Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  “Why?”

  “A couple of reasons, probably. In the first place, there’s a lot of political turmoil these days about loose dogs on the rez. The People have strong opinions about letting animals be animals in Navajoland and not trying to make them over into some white man’s version of a pet.”

  Kody’s gaze never seemed to waver from the road. Staying strictly in one lane, the truck wove in and out of the ever darkening shadows cast by the tall spires of peach-colored sandstone and the tips of mountains to the west.

  “But you and your mother don’t believe the sheep attack was done by wild dogs, do you?”

  He shook his head. “Definitely Skinwalkers. But the politicians are even more reluctant to talk about them than they are about loose dogs.

  “The car rolling over was no accident, either,” he added. “The shadowed form of an animal they didn’t recognize shot out in front of them on the highway. When my uncle swerved, he said the car careened out of control just as if it were sliding on glass.”

  “How awful,” Reagan said with a shudder. “If the light was a little better, I could plug the GPS coordinates for your mother’s accident into the formula. I’m sure it will be the last piece of information we need to complete the equation and narrow down the point of origin to perhaps a ten-mile radius.”

  “Sorry. Can’t risk a light right now.”

  Reagan hugged the sketch pad to her chest. “You mean you’re feeling it, too?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been getting the vibrations for the last fifteen minutes. What do you feel?”

  “A presence. Someone watching.” She shrugged as he had, then turned to look at him. “And a growing desperation to throw myself at you.”

  The laugh he barked was self-deprecating and rather sad. “We’re not ever going to be able to get around that, are we, Red?”

  She wasn’t sure what to say to him. Their conversation had turned too intimate for someone of her limited experience.

  Unable to think of the right words, she opened her mouth and said the first thing that came to her. “The sex we had the last time…the time when my head was clear…was fantastic. I wouldn’t mind doing it over again.”

  Oh man. Those words were all wrong. The sketch pad dropped to her lap as she began flapping her hands and waggling her fingers with nervous energy.

  “I—I mean,” she stuttered, “we hardly know each other, and as soon as we find my father, I’ll be leaving, going back home. I mean, do you think we should continue…”

  Reagan gulped for air. “What I mean is, I’m not that kind of a person. I’m not someone who just jumps in the sack for a night or two. No matter how fabulous it was.”

  Kody reached over and captured her left hand, stilling the flying fingers and calming her nerves. “Easy, Red.”

  Reagan could see he was struggling for the right words, too. His jaw clenched and unclenched.

  “I’ve spent the last eleven years of my life learning how to keep my emotions in check,” he finally murmured as he laced his fingers with hers. “But then you ran into my life, both literally and figuratively, and changed everything.

  “That wasn’t fair of you,” he added with an exhalation.

  She heard the hurt and hesitation mixed together in his voice. It made her want to climb into his lap and wrap her arms around him, soothing whatever was bothering him.

  Which was a really weird idea, since she had never done such a thing with anyone before in her entire life.

  Despite wanting to help him, she could not come up with any words that would make a difference. What should she say to him?

  Kody made it easier when he spoke first. “It’s not just the sex, Red. It’s you. Who you are. An intelligent and attractive woman with an inner strength of spirit that is more than just a sexual turn-on. It’s…addictive.”

  She hiccupped a laugh. “Me? Be serious. Sure, I’m fairly smart. And I’m real good with guys, all right. But as buddies—friends.” She shook her head so hard her neck ached. “I’m just not the type to interest men. When you come right down to it, I guess I’m also not so hot relating to women. Or to kids. Or even to pets.”

  Despite the dark shadow that currently covered his face, she knew Kody was smiling. “Yeah,” he agreed. “You do put up a bunch of subconscious barriers to keep everyone away. But I’ve seen you when those doors were accidentally left open. People are drawn to you.”

  “People?”

  “My cousins in the Brotherhood. My mother.” He hesitated. “Me, especially.”

