“What happened to all that talk about believing in me, in what we were doing? Did all that die with the damn horse?”

She opened her mouth to retort, but stopped and took a deep, calming breath instead. “Logan, listen. We’re already felons about six times over . . .”

“To my knowledge there’s no law against raising the dead.”

“How about breaking and entering? What about trespassing on a man’s private property, knocking him cold … repeatedly, and leaving him tied up in his own barn?”

Twice during their long hours spent in the Blunts’ barn, Thedford Blunt had started to come around, only to be sent back into unconsciousness by Cole. A swiftly swung feedbag to the back of the head was all it had taken.

“I left Thedford’s whiskey bottle within reach for when he wakes up. Probably be the best wake-up he’s had in years. If it makes you feel any better, I also left him with two crab apples and a bucket of oats. Trust me, he’ll survive.”

“That’s what you said about the horses.”

Cole held his tongue and gave her a moment to simmer down. “Look, I know you’re scared. I’m scared, too. But it’s not like we have a whole lot of choices at this point. We’re not just gonna send those guys back into the river. And I’m much more scared of what will happen if we don’t see this through than if we do. You heard what Mona said. We don’t do this, these guys are gonna . . .”

“Change. Yeah, I remember. The bad change is the expression she used. Well, Logan, I think we saw stage one of the bad change back there in that barn. In bright red Technicolor!”

“You’re right. They have changed. But it’s not all bad.” He looked back at his teammates, then lowered his voice. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed it, too. Since they ate that horse, they look … I don’t know, healthier. Stronger. Almost like they’ve healed a little. Their movement is better. They seem more alert, more . . .”

“Mean. They look meaner, Cole. Scarier.”

He had to concede her point. Much as he didn’t want to admit it, he had begun to think the same thing over the course of the day.