She didn’t know what to do. The thought that she was the cause of all that had happened tormented her, disturbing her sleep. She moved restlessly, waking Wolf, and he sensed her distress though he attributed it to the wrong cause. He soothed her with whispers and pulled her more completely beneath him. She felt him harden inside her. His lovemaking was gentle this time, and when it was over she slept as effortlessly as a child until he awoke her again in the total darkness before dawn. She turned to him without question.

Joe drove up just as she and Wolf were preparing breakfast, and without a word Wolf broke more eggs into a bowl to be scrambled. Mary smiled at him, even though she was placing more bacon in the frying pan. “How do you know he’s hungry?”

“He’s awake, isn’t he? My kid eats like a horse.”

Joe came in the back door and headed for the coffee, which had already finished brewing. “Morning.”

“Good morning. Breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes.”

He grinned at her, and Mary smiled back. Wolf watched her, his gaze sharp. She looked frail this morning, her skin pale and even more translucent than usual, with faint mauve shadows under her eyes. She smiled readily, but he wondered what had made her look so delicate. Had he tired her with his lovemaking, or were memories of the attack disturbing her? He thought it must be the latter, because she had responded eagerly every time he’d reached for her. Knowing that she was still frightened made him even more determined to find whoever had attacked her. After Eli Baugh had delivered the horses and left, Wolf planned to do some tracking.

Joe was right behind Mary’s car on the way to the school, and he didn’t leave immediately, as she had expected. It was still too early for the students to begin arriving, so he walked with her into the empty building and even inspected the rooms. Then he leaned against the door-jamb and waited.

Mary sighed. “I’m perfectly safe here.”

“I’ll just wait until some other people show up.”

“Did Wolf tell you to do this?”

“Nope. He knew he didn’t have to.”

How did they communicate? By telepathy? Each seemed to know what the other was thinking. It was disconcerting. She just hoped they couldn’t read her thoughts, because she’d had some decidedly erotic ones lately.

What would everyone think of Joe’s presence? He was so obviously a watchdog. She wondered if it would trigger another act of violence, and she felt sick, because she knew it might. Instinct, sharpened by her fierce protectiveness for both Mackenzies, told her that her theory was correct. Just the possibility that they could become accepted had driven someone over the edge. It revealed so much hate that she shivered.

Sharon and Dottie entered the building and halted briefly when Joe turned his head and looked at them as they passed the open door. “Mrs. Wycliffe. Mrs. Lancaster,” he said in acknowledgment as he touched his fingertips to the brim of his hat in a brief salute.

“Joe,” Sharon murmured. “How are you?”

Dottie gave him a brief, almost frightened look and hurried to her classroom. Joe shrugged. “I’ve been doing a bit of studying,” he allowed.

“Just a bit?” Sharon asked wryly. She stepped past him to greet Mary, then said, “If you don’t feel like working today, Dottie and I can handle your classes. I never dreamed you’d be here today, anyway.”

“I was merely frightened,” Mary said firmly. “Clay prevented anything else from happening. Cathy is the one who needs sympathy, not I.”

“The whole town is in an uproar. Anyone who has freckles on his hands is getting the third degree.”

Mary didn’t want to talk about it. The image of that freckled hand made her feel nauseated, and she swallowed convulsively. Joe frowned and stepped forward. Mary put up her hand to keep him from throwing Sharon out of the classroom, but at that moment several students entered, and their chatter distracted everyone. The kids said, “Hi, Joe, howya been?” as they clustered around him. They all wanted to know about his plans for the Academy and how he’d gotten interested.

Sharon left to attend to her own classes, and Mary watched Joe with the kids. He was only sixteen, but he seemed older than even the seniors. Joe was young, but he wasn’t a kid, and that was the difference. She noticed that Pam Hearst was in the group. She wasn’t saying much, but she never took her eyes off Joe, looking at him with both longing and pain, though she tried to hide it. Several times Joe gave the girl a long look that made her fidget uncomfortably.

Then he checked his watch and left his former classmates to say to Mary, “Dad will be here to follow you home. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

She started to protest, then thought of the man out there who hated them enough to do what he’d done. She wasn’t the only one at risk. She reached out and caught his arm. “You and Wolf be careful. You could be the next targets.”

He frowned, as if that hadn’t occurred to him. The attacker was a rapist, so men wouldn’t consider themselves in danger. She wouldn’t have thought of it, either, if she hadn’t been convinced that the whole thing was intended to punish the Mackenzies. What greater punishment could there be than to kill them? At some point the madman might decide to take a rifle and dispense his own twisted brand of justice.

