When Kat's Away [Sequel to Anna Doubles Down] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (2 page)

“Was she sick or depressed this morning?”

“No, why all the stupid questions?”

“I’m just trying to get all the facts to send to the police who respond to the call, Ms. Evans. Every bit of information they have before they get there will speed things up.”

“I’m sorry. I know you’re just trying to help. Do you need to know anything else?”

“No, that’ll be it. Would you like me to stay on the phone with you until they arrive?”

Kat shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I’m gonna look around some more.”

“Don’t wander away from your vehicle, Ms. Evans. The authorities tell me they’re about twenty minutes away.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Good luck, honey.”

Kat hung up and stared down the quiet street. “Anna was fascinated about the saloon when we read the book.” She walked toward the remains of the town’s only saloon and felt a chill run over her body.

“Anna,” she called out.

Slowly she climbed the steps. She glanced inside and wrinkled her nose. The dank air took her breath away. “Man, this place is just nasty.”

Slowly she walked inside and gazed around the room. Nothing indicated Anna had ever been there. An open door toward the back caught her attention. It appeared to lead toward a basement. Taking a deep breath, she moved closer until she could see down the steps. It was pretty dark, but something shiny about halfway down caught her eye.

Cautiously she tested the first step and found it to be fairly sturdy. She moved down a few more and froze in surprise when she glimpsed the small camera lying on the step. “Who the hell would drop a camera and just leave it?” She bent and picked it up but couldn’t say for sure it belonged to Anna. “Where the hell are you, Anna?”

Swallowing hard, she continued down the stairs. At the bottom she looked around. “Shit, what a mess.”

There were stacks of rotten-looking boxes stacked all over the room. She turned to go back upstairs and blinked. Something was glowing against the wall. As she watched, a red circle appeared, growing larger and larger in diameter.

“Hell, I need to get out of here. This can’t be real.” Kat turned and started toward the stairs. She tried to keep as far away from the wall as she could when she passed the pulsating, red spot. She let out the breath she’d been holding when her foot touched the first step.

Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. The air around her seemed to whoosh away, leaving her in a strange vacuum. Her body began to gravitate toward the wall despite her struggles.

Oh, God, what’s happening?

Her eyes closed when she hit the wall and then opened in shock when she felt herself falling. Everything around her was black, a void with a feeling of no life. She closed her eyes again in fear. All of a sudden the vacuum opened and a huge rush of air flowed over her body. She catapulted into a room, stumbling into a pile of boxes before she could stop herself, the top one crashing to the floor with the sound of breaking glass.

Before she could even begin to wonder what had happened, the sound of footsteps pounded overhead. The click of a door opening had her turning toward the sound. Light poured through a door high up, and to her shock a man came walking down. The most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Obviously of Native American descent, his long black hair flowed smoothly far past his shoulders. A broad, muscled chest topped a thin, tapered waist. Thick muscular thighs framed a—

Holy shit!

The man was totally naked. Her eyes widened when the appendage hanging between his thighs began to grow.

The sound of his chuckle had her gaze returning to the wicked grin on his face. “Son of a bitch.” He called up the stairs. “David, get your ass down here.” He returned his gaze to her. “You have to be Kat!”

She did the only thing she could think of. She opened her mouth and screamed.

“Wait, please. We won’t hurt you.” The naked man walked down two more steps.

“Who are you?” Kat asked.

Before he could answer, another man came hurrying down the steps. “What’s all the commotion, Win?”

The second man was also handsome, even taller than the first. What had the other man called him? David? David had a brown, collar-length mane of hair. He looked over at Kat and raised his brow. “What’s going on?”

“I think I just found Anna’s friend Kat.”

“You know my friend Anna? Where is she?”

“She’s safe.” He turned to David. “Go get Anna and get her back here quick.”

“Holy shit!” David turned and raced back up the stairs.

Kat swallowed hard and tried not to look at the naked man. “Who are you?”

She tried not to stare, but she couldn’t help but study his cock. It was standing at attention and had to be at least nine inches long. When she forced her gaze back to his face, he grinned.

“My name’s Win. Why don’t you come upstairs while David fetches Anna?”

She shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ll just wait here. But don’t let me stop you. Go ahead and put some clothes on.”

He nodded and turned, took one step, and looked back. “Are you okay? I know Anna had some injuries when she came through. Hell, she wasn’t even conscious. But you look like you survived it pretty well.”

Kat pursed her lips, her hands clenching and unclenching. “I’m fine.” She hoped he’d leave quickly so she could find a way out of the basement.

Win nodded. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” He ran up the stairs and disappeared, her eyes following his lean, taut rear end.

She moved quickly toward the light filtering down from the open door at the top of the stairs. Slowly she climbed, peeking around the frame when she reached the top. A feeling of dizziness washed over her as her fingers splayed out in a fan against her breastbone. A sudden coldness hit at her chest as her heartbeat sped up.

Several tables with mismatched chairs were scattered around the room, making her think of a restaurant. Along one wall stood a tall, wooden bar. The wood had been polished to a rich shine. A large mirror adorned the wall behind it, flanked by shelves lined with bottles of liquor. Several old-fashioned wick lamps hung from hooks on the wall in several places.

Kat took two steps and noticed a staircase leading to a second floor. A door behind the stairs stood open, the room inside shrouded in darkness. She took another step and whirled around when the door leading outside came crashing open.

“Oh, my God, it is you. Kat!”

Before she could respond, a woman rushed across the room and pulled her into a hard embrace. She pressed her arms against the woman’s chest, her mouth growing dry, and the sound of her heartbeat roaring in her ears. “Stop. What are you doing?”

“What’s the matter? Don’t you recognize me?”