  Blinking her eyes, she tried her best to understand what he was trying to say. She did love him. But there could never be a future for them.

  She did not belong here. And he did.

  Just then, she felt the pull of someone else’s will.

  In the back of her mind, she’d been expecting it. But suddenly it was all she could do to defend herself against the attack. Tugging her hand free of Kody’s, she pressed her fingers to her temples and concentrated.

  “Reagan? What’s wrong….”

  She leaned back in the seat and shook her head. “Attack. Let me…let me think.”

  Kody shut his mouth and scowled. She was so strong and extraordinary. He was positive she could defend herself. But his frustration at not being able to help her nearly caused him to stop the truck in order to get out and fight off the evil with his bare hands.

  But he knew he would only be fighting shadows. The real evil was harder to capture, harder to define.

  He grabbed the steering wheel with a deadly grip and pressed his foot down on the gas. Concentrating on getting them away from the danger in one piece was his best plan. His only plan.

  The Navajo Wolf pushed away from his dinner table and excused himself.

  He was losing a measure of hard-won control. The hint in the air of the Snake’s losing mind-battle with the Anglo woman had driven the Wolf to take leave from his guests.

  Turning his back on Sheik Bashshar and his tuxedoed henchman at the dining table, the Wolf fought to maintain his human persona in the presence of the Snake’s negative energy. The Wolf ran his tongue lightly over his front teeth, checking. The fangs were still concealed. Good enough for the time being. At least until he could get his hands on that idiot Snake.

  How had his plans gone awry? It was time for plan B. The Wolf absolutely refused to allow the entire operation to unravel due to one inept underling. Nor would he easily give up control of the savage beast that lay untamed within his own spirit.

  Commander Wilson must be the one at fault. The scientist continued to refuse all requests that he go willingly to the Middle East and continue with his research. The man should’ve understood it would be just a simple matter of allowing a different nation to foot his bills.

  The commander had turned down offers that would’ve made him wildly wealthy. And he had successfully blocked all attempts at mind control, too.

  Damn geniuses. His daughter had also found a way to block her thoughts from the Snake’s control.

  The Wolf poured himself a snifter of brandy and soothed his fragile temper with a sniff and then a swirl of the expensive amber-colored liquid.

  At times he wished modern weapons could be used to force the Skinwalkers’ will. But though the Brotherhood could use guns against the evil, the ancient text had been clear that the Skinwalkers’ use of such things would cancel out all their gains.

  But nothing should be allowed to alter the lifestyle he now led. He’d spent the first forty years of his life as a common man. But never again.

  The brandy’s rare flavor tasted more like the metallic promise of gold coins as it slithered down his throat. Now that he’d held a few of the ancient parchments in his hands, and knew the formula for gaining all power and wealth, nothing would ever turn him from the dark path.

  This operation had taken too much effort, getting the Middle Easterners past the Immigration and Naturalization Service and hiding them from federal agents. He would give the Snake tw
elve hours to capture the daughter and get rid of the half-breed FBI agent.

  At the thought of the half-breed, old blurred memories niggled into the Wolf’s conscious mind. But he refused to allow them to intrude on his current thoughts. The Wolf would not tolerate sentiment of any kind. It had the potential for making him too human.

  Not now. Not when he was so close to finalizing this deal for two-hundred-million dollars. The money would bring with it greater power and better chances for further gain.

  Calming down, the Wolf decided to go back to the dinner table. One way or another, by lunch tomorrow the sheik would be wiring the money to the Skinwalkers’ offshore accounts. If need be, he now knew Sheik Bashshar’s mind would be easy enough to control. And there would be no further reason to deal with Commander Wilson or his daughter.

  By any accounting, the money already belonged to the Skinwalkers. At the end of the day tomorrow the deal would be done. And so would the reasons to keep Commander Wilson alive.

  Kody poked his head into the hospital room as he repeated sacred, healing chants in his mind. It was all he could do to put one foot in front of the other and come face-to-face with his mother as she lay in her hospital bed.

