Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  “Kody does seem to jump into things before he thinks them all the way through.” Reagan’s heart imagined that trait made him macho and exciting, though her mind knew how dangerous it could be.

  Audrey moved her good arm out from under the covers and took Reagan’s hand in hers. She looked up from under droopy eyelids.

  “I keep your spirit in my heart, daughter. I believe you and my son shine under the same star. You also have grown to believe you are not worthy of being loved, as he has. But the strength you crave lives in your spirit and in your mind, not in the view of others.

  “My son looks at you with love and balance,” Audrey added. “Do not turn away because of the difficulties of circumstance or prejudice. I never regretted my mixed marriage.”

  Reagan shook her head in denial, but noticed that Kody’s mother had already dropped off to sleep. The nurses had probably given her a sleeping pill earlier.

  Easing her hand away from the older woman’s, Reagan bit back selfish tears. She would gladly give up anything and face any prejudice if Kody loved her.

  But his mother was seeing something in her son that was just not there. His feelings for Reagan probably ran not to love, but more toward friendship, duty or perhaps just lust.

  Quietly standing and walking back to meet him, she wondered how she would ever be strong enough when the time came to leave the man who had stolen her heart.

  Everyone kept saying she had a forceful, brilliant mind. But she wished to hurry up and find the courage that went along with it.

  16

  D esperation.

  Panicked, the Snake was so afraid of the consequences he would face from the Navajo Wolf if his efforts failed that he began to lose all control. The bilagáana daughter was too strong and courageous for him to overpower her mind.

  There didn’t seem to be any way of accomplishing the mission he had been assigned. And that would mean the end of his existence.

  One last try. Once more, the Snake decided to directly attack the FBI agent. It had almost worked the last time. The foolish half-breed had turned his back and ended up swinging from a rope off the side of the cliff.

  In his earliest childhood human persona, long before he turned Skinwalker, the Snake had known the half-breed. He remembered the young FBI agent as rash, at times even foolish, when it came to his own life.

  If the Snake could manage to kill Kody Long, despite the Brotherhood’s protection, then maybe the horror of witnessing his death would weaken the white woman enough to allow the Snake to capture her mind. Then both missions would be completed.

  Yes, that seemed like his only hope.

  It called for a surprise attack with no vibrations that would warn the Brotherhood. Such a thing was possible, but most difficult. It might drain all his power.

  But as desperate as he was, that was a minor consideration. If the Snake was doomed to face death, then so was the half-breed lawman.

  “That’s it! I knew it.”

  “That’s what?” For the last hour Kody had been driving them back toward his hogan in the pitch-black, moonless night. Clouds covered every source of light along the lonely highway. The dark was fathomless, like an empty crypt.

  The naked eye could only take in a few short feet in front of their headlight beams. Yet Kody felt compelled to speed on through the night.

  His worry over Reagan had been growing since they’d left the hospital. But he couldn’t put his finger on the cause. Would the Skinwalkers try another attack while she rode in the truck and used her cell phone for text messaging? Her focus had been so concentrated on her call, he wondered if that made her an easier target.

  But as he’d heard no telltale vibrations, Kody believed they were probably going to be okay. He kept a careful watch on the road and tried to disregard what his gut instincts were telling him.

  “Well,” Reagan began in answer to his earlier question. “A friend of mine just found out what kind of project my father had been working on before he disappeared.”

  “Found out? Isn’t that classified information?”

  “Maybe.”

  He threw her a quick look that clearly told her not to try any bull.

  “Okay. Yes, of course it’s classified. But my friend can access any kind of info—online.”

  “A hacker? Into Navy Intelligence sites? Are you insane?” Kody knew he’d wiped the smile off her face by reminding her of the reality of the situation. But hell. Navy Intel?

  “Just listen to what I found out,” she said with clear irritation in her voice. “My father has developed something elegant and completely brand-new. A stealth helicopter. Isn’t that wonderful? A discovery like that is a complete marvel of physics and engineering.

