LustUndone (26 page)

“This is part of the territory I flew over today,” Ric told
them. “You’re right. Not a hell of a lot out there.”

“As soon as I can get to a computer I can pull up the tax
rolls and see who lives there.”

“If we go back to the motel from here,” Logan told her, “you
can use mine.”

“Then let’s eat up and go.” Ric refolded all the maps, then
studied Rebecca. “Sophia, how much does your sister know about the Night
Seekers?”

“Everything. I told her everything, so you don’t have to
hide anything. We can all speak freely.”

Ric gave a brief nod. “Good. That helps. Clint, Logan and
Sophia tell me you you’ve been running at night to help with the hunt. Will you
be available again tonight?”

“Absolutely. I can get Frayne Beaufort to handle the evening
shift. He’ll be glad of the extra dough. What time?”

“Why don’t we meet at the motel about nine,” Logan
suggested. “It will be dark then so we’ll have plenty of cover.”

“I’m coming, too,” Rebecca told them. “I can wait with
Sophia, maybe kick some ideas around.”

“All right.” Ric folded everything up and placed it back in
the slim folder. “Next order of business is to identify who lives in the area
that we need to warn and keep an eye on.”

Chapter Thirteen

Rebecca pulled three names off the county tax rolls of
property owners in the area that Ric had marked. They agreed that calling these
people might not do much good. They needed to be warned in person. Plus they
actually needed to lay eyes on the physical layout of each location. She called
Bobby to request the use of the snowmobiles again.

“He says okay.” She snapped her phone shut. “I know he
thinks we’re all crazy but at least he’d not putting any roadblocks in our
way.”

“It was a lot easier in Texas where people are used to the
legend,” Ric pointed out.

Sophia made a rude noise. “That’s for damn sure.” She looked
at her sister. “Any word on where things stand with Harland Warren?”

“Arraignment’s tomorrow morning. Bobby says the guy’s really
flipped out. But he’s sure they’ve got a solid case. Scott Mooney did some
digging and found that a couple of times Elaine had gone all the way to
Millinocket to get her injuries treated after Harland knocked her around. And
at Xeniplex he apparently was on a short leash because of his temper.”

“How did he happen to find out about the affair?” Sophia
wanted to know.

“He works irregular shifts, sometimes pulling extra hours if
they need him,” Bec answered. “One day he got off early and drove another
security guard home. It took him past Bradley Howard’s house and he saw
Elaine’s car there. Instead of storming the door he checked to see who lived
there and started following the two of them.”

“I guess with the kind of schedule he worked he didn’t have
to explain if he was late coming home,” Logan put in.

“Poor Elaine.” Sophia shook her head. “Too bad she didn’t
have the courage to leave him before this.”

Bec sighed. “According to Joy Blanchard she and Bradley were
planning to leave town but never got the chance. All right.” She pushed back
from the little table. “Let’s go get the machines. Ric, you want to follow us
in the air and mark the coordinates?”

He nodded. “That’ll work.”

* * * * *

The beast had retreated to its snow cave as soon as it
finished with its most recent kill. The lust was boiling inside its body,
racing through its bloodstream with the force of a hurricane. All the senses in
its body were working overtime, exploding at the last kill so the prey’s body
was nearly destroyed. And now the same senses were still hot, still actively
volatile. There would be no rest before the final kill this time, not with the
uncontrollable urgency.

But as it approached the snow cave its sense of smell went
into overdrive. Intruders! The hiding place had been found. Enraged, the beast
sniffed the area surrounding the cave, nostrils quivering at the foreign scent.
An animal but yet not an animal. A wolf but not a wolf. Not another creature
like itself but similar, in some ways.

Maddened at the violation of its space, the creature rose on
its hind legs and let loose a roar that echoed off the trees and bounced back,
sound waves piling on sound waves like ripples in a stream.

Get away!

That was its first reaction. Run. Hide. Find a new place of
safety.

The beast spun around in circling, scenting the air again.
It had marked its three target victims, within the proscribed circle it had
been programmed for. It tracked by scent as well as location. Now it needed to
finish off the cycle. Destroy the third target.

