"It's been a long time, Eden," Colton rasped.

The words broke the spell. Eden slammed her palms against his chest, shoving him back, hitting him, hammering at his hard frame with her fists. Rage tore from her lips in a gasp, and her eyes turned hot and wet. "You son of a bitch!" All she could see was her brother chained in that hut. Colton shoving her through the door, locking her inside.

And Adam pleading, begging for him to let her out.

"Please, Colton. Please. Don't make me do this," her brother had begged.

"It's not my choice. Just give Cane what he wants and she's free."

At first she hadn't understood. She'd been so frightened, dragged from her bed by this dark-haired ghost, a man who'd stolen a kiss from her the week before and flirted with her. At first she'd thought him an ally—he'd been riding a bounty with her brother for a week—and so she'd gone with him in order to help Adam. He'd promised softly no harm would come to her if she just played her part.

"I promise you'll be safe," he'd told her.

And she'd believed him.

Instead, he'd locked her in that hut with her newly warg-cursed brother, and used her to push Adam into betraying Luc Wade to the same fate.

"Mierda!" He staggered back a step.

Eden screamed her rage into his face, raking at his jaw. There were hands on her wrists, a hard body jerking her away from Colton. And then her face was pressed against CJ's chest as he rubbed a hand through her hair.

"Eden," CJ gasped. "Eden, he's a warg."

"I know he is!" A sob tore loose. Eden shook all over, fighting to control herself. She'd never felt like this before; if she'd had a weapon in her hand, she half thought she might have used it.

And that was not her.

Sucking in a sharp breath, she pushed away from CJ and got her shit together as she faced Colton. The last thing she'd ever let this man do was turn her into something she wasn't.

She could handle this.

Claw marks raked Colton's cheek. His shirt hung awry. She barely recognized herself.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded. Probably up to no good, if she knew him. "Why did you rescue me? Were you following me?" Too many questions raced through her. "What kind of sick game are you playing?"

"I had no idea you were even in town. And I was trying to stay fucking lost," Colton growled. "Until you stumbled into my bar and turned everything upside down—"

"Your bar?"

"I've spent enough fucking coin in there. I might as well own it."

Eden glared.

Colton's eyes narrowed right back.

"Where'd you get the money from?" she asked hotly.

A shrug. "Here and there."

"Sounds like you're up to Bartholomew Cane's old tricks." She almost thought he flinched as she stepped forward, pushing him again. "I swear, if you're hurting people...."

He captured her wrists and snarled, "Cane's dead. And I'm free. I don't have to play his games anymore. I'm a bounty hunter, curse you. And there's good coin to be made hunting things no one else wants to hunt in the Rim and the Divide—"

"You hunt in the Divide?" CJ broke in.

"Yeah—"

"No," Eden snapped, turning to glare at her young comrade. No way in hell was she about to trust Colton again. "He's the last person we can trust."

Colton let her go with a rough laugh. "Don't worry, angel. The feeling is mutual. You're the last person I'd ever get tangled up with again." He stepped back and tugged the lip of his hat down over his eyes. "Didn't mean to upset you. But you shouldn't go walking around out here with strangers. The Rim's not a place for those who have any goodness in their hearts."

"You should know!"

"Wait. What's going on? You two... know each other?" CJ asked hesitantly.

"We have a history," Colton murmured.

Eden's eyes bugged out of her head again. A history? He made it sound as though the pair of them—

"Eden was the first girl who ever kissed me."

"That was before I knew what an asshole you were!" She seethed as she turned to CJ. "This is the dick who had a hand in turning my brother into a warg."

"I didn't turn him."

"No, but you were Cane's little lapdog. He'd never have gotten his hands on Adam, if you hadn't helped him."

CJ's eyes widened. "You're Johnny Colton?"

"And you would be Adam's young protégé. You were helping him hunt me down two years ago. Spent months on my trail before I lost you down south."

CJ's hand went to his gun.

Eden slammed a hand out, warning CJ to back off. He didn't know what he faced. Johnny Colton was a dangerous man, and she didn't need to look at the hard bulk of muscle in his chest, and the ammunition on his belt to know nothing had changed in that respect.

"Don't you dare hurt him," she snapped, shooting daggers at Colton. Dogs yelped nearby.

Colton froze, glancing down slowly to where her palm was braced between them, a bare inch from his black shirt. "Pretty sure I'm not the one reaching for my gun."

She wasn't touching him, but she felt like she was. A tingle shivered over her hand. A heated breathless feeling that stole through her as Colton slowly looked back up. Memories danced between them—hateful memories—and she saw the ghost of it echo in his eyes, before it vanished. A tiny hint of regret she must have imagined.