  “And,” she added, obviously thrilled at the idea, “it’ll carry sixty field-equipped troops while flying fully loaded at thirty thousand feet, and can still easily avoid appearing on anyone’s radar.”

  “Sweet,” he said with a nod. “But that’s the kind of project most evildoers, and many aggressive nations, would pay big bucks to get their hands on.”

  She turned her head with a quick grin. “Yeah, it is. In fact, the Pentagon is convinced my dad has taken his plans to Russia or China.

  “Apparently, blog rumors have been flying, hinting that maybe India or Pakistan have already made offers. I guess the POB aren’t even looking for him in the U.S.”

  “POB. Powers that be. Hmm. Your online friend has access to privileged Pentagon memos, too?”

  Reagan hesitated a second before answering. “As long as the memos were sent or stored on a computer that has Internet capabilities, yes he does.”

  Kody let a long, low whistle say what he thought of that kind of criminal behavior. But Reagan’s hands were waving dismissively.

  “No one will ever know who or why. Don’t worry. But I’m wondering if we shouldn’t notify the FBI or maybe the CIA of our suspicions about the Skinwalkers kidnapping my father. Or should we go directly to Homeland Security?”

  “Absolutely not.” Kody almost shouted the words. “I don’t know how the evil ones fit into the picture, exactly, but they’re smack in the middle of it for sure.

  “It hasn’t been very long since you refused to believe in the concept of Skinwalkers,” Kody added with a raised eyebrow he knew she probably didn’t see in the dark. “What would the unimaginative bureaucrats at ‘Home’ think if you tried explaining it to them?”

  Reagan was lost in thought for a few seconds. “Okay, I can accept that. We’ll leave it to your Brotherhood.

  “I know the coordinates now,” she added. “I just need another minute or two on the computer to plug them into the formula, and we should have a ninety-five percent probability on the point of origin. This is such a beautiful equation.”

  The equation wasn’t nearly as beautiful as its creator. Kody pushed his foot down harder on the gas pedal. They needed to find a safe place for her to access a computer.

  A thunder roll drummed across the midnight sky. Just as it had the night the two of them had spent in the ancient ruin, a storm was coming in over the Lukachukais.

  Kody reached for his cell phone and punched up his brother’s number on speed dial. But before the connection could be made, something altered the atmosphere, both inside and outside of the truck’s cab. It seemed as if they had entered a different world, an electrified one where time crawled to a stop and reality went berserk.

  There had been no warning vibration, but on pure instinct, Kody slammed on the brakes and dropped his cell phone on the floor without disconnecting the call in order to keep both hands firmly on the wheel.

  As the pickup swerved and slowed, the right shoulder of the road suddenly seemed to drop off into a black abyss—or maybe it was just a deep, dark ditch. Either way, he didn’t want the truck to end up there.

  Something leaped out of the ditch at them, and Kody’s heart stopped. It was black and slimy and big. Big enough to be at eye level with the cab window.

  The
monstrous creature hovered there a moment, glaring at them. Its yellow eyes glowed and grew darker, blackened by evil. Then its silver tongue whipped out and grabbed on to the roof with one loud hiss and little effort. Kody could feel the truck tipping on its side and skidding toward the ditch.

  “Kody!” Reagan yelled.

  His panic for her safety turned to frozen horror as he realized he had let her down. They’d been ambushed, and there was no way he could save her now.

  “Kody,” she repeated, grabbing his arm. “Remember the chants. Say them.”

  “Huh?”

  “Say the chants,” she insisted. “Now.”

  Reagan saw her words finally registering across Kody’s features. For some unaccountable reason, the evil presence had not terrified her one bit. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but no matter how horrific the Skinwalker snake seemed at this moment, it could be beaten.

  If Kody could manage to hold it off with the Brotherhood’s sacred chants for a few minutes, long enough for her to focus, she might be able to make use of the mind connection the snake had opened between them days ago. She had visions of making the creature retreat by using concentration and control.

