Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  In the end, she landed hard on her butt and began a free-fall slide downhill that would’ve scared her to death—if she’d had a moment to actually think about it.

  Wasn’t this the time when her whole life was supposed to flash in front of her eyes? Except—right now her eyes were squeezed shut and she was screaming loud enough to keep the images…the fear…and the bats… far, far away.

  Lucas Tso heard the woman screaming and looked around. Where was she? Close. But where?

  He wasn’t surprised at the high-pitched call for help. After all, that was why he was out here in Many Caves Canyon after sunset.

  The Bird People had given him a warning. And he had come, because for days he’d been dreaming about saving a woman. A dark-haired and dark-eyed woman whose face was never clear in his dreams. He’d had many dreams over his lifetime. But never before had the circumstance seemed so urgent or had the person been so unfocused.

  Above him—that’s where the screams were coming from. If he climbed the shale path fast enough, he should make it in time to intercept her fall.

  He moved quickly past red sandstone boulders and around granite obstacles. The shale was slick and slippery, but he dug his moccasins deep into the rocks and pumped his legs to climb even faster.

  Who was she? Could she have anything to do with the secret Skinwalker war that had been going on in Dinetah over the last few years?

  Was she one of them? Or one of their victims?

  The Bird People were allies of the Brotherhood in this war. Lucas knew they would never deliberately lead him into a trap. But this was so different from a normal attack.

  Time enough later to ponder the significance of the dreams and of the woman. For now he had to first find her, then figure out how to save her.

  Looking upward through the moonlight, he spotted a flash of light-colored clothing as it careened down the path toward him. A few more yards and he would be in position to stop her fall.

  He steeled himself for the jolt, and began chanting a medicine man prayer that he would make it there before her body rolled in the wrong direction and headed right over the edge of the cliff.

  Teal was trying in vain to stop her fall. She jammed her heels into the path but only succeeded in rolling herself over and totally losing control.

  She raised her arms in front of her face to shield her eyes from the pointy rocks. If she had been religious, this would have been a good time to pray, but she had no idea how.

  Her clothes were already being ripped by the knife-sharp rocks, and her face and hands were bruised and bleeding. What would happen to the rest of her skin if her clothes completely shredded and fell away before the fall came to a stop?

  This downward tumble had to end. Now. Teal braced herself to put one last desperate effort into stopping.

  Then, miraculously, it was over. But how?

  “Can you stand? Is anything broken?”

  Who said that? Uh-oh.

  Scrambling to her feet, she was suddenly much less worried about broken bones and bleeding skin than she was about facing a deep-voiced stranger in the shadows of this canyon wilderness. Damn.

  But when she finally found herself upright, her head was swimming and she reached out blindly to steady herself. Strong arms loomed out from the darkness to give her support.

  Still slightly scared, over both her brush with death and the spooky guy who’d come to her rescue, she nonetheless felt relieved to be alive and apparently safe. Teal began taking long breaths and fought for control. At the same time, she reviewed her physical state. Nothing seemed to be broken. But everything hurt.

  “You will be sore for quite a while, I’m afraid,” said the deep-voiced shadow beside her as if he’d read her thoughts. “But if nothing’s broken, I think I may be able to help with the cuts and scrapes. Will you let me try?”

  “What?” She eased away and peered at his face. “Who the hell are you? And why did you happen to be out here at the right place at the exact right moment?”

  For a few seconds there was dead silence. It was enough time for a first-in-her-class sharpshooter to draw her weapon from its holster under her ripped jacket.

  “Don’t move,” she demanded as she pointed the Glock in his direction. “And answer my question.”

  The outline of the man stilled. “My name is Lucas Tso. I am of the Big Medicine People, born for the Bitter Water Clan. I’m a native artisan, specializing in Navajo designs…and a medicine man who can help you with your injuries. I have no weapons and no bad intentions. There is no need for the gun.”

  “Don’t make any sudden moves,” she warned. “I’m FBI Special Agent Teal Benaly. I’ll show you my ID—right after I check out your story.”

  “You intend to frisk me, Special Agent?” he asked, reading her mind again.

  She could hear the smile in his voice and it added to her irritation. “Turn around, hands against the ledge and spread your legs.”

  “Yes, ma’am. But I must warn you to be careful on the rocks. They’re very slippery.”

  “Yeah, I got that, thanks.”

