Not out of the line of fire, though. Not even close.

   * * *

   I left the alley behind and headed back out onto the main drag with its shops, crowds, and costumed characters. More than ever before, I felt like people were watching me and analyzing my every move. Every time one of the cowboys, gold miners, gamblers, or saloon girls sashayed past or smiled at me, I eyed them, wondering if they were going to text Roxy my current location the moment my back was turned. Probably. My shoulders tensed again, still expecting a bullet to blast into my back at any second, but I forced myself to step into the crowds.

   I found my friends in the Silver Spur, right where Roxy had said they were. Part of the Silver Spur was an old-timey mercantile shop, with soaps, elixirs, and other goods, while the other half featured designer clothing, including the hats that Finn and Owen were both trying on. Bria leaned against a nearby rack of fringed leather vests, looking bored.

   “What took you so long?” she groused. “I’ve seen about as many cowboy hats as I can stomach.”

   She jerked her head at Finn, who was staring at himself in a full-length mirror, admiring the white Stetson on his head and trying to talk Owen into buying the same hat in gray. Before I could answer her, Finn strutted over to us. He was also wearing a green-and-white paisley bandanna around his neck and white leather chaps bedazzled with pale green rhinestones over his jeans. He looked like some country-western singer about to go onstage. All he needed was a shiny guitar.

   “Hey, Gin!” he called out, turning around in a circle and making the rhinestones shimmer under the lights. “What do you think? Is this me or what?”

   I forced myself to smile at him. “It’s totally you.”

   He grinned and signaled one of the clerks to ring it all up for him.

   Owen walked over and tipped his gray Stetson at me. “Ma’am,” he rumbled, “do you like it?”

   I reached up and tipped the hat back on his forehead. “Wear it for me tonight, and you’ll see just how much I like it, cowboy.”

   He laughed and went to get in line with Finn to check out.

   The Silver Spur was busy, and it took twenty minutes for the clerk to wrap up Finn’s new duds, along with ­Owen’s hat, and for us to finally leave the shop. I glanced up and down the sidewalks, but I didn’t see anyone obviously watching us. I knew they were there, though. I could feel their gazes on me and my friends. We needed to get out of the theme park and back to the hotel, up in our suites where I could tell the others what was going on, and we could plot our next move.

   But once again, Finn had other ideas. “Come on. Let’s get some hot chocolate.”

   He set off down the sidewalk, and Bria, Owen, and I had no choice but to follow him. Finn strolled over to a food cart sitting at the entrance to one of the alleys, where he bought hot chocolates for all four of us, before leading us over to two iron benches that were set close together, facing each other. Finn and Bria took one bench, with Owen and me sitting across from them on the other one.

   Finn took a sip of his hot chocolate, then glanced around and leaned forward, staring at me with sharp, knowing eyes. “What’s going on, Gin?”

   “Why do you think something’s going on?”

   “Because normally you would have mocked me mercilessly for buying rhinestone-studded, white leather chaps. As well you should have. But you said that they looked great. That’s not the snarky, sassy Gin Blanco that I know and love.” He paused to take another sip of his hot chocolate. “Plus, there’s a cowboy who’s been following us from store to store, texting on his phone the whole time. He’s behind me now, leaning against a post and trying to look casual.”

   My gaze slid past Finn, and sure enough, that cowboy was right where he said. I should have realized that Finn would have clocked someone watching him. He might not be a bona fide assassin like me, but Fletcher had trained his son just as well as he had me.

   “Plus, you were gone a really long time,” Finn added. “Normally, I would have said that you had to stop, kill someone, and hide their body, but there isn’t any blood on your clothes.” He gave me another stern look. “So spill it, Gin. What kind of trouble did you get into?”

   I sighed, realizing that it was confession time. “Well, you’re right. I didn’t actually kill anyone, although I certainly wanted to. . . .”

   While we sipped our hot chocolates, I told my friends everything that Roxy and Brody had said about working for Tucker and the vampire wanting us to find the hidden jewels for him.

   When I finished, Owen looked at me. “So that’s what was going on in the lobby earlier when you ran into that luggage cart. You thought you saw Tucker and were going to chase after him.”

   I nodded. “Guilty as charged, but he disappeared before I could get to him. But he’s around here somewhere. He has to be.”

   The four of us fell silent, clutching our empty cups. To the casual observer, it looked like we were just taking a break from the festivities, sitting on the benches, having a warm snack, and people-watching. Oh, we were people-watching all right.

   “The cowboy’s gone, but there’s a giant miner in his place, glancing over at us every minute or so,” Owen said.

   “The saloon girl working that popcorn cart is checking us out too,” Finn added.

   “And I see a gambler up on one of the second-story balconies, looking right at us and texting,” Bria said.

   I nodded. “I don’t know how many folks work for Roxy and Brody directly, but we have to assume that any of the resort staff could be on their payroll and a potential threat. Not to mention Tucker lurking around, and any men that he might have hiding in the shadows with him.” I looked at my friends. “The way I see it, we have two options. We can hightail it out of here, head back to Ashland, and regroup.”

   “Or?” Finn asked, even though he knew as well as I did what the second choice was.