Chapter Eleven

“You’re Violet’s sister?”

Stop the presses! That wasn’t Doc’s voice.

A wave of nausea steamrolled over me. I gagged a little, clutching my stomach, and looked over my shoulder.

Dominick Masterson closed the door behind him. He hit Susan with one of his mega-watt smiles as he took her hand, dropping a kiss on her gloved knuckles. “Hello, beautiful.”

I stumbled toward the far corner of Doc’s desk, putting the visitor’s chair between Dominick and me. I needed more distance from the charming devil, or I’d be spray-painting Susan’s faux fur boots with the contents of my stomach.

Harvey dropped into Doc’s leather chair, leaning back with a shit-eating grin on his bristly cheeks. “Looks like I showed up just in time fer some good ol’ honky-tonkin’ fun.”

“You should leave,” I told Harvey, swallowing another swell of queasiness. He wasn’t invulnerable to Dominick. I’d seen the slick son of a bitch lure men as well as women. Harvey was at risk as much as Susan of falling under the rogue’s spell.

“And leave you standin’ in the middle of this stampede?” Harvey shook his head. “I’ve been wantin’ to see what all the fuss is about, anyhoo.”

Dominick glanced in my direction as he released Susan’s hand. “Your sister is such a lovely flower. A delicate blossom ready to be plucked.”

Delicate blossom? Susan? Ha! She was more like poison ivy.

“But she doesn’t have your scent,” he added.

What scent was that? My Executioner scent? I decided not to ask him to clarify in front of Susan.

“Leave her alone,” I said half-heartedly. As much as I’d like to watch Susan be manipulated by a man for once, she was my mother’s child.

Susan let out a lovesick sigh that had me feeling the urge to hurl once more. “You are as handsome as Mom said.”

Harvey snorted. “She’s lassoin’ the wrong steer again.”

I squeezed the bridge of my nose. Over the last month, Cornelius, Cooper, and Harvey had all been mistaken for Doc. I thought I’d cleared the air on his identity after my family’s disastrous dinner party a week ago. Apparently not.

I debated on telling Susan the truth, but decided to focus on the bigger problem at the moment. “What are you doing here?” I asked Dominick.

He was dressed in biker garb today—black leather jacket, jeans, boots, and gloves. Quite a shift from his usual Armani suit, long wool coat, and expensive Italian shoes.

His wicked smile fit his bad-boy guise. Fortunately, I was immune. “You’ve been avoiding my calls, Violet.”

“Only one.” I’d missed a call from him yesterday while I was back in Slagton. After returning to signal-civilization, I’d been too busy trying to figure out what the hell I’d stumbled into back there to call him back. “How did you know to find me here?” Rather than at my office.

“I was driving past when I saw you rush over here.”

Susan’s moony-eyed expression was similar to Aunt Zoe’s when Dominick had her wrapped around his finger weeks ago at Bighorn Billy’s Diner. “I’d never avoid your call,” she said, running her fingers down his leather coat sleeve.

He scowled down at her hand, and then stared at her for several seconds. His dark gaze returned to me. “How is it you two are sisters? I can’t see any …”

“Their mouths are both heart shaped,” Harvey pointed out. At my glare, he shrugged. “It’s a natural-born fact.”

“Ah, now I see it. It makes one wonder if you kiss the same.”

Rex would have an opinion about that, but I wasn’t interested in hearing the bastard’s answer. “My sister is of no concern to you.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Susan said in an exaggerated whisper, then leaned into Dominick, sniffing his collar. “You smell delicious. I want to lick you all over.”

Dominick patted her head. “She’d make a cute pet.”

I’d be tickled pink to have him teach Susan how to roll over and play dead. “I thought you wanted my aunt for that.”

“My plans for Zoe are much more stimulating. She has depth that I will enjoy exploring with infinite patience.”

My molars ground at his use of the future verb tense, as if it were a fact that would come to be. Whether or not I could catch a lidérc would be answered in time. Until then, I’d appreciate a little bolstering of my abilities from the cocky cheeseball who hired me for the job.