  He turned around. After temporarily sliding her weapon into the waistband of her slacks, she moved one leg between his two to stop him from running, exactly as she had been taught. This would be her first chance to do in real life what they’d practiced.

  The man was taller than she was. She guessed he was six-two to her five-eight. But she could trip him up if she kept her leg positioned just right.

  That was the method she’d learned. But her training had not included the frisson of electricity that jolted through her the minute she touched the guy.

  Jeez. What the hell was that all about?

  Biting down on the inside of her cheek to keep from actually moaning aloud at the unusual and pleasurable warmth she’d felt emanating from his body, Teal went to work. She checked his jacket pockets and came up empty.

  The weird sensations rocketing around in her body were totally out of line, and seemed rather ridiculous considering only a minute ago she’d been so frightened. Maybe her brain and gut had scrambled in the fall.

  She reached under his jacket and began patting him down. Oh, God. Her breath hitched in her throat.

  Keep your head, girl. This guy could be anybody.

  Right side first. Keeping a tight grip on her emotions and a keen eye on his every move, she ran a hand down his body and checked his ankle for hidden weapons. Nothing.

  Nothing—except the firm feel of toned thigh and calf muscles under his jeans. Crap.

  She patted up the inside of the right leg, hesitated for less than a second, then moved down the inside of his left leg. This one time, if there were weapons hidden in his crotch, she would have to die for lack of checking.

  Coming up the outside of his left leg, she found a wallet in his back pocket and a leather pouch attached to his belt. Taking a deep breath, she was miserable to discover his possessions smelled of musk and sweat and virile man. She had to shake her head slightly to clear it. Without giving him warning, she reached around him and undid his belt buckle, sliding both belt and pouch off him in one fast move.

  Nice execution, Special Agent, she congratulated herself. She’d done a good job on both the lightning moves and on getting through the pat-down without collapsing in a quivering heap at his feet.

  “What’s in the bag?” she asked and stepped back.

  “Medicine-man supplies. No weapons.”

  A load of bull? “Turn around—slowly.” She pulled her Glock from its resting place and stuffed his wallet and bag into her jacket pockets.

  “Every movement needs to be slow on this shale,” he told her as he shifted to face her in the darkness.

  “Right. Well, carefully walk the path in front of me, please. No jerking or twisting. We’re going to move down to the canyon floor near that abandoned vehicle so I can check the wallet and bag for myself.”

  “Abandoned vehicle?”

  Did he really not know about the truck? “I’l
l ask the questions for now. Start walking.”

  As they went, he kept his hands high where she could see his movements, and didn’t seem to have any trouble at all balancing himself on the jagged rock. But she was forced to hang on to the granite shelf with one hand and keep her weapon at the ready with the other.

  Within minutes, both her hands were stinging like crazy. She could feel a trickle of warm liquid, probably blood, rolling down her cheek. Still, she was alive and vowed to continue her vigilance in order to stay that way.

  But her mind was reeling with what had been happening. What was with this guy? He kept saying things that made her think he had been reading her mind. There were just too many strange coincidences tonight.

  At last they made it to the canyon floor. Down on level ground, they were stepping on packed sand rather than slippery rocks.

  “This is the headwater of the Kayenta Caves dry wash,” Lucas told her. “During heavy storms, the underground aquifer that supplies the Kayenta mine area overflows and runs out of the cliffs into this arroyo. That’s why you’re walking across packed sand now instead of rocks and pebbles.”

  Damn it. He was doing it again. It was creepy.

  When they had walked within thirty feet of the abandoned truck and could see its outline in the moonlight, she came to a halt. “Hold on. Before we get any closer, I’d like to go over your ID and get a few more answers.”

  “All right,” he said and turned to face her.

  The moon was high in the sky now and most of his features were visible. He had a longish, narrow face and a lean, narrow body—all shoulders and not much hip. Exactly the way she remembered her father’s physique. Must be that was a common male Navajo trait. Something she would be wise to remember for her assignment.

  Lucas’s dark hair was also on the long side. Down past the collar of his jacket, it gave him a slightly sexy but comfortable appearance. Teal felt herself starting to relax.

  From what she could make out of his face in the shadows, he had a beautiful high forehead, spectacular sharp angles of jaw and cheekbone, and a broad nose to keep the whole thing from being perfect. Though she was unable to tell the color of his eyes at the moment, she knew they were studying her.

  She pulled the flashlight from its spot at her waist in order to study his wallet and flicked the light switch. But nothing happened.

