Molding Clay (17 page)

dodged the blow.

“You’re crazy, Davy. If there was a treasure do you really think I’d have half

starved the last few years to make ends meet?”

He cut her a look that spelled to her that at least she’d made a dent in his dementia.

But it was short-lived. “I know what I know,” he grumbled.

She thought about it. If he really believed there was a treasure, then she had to

figure out what gave him the idea. Maybe then she’d see a way to exploit his delusions

and use them against him.

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“Okay, fine. I give up. You are a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. But how did

you find out about the treasure? I thought the secret was safe.”

“Always underestimating Davy,” he crowed. “It’s gonna put all you fuckers in the

grave.”

“You’re probably right,” she agreed. “How did you figure it out?”

“Actually it was my pa. He was over paying a visit on your ma after your daddy

died and while he was there he found a letter she’d written to her family.”

Rusty was suddenly rocketed back in time. She was only five years old. She was

playing outside, climbing the big oak that grew right outside the kitchen window. That

particular day she’d made it higher than she ever had before. She could see down into

the window of the kitchen.

Her mother sat at the table, writing. Just as Rusty started to call out, her mother rose

and disappeared from view. A minute later she was back. With her was a man. He took

a seat at the table. Moments later her mother put a coffee cup down in front of him and

reclaimed her seat.

Rusty couldn’t hear what they said but could tell from the way her mother’s body

tensed and the expression on her face that she was not happy. When the man jumped

up and reached across the table to grab her mother’s arm and jerk her halfway across

the table, Rusty screamed.

Both her mother and the man looked up and saw her. They were all frozen in place

for a moment then the man released her mother, snatched up the letter from the table

and ran from the room.

Rusty shimmied down the tree, crying and afraid. Her mother ran out of the

kitchen door as Rusty tore across the yard toward her. Rusty flew into her arms,

sobbing. It was not until years later that she remembered. When her mother had

wrapped her arms around Rusty, she’d been trembling.

Now the memory returned with such clarity that Rusty realized who the man was.

Davis Stikeleather.

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“My mother wrote about it in a letter?” she asked.

“She was writing to her family. She said that they didn’t have to worry. The

treasure was safe and would continue to be so as long as it was on Blackhawk soil.”

Rusty’s throat constricted. She could almost hear her mother speaking, but the

words were not what Davy relayed. How could she ever have guessed that her words

would inspire such avarice, envy and evil? It made Rusty want to cry.

But at the moment, she had more to worry about. Such as how to get away from

Davy and make sure nothing happened to Clay.

An opportunity presented itself at that moment. Heedless of Davy’s wrath, she

jerked the truck into a hard left turn. It crossed the oncoming lane and bounced as it hit

a fallen tree along side of the road.

“You fucking cunt!” Davy screamed at her as she floored the accelerator. “Stop!”

Rusty kept her foot plastered to the accelerator. The truck bucked and bounced over

the fallen tree and into the ditch beside the road. As soon as it came to a halt, the tail

end sticking up in the hair and the engine screaming, Davy belted her in the side of the

head. Her last conscious thought was of Clay.

* * * * *

Clay walked out of the bar and slapped his hat against his leg. No one had seen

Rusty since he left. According to the bartender, she’d left alone, but aside from that no

one knew anything.

He hurried to his truck and headed for Blackhawk Ranch, hoping he’d find her

waiting for him when he arrived. Otherwise, he didn’t know what he’d do.

The bunkhouse was dark when he arrived. He called out for Koda but got no reply,

so he went inside. He’d no more stepped inside when something slammed into the back

of his head. For a split second he saw stars and then there was nothing but blackness.

When he woke, he was lashed to a chair. There were two men in the room. The

Stikeleathers from the altercation in the bar.

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“Well, well, lookey here, Donny. Mr. Bad-Ass is awake.”

Donny walked over in front of Clay. “Not such a bad ass after all, are you?” With

that, he slammed his fist into Clay’s face.

Clay’s head reeled back from the blow, blood spurting from his split lip. Dennis

grabbed Donny’s arm before he could deliver another punch. “’Member what Davy

said. Leave him be until we hear from Davy.”

Donny shook off the restraining hand. He didn’t hit Clay again, but he did leer in

his face. “Soon as we get the word from Davy, I’m gonna beat the living shit outta you.

Then I’m gonna gut you and bury you where no one will ever find you.”

Clay had never known fear, but the man’s words did strike a cold chord within

him.

“That ain’t the plan,” Dennis argued. “We’s to wait for Davy. Once he gets here

with Rusty, we gonna fuck her while the dude watches. Then in the morning we’s all

going to the judge and Davy’s gonna marry the bitch and have her sign over the ranch

to him. Once that’s done, we gonna come back here and finish off the dude and make it

look like she did it.”

Clay could not believe what he was hearing, or that anyone was stupid enough to

lay out their plan the way Dennis had. But what he could believe was that any of the

Stikeleathers were mean enough to try to carry out the plan. Clay wasn’t ready to die,

but he thought he’d rather die than see Rusty suffer at their hands.

Which meant he had to find a way to free himself and be ready when Davy arrived.

The question was how?

Wait.
Koda’s voice rang in his mind.
It is not yet time to act.

When?
Clay asked silently.

You will know when the moment is upon you.

What the heck does that mean?
Clay silently asked. But there was no answer. There

was nothing left to him but to wait. And worry.

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* * * * *

Davy shoved Rusty toward the bunkhouse. Thanks to her stunt in the truck, they’d

had to walk the rest of the way. He’d cursed and threatened her every step but she’d

remained silent. If nothing else, what she’d done was buy time. She could only hope it

had not been a foolish decision.
Come on, Koda,
she prayed.
I need you.