“I do believe yer saddlin’ horses that don’t belong to you, Masterson.” Harvey spoke up, looping his thumbs in his suspenders.

“According to whom, Mr. Harvey?” Dominick lowered his head slightly, staring at Harvey from under his brows.

A fresh dew of sweat coated my upper lip. I looked over at Harvey, waiting for the ol’ boy to start spouting sonnets in Dominick’s honor like the other victims I’d witnessed falling under the scoundrel’s spell.

“Accordin’ to Zoe, fer one.” Harvey scratched his bearded cheek as he held Dominick’s gaze. “I can see how ya might be thinkin’ you can charm the skin off any ornery rattlesnake with yer knee-wobblin’ good looks, but Zoe’s stubborn enough to make a mule back down. That girl can whip her weight in wildcats, ‘specially when her horns are out.”

I did a double take. How was Harvey resisting Dominick’s magnetism? I thought I was the only one impervious to it.

“I appreciate your attempt to warn me off Zoe, Mr. Harvey. Like you, I prefer my courtesans feisty. It promises great fervor in bed.” Dominick stroked his finger down Susan’s cheek, drawing a cooing sound from her. “This one is a paltry comparison to Zoe, but she could be useful as a plaything while I wait for my prize.” His focus shifted to me again. “As well as incentive for her sister to return my lidérc with haste.”

Was he seriously trying to use Susan as a means to inspire me? A voice inside my head cackled with laughter. Schooling my expression in the face of his challenge made me sweat anew. “Let me get this straight,” I said, wanting to savor this moment a bit longer. “You want to ensnare my poor, sweet little sister with your merciless love spell, turning her into an amoral sexual slave in order to motivate me to hurry up and catch your pet?”

He beamed with confidence. “Exactly.”

I must be dreaming? I pinched my leg. Nope, it was the real deal.

Crossing my arms, I leaned my hip against Doc’s desk and pretended that I actually cared about Susan’s feelings. All the while, I tried to think of the ways this situation in which I’d found myself might come back to bite me in the ass. Besides my parents’ opinion on the matter, which held a lot of weight, why did I care if Dominick exploited Susan?

I had a notion of his game plan. He figured if he had my sister by the scruff of the neck, he had me on a leash, too. Oh, what delightful irony. I fought down a gurgle of giggles.

“Stay away from Susan,” I said, trying to sound like I meant it. Harvey’s throat-clearing told me how woefully short I fell from the mark. Robots showed more emotion in their tone.

“Your sister is not part of our original deal,” he said. “Only Zoe. That makes her fair game.” Apparently, Dominick was too taken with his plan to control me to notice my half-hearted objection.

An idea struck, sobering me. “Maybe we should make another deal, then,” I suggested. “An addendum to the original.”

“Careful, Sparky.” Harvey leaned forward, resting his elbows on Doc’s desk. “Yer wadin’ into quicksand here.”

Dominick’s eyes narrowed. “I’m listening, Scharfrichter.”

“I’ve run into a situation back in Slagton.”

“So I’ve heard.” Dominick chuckled. “You really should try to be more discreet when you hunt. Although some are of the opinion that staging an execution in the middle of town demonstrates extreme confidence.”

“Or she has a big gap in her hedge.” Harvey added his two bits, sounding like his nephew. He scowled at me. “I say let yer sister go and focus on tamin’ one wild mustang at a time.”

I respected Harvey’s opinion, but he hadn’t heard Mr. Black’s news about the not-so-mythical pack of hunters and the new target on my back. “I need information, Dominick.”

“What makes you think I can give you what you need?”

“You have the air of one who gets answers when he wants them.”

He crossed his arms. “If I acquire the information you need, what do you have in exchange?” He glanced at Susan, who was still clutching his arm, her eyes wide and starry. Was she even hearing this discussion through the heart bubbles popping in her head? “Your sister?”

