Forever Eva [Sequel to When Kat's Away] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

Kat took a step toward the door. “Nobody is gonna try and do anything. Why don’t you let her come over here with me?”

Timothy laughed. “I don’t think so, Miss Future Girl. You move over there with your lovers.”

Kat’s breath caught as she darted a glance at Win and David.

“Yeah, I saw the three of you on your little picnic. It made me sick. How could you let that Injun lay hands on you and turn me down when I asked you to have dinner with me? And why would you wanna be with men that did such unnatural, sick things?”

“They’re better men than you’ll ever be.” Kat moved to stand between David and Win.

“Eva, what are you doing here?” asked David. “How did he get his hands on you?”

Her eyes widened, and she bit her lip. Timothy prodded her with the gun. “Go ahead, answer him.”

She sniffed, swallowing hard with tears pouring down her cheeks. “Mama was really upset when you didn’t get back earlier. Papa Beau tried to tell her you were probably staying out at the cabin, but she was making herself sick, so she asked me if I would come over here and wait for you to get home. I’m supposed to go let them know you’re okay as soon as you get home.” She sobbed loudly, wiping at her face with her sleeve. “He was already in here when I unlocked the door. He jumped me in the back hall.” She glared at Timothy. “He forced me to cook him some eggs, and we’ve just been sitting in the kitchen waiting on you ever since.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, little sister?” David asked. “He didn’t do anything to you?”

“As touching as this family reunion is, we’re wasting time.”

Kat took a step toward Timothy. “Then tell us what you want so you can get the hell out of here.”

He dragged Eva over to the cellar door, his fingers biting into her arm. “You already know what I want, Kat, and I’m gonna put a bullet in Eva if you don’t give it to me.”

“What does he want?” Eva cried out.

Kat groaned. “He wants to know how to call the red glowing circle that brought me and your mom here.”

Eva sniffed. “But it can’t be opened from this side. Mama’s been trying for years, and she says it only goes one way.”

Timothy shook her arm. “Then you’d better hope she’s wrong, little girl. Everybody down the steps, and I caution you, gentlemen. Do not do anything that will get your sister killed.”

Kat took David’s and Win’s hands and moved toward the open door. She glanced down the steps and stopped. “Timothy, we need some light.”

“Get the lamp, but be very careful.”

Kat walked over and picked up the lamp and then slowly walked back to the door. She started down the steps, the others following close behind her.

“Move over to the back wall, away from the stairs, and keep your hands where I can see them.” Kat turned and whispered to her men. “Keep quiet unless I’m talking to you,” Timothy snarled. He glanced around the room. “So, where’s this glowing red circle you told me about?”

“I told you, it only showed up when it was ready to transport me here. I don’t know where it went after it dropped me off.”

Gritting his teeth, Timothy turned the gun toward Kat. “Where was it when you saw it last?”

“It first appeared on the wall behind you. It was about even with the middle, and then it started to grow larger.”

He pulled Eva around to face the wall, keeping the gun pressed against her side. He studied the wall thoroughly, even putting out his hand to caress over the painted surface. “I don’t feel anything strange.” He glanced back at Kat. “What were you doing before it showed up? Maybe you said something that triggered it.”

“I was stumbling around down here in the dark, looking for my friend. She’d disappeared, and I was trying to find her. I don’t remember saying anything other than calling out her name.”

“Then do it.”

Kat frowned. “Do what?”

“Call out her name like you did back then.”

Kat looked up at David and grimaced. She pulled at her collar, rubbing her neck, and cleared her throat. “Anna, where are you?”

Timothy watched the wall and cursed. “There had to be something else you said. Something must have triggered it.”

“I don’t remember saying anything else. It just opened on its own.”

“Think, damn you,” Timothy screamed. “Think hard.” He pulled Eva close and slipped his hand over her shoulder, his fingers settling over her breast.

“Don’t touch me.” Eva tried to pull away, her body trembling.

“Maybe if I entertain your friend here, it’ll help bring your memory back.”

“I don’t think I said anything else. Leave her alone, you pathetic asshole. Don’t you think I’d help you if I could? I don’t wanna see anything bad happened to the people I love.” She took two steps away from the men, glaring at Timothy. “I wish the portal would open and take you away from us,” she screamed.

“Oh my God,” David cried out. “Look!”

Timothy pulled Eva around and gasped. A small red area had appeared in the center of the wall. He looked at the circle with a feeling of awe. That circle represented a way out, a way into another world. He pulled Eva back as the circle grew larger, and stared at Kat. “I knew it was here. You were right, Pa.”

“Timothy, listen to me,” Kat said. “Just because the circle is here doesn’t mean it will take you to the future. It might not even be here for you. Maybe it came back for me or Anna.”

“No!” David grabbed Kat’s hand. “We’re not letting you go.”

“It doesn’t matter who it came here for because I’m the one that’s going.” Timothy pulled Eva closer to the wall. She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.

“You can’t be sure it’ll take you to the future,” Kat yelled. “What if it only goes back in time? You could end up in the past when only the Indians lived here, or worse, maybe as far back as the dinosaurs. Do you really wanna take that risk?”

Timothy ignored her, moving slowly forward until his gaze riveted on the growing circle.

“Timothy, please let Eva go,” Kat begged. “Nobody will stop you if you wanna go through the portal.”

He shook his head, his hand firmly clamped on Eva’s arm, the gun still pressed against her side. Slowly, he took a step forward.

* * * *

Suddenly, the room felt cold, and the air seemed to be drifting away. Eva felt dizzy and moved forward with Timothy. He tightened his grip on her arm, and she felt Kat’s hand on her shoulder as the darkness closed in around her.

