Hunting Eve

Was that why she had returned tonight? To make sure that Doane was killed? She had been struggling with the decision whether she could actually kill deliberately. She had told herself it was her duty to not opt out and run, but it could be that the other, more chilling, decision had already been made.

“Do you know that Kevin didn’t really care anything about the sexual side of what he did to those little girls. He just found dominating them fascinating. He had to prove that the magical purity within them could be crushed and destroyed by him and him alone. He believes he can still do that. He’s been trying to reach out for your Bo

Bastard. Son of a bitch. Every word was a red-hot brand that filled her with rage … and sickening fear. And Doane knew it and was pouring acid into that wound.

Yes, she would help Bo

“I can sense your anger. You didn’t like that, did you? It’s good to know we can reach you through her.” He was on the far side of the clearing. “I’m sure that Kevin can find ways of hurting your Bo

What? She was totally confused. She had certainly not entered the forest from that direction. He must be looking at Zander’s tracks.

“I can imagine you close, crouching, afraid to move because I’d hear you. Let’s just see where you’re hiding. These prints are leading toward the edge of the cliff. The earth is hard there, and you probably thought I wouldn’t be able to track you.” She saw the glint of moonlight on his rifle as he moved through the trees. “I’m getting impatient, Eve. I’m feeling a few raindrops, and I do not want to stalk you in a thunderstorm. I may have to blow one of your kneecaps to keep you from doing this again. That might work very well. You’d still be able to finish the reconstruction.”

He was going deeper into the forest, heading toward the bluff. His voice was fading as he put distance between them.

She heard a low rumble of thunder and the spatter of raindrops on the leaves.

Stay here or go after him? She knew what the decision should be.

But that wasn’t why she had turned at the trail and followed him back to the campfire.

Common enemy.

And their common enemy was going after Zander.

She started to glide silently through the forest.

*   *   *

ZANDER LEFT THE PATH and pushed through the shrubbery. Not the easiest way to travel, but it was certainly the best means to hide his trail. Let Doane believe he was the hunter and not the prey. Let him think that he was alone in these woods with poor, defenseless Eve Duncan.

Zander smiled. Eve Duncan defenseless? Hardly. Defenseless like a grizzly bear, maybe. Even without the knife he’d given her. She was clever and clearly had a survival instinct that bordered on ruthless.

Where had that streak come from? She would not have admitted that he had anything to do with it, and he was inclined to agree. Eve’s upbringing and the loss of her daughter had undoubtedly toughened her. It hadn’t been an easy life that created the character of Eve Duncan.

He crouched low as he moved through an especially thick patch of brush. The ground was getting so uneven that he knew he might have to return to the trail. Even if it meant he—

The ground fell away beneath him.

Before he knew what was happening, he felt himself kicking and clawing at space as a sickening crack cut through the silence.

He tumbled over twenty feet into the void, trying to latch onto something, anything, that would slow his descent. He finally struck bottom with another sharp crack, this one even more sickening than the first.

It was the sound of his wrist breaking.

Pain stabbed him at every nerve ending, and a low, guttural groan escaped him.

Dammit.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth until the pain subsided.

There, finally.

He opened his eyes. Where in the hell was he?

His eyes adjusted to the darkness. He was at the bottom of a mine shaft, he realized. A gold mine dug and abandoned over 150 years before, like scores of others that probably dotted these mountains. He had stepped through the brush and rotted wood planks that covered the sealed mine, an entrance hidden and undisturbed by virtue of being off the trail.

Until he stumbled upon—and into—it.

Lucky guy.

Excruciating pain still radiated from his wrist. And his left ankle. Shit.

He pulled himself up and tried putting weight on his leg.

His ankle held.

No break, maybe a minor sprain. He could power through it. His wrist, however, was another matter. His left hand would be useless until he got medical attention.

Not the best condition in which to go mano a mano with a maniac like Doane.

A rustling sound up above.

He looked up. Not now, Doane. I need a little time.

He silently drew his gun from his holster.

If Zander was lucky it was only a wild animal …

“Are you all right?” a voice whispered.

Eve’s voice.

She moved closer, and he saw her silhouetted against the starlit sky. “What the hell are you doing here?” He spoke louder than he meant to but the thunder muffled it.

“It looks like I’m saving your ass. I saw Doane go into the forest, and I was afraid that he might be tracking you. Then I heard a crashing sound, and I came to—”

“I’ll save my own ass. Get the hell out of here.”

“Do you think I want to be here? You’re nothing to me. It just seemed … right.”

“Oh, for God’s sake. I should have known. You’re a do-gooder who thinks she can change the world.”

“I’m not a do-gooder.”

“Close enough. A do-gooder and an amateur. God, I hate amateurs.”

“And I hate men who take lives and walk away.”

“Then get out of here,” Zander said. “Move!”

“How badly are you hurt?”

He didn’t answer.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll pull you up.” Eve backed away from the shaft entrance. “I need to find something I can use to—”

“Who asked you to do that? I’ll get out on my own. Run, dammit.”

“I can’t leave you.”

“Then stay here and let Doane catch you and pick me off like a duck in a shooting gallery. There’s no time. Doane is on his way. He thinks he’s trailing you, and I led him through a maze of shrubs, but he should be heading this way by now.”

“What?”

“You heard me, I’ve been leading him here. Dammit, he should be on top of us anytime now.”

“I have a knife.”

“Are you willing to risk it? You can’t win … Not like this.”

“Can you get up here on your own?”

“Yes.” He gazed appraisingly up at the craggy sides of the mine shaft, which appeared to present plenty of hand- and footholds. It wouldn’t be easy, especially with this damn useless left hand, but he’d gotten out of tougher spots before. “I told you, I don’t need you.”

“He’s coming.” Eve’s voice was suddenly tense. “I see the beam of Doane’s flashlight near that bluff.”

“Get out of here.”

“No, I’ll go toward him and let Doane see me, so I can lead him away from here.”

“No! Don’t you—”

“Stop telling me what to do,” she said fiercely. “I won’t have you shot. I won’t have Doane and his Kevin survive if anything happens to me. Evil. So much evil. You’re the only safety net I have to make sure that they’re destroyed. You won’t care about Venable or cops or politicians or anyone else. You’ll run right over them. You’ll go after Doane and keep on going after him.” She whirled back toward the path. “Now shut up and start trying to get up that mine shaft.”