Clay showed up at lunch with the papers for her to read and sign. Aware of the kids watching them with acute interest, she walked with him out to the car. “I’m worried,” she admitted.

He propped his arm on top of the open door. “You’d be foolish if you weren’t worried.”

“Not for myself. I think Wolf and Joe are the real targets.”

He gave her a quick, sharp look. “How do you figure that?”

Heartened that he hadn’t immediately dismissed the idea, but was watching her with a troubled expression in his eyes, Mary told him her theory. “I think Cathy and I were specifically chosen as targets to punish Wolf. Don’t you see the link? She said she thought Wolf was handsome, and that she’d like to date Joe. Everyone knows I’ve been friends with them from the first. So we were chosen.”

“And you think he’ll attack again?”

“I’m certain he will, but I’m afraid he’ll go after one of them this time. I doubt he’d try to manhandle either of them, but what chance would they have against a bullet? How many men in this county have a rifle?”

“Every last mother’s son,” Clay replied grimly. “But what set this guy off?”

She paused, her face miserable. “I did.”

“What?”

“I did. Before I came here, Wolf was an outcast. Everyone was comfortable with that. Then I made friends with him and worked with Joe to get him into the Academy. A lot of people were a little proud of that and were friendlier. It was a crack in the wall, and whoever is doing this just couldn’t stand it.”

“You’re talking about a lot of hate, and it’s hard for me to see. People around here don’t get along with Wolf, but a lot of it is fear instead of hate. Fear and guilt. The people in this county sent him to prison for something he didn’t do, and his presence constantly reminds them of it. He isn’t a very forgiving person, is he?”

“Something like that would be a little hard to forgive,” Mary pointed out.

He had to agree with that and sighed wearily. “Still, I can’t think of anyone who seems to hate him to the point of attacking two women just because they were friendly to him. Hell, Cathy wasn’t even friendly. She just made a chance remark.”

“So you agree with me? That all of this is because of Wolf?”

“I don’t like it, but I guess I do. Nothing else makes sense, because there may be a few coincidences in life, but none in crime. Everything has a motive.”

“So what can we do?”

“We won’t do anything,” he said pointedly. “I will talk to the sheriff about it, but the fact is we can’t arrest anyone without evidence, and all we have is a theory. We don’t even have a suspect.”

Her jaw set in firm lines. “Then you’re passing up a marvelous chance.”

He looked suspicious. “To do what?”

“Set a trap, of course.”

“I don’t like this. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I don’t like it.”

“It’s common sense. He failed in his—er, objective with me. Perhaps I could—”

“No. And before you get on your high horse, just think of what Wolf would say if you told him you were setting yourself up as bait. You might—might—be allowed out of his house by Christmas.”

That was true enough, but she saw a way around it. “Then I just won’t tell him.”

“There’s no way to keep it from him, unless it didn’t work. If it did work—I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be around when he found out, and something like that couldn’t be kept quiet.”

Mary considered all of Wolf’s possible reactions and didn’t like any of them. On the other hand, she was terrified that something might happen to him. “I’ll take the chance,” she said, making her decision.

“Not with my help, you won’t.”

Her chin lifted. “Then I’ll do it without your help.”

“If you get in the way of our investigations, I’ll put you in the pokey so fast your head will spin,” he threatened. When she didn’t appear impressed, he swore under his breath. “Hell, I’ll just tell Wolf and let him ride herd on you.”

She frowned and considered shaking her schoolteacher’s finger in his face. “You listen to me, Clay Armstrong. I’m the best chance you have of luring this guy out into the open. You don’t have any suspects now. What are you going to do, wait until he attacks some other woman and maybe kills her? Is that how you want to work it?”

“No, that isn’t how I want to work it! I want you and every other woman to stay alert and not go anywhere alone. I don’t want to risk you or anyone else. Have you thought that sometimes traps don’t work, that the animal gets the bait and still gets away? Do you really want to face the possibility of that?”

The thought made her sick to her stomach, and she swallowed to control the sudden rise of nausea. “No, but I’d do it anyway,” she said steadily.

“For the last time, no. I understand that you want to help, but I don’t like the idea. This guy is too unstable. He grabbed Cathy in her own driveway, and took you off of the town’s main street. The chances he took are crazy, and he probably is, too.”

