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“No! Do you think I don’t want to do that, too?” she asked fiercely. “We can’t leave here. We brought this on Lina. We have to make sure nothing happens to her.”
He stopped and turned back. “And what happens to Seth Caleb? We don’t know if Weisma
She had been thinking the same thing. Anger and frustration and a deep underlying fear had been struggling within her. “It was Caleb’s choice. He closed us out. He clearly thinks he doesn’t need us.”
He studied her expression. “You’re sure?”
She nodded jerkily. “He made the choice. Lina is i
“He didn’t take the car.”
“We would have heard him leave. That’s not what he wanted. I imagine he functions very well on foot.” She could visualize him ru
Darkness.
Power.
Blood.
She took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob. “He’ll be fine. After all, he’s a hunter.”
JUST AHEAD.
In the trees on the hill overlooking the cottage.
Caleb’s pace lengthened, his gaze on the trees. Weisma
A sharpshooter weapon.
He was pla
Caleb could feel the blood coursing through his veins as he began to run.
Exhilaration.
Heady joy.
Silence.
Wind.
The earth moving, giving, beneath his pounding feet.
His heart beating, beating, beating.
This was the way a hunt was meant to be. Not on city streets or a rolling sea. A hunt could take place anywhere, but this was the best, this was how it had been at the dawn of man.
Weisma
Come in from behind?
No cover.
The trees. There was a huge oak tree near the spot where Weisma
Four strides, and he was next to it. He shi
Don’t rustle a leaf.
Slide smoothly, like a python, without a sound.
He was directly over Weisma
And Weisma
Then strike fast before instinct became thought.
He dove from the tree.
Weisma
“Son of a bitch!” Weisma
Caleb rolled the few feet toward him, grabbing at the gun and jerking it away. In one motion he rose and swung the barrel at Weisma
Weisma
Caleb stared down at him in disappointment, his heart still racing.
Too easy. He wanted more.
He wanted a kill.
He reached down and gently pushed back the hair from Weisma
Not possible.
The realization caused a bolt of fury to sear through him.
Keep it under control. Anger was the enemy. It made every breach of the code seem valid.
But killing this scum wasn’t a breach of his code. That was why he was a hunter.
Excuses. This was more complicated. Jane needed information from the bastard. She wanted him alive.
He had to let him live… for a while.
He reached down, picked Weisma
He needed to cha
“HE’S COMING.” JOCK TURNED AWAY from the window. “And he looks like paintings I’ve seen of frontiersmen carrying home the carcasses from a buffalo hunt.”
“He’s here?” Jane ran to the door and flung it open.
Caleb was coming up the road, and the carcass on his back was no animal. He was carrying the burden without effort, striding quickly. His hair was rumpled and his shirt stained with blood.
She stepped out on the doorstep. “Caleb?”
He stopped before her and threw the man on his back to the ground. “Weisma
She gazed down at the man. Eyes closed, auburn hair now covered in blood. “Is he dead?”
“No. I hit him with a rifle butt. He’ll probably have a concussion, but the chances are fair that he’ll be able to talk. Let’s get it over with.”
The words were spoken with such leashed ferocity that her gaze flew to his face.
Caleb’s dark eyes were glittering in his taut face, and his lips were full and sensual and slightly drawn back from his teeth. He looked wild, barbaric. No, he looked… hungry.
“Get what over with, Caleb?” Jock said softly as he shut the door and moved to stand beside her.
Caleb’s glance at him was like a dagger thrust. “Don’t mess with me, Gavin. This isn’t the time.”
“No, I can see that.” Jock turned to Jane. “Why don’t you go in and-”
“No,” Caleb said sharply. “She wanted him. She’s got him. I have to have it finished.” He looked at Jane, and she unconsciously braced herself. She felt… scorched. “Do you want me to wake him so that you can talk to him?”
“He’s unconscious. How can you-”
“If you want it, I can do it.” He knelt beside Weisma
“I’m not sure that-”
Weisma
“What happened?” Jane asked, startled.
“I told you, blood flow. I didn’t say it wouldn’t hurt.”
Weisma
Caleb bent closer to Weisma
“I will. Just don’t hurt him again.”
“Do you hear that, Weisma
“And I would have gotten you.” Weisma
“You killed Adah Ziller, and God knows what other deals you’ve been making on the side,” Jock said. “Venable may not have any use for you any longer.”
“You don’t believe that. What’s the death of one greedy bitch matter? Tell him to let me go. Who is he anyway?”
“Seth Caleb,” Caleb said. “And no one tells me anything, Weisma
“Stop this,” Jane said as she took a step nearer. She wanted to be done both with Weisma
Weisma
“I think not,” Caleb said. “I’ve lost patience. Talk.”
“Caleb,” Jane said.
He smiled. “I won’t touch him.”
That brilliant smile was terrifying. “Just persuade him to change his mind. I don’t care if he thinks you’re his brother.”
“I care.” He leaned still closer to Weisma