Weak from the loss of blood, Shadoe didn’t believe what she was hearing. “Jill?” Her voice almost broke. “This must be a nightmare. Like the wolf. But it never happened.” She was rambling, but she couldn’t stop herself.
Hank kept the pressure on Shadoe’s shoulder, holding her steady. “Put the gun away, Jill.”
“Not on your life.”
“The wolves are gone,” he said softly, shifting so that he was between Shadoe and the gun.
“So they are,” Jill said. “It won’t take much to hunt them down and kill them. After the ranchers have panicked, of course.” She stepped closer, the gun held steady. “It was always in my plan to release them. In fact, that’s what I came up here to do. You just saved me the effort.”
“You wanted them released?” Hank had to keep her talking.
“Absolutely. Just the threat wouldn’t push landowners to sell. I tried to make Harry see that, but he didn’t believe me. It had to be an accomplished fact. Then a few neatly arranged livestock slaughters, more ranchers sell out. After a few months of panic, we turn the tide of public opinion against the wolves and kill them. By then I’ll own thousands of acres. Land which will sell at a premium if it’s divided into those lovely little ranchettes.”
“Why?” Hank’s question was softly put.
“I hate this life. I hate everything about it. Shadoe escaped. You left. I couldn’t. My folks depend on me to send them money to live on. They left me here to do what they couldn’t stomach anymore, and I had no choice. I couldn’t sell. I couldn’t get dirt for my ranch, it’s too small. So when I heard that you were up here two years ago scouting out a place to release those wolves, I came up with a plan where I could make enough money to get the hell out of here and buy myself a new life. No cows. No parents. No schedule of work from sunup to sundown.”
“You could have left, Jill.” Hank’s statement was softly put. “I did. I made a life for myself somewhere else. You could, too.”
“I couldn’t!” She almost screamed the words. “I was the one my parents counted on. I was the one who could do it and make it work. I could scrimp and save and slave. No one else would have worked the way I have for the past twenty years. No life, no family. Just work. Just trying to make ends meet so I could support everyone who counted on me.”
Hank thought of a million pians, but none would work.
Jill would kill him if he moved. He could hear the bitterness in her voice. How had he failed to see it before? She’d always been so perky, so much Shadoe’s friend. How had she shot her?
“Stand up, Hank,” Jill ordered.
“I can’t. She’ll bleed to death.”
“Exactly.” She waved the gun, motioning him up. “Do it or I’ll shoot you there and watch her bleed after you’re dead.”
“Why, Jill?”
“It’s not personal. It’s just expedient. You two were bound to figure it out. Harry and I can’t risk such loose ends dangling.”
“Harry and you. I never would have thought.” Hank had to keep her talking.
“I have a right to a life. We want the same things. Harry understands. And he knows how to get what he wants.”
Hank shifted a tiny bit away from Shadoe. When he made his move, he didn’t want her to get caught with the bullet. “They’ll catch you.”
She shook her head. “No. They won’t. You’ll be dead. They’ll hunt for a few days for Shadoe’s killer, but they’ll give it up. Harry will see to it.”
“Not Billy. He won’t ever give up. He knows I’d never harm Shadoe. And Cal, too.”
Jill shrugged. “We’ll see. We’re in this so deep now that Billy won’t be much of an obstacle. Neither will Cal Oberton. If they are.” She waved the gun. “Now stand.”
Hank knew that his time for stalling was up. Jill had gone completely over the edge. Greed, heartbreak, stress, he didn’t know exactly the ingredients that had destroyed her. Maybe she’d fallen victim to one of Harry’s schemes. Hank didn’t know—or care. All he knew was that she was a dangerous woman. One who meant to kill him. There was no sound of reinforcements coming up the trail. No cavalry to the rescue. If he stood, Shadoe would die. If he didn’t, they’d die together. He shifted, starting up easily. Maybe he could take a dive at her. It was his only chance.
As he rose, he saw a gleam of silver darting through the trees. Without a sound of warning, Thor burst into the clearing, a streak of white fang and silver body as he rose in a giant leap, flying through the air until his jaws locked around Jill’s arm that held the gun.
Her shot went wild, and her scream followed the blast of the rifle. Thor knocked her to the ground, wrestling her arm back and forth in his jaws. Her screams of pain and terror filled the night.
Hank moved swiftly to the wolf. He had little time. “Thor,” he said, placing a hand on the wolf’s back. At his touch, Thor dropped Jill’s arm and turned away. He ran to the edge of the woods, gave one look back, then ran. Hank picked up the rifle and rushed back to Shadoe. To his surprise she was up on one elbow, watching the scene with amazement.
“He saved you,” she said.
“Are you surprised?” He eased her back and applied pressure once again to the wound.
She looked up into Hank’s face. “No. I’m not surprised at Thor.” Her voice faltered. “How bad is Jill hurt?”
“Rest, Shadoe,” Hank said. Several feet away Jill was moaning and he knew he had to see about her, but not before help arrived for Shadoe. Even as he thought it, he heard the sound of the men coming. They broke into the clearing, guns at the ready.
“Doc!” Hank recognized the rotund veterinarian and called him to Shadoe. Doc paused, looking at Jill as she thrashed on the ground, holding her bitten arm.
“Shadoe first,” Hank said. “Jill just tried to kill both of us.”
Doc hurried over and knelt down. As one of the other agents held a flashlight, he probed the wound. “Well, Shadoe, that bullet has to come out. Do you trust an old horse doctor?”
Shadoe’s grin was weak. “Do it, Doc. I couldn’t be in better hands.”
HANK ADJUSTED the shoulder of Shadoe’s dress, the beaded buckskin warm in his hands.
“The bandage doesn’t show, does it?” she asked.
“I’ve never known you to worry so much about your appearance,” he said, brushing a silky strand of her hair from her cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“I’ve never been married before,” she answered, her voice breaking despite her best efforts. She turned away, afraid if she didn’t she’d cry from happiness. Instead, she glanced down at the spectacular vista that spread below her-meadow, mountain, the June beauty of Montana. They had chosen Stag’s Horn as the place for the ceremony.
“Are we ready?”
They both turned to find Billy standing, hands clasped in front of him, silver hair blowing in the gentle breeze. Doc Adams was there, too, and the preacher. They had invited no one else.
Doc stepped forward and kissed Shadoe’s check. “I’ve never seen a lovelier bride. Especially not one with a hole in her shoulder,” he teased. He bent lower. “Your father would be so proud of you.”
Once again Shadoe felt the threat of tears, but the pressure of Hank’s hand on her back made her straighten her spine and smile.
She looked around her, missing the woman who had been her best friend, and worst enemy. Jill’s wounds from the wolf bite had been minimal. Thor could have torn off her arm, but he had barely bitten her. She was in jail, along with Harry Code, who had also been charged with the murder of Jim Larson. Kathy Lemon, though she had not been a part of Jill’s scheme, had once again been fired when the WSTU news director had learned about her lies.
And the wolves were free. For better or for worse.
“They’re out there, somewhere. Maybe watching us,” Hank said, rubbing her back. “And they owe their freedom to you.”
“To you,” she corrected. “I wish Thor could be here,” she added.
Hank kissed her
cheek as he turned her to face the minister, Billy on one side of him and Doc beside her.
“Who says he isn’t?” he whispered in her ear.
eISBN 978-14592-6833-3
MIDNIGHT PREY
Copyright© 1997 by Carolyn Haines
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Printed in U.S.A.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Excerpt
Dear Reader
Title Page
Dedication
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Copyright
Midnight Prey Page 23
