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APRIL WAS SLEEPING PEACEFULLY She looked younger than her sixteen years She was a stunningly beautiful young woman, and Cody was certain that Milo had come after her himself At one point she had even opened her eyes to sained the trust of the Snow fas to sit with her as she slept, and the other adults had gathered in thepost Coffee was served, and Mina insisted that they have a late luncheon, as well

"John, Jere April into town for a few days"

The father looked at the son, and the son looked back at the father, so Cody was startled when John Snow didn&039;t respond to what he said, but said, "Fox, Alex said you were born here, and I remember your family now"

"My parents had property here," he said "But it was a long tio"

"The property is still yours, Cody Fox," John Snow said "It is long abandoned, but it is still yours"

Cody shrugged "I don&039;t believe I&039;ll start ranching anytiht of the wolves," John said gravely "The night your father died"

Cody shook his head "I&039;ht of the wolves," John repeated

He knew exactly what John Snoas talking about, of course, but he had to feign ignorance Though the dishonor of a lie pained him, he&039;d lived a lie all his life

"Whatever happened then, it was a long ti on what&039;s happening now and the evil that must be stopped before it claims April"

"We will see that it is stopped in her," John said

Cody shook his head "She&039;ll still be susceptible to Milo&039;s influence She will try to escape you"

"There are many of us, and ill never leave her alone Two of us will sit with her through the night," John assured hiets near her," Cody said "I don&039;t think she can be brought back again And if you lose her, she will become a vampire, and your only choice will be to kill her"

"You will tell us etheer, but not even soht think of as a friend, not once the day had begun to die He found all the garlic in the trading post and showed theird the ith it to repel the creatures He explained that if they were attacked, they needed to forget about their guns and fight back with lances and arrows, and he told them that they had to sever the heads of the fallen or cut out their hearts

They listened to hiested that he was a madman, and when he&039;d told thelanced at hi crosses," she said

"If you noticed, John and his son had pipes and eagle feathers and other ite, nor do I think a cross would do John&039;s faood" He met her eyes "Every people, every race, has its own beliefs What ood hearts and a strong belief in a higher power"

"I see," she said

He shook his head "I don&039;t think you do I&039;m still not sure you believe"You have to admit, it&039;s not easy to accept the fact that vampires roairl," he said

She nodded "Yes, I did What would have happened if we hadn&039;t coed "He would have coet to her?"

"He called to her, in her sleep, in her dreams, and she went to him"

"The same way I went out on the balcony But I didn&039;t hear voices I went out because the breeze was soft and the ht was beautiful"

"The method of seduction doesn&039;t matter," he said "Come, let&039;s ride harder The dark co day"

IT WAS BATH DAY at the boardinghouse, and the tub, freshly scrubbed, awaited Alex and Cody, so they could take their turns in the relaxing hot water

Cody deferred to her, and Beulah sat sentinel as she bathed Once Cody, too, was clean, everyone set about the task of setting out the stew Beulah had been cooking all day As they ate, they talked

Brendan was quite pleased with Levy, as proving to be an excellent archer He&039;d repeatedly hit the bull&039;s eye, despite never having picked up a bow and arrow until that day

After the meal, Alex went up to bed early She was exhausted and was sure she would fall asleep easily, given howon

Instead she tossed and turned, thinking of April and how she had bared her

Fangs

Cody hadn&039;t lied Vampires were real Cody had likened vampirism to a disease Apparently a disease that first killed, then reanier

And a desire to kill

She thought she heard the front door opening, so, both curious and afraid, she leaped out of bed and raced to the head of the stairs, but she saw no one She hurried downstairs to look out a frontand saw Cody and Brendan headed across the street To the saloon

And brothel

She felt a wave of anger sweep through her, though she kneas irrational Maybe so had happened there

Or roaned and forced herself to head back to her bedroo to sleep, she told herself

But she didn&039;t Instead she waited And she listened

THE SALOON WASN&039;T CROWDED A few of the townspeople were there, but no one fro ranches and farht Sheriff Granger was playing cards with his deputy, and the girls were sitting around talking, as if the place were a social club rather than a brothel

Brendan ordered two beers, while Cody took a seat near the girls Sherry Lyn, Dolly and the younger girl, Liz, were together at a table, poring through Godey&039;s Lady&039;s Book, oohing and aahing over the fashions, though it appeared the issue was several reet hiet you anything?"

