She q’abbed the brief moment to whip the bottle out and crack it against the counter. Bourbon splashed over her. The sudden stench of alcohol made her gag, but the bottle neck held together. She pointed the jagged glass at him.

“Oh, my.” He reached down, keeping his gaze on her, and pulled something horn his boot. When he crouched lower and began circling toward her, the violet light flickered across a long blade. “Ever had experience in krufe fighting, sweet thing?”

A new song came on the sound system. Hysterical laughter bubbled in Dallas’s throat as she imitated Neal’s stance. And I’m going crazy, no matter how cool Iseem, crooned the familiar song. She’d never been in a knife fight in her life. But if she expected to disable him, she had to get close enough to cut him with the bottle. “Causeshe is the answer to this cowboy’s dream.

She watched his knife hand weave a pattern in the air, and she gripped the neck of the bottle as he closed in.

She would aim for the stomach in one long motion, follow through like send inga cue stick into the white ball. One lunge and back out, away horn that weaving krufe. The music created an eerie tempo as he maneuvered closer, almost stepping in time.

“Care to dance?” he whispered.

With a yell she leaped forward. He caught her wrist when it was only halfway to its target. His fingers bit into her flesh. His face came within inches of hers. He raised the knife.

GAse sCArrtqrED the damp parking lot again. The rain had stopped, leaving the asphalt slick and shining in the overhead mercury lights. Nearby creosote bushes gave off the acrid scent of the desert after a rain. Nothing moved. He was almost sure Parnell wasn’t out there. He flicked on the radio and spoke softly to Jasper. “No sign of him?”

“Nothiri, Gabe. Either the guy left early or-“

“I don’t like it. I’m signaling Diego.”

“Just a minute, Gabe. I know you’re antsy, but I’m not sure everybody else is outta there. If some manager’s still around and a radio goes off… Diego would have a tough time explaining why he was hiding in the men’s rest room.”

Gabe had to trust his gut. “Then we’ll go in and help him explain. I’m calling him.” He punched in the code and waited. When nothing happened, he felt as if somebody had threaded an ice pick up his spine. He punched the number again. Then he punched in Jasper’s code. “lEie s not answering.”

“Maybe he s-“

“We’re going in.”

“How are we going in? I may be strong, Gabe, but I can’t break through any of those doors, and neither can you. “

“Stay there. I’m getting the truck.” He cut Jasper off in the middle of his startled oath of surprise and sprinted down a back alley, slipping twice in mud but regairung his balance each time. Along the way he tossed the radio in the bushes. The damn thing was no good. No good!

Wrenching open the door he leaped into the truck, the key already positioned for the ignition. He cranked once and the engine stayed silent, as if knowing the sacrifice he was about to ask. Cold sweat bathed his armpits. He cranked again, and the engine started. Throwing the truck into gear he roared down the Street He thought of all the times he’d pushed open the oak doors that led into Rowdy Ranch.

Thick suckers. Driving one-handed, he fastened his seat belt.

“DROP THE BOTTLE, sweet thing: ‘

Dallas watched in horrified fascination as the knife blade descended slowly toward her throat.

“Drop it.” He squeezed harder, cutting off the circulation to her fingers.

She felt the bottle slipping from her grasp, tried to keep her grip and failed. “Cause she is the answer to this cowboy’s dream.

The bottle shattered on the floor.

“Good girl. I doxi t want to cut you. You’ll be so much more fun alive than dead: ‘

The reminder of his ultimate intention snapped her from her hypnotized state. Puttingall her weight into it, she whacked her knee into his crotch.

An ugly expletive wheezed out of him as he released her and doubled over. Her shop was closer than the door to the outside. She could lock herself in. And there were scissors, and solutions to throw in his face. She ran across the polished dance floor as the finale to

“A

Cowboy’s Dream crescendoed around her. She’d nearly reached the other side of the floor when he tack led her from behind. She went down and felt a sharp pain ram from her wrist up the length of her arm.

“That wasn’t nice, he panted, rolling her over as she struggled to regain her wind. His hat was gone, his eyes wild, his hair disheveled and backlit in purple.

This was the Neal that Celia Martinez had seen, she thought. If the jury had seen the transformation in Neal’s baby face, even for a brief moment, they would never have acquitted him.

“Now it’ll only go worse for you; he rasped. ,

The music changed again. This time, she recognized the song she d waltzed to with Gabe. Neal must have watched them constantly, and the memory of that song had been burned into his fevered brain.

She fought him, despite the excruciating pain in her wrist. She scored one scratch to his cheek as he struggled to get her blouse open. He no longer had the knife, but he was strong, far stronger than she. His breath reeked of beer and he stank of sick desire. The more she struggled, the brighter grew the light in his eyes.

“Is this what you need to get excited?” she taunted , trying to kick him as he pinned her legs with one thigh. “I’ll bet you don’t even know what normal sex is .”

The waltz soared through the empty hall as if seeking out dancers.

“Shut up.” He held her wrists so tight she bit her lip to keep from crying out at the pain. He wanted her cries, and she wouldn’t give them.

“I’ll bet you can’t even do it with Beth, can you?” she choked out. “you’re impotent with her, aren’t you?”

“Shut up, bitch!” He tightened his hold on her.

Mute with the pain from her bad wrist, she stared at him through swimming eyes.

“That’s more like it. Now I’ll kiss you and make everything better:

‘


When his revolting lips descended toward hers, she spat in his face.

He looked up, her spit running down one cheek. She had never seen anyone look like that. His pupils seemed to be twin black holes leading to a bottomless pit, or the depths of hell. He circled her throat with one hand, his thumb pressing against her windpipe. Slowly, his jaw clenching with the effort, he squeezed. She tried to free herself, but she was weakening. The room began to spin and grow darker. The waltz faded slowly away. A rumbling noise sounded in the distance, or was it her own blood churning through her veins?