With a sigh, Mary decided that Clay was simply too protective for him to be able to agree to use a woman as bait; it was totally against his basic nature. That didn’t mean, however, that she needed his agreement. All she needed was someone who could act as a guard. She hadn’t thought of any real plan yet, but obviously there had to be two people to make even the simplest trap work: the bait, and the one who kept the bait from being harmed.

Clay got in the car and closed the door, then leaned out the open window. “I don’t want to hear any more about it,” he warned.

“You won’t,” she promised. Not talking to him about it wasn’t the same as not doing it.

He gave her a suspicious look, but started the car and drove away. Mary returned to her classroom, her thoughts darting around as she tried to think of a solid plan for luring a rapist with a minimum of danger to herself.

Wolf arrived at the school ten minutes before classes were over. He propped his shoulder against the wall just outside her classroom door and listened to her clear voice instructing her students on how geography and history had combined to produce the current state of Middle East politics. He was certain that wasn’t in any of the textbooks, but Mary had a knack for giving her students a way of relating the present to their studies. It made the subjects both more interesting and more understandable. He had heard her doing the same thing with Joe, not that Joe needed encouragement to read. Her students responded easily to her; in such a small class, there was very little formality. They called her “Miss Potter,” but weren’t shy about asking questions, offering answers, even teasing.

Then she looked at her watch and released them, just as the doors to the other two classrooms opened. Wolf straightened from the wall and walked into her room, aware of how the kids’ chatter halted abruptly when they became aware of his presence. Mary looked up and smiled, a private smile meant only for him, and it made his pulse accelerate that she was so open about how she felt.

He removed his hat and shoved his fingers through his hair. “Your escort service has arrived, ma’am,” he said.

One of the girls giggled nervously, and Wolf slowly turned his head to look at the motionless teenagers. “Are you girls going home in pairs? Any of you boys making sure they get home all right?”

Christa Teele, Cathy’s younger sister, murmured that she and Pam Hearst were walking together. The other four girls said nothing. Wolf looked at the seven boys. “Go with them.” It was an order, one that the boys obeyed instantly. The kids left the room, automatically separating so that each girl had at least one male escort.

Mary nodded. “Very nicely done.”

“You’ll notice that they all had enough sense not to argue that they didn’t need an escort.”

She frowned at him, because she felt it hadn’t been necessary for him to make that point. “Wolf, really, I’m perfectly safe on the drive from my house to here. How could anything happen to me if I don’t stop?”

“What if you had a flat? What if a radiator hose blew again?”

It was obvious there was no way she could set her trap if Wolf or Joe was hovering over her every second. It was also obvious from the narrow look Wolf was giving her that he had no intention of changing his mind. Not that it mattered at the moment, as she hadn’t come up with a plan yet. But when she did, she would also have to come up with some scheme for slipping away from her watchdogs.

Wolf draped her sweater over her shoulders and picked up her purse and keys, then ushered her out the door. Dottie looked up from where she was locking her own classroom door and stood transfixed while Wolf locked Mary’s door, rattled the knob to make certain the lock held, then put his arm around her waist. He saw Dottie and touched the brim of his hat. “Mrs. Lancaster.”

Dottie ducked her head and pretended to be having trouble with her key. Her face was flushed. It was the first time Wolf Mackenzie had ever spoken to her, and her hands shook as she dropped the key into her purse. Almost uncontrollable fear made her break out in a sweat. She didn’t know what she was going to do.

Wolf’s arm was solid around Mary’s waist as they walked to her car. Its weight made her heartbeat quicken. All he had to do was put his hands on her and her body began to ready itself for him. An exquisite shudder began deep inside, spreading outward in a warm tide.

He felt the sudden tension in her slender body as he opened the car door. She was breathing faster, too. He looked down at her, and his entire body tightened, because she was watching him with desire plain in her soft, slate-blue eyes. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips parted.

He stepped back. “I’ll be right behind you.” The words were guttural.

She drove sedately home, though her blood was thundering through her veins and pounding in her ears. Never had the isolated, bedraggled old house looked better. Woodrow was sunning on the steps, and Mary stepped over her to unlock the back door. Wolf was out of his truck and right behind her, just as he had promised, by the time she had the door open.

Without a word she took off her sweater, deposited her purse on a chair and walked up the stairs, acutely aware of the heavy tread of Wolf’s boots as he followed. They stepped into her bedroom.