The pain shot through its brain again and it pressed its
claw-like appendages to its head, desperate for some relief. After a moment it
eased and the creature took off. It would find another hiding place to
recuperate, gather its strength then let the lust lead it to finish the cycle.

* * * * *

Logan pulled his snowmobile to a stop near where he’d found
the snow cave. The smell of turpentine was so strong his nostrils pinched.

It’s been back. It’s been here and not so long ago.

Biting back the combination of fear and anticipation rushing
through him, he unhooked his rifle and climbed off the machine. Cautiously he
circled the area, his eyes darting everywhere, hyper-alert for the physical
presence of the devil beast.

It came back here! It returned to its temporary lair!

Excitement rose within him as he worked his way from spot to
spot. Pulling the folded map from his inside pocket, he opened it and checked
the location of the last two kills. Ric had been dead on. The two spots were
equidistant from the snow cave and formed two points of the circle he’d drawn.

There were three logical places the beast would hit next.

Unhooking his satellite phone from his belt, he punched the
number for Sophia.

“It’s been back at its snow cave,” he said as soon as she
answered. “The turpentine smell is so strong the creature had to have been here
just recently.”

“You watch yourself,” Sophia warned. “Be very, very
careful.”

“Got my rifle locked and loaded and in my hand. But Ric was
dead on with the map. There are three houses that are potential target areas.
You and Rebecca can each take one and I’ll take the third. We need to warn
these people to be very careful of any and all strangers.”

“And strange animals,” she added. “Remember, we’ve figured
out it assumes other forms.”

“All right. Let’s do it. Then tonight between Clint and me
and the sheriff’s patrols we should have the houses covered.”

He rattled off the locations of two of the houses.

“Let’s meet again at five o’clock. We’ll return the
snowmobiles and head for The Crown. I’ll call Ric in the helo and let him know
what’s happening.”

“Okay. See you at five.”

Logan looked up, searching the sky, and finally sighted a
tiny black spot moving far above him. He punched Ric’s number into the phone.

“You were dead on,
amigo
. Here’s the skinny.”

* * * * *

It was a subdued group that gathered at The Crown for an
early dinner. Now that they had almost physical proof of the beast’s presence,
and three very logical targets, protecting them was at the top of everyone’s
list. Along with killing El Chupacabra. Frenchy was again behind the bar so
Clint was able to join them.

“I spoke to everyone at the ranch,” Ric told them. “If we
need more people Craig is ready to load them in a plane and send them up here.”

“What do you think?” Rebecca asked.

“I think we can handle this. More is not necessarily better.
At least right now.”

“Any word yet on Melinda?” Sophia had told her sister about
Chloe Hansen Guitron’s friend and the circumstances of her disappearance.

Ric shook his head. “Nada. Mark says Chloe’s doing her best
to handle it but I know it’s got to be tough for her. I think Craig’s about
ready to assign two Night Seekers to the hunt full time.”

“And maybe that’s what we need to do,” Sophia told him, “if
we don’t find out anything soon.”

“Meanwhile,” Ric pulled some sheets of paper from his
folder, “let’s talk about tonight.”

“We hit all three sites this afternoon,” Logan told him,
“and warned everyone as best we could. But we don’t know what form the devil
beast will take when it approaches and we can’t exactly tell people, ‘Hey, look
out for anything strange that comes around and might turn into something else
right in front of you.’”

“No kidding,” Clint snorted.

“So, Clint, let’s you and me figure out how to split the
area into two parts, with Ric giving us air cover. As fast as we run, we should
be able to keep a pretty good eye on things.”

“Isn’t there something Sophia and I can do?” Rebecca asked.
“It’s dumb for us to just keep sitting here.”

“You can cover as much ground as possible with the SUV.” Ric
took out a pen and inked the roads on the map that were the most likely for
them to drive. “Here, here and here. I’ve got sat radios for everyone so we can
communicate. Logan, you and Clint wear your radios again so you’re linked with
me. And I’ll monitor again from the air.”

