Dorothy squinted into the shadows. Her palms were sweating, and her breath had become a low rasp. She inched forward, peering around the side of the time machine.

And then a hand flashed out of the darkness and clamped around her chest, drawing her back.

“I’ve found the best place to watch the show,” Mac murmured, his hot breath tickling her ear. He brought the barrel of his gun to her cheek, the cold metal soft as a kiss.

“Let go of me.” Dorothy got her arm free and twisted, but Mac’s hold on her wasn’t as strong as she’d thought it would be. It broke the moment she pulled away, sending her stumbling back into the time machine.

Mac snickered, and Dorothy spun toward the sound, daggers raised. They were just outside the glow of the headlight, and the contrast of light to dark was so strong that it hid Mac entirely. Even standing a foot away, staring at the place where his face should be, Dorothy couldn’t separate the lines of his jaw and nose from the shadows.

She dragged her dagger blades over one another, the sound echoing through the air around them. “Afraid to step into the light?”

“Are you in such a rush to kill me, little Fox? I thought we might talk a while first.”

“I’m done talking to you.”

“Fine, then. You can listen. You’ve chosen the losing team.” Mac clucked his tongue. “But, hey, I’m not such a bad guy. There’s still time to change your mind.”

Dorothy fixed him with a cool stare. “Is that so?”

“Do you really think you can win this game?” His nose separated from the darkness first, and then his big, thick lips. “I’ve already bribed the rest of your gang. They were cheap, too. Eliza turned her back on you for a new pair of boots. Donovan was more expensive; he wanted a knife.”

Dorothy felt a sharp twist in her gut. “You’re lying.”

“Bennett was the cheapest,” Mac continued, grinning. “All he’d wanted was a peach. One lousy peach.” Mac laughed, shaking his head. “They must’ve hated you. And, once those two idiots take each other out, you’ll be all alone, again. And what am I supposed to do with you then?”

Dorothy tilted her dagger, letting her blade catch the light. “Come closer and tell me.”

She could see his eyes now. They were flat and black, like a shark’s, and they slid past her, coming to rest on the scene unfolding on the other side of the room.

A smile twitched at the corner of his lips. “I mean it. They’re going to kill each other. And then you and me will have a very different conversation.”

Kill each other?

Dorothy hesitated, and a rushing sound filled her ears.

Hands still tight on her daggers, she turned—

48

Ash

Ash slammed into the ground, his fingers twitching, his mouth filling with dust and dirt. Jagged, black rocks scraped into his cheeks, and remnants of shattered glass bit into his skin.