"Anything at all," Dolly said with a knowing sht be a bit older than the other girls, and a bit stouter, but he had a feeling she had a few tricks up her sleeve He soing How is everyone? Anything unusual happening?"

"Not a thing," Sherry Lyn said "In fact, if we don&039;t solve this proble food, much less fashion"

The caustic blonde who had see at the bar, watching the others but not taking part in the discussion She see to her "You&039;ve been quiet all evening You doing all right?" Dolly turned back to Cody and said conspiratorially, "Linda wasn&039;t here when Milo and his gang showed up, so she doesn&039;t really understand how bad they are"

"I make house calls," Linda said sweetly

"Hu, I&039;ll warrant"

He frowned "A wedding ring?"

"Didn&039;t you know?" Dolly asked, bright-eyed at the thought of passing on such a juicy piece of gossip "Linda was hitched to Eugene Gordon, Alex&039;s father"

He hid his surprise and only looked at her curiously, and she went on

"She could have stayed over at the boardinghouse if she&039;d had a mind to In fact, Miss Gordon came over here the other day and told her as much But that one-" she inclined her head toward Linda "-well, she&039;s alwayson She doesn&039;t intend to be a black-clad , no sirree"

Dolly shut up when she saw that Linda was on her way over to the table The other woman had a slow, sultry walk; she e that she was attractive, even if her appeal ht not be considered decent

She watched Cody with the sensual eyes of a cat and dipped low over the table to speak, showing a tales about ene Gordon was a fine ht where I aht fond of men And youwell, you do look like a lovely exa for ht strike your fancy would certainly not be too ht not have been here, but even so, you have reatly appreciated," Cody said, grinning After all, it was a saloon girl&039;s job to solicit men "I&039;d like to introduce you to my friend here," he said as Brendan appeared with their beers "This is Mr Brendan Vincent And I&039;e, so we&039;re not going to be here long But I thank you for the offer"

Linda seereeted Brendan with a pleasant-enough smile, and he replied with his customary courtesy Linda, apparently bored noned and excused herself, telling Dolly that she would be just upstairs-should she be needed

Dolly rolled her eyes

"Oh, Linda&039;s all right," Sherry Lyn said, whispering, even though Linda was halfway up the steps

"A whore, the wife of a prestigious ain Only in Victory," Dolly said "And now she&039;s looking for another rit left in hi s of his beer "Well, ladies, we just ca over you, too"

"That he is," Sherry Lyn said, s "And the deputy Victory isn&039;t a bad place Let&039;s just pray we can keep it that way"

"A his hat

They walked over to the poker table, aware that Cole had been watching them since they&039;d entered "How is John Snow?" Cole asked as they approached

"John is all right," Cody said as he and Brendan sat "His daughter wasill, though"

Cole frowned "You didn&039;t convince hih her heart, did you?" he asked "I don&039;t want to have to arrest you for murder, you know"

Cody shook his head "No, I believe she&039;s on the mend And John Snow understands the situation He&039;ll do what he needs to do"

"I left Dave in charge and rode out to a couple of the ranches today," Cole said as he set his cards down on the table

Dave groaned "A flush, ace high? Hell, I had a straight!"

"We&039;re not playing for s out at the ranches?" Brendan asked

Cole shook his head "Pete Weathers thought I was crazy But old herty out at the Red Mountain Ranch was ready to believe o They headed out oneand never came back He was ready to believe every word I said"

"That&039;s good Maybe he&039;ll have some influence on his friends," Cody said

"The town has been quiet Mighty quiet," Dave said

"That&039;s good, but it won&039;t last, not if there&039;s no-" Cody broke off

"No what?" Dave asked him

Cole stared at Cody, then answered for him "Food supply," he said

A LEX WAS DOUBLY ANNOYED She needed a good night&039;s sleep, but knowing that Cody was at the saloon kept her up She orried-and, she had to admit-jealous It was pathetic He&039;d rejected her-nicely, of course-and yetShe curled up in ht literally kill her if

If he chose to be with Linda

As she tossed and turned, she heard the door open and close, followed by the twist of the bolt

They were back, and they hadn&039;t been gone long