  Audrey Long had never been physically sick a day in her life. And despite her depressed state since his father’s death, Kody had just assumed his mother would be the steady rock of the family forever.

  Suddenly, forever seemed like a lot less time than it had yesterday.

  When he rounded the heavy door and quit counting the tiles on the floor long enough to lift his head, he stopped dead. He had asked Reagan to stay behind in the waiting room until he went to check on his mother.

  But when he looked up, he was shocked to see that his mother already had a visitor. A man with a graying-blond mustache stood by her bedside. And he was holding her hand.

  He was a tall white man who most certainly could not belong to the Big Medicine Clan, nor to any of their related clans. And he was a total stranger to Kody.

  Something caught the stranger’s attention. He looked over, and his green eyes took in Kody, who was standing at the threshold with his mouth hanging open in complete surprise.

  “Ah,” the stranger said softly. “The eldest son. Come closer, Agent Long. Your mother has been waiting to see you.”

  A hitch of irritation ran up Kody’s back. Just who was this guy that he could be so familiar and order complete strangers around?

  “My son?” His mother’s weak voice made Kody snap to attention. He rushed to her bedside.

  “I’ll go grab something to eat,” the stranger whispered to his mother in a gentle tone that grated on Kody. “But I won’t be far. Have the nurses call me if you need anything while I’m gone.”

  Kody scowled at the man’s back as he watched him leave. Then he returned his full attention to his mother, who was lying propped up in bed.

  “What happened?” he growled. “And just who the hell was that guy, anyway?”

  His mother’s slight smile turned into a frown. “Have you come to pay respects like my good son, or have you come to demand answers like a pushy lawman?”

  “My mother…” he said with sigh of frustration. “I apologize for my rudeness. How is your health? Have the doctors told you the extent of your injuries?”

  Her facial expression relaxed. “The worst of my injuries is a broken wrist,” she said as she lifted her left arm so he could see the cast that went from knuckles to elbow. “But I have many bumps and bruises to try my patience.”

  “Mother,” he said with another sigh. But this time the sigh came not from frustration but from the anguish of seeing her in pain. The hurt that erupted in his heart was surprisingly deep, and he could do nothing to ease it.

  She motioned for him to come sit at the edge of her bed. He was hesitant, worrying that he might cause her further pain. But her smile widened and she nodded to indicate that it would be all right.

  Kody sat and took her good hand in his own. “I’m so sorry. The rollover may have been all my fault.”

  “No. Not your fault. This was Skinwalker mischief.”

  “That’s what I mean. I should’ve warned you to be more careful, or I should’ve been protecting you. At the very least, I should’ve stopped pushing to find Reagan’s father.”

  “Ah. So you believe the Skinwalkers deliberately attacked me as a warning to you?”

  He hadn’t thought about it exactly like that. But now that she mentioned it, perhaps such an idea would be a logical conclusion. He gritted his teeth so the curse on the tip of his tongue would not offend his mother again.

  But her smile grew weary. “Yes, I see that you do believe my injuries have something to do with the young woman and her father.

  “My son, you must not stop your investigation in order to protect me. If you have the opportunity to halt the Skinwalkers’ advancement, you must try. Their dark plague spreads daily.”

  “I can’t compromise your safety.”

  “I will go to stay with my older sister near Farmington. If you discover that I must actually leave the land between the sacred four mountains to be safe, then our brother in Albuquerque will be happy to have his reservation relatives come for a visit.”

  “I’ll take you to Farmington as soon as you are well enough to travel. Hopefully, you won’t have to go too far from Dinetah.”

  His mother shook her head. “One of my nephews will take me to my sister’s. Or perhaps our neighbor will agree to that favor. You and your brother are needed here.”

  “Has Hunter been to see you?” Kody was glad to think that someone from the Brotherhood would be taking his mother to her sister’s. But he was rather surprised to hear that his own brother might’ve beat him to the hospital.

