Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,164

called Prairie Gold. Damn place is a nest of Intuits. Couldn’t sneak our boy into the truck-stop motel, and I couldn’t buy supplies for two people because the bitch in the general store was looking at me too hard, seeing too much likeness between me and something she’d seen somewhere.”

The damn wanted poster. A family resemblance would be enough to give some Intuits a feeling about Lawry that could lead to Dalton’s capture.

“You want us to head your way now?” Lawry asked.

“Yes. And give me any news you hear about anyone of interest heading this way.”

“I heard Sleight-of-Hand Slim is riding the trains,” Lawry said. “But I also heard a couple of passengers were pulled off a train recently and eaten, so I don’t think he’ll be riding the trains much longer.”

Ending that call, Parlan called Judd next and told him the plan.

“The HFL proved that Wolves weren’t immune to bullets, but the vampires might be harder to kill,” Judd said.

“Harder, but not impossible,” Parlan replied. “In human form, they should die like anything else.” He wasn’t sure about that, but it sounded reasonable. “Besides, a fight for dominance doesn’t have to be a fight to the death. If I put this to the mayor the right way, we could pull this off with some bluster and a couple of shots fired in the air to show our superior weapons and let them surrender the field and leave town. They don’t need Bennett. Humans do.

“And after this mock fight?”

“I become Mayor Blackstone and you become Sheriff McCall, and we keep our fine town safe from anyone who would take advantage of the smaller shifters and the humans who sank everything they had into getting here and now have nowhere to go. So we’ll look after them and put a sharp edge on the law in case they forget to be grateful.”

Judd laughed softly, a chilling sound. “I can get behind that.”

Of course he would. Judd was so good with knives because he enjoyed using them. But he was equally efficient with a gun when the work called for it.

“I can reach out to Frank and Eli Bonney,” Judd said. “Last I heard, they weren’t far from here. Same with Durango Jones.”

“Do I know him?”

“You know him by another name. He changes names more often than he changes his underwear.”

“Ah, yes. Him.” Swaggering fool with too much love for the bottle—and an equal love for making trouble—but damn good with a gun despite his flaws. The sort of man who would need to feel the sharp edge of the law once they had taken the town.

“Tell them I intend to be the next mayor, so they should all come to town as upstanding citizens. We’ve got a five-day window before visitors have to commit to working in the town. They can play tourist without anyone asking too many questions.”

“I’ll pass the word.”

Parlan waited, sensing that the other man had more to say.

“They found the damn body too fast,” Judd said. “Don’t know what those crews were doing so far out from the main town, but they found the body too fast.”

“I know. The mayor showed me a photo from the crime scene.”

“Bastard.”

“Showed me another photo of a problem solved.”

Judd understood. “What took him out?”

“Nothing human.” Parlan thought for a moment. If the sheriff knew he was the Gambler, then … “I have a feeling the sheriff knows you’re called the Knife. Be careful.”

“There are eyes everywhere. I can feel them. But there are a few squatters living in empty houses. They’re sufficient camouflage. Easy enough for me to slip out at night and raid nearby houses for supplies, same as they’re doing. They don’t stay more than a few nights in any one area. Then they move a couple of blocks away and set up again. Just have to watch out for those crews coming in to strip the places.”

“I’ll call when the rest of the clan, and any associates, reach town.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Yes, Judd McCall would look forward to it. And so would he.

* * *

* * *

Later that night, when the town was quiet, Tolya went to Yuri’s house.

“Did Lila Gold have any information?” he asked.

“I told her you were interested in reading about dominance fights in frontier towns.” Yuri hesitated.

“And?” Tolya prompted.

“She said she had a feeling that you should talk to Jana, that what you were looking for had to do with perception rather than historical truth.”

An interesting distinction. Did Parlan Blackstone make the same distinction?

Tolya