He had her naked before she could gather her wits, though she wouldn’t have wanted to protest even if he’d given her time. He bore her down on the bed, his big body overwhelming her, his brawny arms cradling her. The hair on his chest rasped her sensitive nipples into hardened peaks, and with a low moan of excitement she rubbed her breasts against him to increase the sensation. He opened her thighs and settled himself between them. His voice was low and rough as he murmured in her ear an explicit explanation of what he was going to do.

Mary drew back a little, her blue eyes slightly shocked, feeling slightly excited, and also slightly embarrassed because she was excited. How was it possible to feel both scandalized and excited?“ Wolf Mackenzie!” she said, her eyes going even larger. “You said…that word!”

His hard face looked both tender and amused. “So I did.”

She swallowed. “I’ve never heard anyone say it before. I mean, not in real life. In movies—but of course that isn’t real life, and in movies it almost never means what it really means. They use it as an adjective instead of a verb.” She looked perplexed at such an inexplicable grammatical oversight.

He was smiling as he entered her, his black eyes shining. “This,” he said, “is the verb.”

He loved the way she looked when he made love to her, her eyes languorous, her cheeks flushed. She sucked in her breath and moved beneath him, taking him completely into her and enveloping him in her sweet heat. Her hands moved up to the back of his neck. “Yes,” she agreed seriously. “This is the verb.”

If their first lovemaking had been fierce, since then he had been teaching her how sweet it was when the pleasure was protracted, when the caresses and kisses lingered while tension slowly coiled within until it was so hot and powerful that it exploded out of control. His hunger for her was so strong that he tried to put off his climax for as long as possible, so he could stay inside her and feed that hunger. It wasn’t a hunger for sex, per se, though it had a strong sexual base. He didn’t simply want to make love, he wanted—needed—to make love to her specifically, to Mary Elizabeth Potter. He had to feel her silky, fragile skin under his hands, feel her soft body sheathing him, smell her unique scent of womanhood, forge ancient bonds with each slow thrust and acceptance of their bodies. He was a half-breed; his spirit was strong and uncomplicated, his instincts close to those of his ancestors of both races. With other women, he had had sex; with Mary, he mated.

He wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his back. Startled, Mary sat up, accidently assuming the exact position he’d wanted her in. She gasped as the motion forced him deep inside her. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” he murmured, reaching up to place his hands over her breasts. “I’m letting you do the doing.”

He watched her face as she considered the situation and was aware of the exact second that her excitement and arousal overcame her discomfort with the unfamiliar position. Her eyelids dropped again, and she bit her lower lip as she moved gently on him. “Like this?”

He almost groaned aloud. That slow movement was exquisite torture, and she quickly got into the rhythm of it. He had thought to prolong their lovemaking by changing positions, but now he was afraid he’d outsmarted himself. As old-fashioned as she was, she was also astonishingly sensuous. After a few minutes he desperately rolled again and put her under him.

Mary linked her arms behind his neck. “I was having fun.”

“So was I.” He kissed her briefly, then again, their lips lingering together. “Too much.”

She smiled, that secret, womanly little smile she used only with him, and the sight of it made him burn. He forgot about control, forgot about everything but the pleasure that awaited them. Afterward, sated and exhausted, they both dozed.

At the sound of a vehicle, Wolf rolled out of bed, instantly alert. Mary stirred sleepily. “What is it?”

“You have company.”

“Company?” She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. “What time is it?”

“Almost six. We must have gone to sleep.”

“Six! It’s time for Joe’s lesson!”

Wolf swore as he began jerking on his clothes. “This situation’s getting out of hand. Damn it, every time I make love to you my own son interrupts us. Once was bad enough, but he’s making a habit of it.”

Mary was scrambling into her own clothes, wishing that the circumstances weren’t so embarrassing. It was hard to face Joe when it was so obvious that she and his father had just been in bed together. Aunt Ardith would have disowned her for so forgetting her morals and sense of proper behavior. Then she looked at Wolf as he stamped his feet into his boots, and her heart felt as if it had expanded until it filled her entire chest. She loved him, and there was nothing more moral than love. As for proper behavior—she shrugged, mentally kissing propriety goodbye. One couldn’t have everything.

Joe had deposited his books on the table and was making a pot of coffee when they entered the kitchen. He looked up and frowned. “Look, Dad, this situation is getting out of hand. You’re cutting into my lesson time.” Only the twinkle in his ice-blue eyes kept Wolf from getting angry; after a moment, he tousled his son’s hair.