Tempting. Very tempting. But no. “I’ll bring you a pet from Slagton.”

Harvey shook his head at me. “That there’s a leaky boat yer climbin’ into, girl.”

Dominick snorted. “What would I want with a Drakona Ragana?”

Come again? It sounded like he said draw-cone-a raw-ganna, with a trill at the beginning of that raw-word. “A what?”

“Drakona Ragana,” he repeated more slowly.

“Does that mean ‘mutant griffin’? Because that’s what they look like.”

His sigh was edged with derision. “Let me use a word you might understand, Scharfrichter. They are a breed of chimera.”

“A chimera, ya say.” Harvey finger-combed his beard. “Isn’t that one of them fire-breathin’ critters from Greek mythology with a bunch of mixed animal parts?”

“Your description does injustice to a magnificent predator, but yes.”

“Chimeras are supposed to be big ol’ monsters,” Harvey said. “These critters’ heads are only about chest high.”

“They are obviously a sub-species,” Dominick clarified.

“Whatever the dang name is,” I interrupted. “It would make a great pet, and you could teach it to hunt.”

Dominick’s gaze narrowed. “I accept. What knowledge are you seeking?”

“My informant is missing.” Well, actually Cooper’s informant, but I’d rather conceal the detective’s connection to the matter as a precautionary measure. “When I visited his place in Slagton yesterday, there was a headless beast hanging from the porch.” I wasn’t going to open a can of worms about the official name of the decapitated thing with blue guts. “My informant was nowhere to be seen. I need to know where he is.”

“Why does this matter to you? You are a Scharfrichter, not a detective.”

“The reasons for my curiosity are no more your business than your motives for wheeling and dealing are mine.”

He nodded slowly. “And if I give you what you want, you will deliver a drako—a chimera to me?”

“Correct, as long as your information is timely and satisfies me.”

“Satisfies?” One dark eyebrow lifted. “And if you fail to deliver on your end of the deal?”

“I won’t fail.” That sounded far more certain than I felt.

“You might.” He toyed with a strand of Susan’s long, straight hair. “I want to play with your sister until I tire of her.”

I held his stare. How many times had Susan done that very thing with a man? It would be sweet justice to see her being used and manipulated at someone else’s will for once.

But I couldn’t allow that, dammit. I couldn’t face my parents, nor could I live with myself. If anyone were going to mess with my sister and treat her like a pet, it was going to be me. “You can’t have Susan. I don’t deal in humans anymore.”

He’d burned me before with his slick trick of finagling Aunt Zoe into the deal. I wasn’t going to let him double up on my family members. Not even with the Bitch from Hell.

“We’ll discuss forfeiture penalties if I fail to deliver,” I told him. “Until then, the deal is one chimera in exchange for information on the Slagton resident’s whereabouts, and that’s it.”

His smile gave me the chills. “And when will you be part of a deal, Scharfrichter?”

“You’d regret that deal. I don’t think you can handle me.”

What Dominick hadn’t realized yet is that I couldn’t be within touching distance of him without feeling the need to toss my cookies. Something about him set off my internal alarms. But that was my secret, and I’d rather he not know.

“But trying to corral you would be exciting.”

“Or deadly.”

He sobered. “Possibly. I accept your addendum.” He dropped Susan’s hand, the wolf in sheep’s clothing gone and plain old handsome Dominick back. “Now, back to the reason for my phone call. I need to talk to you about a property in Lead.”

The gears in my brain ground as we shifted back to normality. “Something you want to sell?”

“A piece I want to purchase.”

I pointed at the door. “If we’re going to discuss real estate, we should return to my office and leave Harvey to finish his work here.” I needed to get everyone out of the place before Doc decided to stop in for a book or a file and found out about our little party.

“What of your sister?”

I frowned at Susan, her expression similar to a mannequin I’d seen dressed in a red velvet holiday dress down at the mall. “I’d appreciate it if you’d release her from your hold so she can be on her way.”

