and beheaded the serpent as it uncoiled. The two segments fell to the ground.
“Puck?” I asked when I saw the familiar bent ear. “I mean, Clara?”
She blinked up at me but didn’t speak. Probably because we had an audience. Robin bent down to scoop her up, but she arched her back with a hiss and he hastily stepped aside.
My hand covered my chest and I exhaled the breath I’d been holding, then looked at my echo self. “Get dressed. Your mother will be here in a minute.”
“What?” Young Joey dove for her clothes. I was relieved to see she still had her underwear on. At least things hadn’t gone too far.
Unless she’d been putting them back on….
“And you,” I rounded on Bill. “What the hell were you thinking, bringing her out here? What if it had been a rabid raccoon, or a bear in here? Never mind a human predator. The two of you could have been killed!”
His mouth hung open, his gaze on the twitching segments of the snake.
I moved closer to him and lowered my voice. “Listen to me, now. You stay the hell away from her. And if you’re smart, you’ll destroy all the tapes you have of the other girls you brought here.”
He swung his head to face me. “How do you know about that?”
I lifted my chin and fisted my hands on my hips. “I know all about your list, Tucker. And if you don’t want to disappear for good, I would recommend reviewing how you’ve been treating these girls and adjust your course.”
He took a step back, tripping on his pants. “You’re crazy.”
“I’m middle-aged. Same difference.” I narrowed my eyes on him and in my best Grammy B voice barked, “Now git!”
He collected his clothes and without pausing to put them on, stumbled out of the cabin.
“Billy, wait!” My echo self cried as his bare ass disappeared through the open door. She hastened to put on her boots but the sound of an engine roaring to life was followed by a cloud of dust as the borrowed pick-up disappeared down the road before she could give chase.
“What did you do?” Joey cried. “He’s going to hate me now!”
I ignored her. Instead, striding to the bed and plunking myself down. With my head on a swivel, I studied all the nooks and crannies of the space until I found what I was looking for.
Getting to my feet, I moved to the large chest of drawers that was draped with an old bedsheet. The top of it was littered with sticks and pinecones, but peeking out from in between two fir branches was the all-seeing eye of a video camera lens.
“He was recording you.” I knocked the natural flotsam aside and picked up the camera to show her. “The same way he did with all the others.”
Her lips parted and she shook her head. “No. I don’t believe you.”
“Then how do you explain this?” I held the camera aloft. “He targeted you from the beginning. He doesn’t really like you. You were a trophy to him. Part of his collection.”
“Easy, lamb.” Robin put a hand on my shoulder. “She’s been through a lot.”
I glared at him. “I know. I also know what she’ll have to go through in the future. And the sooner she learns not to trust predatory assholes like Bill Tucker, the better.”
My heart pumped and my hands shook as the adrenaline worked its way out of my system. In the distance, sirens sounded. That would be my mom, calling in the cavalry.
I softened as I saw how defeated young Joey appeared. I turned back to Robin. “Wait for me outside?”
He hesitated a moment. “We best be gone before the authorities show up and start asking questions we can’t answer.”
“I just need a minute with her. Then we can go.”
He blew out a breath and then nodded once.
I knelt in front of my younger self and braced for the worst. “How far did it go?”
She glared at me.
“Did you have sex with him?” I wouldn’t relent.
Mutely, she shook her head.
I let out a breath, relieved that whenever her memories caught up to mine, I wouldn’t have to carry the weight of that particular one. “That’s good. You deserve better, Joey. Practice gymnastics and become an elite gymnast. Represent the US in Sydney. The sky’s the limit as long as you are careful.”
Outside, a car door slammed and I heard my mother’s voice. “Josephine Louise Whitmore!”