“Son, I’ve said it before, but you’ve got lousy timing.”

Joe’s lesson time was even more limited because they had to take time to eat. They were all starving, so they decided on sandwiches, which were quick, and had just finished when another car drove up.

“My goodness, this house is getting popular,” Mary muttered as she got up to open the door.

Clay took his hat off as he entered. He paused and sniffed. “Is that coffee fresh?”

“Yep.” Wolf stretched to reach the pot while Mary got a cup from the cabinet for Clay.

He sprawled in one of the chairs and gave a weary sigh, which turned to one of appreciation as he inhaled the fragrant steam rising from the coffee as Wolf poured it. “Thanks. I thought I’d find you two here.”

“Has anything come up?” Wolf drawled.

“Nothing except a few complaints. You made some people a little nervous.”

“Doing what?” Mary interjected.

“Just looking around,” Wolf said in a casual tone that didn’t fool her at all, nor did it fool Clay.

“Leave it alone. You’re not a one-man vigilante committee. I’m warning you for the last time.”

“I don’t reckon I’ve done anything illegal, just walking around and looking. I haven’t interfered with any law officers, I haven’t questioned anyone, I haven’t destroyed or hidden any evidence. All I’ve done is look.” Wolf’s eyes gleamed. “If you’re smart, you’ll use me. I’m the best tracker you’re going to find.”

“And if you’re smart, you’ll spend your time looking out after what’s yours.” Clay looked at Mary, and she primmed her mouth. Darn him, he was going to tell!

“That’s what I’m doing.”

“Maybe not as well as you think. Mary told me about a plan she’s got to use herself as bait to bring this guy out in the open.”

Wolf’s head snapped around, and his brows lowered over narrowed black eyes as he pinned her with a gaze so furious it was all she could do to keep her own gaze steady. “I’ll be damned,” he said softly, and it was an expression of determination rather than surprise.

“Yeah, that’s what I said. I heard you and Joe are escorting her to and from the school, but what about the time in between? And school will be out in a couple of weeks. What about then?”

Mary drew her slender shoulders up. “I won’t be talked around as if I’m invisible. This is my house, and let me remind all of you that I’m well over twenty-one. I’ll go where I want, when I want.” Let them make of that what they would! She hadn’t lived with Aunt Ardith for nothing; Aunt Ardith would have died, just on principle, before she would have let a man tell her what to do.

Wolf’s eyes hadn’t wavered from her. “You’ll do what you’re damn well told.”

“If I were you,” Clay suggested, “I’d take her up on the mountain and keep her there. Like I said, school will be out in a couple of weeks, and this old house is pretty isolated. No one has to know where she is. It’ll be safer that way.”

Enraged, Mary reached out and whisked the cup of coffee away from Clay, then dumped the contents in the sink. “You’re not drinking my coffee, you tattletale!”

He looked astounded. “I’m just trying to protect you!”

“And I’m just trying to protect him!” she shouted.

“Protect who?” Wolf snapped.

“You!”

“Why do I need protecting?”

“Because whoever is doing this is trying to harm you! First by trying to frame you for the attacks, and second by attacking people who don’t hate you as he does!”

Wolf froze. When Mary had first advanced the beginnings of her theory the night before, he and Clay hadn’t believed it because it simply hadn’t made sense that anyone trying to frame Wolf would try to make anyone believe he would attack Mary. But when Mary put it the way she just had, that the attacks were a sort of twisted punishment, it began to make horrible sense. A rapist was warped, so his logic would be warped.

Mary had been attacked because of him. Because he had been so attracted to her that he hadn’t been able to control it, some madman had attacked her, terrified and humiliated her, tried to rape her. His lust had brought attention to her.

His expression was cold and blank as he looked at Clay, who shrugged. “I have to buy it,” Clay said. “It’s the only thing that even halfway makes sense. When she made friends with you and got Joe into the Academy, folks began to look at you differently. Someone couldn’t stand it.”

Mary twisted her hands. “Since it’s my fault, the least I can do is—”

“No!” Wolf roared, surging to his feet and turning over his chair with a clatter. He lowered his voice with a visible effort. “Go upstairs and get your clothes. You’re going with us.”

Joe slapped his hand on the table. “About damn time.” He got up and began clearing the table. “I’ll do this while you pack.”