“Her will is weak, especially compared to Zoe.”

“I’m not surprised.” I suspected that was because Susan was game to his seduction, whereas Zoe fought him tooth and nail while he held her under his thumb. “Now free her.”

Dominick shrugged.

And in a blink, Susan stumbled backward, her hand moving to her chest. “What did you two do to me?” she asked, her gaze accusing when it landed on me.

I held up my hands. “I’m innocent, I swear.”

She squinted, her face pinching. “You’re up to something.” She turned back to Dominick. “You and your so-called boyfriend. And before you go and tattle to Mom that I’m trying to steal another one of your lovers, you should keep in mind the way he’s been looking at me. It’s immoral.”

Please. As if that word wasn’t tramp-stamped above her ass.

Dominick chuckled, low and velvety. “She thinks I’m your lover.”

“Susan is often easily confused, especially by homonyms and simple fractions.” She’d been too busy in high school mastering the art of flirting and manhandling to focus on her studies. “That’s not Doc,” I told my sister.

“It’s not … but I thought … then who is he?”

Wow. I hadn’t seen Susan flustered like this since she was being arrested for possession of stolen jewelry back before my kids were born.

“Susan, meet Dominick Masterson, an associate of mine.”

“Ohhhhh, you are such a shit!” She shoved past Dominick. “You can’t hide your boyfriend from me forever,” she snapped at me as she yanked open the front door.

She was right. I was going to have to get the introduction over with sooner or later, and the scene needed to happen under my conditions, not hers.

“Good-bye, Susan. Give Mom a hug for me.”

After a parting middle finger, she slammed the door behind her.

“So spirited,” Dominick said. “You share that as well as the shape of your mouth. Shall we?” He ushered me toward the door.

“Give me a minute with Harvey.”

“What shall I do while I wait?”

“Twiddle your thumbs and try not to seduce someone for once.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Dominick stepped over the threshold. “Don’t make me wait long. I have information to acquire and a chimera to name.”

As soon as the door closed, Harvey said, “How in tarnation are ya gonna catch one of those Slagton critters?”

“With your help.”

He cringed. “Coop’s gonna be pissed.”

Harvey’s nephew was in a permanent state of pissed-off-ness. “He should be grateful. I’m going to help him find his informant.”

“But at what cost? Ya should have run this by Doc first.”

Maybe, but he wasn’t here, and I’d been shooting from the hip when the idea hit. “I’ll explain it to him later. Where’s your phone? You need to warn Natalie that Dominick is on his way and she should stay away from him.”

“I already did. She said to tell you she was headin’ home for lunch.”

“Good. What are you doing here, anyway? I thought the front door was locked.” Cornelius only had the key to the back door. “Did Doc send you over?”

“No, I came looking for yer stud, but found ol’ Corny when I knocked on the front door.”

“Where is Cornelius?”

“He’s in the back room playin’ with his expensive ghost toys.” He frowned. “Why are ya tryin’ to get that closet door open, anyway?”

“Cornelius wants to see what’s down in the Hellhole under the building.”

“That’s a downright foolish idea, right up there with catchin’ a sharp-toothed critter. Some holes are better left plugged.”

“I agree, but Cornelius has a plan tonight involving Jane’s ghost.”

“Ya best keep yer nose out of trouble, especially with the way yer luck has been runnin’ these days.”

Right. Avoid trouble. I tried not to scoff too loud. “Listen, if you need to talk to Doc, find out where your nephew is. I think the two of them are together talking about the shit that hit the fan this morning.”

“What shit?”

“I don’t have time to explain right now. I want to get next door before Dominick seduces Mona into having sex on her desk.”

“I’d pay to see that show. The sight of Mona in her sweaters makes my ticker bounce around like a young pup.”

“You and most of the other males in this town.” I remembered Cooper’s visit last night. “Oh, Doc had Cooper drop off his laptop at home yesterday. I think he might be planning to work from Aunt Zoe’s dining room table later. You can wait for him there if you don’t get hold of Cooper.”

