Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,168

had her glancing over her shoulder. Virgil was licking his lips in a way that was so not human. “So does Virgil.”

“I’ll bring you some beef next time I come to visit.”

“Do you need someone to come down there and investigate?” She hadn’t been to Prairie Gold and was curious about what an Intuit town looked like. Then again, she’d only been in Bennett a couple of weeks and so much had happened, she hadn’t had a chance to unpack all her books yet, so visiting someplace new wasn’t high on her list at the moment.

“No need. The people who did this won’t be doing it again.”

It was the flat way he said it that told her why they wouldn’t be doing it again.

She stared at her desk, trying to think of something to say, and noticed two names on the list she’d compiled of less-than-upstanding men who practiced dubious professions. “Those people might not have been the whole gang, and there might be other … professionals … passing through your town.”

“That’s not good news. I left a message for my mother about the rustlers. She’ll spread the word around Prairie Gold. And I’ve been calling the other ranches that have been resettled. I’ll call them again with an update.”

“If anyone sees anything, let us know.”

“Will do. Have to go, darlin’. Have to do something with that beef before Ellen tries to do it on her own. I’ll try to call tonight.”

“Okay.” She wanted to talk to him, wanted to see him. Wanted him to be safe.

“What?” Virgil growled as soon as she hung up.

She relayed Tobias’s message, as well as the information she’d received from the towns with human lawmen.

“Freddie Kaye is a gambler.” He eyed the list she’d made.

Jana wondered what he would do if she had some business cards made for him as a joke that said “Have Teeth, Will Bite.”

Nah. She didn’t have to wonder what he’d do.

“Being a gambler doesn’t equal being a bad person,” she replied. “Freddie helps create the ambiance of a frontier saloon, and his running the games keeps them within the boundaries of entertainment instead of the real lose-your-paycheck kind of gambling.”

“Blackstone wants the real kind of gambling.”

“There will always be humans who want to gamble for high stakes. I guess we can’t force the people here to be prudent if Blackstone opens one of the other saloons and offers high-stakes games.”

“Why can’t we force them? We’re the enforcers. It’s our job to discipline the pack members.”

“You can’t stop someone from doing something stupid if they aren’t also breaking the law.”

“Huh.”

That grunt of disagreement made her suspect that Virgil had already supplied some citizens with a few sharp reasons to follow his rules.

Of course, when it came to following her rules … “Why did you lock Cowboy Bob in the Me Time cell?”

“He gave the puppy an unauthorized treat.”

He said that with a straight face, so she looked him in the eyes and said, “Huh.”

* * *

* * *

Mom, some cattle were shot last night. The men responsible are dead, but there could be others around. Be careful.

Jesse ignored her aching left wrist as she watched the two strangers who had come into her shop a few minutes after the phone call from Tobias. She’d had time to empty the cash drawer of half the money, take Cory-Cutie into the back room, and tell Rachel to stay with the puppy no matter what.

“I counted the money in the drawer,” Rachel said as Jesse stuffed the bills into a drawer in her desk. “Twice.” She whined softly. “I did it wrong? Is that why I have to stay back here?”

“No, honey, you did it just fine, but you need to do what I say today. Exactly what I say.”

Rachel looked at Jesse’s wrist. “You have feelings? About me and Cutie?”

So easy for some people to think of something as expendable because it wore fur. “Yes. I think it will be better right now if you stay back here and stay quiet. And don’t answer the phone. All right?”

“But if I’m back here, who will help you protect our territory?”

It was tempting to grab the shotgun she had tucked under the counter on a shelf her grandfather had built for that purpose decades ago, but she wasn’t sensing that kind of threat from the two men. In fact, she wasn’t sensing any threat from them. They’d been polite from the moment they’d walked into her store, had been impressed by the amount of