“Did Frayne agree to work again tonight?” Sophia asked
Clint.

“Yes. Believe me, he’s happy for the extra work.”

“Okay then. Nine o’clock at the motel.” Ric folded
everything back up. “Let’s eat. We’ll all need our energy.”

* * * * *

The devil beast had shifted into a less detectible form,
aware that strange eyes could be tracking it. In its newest form it moved
swiftly over the marked territory, heading for the final prey of this cycle.
The pain shooting through its head had returned with a vengeance, a pain only
satisfying the boiling lust could ease.

It took note of the fact that there was more movement on the
roads tonight, more things with bright lights driving the area.

Hunting for the beast!

As it neared the perimeter of its target a dark shape
flashed across the landscape about a half mile away. The Chupacabra’s eyesight
was extraordinary, allowing it to see things at a great distance. And
permitting it to evade danger when necessary. Now it strained to see the
definition of the form. Identify it.

An enemy for sure.

The beast watched for a long moment as something black
streaked through the night, first heading away but then reversing direction and
heading directly for the target area.

Stifling the rage surging through it, the creature turned and
headed away from its objective. The kill would have to wait one more night. But
that was all. Then, if danger still persisted, it would take out that danger,
too.

Regardless of the consequences.

* * * * *

“Well, that was a big waste of time.” Ric tossed his gloves
onto the table.

They were all gathered again in Sophia’s motel room,
disgusted and irritated at the lack of success.

“Maybe we’ve scared it away,” Rebecca suggested, sipping on
a cup of strong coffee. Sophia had brewed a pot as soon as they’d returned.

“Fat chance,” Logan grunted. “I think it has something
programmed into it that forces it to complete its cycle.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Programmed into it? You sound as if
someone is breeding these things.”

“We think that’s a real possibility.”

She shuddered. “There’s a scary thought.”

“We’ve thwarted it a couple of times,” Sophia put in, “and
it’s always returned and started the cycle again.”

“So what now?” Clint asked.

“Now,” Ric answered, “we try to get some sleep because
tomorrow night we have to do it again.”

“I have a gut feeling for some reason tomorrow night is its
last opportunity,” Logan said. “We need to be prepared.”

Ric looked at Sophia. “I want you up in the helo with me
tomorrow night. The last couple of times we’ve had to shoot it from the air. I
want to be prepared and you’re one of our best shots.”

Rebecca grinned at her. “Way to go, big sister.”

Sophia just nodded and told Ric, “Whatever you need me to
do.”

Logan finished his coffee and stood up. “Meanwhile, let’s
get whatever sleep we can. Rebecca, you know Bobby will expect you at the
barracks tomorrow. Are you awake enough to drive home and can you catch enough
sleep?”

“I’m good. But let’s meet for lunch and I can report
everything from the morning briefing.”

In a moment everyone was gone except Clint. He turned the
deadbolt on the door and engaged the safety chain. Then he began to slowly
remove his clothes.

“Bed,
chere,
” he said in a tired voice. “I think
tonight we need our sleep more than anything else.”

“I agree.” Sophia stood on tiptoe to brush a kiss over his
lips. “I’m glad we’re doing it together.”

In seconds they were under the covers, their naked bodies
spooned together, Clint’s strong arms holding her, his breath soft against her
ear.

This is so right. How will I ever leave this?

She was still pondering the question when she fell asleep.

* * * * *

She woke to the feeling of a hand lightly stroking the
length of her body—her shoulder, her arm, her hip, her thigh. Then teeth
nibbled on her earlobe and scraped a path along the column of her neck. She
turned and found herself looking into Clint’s heated eyes, his lips curved in a
sexy smile.

“Mornin’,
chere.
”

“I like the way you wake me up.”

One hand pulled her leg over his and his hand trailed
lightly over her ass to the hot crevice separating the globes.

“I could get used to it myself,” he told her.

She sobered. “Clint?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Sophia was doing her best to concentrate, a near
impossibility with the erotic things Clint was doing to her. “If things work
out the way we expect, by tomorrow or the next day we could be out of here,
Logan, Ric and me.”