Harvey stood, stretching his back. “In that case, I’ll go pay a visit to Zoe and her cookie jar while I wait.”

Dominick knocked on the front window, making me jump. He pointed at his watch.

Jeez, as if he didn’t have several lives’ worth of time to kill.

“Damn, that devil won’t fly away, will he?”

“That’s what scares me about him.” I blew out a breath. “I’ll talk to you later tonight,” I told Harvey and stepped out into the frigid air, closing and locking Doc’s front door behind me.

I kept my distance as I led the way into Calamity Jane’s. “What’s with the urgency on this property, Dominick?”

Mona wasn’t at her desk when I arrived. The light in Jerry’s office was still on, the door half closed. Maybe she was in there trying to convince Jane to open the door for us.

“I’ve recently learned that it has something that I thought I’d lost,” he answered.

“What’s that?” I pulled out my chair.

“A ghost.”

I slid into my seat. “Most of the buildings in Deadwood and Lead are supposedly haunted. What makes this ghost so special?”

“She took something from me a long time ago.” His jaw hardened. “I want it back.”

* * *

I spent the afternoon struggling to play real estate agent while my thoughts bounced around like Mexican jumping beans. Mona was there with me, her nails clacking on her keyboard in between phone calls to several clients.

Jerry called in once to check in on his “favorite girls.” Mona and I gave a brief recount of the day’s slow going, including virtually no foot traffic except for Dominick Masterson and one of Mona’s appointments. Jerry informed me I’d had five more calls thanks to my latest billboard in Spearfish, but only one was actually interested in real estate. I didn’t want to know what the other four had said they wanted from me, but I could hazard a guess based on that stupid pen between my bright red lips up on that dang billboard.

Shortly after Jerry’s call ended, Mona grabbed her purse and told me she was heading out for the day. She planned to drive by a Deadwood residence that she’d heard was going to be available for sale soon—a century-plus old Colonial Revival cottage with rounded canopies over the windows and columns framing the front entrance on upper Main Street. I expected her to question me again about tonight’s get-together here at the office, but she didn’t say a peep before heading out the back door.

An hour later, the outside world had gone dark. I was packing up to head home when my phone chirped. I looked down at the screen as I slipped on my coat.

Doc had texted me: We need to talk.

My chest tightened. He hadn’t used any nickname for me. No Boots, no Killer, no Tiger, not even a Sweetheart. Something was wrong, and I had a feeling it had to do with an ornery ol’ coot squawking about a new deal I’d made with a charming devil.

I texted back: When and where?

Wookie? Doc texted back.

Frickety-frack! My dumbass smartphone had automatically changed the word “where” to “wookie” when I’d hit the send button. What in the hell was wrong with my phone? Harvey thought it was possessed. I was beginning to buy into his theory.

I typed the word: WHERE, using all caps and then added a frowning face emoji.

Now. Come pick me up at my place. Alone.

I grimaced at the last word, but typed: On my way.

I locked up the office, but left Jerry’s office lights on since Cornelius would probably be over soon to set up for tonight’s shindig.

Five minutes later, I pulled into Doc’s drive. He stepped outside several racing heartbeats later, moving more slowly than usual down his porch steps, his upper body stiff. Guilt washed over me again. I didn’t care what he said, those bruised ribs were my fault. I needed to stay focused while hunting, especially if I were going to catch instead of kill next time.

Doc climbed in my SUV, bringing in the scent of fresh air along with the cold, and closed the door with a grunt.

“Hey, Wookie,” he said, settling into the seat.

A nickname. Whew! My shoulders loosened several clicks. I waited for him to fasten his seatbelt before shifting into reverse. “Where to?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t want to be interrupted for a little while.” When I pointed at his house, he added, “Cooper is home catching some shut-eye after a long shift.”

Eek! I agreed—no Cooper in the vicinity. I backed out of the drive.

