — er, well, a monster’s life — with her own bare hands was a new experience for her. She’d protected herself with magic before. This, however, was a more up-close-and-personal experience ... and she definitely didn’t like it.
“I’m okay,” she reassured him, patting his shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about me. You should worry about Becky and the others.”
Boot Scootin' Boogeyman Page 19