Black Hills

brought Coop closer. The longer she could keep him here, the better her chances.
    “Did your father teach you to kill?” She spoke conversationally, her gaze aimed west, toward the setting sun.
    “To hunt.”
    “Call it what you like, Ethan. You gutted Melinda Barrett and left her for the animals.”
    “A cougar came. A sign. Mine.”
    “Cougars don’t hunt for sport.”
    He shrugged. “I’m a man.”
    “Where did you leave Carolyn?”
    He smiled. “A feast for the grizzlies. She gave me a good game first. I think you’ll do better. You may last most of the night.”
    “Then where will you go?”
    “I’ll follow the wind. Then I’ll come back. I’ll kill your parents and burn their farm to the ground. I’ll do the same with that zoo of yours. I’ll hunt these hills and live free, the way my people should have lived free.”
    “I wonder how much of your view on the Sioux comes from actual truth or your father’s bastardization of the truth.”
    Color flooded his face, warning her not to test him too far. “My father wasn’t a bastard.”
    “That’s not what I meant. Do you think the Lakota would approve of what you do? The way you hunt down and slaughter innocent people?”
    “They aren’t innocent.”
    “What did James Tyler do to deserve to die?”
    “He came here. His people killed my people. Stole from them.”
    “He was a real estate agent from St. Paul. It’s just you and me here, Ethan, so there’s no reason to pretend this is anything but what it is. You like to kill. You like to terrorize, to stalk. You like the feel of warm blood on your hands. It’s why you use a knife. Otherwise, saying you murdered Tyler because of broken treaties, lies, dishonor, greed perpetrated by people who’ve been dead more than a hundred years would just be crazy. You’re not crazy, are you, Ethan?”
    Something—a slyness—came and went in his eyes. Then he bared his teeth. “They came. They killed. They slaughtered. Now their blood feeds the ground like ours did. On your feet.”
    Fear blew through her again, one icy blast. Ten minutes, she reminded herself, if he kept to his own rules. She could cover a lot of ground in ten minutes. She got to her feet.
    “Run.”
    Her legs quivered to. “So you can watch where I go? Is that how you track? I thought you were good at this.”
    He smiled. “Ten minutes,” he said and backed into the cave.
    She didn’t waste time. Her first priorities were speed and distance. Cunning had to wait. The farm was closer, but she needed to draw him away from her mother. Cooper would come from the east. She scrambled down the slope, warning herself not to sacrifice safety for speed and risk a broken ankle. Fear urged her to take the shortest, straightest route toward the compound, but she thought of the bow. He’d track her too easily that way, and he could disable her from a distance with the bow.
    And any trail she left for Coop, Ethan could follow.
    She veered north, and raced ahead of the dark.
     
     
     
    AT THE CHANCE FARM, Joe stuffed extra ammo in his pockets. “We’re losing the light. We’ll use flashlights until moonrise.”
    “I want to go with you, Joe.” Sam gripped Joe’s shoulder. “But I’d just slow you down.”
    “We’ll stay by the radio.” Lucy handed him a light pack. “We’ll wait for word. Bring them home.”
    He nodded, moved out of the door ahead of Farley.
    “Be careful.” Tansy wrapped her arms around Farley, held hard and brief. “Be safe.”
    “Don’t you worry.”
    Outside, Farley took point with Joe ahead of the three armed men who would join them on the search. Dogs, already on the scent, bayed.
    “If he’s hurt her,” Joe said quietly to Farley. “If he’s hurt either of them, I’ll kill him.”
    “We will.”
     
     
     
    MILES AWAY, Coop studied the signs Lil had left for him. He hadn’t seen the cougar since it had run into the forest. He had two college kids with him, and twilight falling fast.
    He should’ve come alone, he thought now. Shouldn’t have wasted even the few minutes it had taken to outfit the backup, release the cat.
    The others were ten minutes or more behind him, with some steering south, others north. He knew Joe, by the information relayed by radio, led another group headed in from the west.
    And still, there were untold acres to cover.
    “You two wait here for the rest to catch up.”
    “You’re worried we’ll screw up, or get hurt. We won’t.” Lena looked at her