“Zoe knows we’ll be running late,” he added.

How late? “What about supper for the kids?”

“Harvey’s feeding them.”

I nodded, trying to think of a place for us to sit uninterrupted on a freezing Sunday evening. Both of our offices were out thanks to Cornelius. The Purple Door might have someone hanging out that one of us knew. The library was closed.

I glanced down at my gas gauge. Half a tank. Maybe we could just hole up in my Honda somewhere, but if any of the local cops saw my vehicle idling in a parking lot, they’d come knocking. My reputation preceded me these days, thanks to Detective Hawke’s paranoia.

We needed to get out of town, somewhere I could pull off the main drag and … I knew the perfect place for a dark, cold night. I headed toward Lead, taking a left on US Highway 385 before I started up Strawberry Hill. Snow flurries drifted through the air, swirling around as I drove.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Someplace where we can park without one of Deadwood or Lead’s boys in blue finding us. I have a bit of a reputation for troublemaking around town, you know.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”

Near the top of Strawberry Hill, I took a right on a snowplowed road. It was the same tree-lined gravel road I’d visited months back when I’d found out Rex was back in my life. I’d taken out my frustration on a pine tree branch that day. Not much had changed on that front. I still wanted to beat the hell out of something at the thought of the no-good bastard—preferably knocking around Rex himself.

A short distance off the main road, I pulled off to the side and hit my hazard lights, leaving plenty of room for the local residents to pass.

“I’m surprised they plow this road,” Doc said, staring out into the dark forest.

“Aunt Zoe told me there are a couple of hoity-toity Deadwood business owners with big log homes back here. They pay extra to have one of the plows drive up here and clear the road when it snows.” I killed the headlights, but left the engine idling for heat.

“Enough small talk, Doc. Let me hear it.”

He leaned his head back against the headrest. The glow of the dashboard made his face look rugged, his eyes dark pools. “I believe we have a few complications to address.”

My chest fluttered, like there was a chicken flapping around in there, squawking about the sky crashing down on its head. “I know.” I smiled at him, wanting to lessen the tension in the cab. “Christmas is a little over a week away and I don’t know what to get you.” No lie.

He glanced my way, his gaze lowering. “Yes, you do.”

Sexual innuendos. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? “I’ve already given you that a bunch of times.”

“I always want more from you, Boots.” His focus returned to my face. “Harvey told me about Masterson’s visit.”

“I figured.” The buzzard had no patience anymore, claiming he was too old to wait around for others to spill the beans. “Let me guess, you’re pissed at me for making another deal with Dominick without talking to you first.”

“Pissed? No.” His forehead wrinkled. “You’re a grown woman, Violet. An Executioner, for crissake. I have as much to say about what you do in your arena as you do in mine.”

Did that mean we were still a team or not?

“In case you haven’t noticed,” he continued. “This thing between us is not a normal relationship between a guy and a girl. Mr. Black made that crystal clear this morning.”

“Right. Me, Executioner; you, Oracle.” The wedge between us had been sledgehammered deeper thanks to Mr. Black’s words. My angst from earlier about where Doc and I stood post-enlightenment came flooding back tenfold. “So now what?”

Doc shifted, turning toward me. “I can tell by your tone that your take on what this revelation means is different from mine. Tell me what’s swirling around behind those eyes.”

“You being an Oracle changes things between us,” I said.

“Yes and no.”

“Yes and yes,” I disagreed.

“How do you think it changes things?”

“Do you love me, Doc?” I held my hand up to stop him before he could answer, clarifying with, “I mean me, the single mother of two children who does a rotten job of selling real estate for a living. The woman who can barely get her shit together enough most days to wear matching shoes. The me that spends each day battling jealousy, incompetence, doubt demons, and crazy hair. Not the Executioner you are compelled to help because of your bloodline, but the woman who makes numbskull mistakes that end with an accidental pregnancy and trips to jail. Do you love that version of me?”