What the hell?

"I saved your brother's life two years ago, Eden. Adam and I are square. I understand why you're holding a grudge, but I'm a different man now. I'm sorry for the part I played in... in everything."

Of all the things she'd ever expected to hear from him, an apology wasn't one of them. "Leopards don't change their spots."

The baying of the dogs grew worse.

"Eden," CJ warned. "We need to get moving."

She couldn't look away from those heated brown eyes as Colton practically dared her to say something. His lips curled in a slow, lopsided smile. "Believe what you want of me, angel. But the kid's right. You should leave."

A dog howled nearby. CJ's nostrils flared as he grabbed her arm, and stepped in front of her. And then a chorus of bays went up, coming closer.

"CJ—"

"They're loose," CJ said sharply, pivoting on his heel to look down the alleyway for a means to escape. "Shit." Nothing. "Edie, if you run, they won't chase you. They're after me."

CJ drew his pistol and Eden grabbed his wrist. If he made a run for it and the dogs followed, everyone in town would know what he was.

"Keep her behind you," Colton snapped, turning to face the mouth of the alley.

Was he insane? They'd rip him to shreds as easily as they would CJ.

Did she care?

Two enormous brindled warg dogs slid around the corner, practically frothing at the mouth. Their eyes locked on Colton, and then the lead one threw its muzzle back and gave a hollow, echoing howl, almost one of delight.

Another one joined them, and then they launched themselves toward Colton.

"Down," Colton said in a low, flat voice that made Eden shiver, as if it cut through her. He held out a hand and slowly lowered it.

The dogs slunk to the ground, their howls dying off. CJ's wrist twisted in her grasp, and he went down on one knee in the dirt, and then blinked.

"What are you doing?" Eden asked.

"I don't know," CJ blurted, and she saw his foot shift, as if to power himself to his feet again. But he didn't. Instead he looked at Colton helplessly.

The trio of dogs crawled on their bellies toward Colton's feet, whining and licking at his boots. Eden had never seen anything like it.

Colton turned those blazing eyes upon her, then his gaze shifted to CJ. "Not you. You can get up."

"What did you do to him?" Eden gasped, as CJ staggered to his feet.

Colton mockingly gestured them around him. "I'd recommend you step lively, angel. If more of them arrive, I don't know if I can hold them."

The dogs whined and groveled as the three of them edged past.

"Stay," Colton commanded, meeting each warg dog's eyes as he backed away. The shiver of his voice went through her as if he'd stroked her inside her skin.

Then they were safely in the middle of Main Street. CJ opened his mouth, but Colton shook his head and gestured across the street to another alley. "Move."

The sound of baying grew louder. More dogs. Gritting her teeth at the fact that Colton was the one commanding them, she started running.

A hand caught her arm as she reached a junction, and Colton shoved her down another dirt-packed road. "This way."

Pounding along the streets, she didn't argue as he guided them as far away from the warg dogs as he could. Finally they pulled up in the shadow of a shanty, and Eden bent over, panting for breath as she rested her hands on her thighs.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" CJ demanded. "To those dogs?"

Colton shot him a narrow-eyed glance. But he turned his attention to her. "Go home, Eden. The Rim's no place for a woman like you—"

"You don't get to make my decisions for me," she snapped, stepping right up into his space and clenching her fists at her sides. "Adam might have forgiven you for the part you played in ruining him, but I won't ever forget it."

His eyes narrowed. "So be it."

Colton took a step back, tipping his head toward CJ. "You should keep a closer eye on Miss McClain. Take her home before she gets herself killed."

And then he turned and walked away, his long strides eating up the ground, the sound of dogs baying in the distance.

"Easier said than done," she thought she heard CJ mutter.

* * *

"What?" Eden demanded, feeling CJ's eyes upon her as she threw her clothes into her pack and searched the room for anything she might have left behind.

CJ leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. "This is a bad idea, Edie. It sounded good at the start, but the closer we get to the Divide...."

"Bad situations make for the best possible solution. If we don't get to Cortez City, then we don't get a cure for the plague."

"You don't think I know that? If we don't get a cure, then Lily dies." His voice choked off a little. "I will do anything—anything—to make sure she survives. But crossing the Divide by ourselves is a death wish."

"You're a warg and you were trained by my brother. So was I. We'll watch each other’s backs."

"We don't even know what we're walking into," he exploded, flinging an arm out. Today's moment in the alley had bothered him; he'd been surly ever since Colton made him kneel. "Dealing with the Confederacy is a virtual gold mine. They have medicines, tech and equipment we Wastelanders can only dream of. And this town is full of people who'd cut their own mother's throats for a bag of gold pieces. But they're not rushing to cross the Great Divide to get to the spoils. That makes me think they know something we don't."