There was an explosion. Perhaps death came like that, a rending and tearing from this physical world. She would have imagined death would be quieter. Then she blacked out.

THE nvIP ACr ]AtqnqED the engine block back, but not far enough to crush Gabe’s legs. The seat belt held, but his arms felt as if he’d been operatinga jackhammer. Through a fog of steam coming from his ruptured radiator , the doors to Rowdy Ranch looked like bomb damage he d seen in the Middle East. But there was an opening big enough to fit through. And although it didn’t make sense, he could hear music.

He fumbled for the door latch, which seemed to be missing. Finally he put his shoulder to the door and shoved until it gave. When he leaped out, Jasper was standing there like a stone monument to perpehxal amazement, his mouth open, his eyes wide.

“We’re in; Gabe said, and headed for the opening.

Jagged pieces of wood ripped at his clothes and scratched his skin as he shoved his body through the opening, but he didn’t feel any pain. Once inside, he had to take a moment to adjust his eyes to the weird purple light. Then he saw her, lying across the edge of the dance floor. He felt dizzy.

“There he goes!” Jasper shouted, and sprinted after , a figure in black heading toward the back door.

Gabe barely paid them any attention. He walked unsteadily toward the crumpled woman and dropped to one knee beside her. “Dallas?” He forced himself to put his hand to the side of her neck. When her pulse beat softly against his fingers, he wept and gathered her into his arms.

Slowly she roused as his hot tears fell on her face. “Gabe?”

He couldn’t speak. With trembling hands he smoothed her hair back from her face.

“Did you get him?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.”

She frowned. “Where is he?” Her voice was raspy and bruises were appearing on her throat. He must have tried to choke her.

“I don’t know.”

“You have to get him.” ,

“Or all this is for nothing.” She grabbed his shirt in surprisingly strong fingers. “Gabel”

She was right. Slowly he lowered her to the floor again and stood. Over by the exit door he could hear the fight. He started in that direction, to help Jasper.

Except Parnell must have wriggled free of Jasper, because a figure dressed in black was suddenly coming at Gabe, obviously headed for the opening in the oak doors. But he couldn’t get there without passing by Dallas. And Gabe could never let him get near Dallas again. An un human cry rose to his lips as he launched himself at Parnell.

The man would be easy to kill, he thought as his knuckles connected with Parnell’s gut and the air whooshed out of him. Pamell went down and Gabe dragged him back up, planning to finish the job. It would be easy to do.

“Gabe, no!”

Her voice reached him from a great distance. Hadn’t she just told him to get Pamell? Hadn’t she given him permission to wipe him from the face of the earth? With the next blow, Pamell’s jaw gave way with a satisfying crunch and he went down like a rag doll.

“Gabe, don’t become an animal! Please God, don’t become like him.”

She was crying now. He paused to listen, confused.

Jasper came up and gazed down at Pamell. “I’d kill him. don’t give another jury a chance to let him off ” , he said in a perfectly even tone of voice. “Self-defense. I’m your witness.”

Gabe turned back toward Dallas, and the red haze of his blood lust drifted slowly away. With uncompromising clarity he took in the look of horror on her face, a look that told him all he needed to know. She d seen


, ‘


the savage in him, seen it reflected in one of his closest friends. Then he glanced at Jasper. “Better call the police ; he said.

“Think about your sister, man; jasper pleaded. “You know the deal. The guy’s got money. He’ll appeal for years. He’ll get paroled. He 11 probably study law in prison, if he even goes there, and find a way to sue for mistreatment : ‘

Gabe sighed. “Call the police, Jasper. And the paramedics , while you’re at it: ,

“So, DALLAs, what’s your current thinking about Gabe?” Amber asked. “Do you miss him?”

Mounted on Sugar, Dallas rode ahead of Amber and Spice through a quiet canyon in the Tucson Mountains It was the first week in April, a month after the rughtmarish incident at Rowdy Ranch, and March rains had scattered purple lupine and gold daisies over the desert floor.

“I thought we’d agreed not to bring up the subject of Gabe; Dallas said.

“You agreed. I didn’t.”

Dallas sighed. “Gabe is a leaving kind of man, Dallas said. “End of discussion.”

“I don’t believe that. Something more is going on.”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on.” Dallas guided Sugar around an outcropping of granite. “I ceased to be interesting once he caught the bad guy. Now he’s off in Bolivia, getting his kicks chasing another criminal. I was important for the run of the show. Now the show’s over. “

“I don’t believe that.” Amber shifted in her saddle and Spice blew air through his nostrils. “And neither does your horse.”

“Then why didn’t Gabe say anything before he left? Why didn’t he tell me to wait for him, and all that garbage men always say, even if they don’t mean it? He didn’t even have the decency to pretend he was coming back!” Sugar’s ears flicked nervously at Dallas’s angry tone. “Sorry, girl.” Dallas patted the silky neck, although her touch was awkward. She’d be glad when the cast could come off her wrist in a couple of weeks.

“Well, Fred’s been talking to Jasper and Diego, and they all think-“

Dallas groaned. “Look, I like Fred. You know I do. I’m happy you two are going out. But no way could someone like Fred understand Gabe Escalante.”

“Okay, have it your way. Gabe’s a creep who used you for his own ends, and there’s no reason you two should see each other again. Even if Gabe is due back in town today, and even if Fred did offer to invite him to Rowdy Ranch, you wouldn’t want to see him, so I’ll tell Fred to forget it .”