They reached the bunkhouse and Davy pounded on the door. “It’s me! Open up.”

The door opened and Davy shoved Rusty in ahead of him. She got one look at Clay,

bound to the chair with a bloody face, and whirled on Davy, kicking out and catching

him in the thigh. “You sorry pack of shit!” She followed up the kick by swinging both

cuffed wrists at his head, as he bent over to grab his leg.

“Goddamn!” he yelled as she started pummeling him with both fists. “Get her the

fuck off me!”

Donny grabbed Rusty around the waist and hauled her up off the floor, kicking and

screaming. He slung her around, let go, and she crashed into the table and crumpled in

a heap to the floor.

“Rusty!” Clay shouted, struggling at his bonds.

“Clay!” She started scrambling across the floor to him on her knees.

“Shut the fuck up!” Davy screamed at him and whipped out his gun and pointed it

at Clay’s head.

Rusty froze then slowly stood. “He’s no real use to you, Davy. It’s me that holds the

title to Blackhawk.
And
I’m the only one who can lead you to the treasure. Just leave

him be.”

“One more smart move from you, and I’m putting a bullet between his eyes. You

got that?”

“Yes.”

“Good, then take off your clothes.”

“What?”

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“You heard me. Take off your fucking clothes.”

Rusty held up her manacled wrists. “Kinda hard to with these on.”

He handed his gun to Dennis. “If she tries anything smart, shoot the dude.” As

soon as the gun had transferred hands, Davy produced the key and unlocked the cuffs.

“Now,” he said as he returned to his brother and reclaimed his gun. “Get outta

those clothes.”

“No!” Clay shouted, bumping the chair around and struggling at the ropes that

held him.

Donny clubbed him in the side of the head hard enough to topple the chair over

sideways. The chair back broke, loosening the rope enough that by the time Donny had

hold of the chair, trying to right it, Clay had one arm free. He grabbed Donny’s arm as

Donny bent over and Clay yanked hard enough to send Donny tumbling forward onto

his head on the floor.

Dennis ran to his brother’s assistance. As he was trying to get Donny off the floor,

Clay was pummeling him with his free fist in the kidney. Rusty used the moment to

make a dive at Davy, trying to get his gun. He saw her coming and lashed out. The gun

caught her in the side of the head and sent her reeling. She fell, shook her head and

climbed to her feet to launch another attack.

At the sound of the gunshot, everyone froze.

Davy walked over and pressed the gun into Clay’s temple. “You want to see him

die, bitch?” he screamed at Rusty.

“No.”

“One more thing outta either of you and he dies. You got me?”

“Yes,” she agreed immediately, cutting her eyes at Clay with a silent plea for him to

do the same.

Clay made no reply. “Get him tied up again. Tight this time,” Davy ordered.

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It took a few minutes for Dennis and Donny to right the chair and retie Clay. When

they finished, they were sweating and red-faced.

“Now have a seat, boys,” Davy said in a grandiose fashion. “My future wife is

going to give us a little show.

“Right, honey?” he asked with a sneer at her.

“Right,” she said and smiled.

Where’ve you been?
she silently communicated with Koda.

I thought there might be wisdom in numbers. Use what is at your disposal to free the human

and get the two of you from the path of danger.

She smiled again. The odds had just gotten better.

“I do this better with music,” she said as she started to strip off the jacket she wore

over her top.

“Then hum, bitch.” Davy laughed. “Just get outta those clothes.”

“Good idea,” she said and started singing in a low tone, words that only she

recognized.

She peeled off her jacket and tossed it at Donny, then turned as she started pulling

her top up. Her eyes met Clay’s. “
Dico,”
she sang.

At the word that came from Rusty’s mouth, Clay knew the moment was right.
Aeris

accendo asporto!
he murmured.
Aeris accendo asporto.

Again
, Koda’s voice urged.

“Three times three,” Rusty sang, pulling her top over her head and letting it fall to

the floor.

Clay counted the number of times he repeated the phrase, noticing that none of the

men seemed to even know he was speaking.

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At the end of the last syllable of the final word, Clay felt something swell inside

him, something he’d never experienced. Energy seemed to blossom inside him, growing

until he felt like a balloon that was overfilled.

Acting on instinct, he blew out his breath.

What happened next was like something out of a dream. A sound like an

approaching freight train emerged from Clay’s mouth and Davy toppled over in his

chair and went tumbling across the floor like he was being blown by a hurricane.

Donny and Dennis, sitting on the bed, were slammed back against the wall, their

arms splayed out, like bugs on flypaper.

Rusty was the only one unaffected. She ran to Clay and started working at the

knotted rope. Within seconds his arms were free.

“What’s happening?” he yelled to be heard over the sound of wind that continued

to roar in the room, blowing furniture and ripping curtains from the windows.

“No time,” she replied and finished untying his legs. “Come on!”

Taking his hand, she pulled him toward the door. “Come on, it won’t last much

longer!”

“The gun!” Clay yelled and pulled away from her.

“Leave it!” she screamed. “Clay, leave it!”

They raced out of the house and into the midst of what had to be two hundred

wolves. Standing at the head of the pack was Koda.

Clay skidded to a halt. “Holy shit!” He looked around warily at all the wolves.

“Here they come,” Rusty announced.

Clay spun around to see Davy burst out of the bunkhouse with his gun in his hand.

He stopped abruptly when he saw the wolves. Donny, behind him, nearly knocked him

down and in turn was run into by Dennis. All three men stood gawking at the wolves.

Davy looked at Rusty then smirked and raised the gun to point it at Koda. She

stepped forward with a soft “no” and raised her right hand.

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A bolt of light shot from her hand, striking the gun and lighting it like molten