  Kody began reciting the singsong Navajo words, slowly and quietly at first. Then, when terror’s icy fingers finally loosened the hold they’d apparently had on his mind, his chanting became louder and much stronger.

  Since the day they’d met, Reagan had known her love was the most courageous man in the world. Now she had proof.

  The black evil hissed again, and the sound rushed through her. But she would not allow it to break her concentration. This damn entity was not nearly intelligent enough to stop her now.

  A few chanted words and the truck was freed. The old pickup settled back solidly on all four wheels.

  She pushed open the passenger door as fast as she could and slid down to stand on the dirt shoulder. Facing an eight-foot-long snake that was coiling and getting ready to strike, she was madder than hell.

  How dare this thing try to hurt Kody!

  The serpent glared at her in the wavering illumination of the headlights. She should’ve been afraid. But she could hear its panicked thoughts in her mind exactly as though it was speaking aloud.

  Desperation. I must win. Kill. It is the half-breed’s life or mine.

  In her own more steady thoughts, Reagan made it clear to the formidable reptile that she had no intention of losing a battle of wills. “You won’t kill. Back off.”

  Cannot. A strangled gargle came from its midsection.

  The snake slithered a few feet away, then stopped and quickly recoiled, giving every appearance of readying itself for another attack.

  Behind her, she heard Kody opening the driver’s side door and calling her name. “Reagan, move away.”

  He’d stopped saying the chants aloud. But he couldn’t stop yet! She closed her eyes and concentrated all her efforts on making the snake go away, though her growing fear for Kody’s life refused to be denied. The terrifying image of his death was ruining her focus.

  The snake hissed again and she felt the lick of its tongue at her legs. With a slash, it tore through her jeans and stung her flesh. She dropped to her knees.

  “Dammit!” Kody’s strangled voice behind her caused a sharp pain in her gut. She had failed him.

  Another loud cracking noise assailed her ears. Please no! Not Kody!

  Her eyes popped open just in time to see the snake exploding into a thousand pieces of inky confetti. The acrid smell of sulfur was strong.

  But as she turned to find Kody, she realized it wasn’t sulfur she was smelling, but gunpowder. With his weapon drawn, Special Agent Long moved around the front of the truck to fire yet another bullet directly into the snake’s limp form.

  After a second’s inspection of what had been the serpent, Kody dropped the gun back into his shoulder holster and ran toward her. He knelt and gathered her in his arms.

  “Where are you hurt, Red? Are you bleeding?”

  She sat back on the pavement, stretched out her legs and rolled up her jeans. Angry welts marked where the creature’s tongue had whipped her shins, but there didn’t seem to be any blood.

  “I don’t think so. Are you all right?”

  Kody’s shoulders relaxed and he took a breath. “I’m just terrific, thanks. What the hell were you thinking? You could’ve been killed.”

  “Good question, bro.” The sound of Hunter’s voice came out of the mist. “What were you two doing out here at this hour without the Brotherhood to watch your backs?”

  The man she loved didn’t turn around to answer his brother. Hunter shrugged and walked over to check the inert figure on the ground, while Kody lifted Reagan in his arms and carried her toward the pickup.

  “We did okay.” He finally answered Hunter’s question in a roundabout manner.

  “Doesn’t seem that way to me,” Hunter said with a sly grin. “But I suppose it is the evil one who lies dead in the dirt and not my older brother. So…”

  “Is there a body?” Reagan asked over Kody’s shoulder as she nestled in his arms. “I thought I saw the snake explode.”

  “The human form of the Skinwalker is intact and familiar to the Brotherhood.” Hunter nodded to her in a subtle Navajo-style move. “Bahe Douglas leaves no immediate family, but his clan will need many healing ceremonies to cleanse his spirit from their destinies.”

  “Douglas? The trading post owner was a Skinwalker?”