Doc stared at me, his expression unreadable. “I don’t like it when you put yourself down.”

I shrugged. “It’s one of the few things at which I excel.”

“That’s not true. You excel in multiple areas of everyday life.”

“Cooper would disagree with you.”

He shook his head. “Coop may not like how you go about your life at times, but he understands where your strengths lie. He’s even mentioned that.”

“No way. When?”

“Behind your back.”

I snarled. “He’s a butthead.”

Doc looked out the windshield for several beats, the vertical grooves in his forehead returning. “Violet, since the first day I met you, I’ve felt this overwhelming need to protect you.”

“And here I thought you just wanted to get into my pants.”

A smile flitted over his face. “That, too.” He took my hand, meeting my eyes. His smile faded. “There was something different about you from the start. Something compelling that tugged at me. I couldn’t get you out of my head, no matter how hard I tried. Now I understand why.”

“Because you’re an Oracle. It’s in your genes to help others.”

“But it’s not in my genes to fall in love.”

“Maybe you’re blurring the lines.”

“On the contrary, several things have come into focus since this morning’s disclosure. The ghosts, the feeling that I don’t fit in, the ability to see occurrences from the past, the knack of guessing what’s to come.” He lifted my hand to his mouth, brushing his lips over my knuckles. “The inability to retain any measure of control around you.”

I held his gaze. “How can you be sure that you’re not being tricked on some subconscious level into having sex with me?”

He let out a bark of laughter and then flinched, holding his ribs. “Boots, even if I were being tricked, I’m happy as hell to be the recipient of your duplicity.”

When he stilled, I said, “I’m serious, Doc. I don’t want to sound like a needy girlfriend, but I have a shitty history with men.”

“So you’ve said. What are you looking for from me, Violet?”

“Some sort of proof, I guess. That if we stripped away the Executioner and Oracle roles, there’d still be something between us.”

“But those roles are part of who we are, key to our makeup. You have only recently come into your Scharfrichter responsibilities, so I understand why the concept might be harder for you to blend in your head, but I’ve been dealing with this shit for almost four decades. I’ve always been in a hybrid state of mind.”

I pulled my hand from his, gripping the steering wheel. “This whole Executioner gig is such a big pill to swallow. It keeps getting stuck on the way down.” I rested my forehead on the wheel. “I’m sorry you are being forced to deal with my inadequacies. Give me time and I’ll stop grinding gears about it, same as I did with the notion of being a single mother of twins.”

“Violet, look at me.”

I crossed my arms on the top of the steering wheel, resting my cheek on my forearms. “What?”

He shifted to face me more, a pinch of pain coming and going as he moved. “From the time you found out the truth about my ability to interact with ghosts, you stayed by my side. You struggled to believe at first, which is ironic considering what you are, but never once did you push me away because of what I am. You opened your arms to me—both the man and the medium. You shared your bed at first, and then your heart, and now your family. I don’t believe you love me only because of my abilities to see what others can’t.”

I let his words soak in, considering the way I felt when I thought of him. Did I distinguish between the man and the medium? If we could no longer play in the paranormal world, would I still want to spend the rest of my life with him?

There was no question, really.

He ran his hand down my bowed back. “Personally, I find it even more of a turn-on that we have a connection far deeper than human emotion. Call me sentimental, but I like the idea that we were made for one another. We just had to find our way to each other first.”

My heart pitter-pattered. “We do fit together well, Oracle.”

His gaze moved to my hair and then headed south. “It’s like you were designed in a lab for me, with the perfect amount of curves, wild and wonderful hair, and sharp wit. Not to mention your come-hither look and that mouth.” He groaned. “That sweet, soft, sexy mouth.” He gave me a smolder that stole my breath. “How about you hop over here and sit on my lap for a few minutes?”

I leaned back from the steering wheel. “If you call yourself Santa, I’m going to start giggling and ruin the moment.”

