Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,184

to the sidewalk until someone jostled her while trying to reach the bus that would take the first wave of workers home. Her legs shook as she climbed the stairs and almost gave out before she found a seat.

He hadn’t recognized her. She’d known him the moment she saw him, but he hadn’t recognized her. Had she changed that much in three years?

Abigail let out a huge sigh of relief. He wouldn’t stay long in a town like Bennett, and once he left, she’d really be safe.

* * *

* * *

Parlan kept walking up the street for his meeting with Tolya Sanguinati. He tipped his hat to the Simple Life women who were waiting for the bus; smiled at the blond girl who sat in a rocker outside the saloon, fanning herself; and wondered who owned the ponies grazing in the square—ponies that didn’t look like any breed he’d seen before.

No movement, no look, no gesture, betrayed his rage. But as he walked and smiled, a single thought filled him: Found you, bitch.

* * *

* * *

“The Eagles and Hawks have told me that two packs of humans are hiding in the houses just beyond the town borders,” Virgil said. “One to the north and one to the south. Big packs.” He looked at Tolya, who was leaning against the mayor’s desk, then at Air. “I think they are being squeezed between us and the Elders, just like the bad dogs were squeezed and then hunted.”

“You think those humans are going to attack the town?” Tolya asked.

“Not the town. Us. They’re going to attack us, and we can’t survive packs of humans with guns. Once we’re gone, the town will be their territory.”

“It won’t be theirs,” Air said. “Never theirs. The Elders and Elementals won’t allow it.”

“But we’ll still be dead,” Virgil growled.

Tolya thought about the book Jana had loaned him, the book now sitting in his desk drawer. The good guys hadn’t won—and most hadn’t survived—because the villains had been sneaky, had made promises that were nothing more than lies.

Was Parlan Blackstone part of this, or were his arrival and the arrival of these human packs so soon afterward two separate things? He would know soon enough.

“Do the Elders know about these packs of humans?” Tolya aimed the question at Virgil but looked at Air.

Virgil shrugged, but Air said, “They know.”

And have done nothing. After seeing some of the Elders who lived in the hills, he wasn’t sure he wanted them to do anything, but he also didn’t want to see Virgil, Kane, and John dying the way Joe Wolfgard had died.

“Those humans haven’t crossed into our territory,” Virgil said. “Not yet.”

“But they’ve sent scouts.” Tolya held up the list of hotel guests that Anya had provided. Two of them claimed to be in the cattle business and were in Bennett looking to buy some stock. One was a gambler who didn’t sneer at the betting limits that had been set for play in the Bird Cage Saloon, and for some reason, that made Freddie Kaye very uneasy. Another who had spent time in the saloon didn’t seem to have a profession, but Yuri believed the human was a predator waiting for his chosen prey. “And then there is Parlan Blackstone, who seems to be here without the rest of his pack.”

“They’ll be coming if they’re not already here and hiding,” Virgil said.

Tolya nodded. “Blackstone asked for a meeting and should be here at any moment.” He looked at Air. “Could you stay, quietly?”

“And then tell the Elders what is said?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“You don’t need me here,” Virgil said. It wasn’t a question.

“No,” Tolya agreed. “But depending on what Blackstone says, you should prepare for a fight.”

Virgil gave him an odd look. “I’ll prepare for a fight no matter what he says. But I’ll tell you now, if the humans start a fight, I’ll keep killing them until they take my last breath.”

* * *

* * *

Parlan had thought about how to approach Tolya, how to play this hand. Should he go in as the tough leader who had the force behind him to take control or the man who would have preferred a quiet life but felt he had to stand up for his people?

He couldn’t read the damn Sanguinati, but remembering the last time he’d met Tolya in this office, he decided to go in soft.

“Appreciate you seeing me,” Parlan said as he settled in the visitors’ chair.

“Have you decided which saloon you would like to run?”