  “Seems so.”

  Reagan wasn’t interested in how they’d missed guessing who had been the Skinwalker. She was much more curious about how it had died, and in the unique transformation of the dead snake back into human form—all the scientific, geeky stuff she loved.

  “I didn’t know these Skinwalkers could be killed with a gun,” she said to Kody. “I mean, I imagined it would take something special. Like a…like a…”

  “Like a stake through the heart, Red?” Kody was smiling as he slid her into the pickup’s passenger seat. “Or maybe with garlic? Sorry. We don’t have any vampires in Navajoland. At least not to my knowledge.

  “Skinwalkers are bad enough,” he added. “And right now, all I care about is getting you safely home. So how about buckling up and leaving Hunter to deal with this particular Skinwalker’s last journey?”

  “Fine. I’m sorry I saved your life. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Several hours had passed and Kody was frantically searching for just the right thing to say to let Reagan know how afraid he’d been for her—without saying it in so many words.

  They were safe and sound again in his hogan. She sat at his computer, studiously plugging GPS coordinates into her program, while he fumbled in the kitchen, warming up some of his mother’s packaged food.

  Reagan had wanted to know why he’d been so quick to pull the trigger on the snake, when neither of them had seemed to be in imminent danger. It wouldn’t be terribly smart to open himself up to potential pain. Just the thought of telling her how desperate he’d been to keep her safe—or of how paralyzed with fear he’d been when he was sure there was nothing he could possibly do to help her—made his throat contract.

  Hell, no. Saying any of that didn’t seem like a good idea at all.

  The beautiful woman with a genius mind who was now sitting at his computer had actually stood between him and the Skinwalker—without giving a single thought to her own safety.

  But her safety was all he had been able to think of at the time.

  She was much more courageous than he was, and would never understand if he tried to tell her about his darkest hours spent cowering in indecision. Worse yet, when her father was finally located, she would be leaving Dinetah for good. Better that she leave a little aggravated at him than be tempted to look back.

  But when he glanced over, she was staring up at him with huge luminous eyes full of tears. Had the words he’d thrown at her without thinking put that devastated expression across those fascinating features?


  He walked to her side, feeling like a first-class bastard. “Reagan? You know I didn’t mean what I said the way it came out. Right?”

  She shook her head but didn’t reply.

  Crouching down beside her, Kody searched for a way to make her understand. “I realize, admittedly a little late, that you wanted to try putting ideas into the snake’s brain. But as brave as you were, I couldn’t let—”

  “Me? Brave?” She interrupted him with a self-depreciating laugh. “No way. I was scared to death. But I truly believe if you’d kept saying the chants for a few more moments, I would’ve found out what the Skinwalkers have done with my father.”

  Yeah. It wasn’t the first time he’d screwed up because he’d been too focused on himself and his own concerns. But he had to hope that this time it wouldn’t cost Reagan her father’s life.

  “Listen to me, Red. I—”

  She shook her head. “I can’t listen.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I love you and that makes me lose control,” she rasped. “When you talk, I can’t think straight. That snake wanted you, not me, and I couldn’t let anything—”

  “Hold it. Back up a second. You love me?”

  She turned her face away and dropped her chin. For a second he wasn’t sure he’d heard her right. But then she sighed heavily and nodded.

  His chest tightened and breathing became difficult. Somewhere deep in his soul, he’d wanted her to care—to give a damn about a half-breed with lots of family and not a single soul who thought he really mattered.

  His mother had certainly mouthed the right words at the hospital, but she couldn’t have meant what she’d said. Not after some of the things he’d done.

  And as for Reagan loving him…It was all wrong. They would never be able to work out their problems.

  “You can’t,” he finally spat. “Don’t love me. I’m not worthy of being loved…by anyone. Once, long ago, I faced a test that might’ve made me a man worth a few tears and promises, but I failed. And because of my failure, my father is gone for good.”