She was falling through a vacuum. Suddenly, Kat’s hand loosened and slipped away at the same time Timothy’s fingers were torn from her arm. She was alone, cold, fearful, falling in a black void. She couldn’t seem to draw a breath. When the lack of oxygen began to claw at her lungs, a small, white light appeared in the distance. She fell, moving closer and closer to the tiny pinpoint of light.

For just a moment, everything stilled, no movement, no light. As her fear escalated, a blinding flash caused her to shut her eyes, and she was thrown violently forward. She could breathe again, although the air smelled dank, and she could feel a thick dust in the air that seemed to coat her mouth. She swallowed, trying to get rid of the unpleasant taste. Trying to get her bearings, she found herself sitting on a dirt floor. Cautiously, she reached out one hand and then squealed when it hit something hard. “Dang it!” She rubbed her finger over the palm of her hand. “Feels like a splinter.”

She listened, trying to hear if she was alone. Feeling the dark closing in, she whispered. “Timothy?” When there was no answer, she struggled to her feet, grabbing hold of some boxes that was stacked next to her. She could feel her heart racing and tried to slow her breathing. “Okay, Eva, calm down. You just need to figure out where you are.” She started moving forward cautiously, inching one foot out in front of her at a time. “So, where are you, Timothy? You got me into this. It’s only fair for you to be here to share the risk.”

When she came to an even larger stack of crates, she ran her hand across the top to see if she could figure out what they were. When something small and furry ran across her hand, she screamed, pushing away from the cart with both hands. “Where the hell am I?”

2014

Officer Tony Grandy slammed on the brakes of his Dodge Durango, throwing up gravel and dirt behind him. He wasn’t surprised to see the standard white pickup truck of the park rangers parked outside the crumbling old saloon in Hamilton. He knew Ranger Zachary Carlson would be somewhere near. It was two years ago today that two young women had vanished from the ghost town without a trace. Tony had been on duty when the 911 call had come in from one of the women. Miss Katarina Elizabeth Evans had reported her friend, Anna Lorraine Oakland, missing. The two women had been vacationing together when they stopped at the old town to do some research for a book Miss Evans was writing, according to friends. It had taken him twenty minutes to reach the scene after the victim disconnected her call, but by then it was too late.

There had been no sign of either woman. The only evidence they’d been there at all was the abandoned Ford Escape registered to Katarina Evans. That was also the first time he’d met Park Ranger Zach Carlson. He’d arrived on the scene just a scant two minutes behind Tony. The two men had searched all the buildings thoroughly, even hiking up the hill to search the old Silver Bell Mine and Belmont Mill. They’d found footprints that could have been a small woman, but no other clues. The women had just vanished without a trace.

The investigation had hit him hard, and Ranger Carlson even harder. He’d only been on the job about a month when he’d responded to the call. The two men had investigated together, off and on over the first year, learning a lot about the two women, but getting no closer to solving their disappearance. All that time spent together had brought the men together, not exactly friends, but closer in some ways. He’d never admit it to anyone, but he felt a strange pull to be closer to the shy ranger.

Tony threw the truck in park and cut the engine. Grabbing his hat, he unfolded his five-foot-eleven-inch frame out of the vehicle and stretched his arms over his head, rotating his neck back and forth. Slamming the door shut, he moved forward. There wasn’t much left of the old mining town. Two buildings were still standing, but he knew the local residents were petitioning to have the area razed. Nobody really considered it historical, mainly just an eyesore and danger to the children they couldn’t keep from exploring the so-called ghost town. The area had an unremarkable history as far as he was concerned. Its greatest claim to fame being the women’s disappearance. For six months after they disappeared, the news crews, psychics, and ghost chasers went over the area with a fine-tooth comb and didn’t find a thing.

“I had a feeling you’d be out here today.”

Tony turned around and smiled at Zach. “Where else would I be on our anniversary?”

Zach grimaced. “I’m not sure I wanna think of this as our anniversary, man. That’s pretty dismal.” He looked around at the mounds of wood and rock up and down the small dirt road.

“I can’t get this place out of my mind. I feel like it draws me here,” Tony said. “Like it’s waiting to give up its secrets. You just have to be here at the right time to understand everything.”

Zach’s eyes widened. “Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel. I think about those poor women and wonder whatever happened to them.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I mean, I know they’re probably dead, but it’s like I can’t rest until I know for sure.”

Tony pulled off his hat and smacked it against his leg, a cloud of dust drifting in the air around him. “You wanna get some lunch?”

“Sure, just let me…” Both men whirled around, drawing their guns, when a faint, feminine scream came from the old saloon.

“Tell me you heard that,” asked Tony.

“Oh, yeah, I heard it. It came from inside the building.” Zach motioned toward the saloon with the tip of his service revolver. “There ain’t no back door to this place, and the windows are all boarded up tight. We’ll have to go in from the front to check it out.”

“Should we call for backup?”

Zack frowned. “I’d rather not. I’m not anxious to explain what I’m doing out here if it’s all the same to you. I’d rather wait and see if there’s anything to report before I get anybody’s dander up.”

“Fine by me.” Tony moved closer to the building. “I’d just as soon not be the butt of a thousand ghost jokes. I’ll take point. Cover me best you can.” The two men moved slowly toward the open door of the old saloon. The sun was blistering hot, with hardly any breeze stirring the air. Tony could feel the sweat rolling down his back as he moved up the rickety steps. The foul stench of rotting wood was almost overwhelming as he cautiously peered inside the dark room, sweeping the interior with a quick glance. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he moved farther into the dismal building.

Inside was a heavy mildew smell and definite signs of critter infestation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zach move through the door, slowly making his way around the room in the opposite direction. A soft crash, and a muffled voice, had both men turning toward the only door in the room. Tony knew, from their past investigation, the door led to an underground basement. When he reached the opening, he glanced down.