Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,171

of paper towels from the roll she kept near the counter to wipe up spills of all kinds. She stared at three spent matches and the partially burned towels.

“The paper towels and the rest of the matches didn’t burn,” she said softly. They should have. A burning building would have distracted everyone on the street from paying any attention to the strangers who had robbed the store.

“Did you want it to burn?”

Phil cried out and staggered into a shelf, knocking over a jar of dill pickles.

Jesse stared at the male whose red hair was tipped with yellow and blue. She knew about the Elementals. She had seen Air. So she understood that the creature standing on the other side of the counter was far more dangerous than a man with a gun.

“Did you … quiet … the fire?” she asked.

“Yes. Should I have let it burn?”

“No. Saving the store was a kindness to all of us, and I thank you for doing that.”

Fire looked around the store. “You have many things that can burn.”

“That is true.” What else could she say? There wasn’t much in the store that wouldn’t burn. “I should call Sheriff Wolfgard and tell him about this.”

“Why?”

“Because those men are probably on their way to Bennett.”

Fire smiled—and Jesse’s bowels turned to water. It took every drop of courage to stay on her feet and not mess herself. She’d faced down an Elder when she’d taken the young humans and terra indigene into the hills to hide them from the men who belonged to the Humans First and Last movement, but she hadn’t been as terrified of that unseen threat as she was right now.

“We know what the car looks like.” Fire turned away from the counter. Just before he vanished, he said, “Cars can burn too.”

* * *

* * *

Jana deleted an e-mail advertising a product that promised to increase the size of her penis and wondered how whoever had sent that out had survived when so many legitimate businesses hadn’t. Then she deleted an e-mail for a special cream that would plump up and firm your breasts to your partner’s delight.

Gods, it was tempting to print that one out and give it to Virgil.

Nothing urgent in the rest of the e-mails. Some of the sheriffs in other towns had sent her additional information about the men they considered outlaws even if the law had no proof of wrongdoing that would hold up in court. She, in turn, promised to keep them updated when those men left town—and what direction they were heading.

As she closed the e-mail program, her phone rang. “Sheriff’s office.”

“We need help. Please, we need help.”

“Who is this? Where are you?”

“Truman Skye. Skye Ranch. We saw the fire and went to investigate. Found the woman. She’s in a bad way.”

“Burned?”

“No.” Truman hesitated before whispering, “I think the Elders killed her husband. Please come.”

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Jana hung up and rushed to the office door. If she was going to have to holler every time she needed Virgil, she was going to find a megaphone. Then she spotted something better—a Hawk perched on the hitching post across the street from the office.

She ran across the street and said, “There’s trouble at the Skye Ranch. I need Virgil right now.” She stared at the Hawk. She had no idea where Virgil was patrolling since he was trying to cover the whole town on his own. Kane was still watching Maddie, partly to keep the blood prophet safe from questionable humans and also because he was still healing and didn’t have the speed or stamina yet to be out patrolling. And she was in the office and patrolling the town square so that one of them would be near the hotel and bank and the other businesses that might be vulnerable to this swarm of strangers who had been arriving over the past couple of days.

Realizing they both couldn’t leave, she said, “Never mind. I’ll call in when I can.”

She ran inside, closed Rusty in the crate, and called one of the doctors. “Someone at the Skye Ranch needs immediate attention. I’m heading there now. You might need the ambulance for this one.”

She grabbed her gear, jumped in her vehicle—and almost screamed when she saw the Hawk settled in the cargo area.

“By all the gods, what are you doing back there?” And how had he gotten inside when the windows were closed?

Being in Hawk form, he didn’t bother to reply. He also