Eden yanked her bag closed and pulled the buckles tight, pressing her lips firmly together. He was right. It was a bad idea and she knew it, but what other option did they have? If she let herself stop moving for a second, she could still feel Black Tom's hands on her belt. Still feel the weight of him pressing her down. Eden choked the thoughts down, swallowing them whole. No time for that.

She'd learned her lesson. Being able to defend herself didn't mean much if she hesitated. She was going to shoot first from now on.

"I've been through every shithole bar in this town. The only man who volunteered to help had other plans in mind. And from where I'm standing, no guide is better than one who wants to slit our throats, rape me, or steal everything he thinks we own. We're running out of time. If you've got a better idea, then spit it out."

Silence.

Worse. A lingering silence.

"There is one man who knows the Divide. He said so hims—"

"No." Eden felt a flush of heat run through her. "Are you insane? Johnny Colton played a part in destroying my life—"

"And then two years ago he saved your brother's life. Adam admitted as much himself. Said something about a debt being repaid between them," CJ replied. "And I'm not entirely certain what I walked into today, but he saved you from that bastard, Eden. And when you tore into him, he simply took it. He didn't even bother to defend himself."

A tremor went through her. She sank onto the edge of the bed. "You don't know what you're asking of me." Heat seared her eyes. "They used me to force my brother to betray his best friend. Colton used me. He promised I wouldn't be hurt, he made me think we were riding to rescue Adam, and then he used me to blackmail Adam into betraying Luc to the same fate. Do you know how many years I've watched my brother try to put the pieces of his life back together? Adam used to keep a silver bullet in his pocket, just in case he ever lost control." She was shaking. Violently. "Because of me."

The world vanished in a haze of tears.

A dark shadow swallowed up what was left of her vision, and as water lashed down her cheeks, she found CJ on his knees in front of her.

"Hey," he murmured, resting his hands on her forearms. "None of this happened because of you. Adam was already inflicted with the warg curse before they even got to you. You were merely an innocent pawn meant to help them get a hold of Luc. Adam's never blamed you."

"I know," she said fiercely, scrubbing the wet from her eyes.

Adam didn't have to blame her.

He'd spent years hating himself for betraying his best friend to the monsters. Years trying to put his life back together. Drinking too much, all his emotions locked down tight, but sometimes she saw the look in her brother's eyes when the moon rose and the local chorus of wargsong lit the air.

And it had scared her, because she knew he had that bullet in his pocket.

Just in case.

"If we were in other circumstances," CJ murmured, rubbing her hand, "I'd never ask you to do this."

Eden lifted her eyes to his.

"But here's the thing: Colton owes you a debt and he knows it. I know nothing can take away the pain of what happened, but why not use him back? I felt him do something to those warg dogs. I don't know what it was, but he cowed them somehow. Forced them to show him their bellies—and these dogs were bred to rip people like me apart. He's not just a warg trying to leash his inner beast, Edie, he controls it. He's a bounty hunter. And he knows the Divide." A hint of something dark flashed through CJ's blue eyes. "I've been in your surgery enough times to know if you cut through the emotion of the situation and start considering your options in a logical manner, sometimes the answer you need is not the one you want."

He was throwing her own words back in her face?

"I think Colton can get us safely across the Divide," he said, pressing on determinedly. "In fact, I think he's the only chance we have of crossing it. And if you say no, Eden, then this ends right here. Because as much as I care for Lily I know she'd never forgive me for leading you into danger. So, if your final word on this is no, then we turn around now and head back to Haven. Luc said there are other options to save her."

Other options? Turn Lily into a warg and give her an amulet? "She'll lose her father."

CJ's expression shuttered. "She doesn't have to."

And another flush of hot-cold swept through Eden. Because there was another warg who could hand his amulet over to Lily, if they couldn't stop the plague.

This time, she caught his wrist when he moved to withdraw it. "No."

CJ looked up from beneath dark lashes and for a moment, it wasn't a man she was looking at, but a boy. "She loves her father. Luc's everything to her. And if I can't save her...."

"No." CJ's words finally reached her where nothing else would. Eden stood, and swallowed down the thick press of conflict in her throat. This wasn't just about Lily. Her townspeople were dying too.

They needed a cure.

To get the cure they needed to cross the Rim.

To do so, they needed a guide.

It was as simple as that.

"Stay here," she said, wiping her face dry and fixing her hair, putting herself back together as best she knew how. "You're right. Johnny Colton owes me one. And that bastard better be prepared to pay."