Mary pursed her lips. She was torn between wanting the freedom to put her plan into action—when she thought of it—and the powerful temptation of living with Wolf. It wasn’t proper. It was a terrible example to her students. The townspeople would be outraged. He’d watch her like a hawk! On the other hand, she loved him to distraction and wasn’t the least ashamed of their relationship. Embarrassed, sometimes, because she wasn’t accustomed to such intimacy and didn’t know how to handle it, but never ashamed.

Also on the other hand, if she dug in her heels and remained here, Wolf would simply stay here with her, where they would be far more visible and far more likely to outrage the town’s sensibilities. That was what decided her, because she didn’t want even more animosity directed at Wolf because of her. That could be all that was needed to goad the rapist into attacking him directly, or going after Joe.

He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a little push. “Go,” he said gently, and she went.

When she was safely upstairs and out of hearing, Clay looked at Wolf with a troubled, angry expression. “For what it’s worth, she thinks you and Joe are in danger, that this maniac may just start shooting at you. I kind of agree with her, damn it.”

“Let him try,” Wolf said, his face and voice expressionless. “She’s most vulnerable on the way to and from school, and I don’t think this guy is going to wait patiently. He hit two days in a row, but he got scared when you nearly got him. It’ll take a while for him to settle down, then he’ll be looking for another hit to make. In the meantime, I’ll be looking for him.”

Clay didn’t want to ask, but the question was burning his tongue. “Did you find anything today?”

“I eliminated some people from my list.”

“Scared some of them, too.”

Wolf shrugged. “Folks had better get used to seeing me around. If they don’t like it, tough.”

“I also heard that you made the boys escort the girls home from school. The girls’ parents were mighty relieved and grateful.”

“They should have taken care of it themselves.”

“It’s a quiet little town. They aren’t used to things like this.”

“That’s no excuse for being stupid.” And it had been stupid to overlook their daughters’ safety. If he’d been that careless in Nam, he would have been dead.

Clay grunted. “Is till want to make my point. I agree with Mary that you and Joe are the primary targets. You may be good, but nobody’s better than a bullet, and the same goes for Joe. You don’t just have to look after Mary, you have to look after yourselves, too. I’d like it if you could keep her from even finishing out the year at school, so the three of you could stay up on your mountain until we catch this guy.”

It went against Wolf’s grain to hide from anyone, and that was in the look he gave Clay. Wolf had been trained to hunt; more than that, it was in his nature, in the genes passed down from Comanche and Highland warriors that had mingled in his body, in the formation of his character.

“We’ll keep Mary safe,” was all he said, and Clay knew he’d failed to convince Wolf to stay out of it.

Joe was leaning against the cabinets, listening. “The people in town are going to raise hell if they find out Mary’s staying with us,” he put in.

“Yeah, they will.” Clay stood up and positioned his hat on his head.

“Let them.” Wolf’s voice was flat. He’d given Mary the chance to play it safe, but she hadn’t taken it. She was his now, by God. Let them squawk.

Clay sauntered to the door. “If anyone asks me, I’ve arranged for her to live in a safer place until this is over. Don’t reckon it’s anyone’s business where that place is, do you? Though of course, knowing Mary, she’ll probably tell everyone right out, just like she did Saturday in Hearst’s store.”

Wolf groaned. “Hell! What did she do? I haven’t heard about it.”

“Didn’t reckon you would have, what with all that happened that afternoon. Seems she got into it with both Dottie Lancaster and Mrs. Karr, and all but told both of them she was yours for the taking.” A slow grin shaped Clay’s mouth. “From what I heard, she laced into them good.”

When Clay had left, Wolf and Joe looked at each other. “It could get interesting around here.”

“It could,” Joe agreed.

“Keep an eye out, son. If Mary and Armstrong are right, we’re the ones this bastard is really after. Don’t go anywhere without your rifle, and stay alert.”

Joe nodded. Wolf wasn’t worried about hand-to-hand fighting, not even if the other guy was armed with a knife, because he’d taught Joe how to fight the way he’d learned in the military. Not karate, kung fu, tae kwon do, or even judo, but a mixture of many, including good old street fighting. The object of a fight wasn’t fairness, but winning, in any way possible, with any weapon handy. It was what had kept him alive and relatively unscathed in prison. A rifle was something else, though. They would have to be doubly alert.

Mary returned and plunked two suitcases on the floor. “I have to have my books, too,” she announced. “And someone has to get Woodrow and her kittens.”