  “My youngest son cannot bear to confront his mother’s mortality. He still has much anger in his heart over his father’s death. He will not come to me.

  “But I know who my children are,” she continued. “It does not matter that they cannot show it.”

  Kody closed his eyes and swiped a hand across his jaw. “I…I…” He couldn’t get the words out.

  Audrey Long reached up with her good hand and cupped his cheek. “Yes, my son. I know what you keep locked in your heart.”

  She put her hand on his shoulder and urged him to lean closer. Closer to her own heart.

  “You must know how much you are loved by this old woman,” she whispered in his ear. “Your spirit has been in balance with my spirit from your first breath. That has not, and will not, ever change. Our spirits are intertwined forever.”

  She collapsed back against the pillows. “Please send in the young woman who has touched your heart. I wish to speak to her, and I grow tired.”

  Kody stood up and shook his head. “Reagan? But she hasn’t touched—”

  This time, his mother’s smile was wry as she interrupted. “I’ll tell you about the man you saw at my bedside. He is the doctor from Farmington who plans to perform surgery on my eyes when the time is right.”

  She patted the back of Kody’s hand. “Your cousin, the crystal gazer, suggested a consultation nearly a year ago for my growing cataracts.

  “The eye surgeon has touched your mother’s spirit,” she added. “There is no shame in acknowledging someone whose beauty sits in harmony with your own. It is the Navajo Way.”

  Kody was shocked. “You mean the two of you are…” He drew a breath and straightened his shoulders. “When my father died, you said you would never take another husband. Even though Dine tradition teaches that a spouse is to be taken in by the clan of the one who died.”

  “I said such a thing, yes. But following tradition was not possible. The one who died was Anglo and had no clan.”

  “So any single bilagáana man can take his place?”

  “Your rudeness comes from surprise. And I have grown too tired to parry words with you.” She patted his hand again and shook her head. “We will talk about this when I return. Now…please, send in your
young woman.”

  Damn. Kody knew his words had been rude again. But hell. He’d just found out that his widowed mother had a boyfriend. How was he supposed to take such news?

  Clamping down on his irritation, he gently touched his mother’s cheek and then strode out of her room. Scowling and grumbling, Kody made his way down the hallway to seek out Reagan.

  But she was definitely not his young woman. In fact, she was so far from being his that she might as well be the farthest star in the galaxy.

  The image brought a grudging smile to his lips. Yes, Reagan was like a star, shining overhead and twinkling at all who really knew her.

  There would be no chance to wish for her, however. No time nor future for wishes to be granted.

  Reagan dragged a chair to Audrey Long’s beside and waited for her to open her eyes. She had no idea what the older woman wanted to talk about. But Audrey had been so kind that Reagan would try her best to grant her anything.

  “You love my son,” Audrey said without opening her eyes to see who was really sitting beside her.

  “What?” Reagan stared until the woman’s eyes opened. “I…I…”

  Audrey smiled. “You love my son.” It was not a question; Kody’s mother knew what she was talking about.

  “Oh, well. I guess I do. But…”

  “Yes, I understand,” she said gently. “The situation is difficult. Most young lovers have hurdles to climb. It is the way of commitment and joining spirits.”

  Reagan figured she would be willing to climb just about anything to get Kody’s love. But it was hopeless.

  “My oldest son does not believe he is a person worthy of love,” Audrey said, as if reading her mind. “And he distrusts anyone who tries to break through the hard shell of his self-disgust.”

  She closed her eyes again but continued to talk. “After his father’s death, he let anger and hatred push him to a dark place, and because of that he made many mistakes.

  “But unlike my youngest son, Kody’s anger has leeched out of his spirit after all these years. When the pain was fresh, Kody allowed it to fuel his determination to become a federal agent. One who could exact justice for his father’s killers. He is a man who prefers action to prudence.”