“How about an early Christmas present, Mrs. Claus.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “What are you wearing under that dress?”

I chuckled, moving closer. “One kiss and that’s it. You’re not fit for extra sugar tonight, Mr. Kringle. Those ribs need to heal.”

He took my face in his hands. “Heal schmeal. Kiss me, Boots.”

Obeying, I tasted his lips, making myself hungry for more. But now was not the time or the place, so I pulled back before his hands convinced me to crawl over the console and show him what I wanted for Christmas.

He pointed his thumb at his window. “It’s getting hot and steamy in here. Maybe you should take off your dress and get more comfortable.”

“Nice try, Romeo.” I shucked my coat, trying to cool down. “Tell me, honestly. Are you upset about me making a deal with Dominick to help find the missing informant?”

He adjusted his inseam, lifting his gaze from my chest. “I’m concerned, of course. Mainly, though, I’m suspicious about Masterson’s motives. Harvey said you had an opportunity to offer up your sister to Masterson on a silver platter but you didn’t. That’s impressive will power.”

I smirked. “Well, I want to take you to my parents’ for Christmas.” It would be Doc’s first family-filled holiday since he was a kid. “Handing over Susan to the charming devil for use as his sex toy seemed like it might result in our invitation being revoked.”

“I’ve met your parents, remember? With your history, I’d bet they’d take that in stride.”

I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Tell me truthfully,” he said. “Was it your parents who held you back, or do you really love your sister under all of the hurt and anger?”

Love her? After all of her backstabbing over the years? I pondered that. “She’s blood. I take offense at someone else doing her wrong, especially when it’s in order to manipulate me.” I pulled my lip gloss from my purse. “Although I’m perfectly okay with Natalie making a voodoo doll of Susan and poking it five hundred million times.”

“How are you going to catch a chimera?” he asked.

Harvey had obviously told him about the name game we’d played with Dominick, too. I flipped down my visor, coating my lips as I looked in the mirror there. “I haven’t thought that through yet. If you have any ideas, I’m open to them.” I rubbed my lips together, uncomfortable with the next item I needed to share. “Cornelius wants to have a séance tonight to reach out to Jane.” I closed the visor and frowned at Doc. “He’s determined to check out that Hellhole again.”

Doc raised one eyebrow in response, but said nothing.

“We need your help, Oracle.”

“But it’s Sunday night,” he said. “The kids have school tomorrow, and I told Addy I’d listen to another episode of The Cinnamon Bear with her.”

Addy had a soft spot for that old-time radio program that Aunt Zoe had introduced to her years ago.

“I didn’t realize Addy had lassoed you into listening to it with her.”

“There was no lassoing, Violet. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m smitten with your kids.”

My heart swelled, clogging the back of my throat. I gulped around it and blinked silly tears from my eyes. “Damn, you’re good.”

“I’m hooked on the whole package, Boots.” He wrapped one of my curls around his finger. “You sure you don’t want to come over here and sit on my lap?”

I did. I very much did. “What about your ribs?”

“I don’t care about my damned ribs.” His focus lowered to my mouth. “I want to find out what you have on under that dress.”

Headlights blared in the back window. A yellow light flashed, bouncing off the trees.

I squinted in the rearview mirror. “It’s a snowplow. We have to move.”

Doc cursed. “Bad timing. The driver must be related to Coop.”

I rolled my window down and waved at the driver, then made a sharp U-turn, heading back down to Deadwood.

When we hit the city limits, I rested my hand on Doc’s thigh. “How about I kiss those ribs better later tonight?”

“Will you be wearing my favorite lip gloss?”

“Sure, but it will make you sticky.”

“I hope so. What about the séance?”

“We agreed to meet at the office after the kids are in bed asleep.”

“So.” He covered my hand with his. “If I agree to this late-night rendezvous with a ghost, you’ll reward me with your lips?”

I puckered up and blew him a kiss. “And more.”

He squeezed my hand. “Then I’m your huckleberry, Killer.”