Kat looked closer, and her hand flew to her own chest. A heavy feeling settled in her stomach, her hands suddenly shaking uncontrollably. “Anna? What the hell have you done to yourself?”

Anna’s hair was longer than she’d ever seen it, hanging in a slender braid over one shoulder. Although still red, it had some silver streaks mixed throughout the stands. There were lines in her face Kat didn’t remember and a glow of happiness she’d never seen before.

“What are you wearing?” Anna had on some kind of long robe that looked like it came from the antique shop she and Anna liked to browse through on rainy weekends.

“Oh, Kat, it’s so good to see you again.”

Kat rubbed her forehead. “What do you mean, again? It’s only been a couple of hours since I left you in front of the saloon. Where the hell have you been?” She glanced around the room. “And where the hell are we?”

“Uh-oh! Looks like she doesn’t know any more than you did when you arrived.”

Kat looked toward the door and saw three men standing in front of the window. One was David, and the other two were strangers. Well over six feet tall and lanky, the man who’d spoken had brown hair with flecks of gray and dark eyes. The other man was short and stocky, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Anna put her hand on Kat’s arm. “We’re in the Silver Rush Saloon in Hamilton, Nevada.”

Kat studied the room and then turned back to Anna. “Okay, joke’s over. Did I pass out or something when I fell down the stairs? Did you cart me off somewhere so you could play some elaborate joke on me?” She laughed. “I have to admit, as far as jokes go, this one’s a beaut.”

“The truth is always best, Anna. It’s also easier in the long run for everyone.” Win smiled at Kat as he walked over to stand next to David.

Kat jumped at the sound of Win’s voice behind her. She looked at Anna. “Yeah, the truth would be nice.”

Anna took a deep breath. “Okay, but I’d like to ask you a couple of questions.”

Kat nodded. “Okay.”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

She thought for a moment. “I was searching for you. I’d gone through the entire town and then remembered you wanted a closer look at the saloon, so I came inside.” She shrugged. “I looked around and spotted the door to the cellar.” Wrinkling her forehead, she paused. “There was something that wasn’t right.” She tried to recall what she’d seen. “The basement was a mess, but there was a…” Kat frowned, biting her lip. She walked a couple of steps away, her glance darting around, and then came back to stand in front of Anna. “There was…”

“A big, red glowy circle.” Anna raised her arm and put it around Kat’s shoulders. “It sucked you in and sent you here.”

Kat looked around and frowned. “It sucked me in and sent me here.” When Anna nodded she laughed. “And just where is here?”

Anna looked toward the ceiling and cleared her throat. “It’s not so much of a where, as when.” She nodded toward the men standing by the door. “You wanted to know who they are. Well, let me introduce you.”

Anna crooked her finger, motioning the men closer. Her hand rose to the brunette’s shoulder. “This is Beauregard Martinson, otherwise known as Beau.” Her hand moved to the other man’s shoulder. “And this is Ezekiel Moses Bennington, otherwise known as Zeke.” Anna swallowed and rubbed Kat’s arm in a soothing gesture. “They’re my husbands, and you’re in Hamilton, Nevada. It’s September the seventeenth, 1899.”

Kat tensed, her temper flaring. She took a step back, her nails biting into her palms. “It’s not nice to try and pull the wool over your best friend’s eyes. What do you take me for?” She paused to catch her breath. “Oh, I know, this is payback for nagging you into making this trip.”

She turned and walked toward the door. “I’m getting out of here. I’m not gonna be the butt of anybody’s jokes no matter how good of friends we are.” She pulled open the door and froze. The rotting buildings were gone and in their place were solid, weathered structures. The dirt road looked well-traveled, and there were horses tied up in front of several of the buildings.

Holding her breath, she whirled around to stare at Anna. “You said it’s 1899?”

Anna nodded and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Yes, Kat. For me, it’s been twenty-eight years since you walked down the road toward the mill, leaving me to look through the town. You’ve traveled one hundred and thirteen years into the past.”

Kat heard a roaring sound in her ears while white spots danced in front of her eyes. Then, blessed blackness settled around her.

* * * *

Anna gasped as David and Win rushed toward her fallen friend.

“Couldn’t you have been a little more subtle?” Win turned with Kat in his arms. “I’m gonna put her in the front room upstairs.”

Anna smoothed a hand over Kat’s hair. “Maybe it’d be better if you took her to our house.”

“No,” Win said. “She needs to stay here until she’s acclimated to the circumstances.”

“Did you see anything of the red circle when you found her?” Anna moved back to stand next to Beau.

“No, she was standing by the boxes on the far side of the room.” Win chuckled. “I think she broke a couple of boxes of our old glasses.”

David moved toward the stairs. “Can we discuss this later? We need to get her in the bed and tend to her.”

Anna pushed him aside. “I’ll be tending to her, so just put whatever you’re thinking right out of your head. She’s my oldest and dearest friend, and I’m not letting anything interfere with that.” She pointed toward the stairs. “Go on, Win, lay her on the bed in the front bedroom and I’ll bring up a fresh pitcher of water.” She watched as he walked up the stairs and then grabbed David by the arm. “I mean it. You stay down here while I make sure everything is okay. I’m gonna have to have a long talk with her and it’ll go better if we have some privacy. She’s going to have a lot to get used to, David. You might as well accept that she’s not the one for you and Win.” Not giving him a chance to argue, she turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Anna walked into the bedroom and saw Win leaning over the bed. His hand was slowly smoothing over Kat’s hair. “Git on back downstairs, Win, before I have to call Zeke and Beau.”

He snorted and glanced up. “I think you’ll find they accept me as an adult now and won’t interfere in whatever I decide I want.”

Anna pushed him aside. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you want. You’ll do as I say or I’ll get Beau and Zeke to take you out to the woodshed and tan your hide.”