  “It might’ve broken as you fell,” Lucas said drily.

  “Maybe.” She put the flashlight back in place, stuffed the wallet in her pocket again and tightened her grip on the semiautomatic. “You never answered my question about what you were doing up on that path at this time of night. It was a bit too handy that you were right there to save me.”

  “I…Have you ever heard anything about a group of medicine men calling themselves the Brotherhood?”

  “No. Should I have?”

  “I thought you might’ve. We’re a legitimate society banded together to fight neighborhood crime in Dinetah. Sort of a citizens’ watch committee.”

  “Okay. Let’s say I buy that. What neighborhood are you watching way out in such a desolate canyon?”

  “We got a tip that something bad was going down here tonight.” He shifted his feet and Teal wished to hell she could see his eyes. “Look,” he began again. “Do you know an agent by the name of Kody Long? He works on various projects for the FBI on the reservation.”

  “Yes,” she replied. “I’ve met Special Agent Long and have even worked with him a time or two. Why?”

  “He’ll vouch for me. He’s my cousin and knows all about the Brotherhood.”

  Not sure her cell phone would work at the bottom of a canyon, Teal dug in her inside jacket pocket and pulled it out to check the signal. She got lucky for once tonight.

  “The signal is weak, but I can put in a call for Special Agent Long. We’ll wait until I can verify your story.”

  “I could reach him faster.”

  “Oh?”

  “The Brotherhood has a specially-connected family satellite phone system. I can dial him direct.”

  “Where’s your phone? I patted you down and didn’t find one. Is it back up on the trail?”

  “Front pocket of my jeans. You missed it.”

  Figured. She was doing everything wrong tonight. Next she would probably have to take the damn phone from him, too.

  But not if she could help it. “Take off your jacket. Nice and slow, please. And then drop it on that flat rock beside you.”

  He did as she asked. She could see his torso much better in the moonlight. Without thinking, she sighed. But the soft whooshing sound suddenly seemed terribly frivolous coming from her own mouth. She choked at her own stupidity.

  “Okay,” she muttered through a cough. She was trying desperately to clear her throat and her head. “Now, keep your right hand high above your head and very carefully take the phone from your pocket with the other hand.”

  “Did you already spot the fact I’m right-handed?” he asked with a smile. “Or was that a calculated guess?”

  “Just do as I say. And once again…with nice slow movements.”

  She watched him remove a thin, black case that was probably a phone. But for all she knew, the person standing in front of her could be one of the terrorists who were supposedly infiltrating the U.S. through the remote areas of the rez.

  She’d been warned to watch out for them. And that case he was holding might actually explode when he opened it.

  “I’m not suicidal, Special Agent Benaly. You have nothing to fear.”

  Shoot. There he went again, answering questions she hadn’t even asked.

  Before she could react, he flicked his wrist and the phone opened up. He held it high where she could get a good look at the lighted faceplate.

  “Fine,” she said and shook her head with chagrin. She was still moving a step behind this guy. “Dial the number and then hand it to me.”

  He punched a button and handed it over.

  Keeping her weapon trained directly at his gut, she gingerly took the phone from his hand. By the time she put the receiver to her ear, she could hear a deep male voice on the other end.

  The voice identified itself as Special Agent Long, then asked if it was an emergency and if Lucas Tso was all right. She held off the questions until she could verify the voice’s identity. First she asked him a question about one of the times they had met here on the reservation, and then asked about what was served at a cafeteria back at Quantico—an answer that only another special agent would know.

  He passed her tests.

  “This is not an emergency and Lucas Tso appears to be well,” she finally answered. “We are standing in one of the ravines at Many Caves…”

  “Yes, I know where you are. I have you on GPS. Do you need help?”

  Special Agent Kody Long’s continued insistence that something must be wrong threw her off. It sent a chill down her spine and made her wonder what she’d missed.

  “May I talk to Agent Long?” At the sound of Lucas’s warm, bass voice, she looked up to find he’d moved in close.

  Too close. But he was deliberately standing in a nonthreatening manner with his hand held toward her, palm out.

  Since she couldn’t find her voice at the moment, Teal simply nodded and handed back the phone. Her shoulders slumped and the arm holding the Glock relaxed. Having her weapon pointed at the ground was against all procedure, though, so she reholstered it.

  Then she stood quite still and listened to one side of the conversation between cousins.

  “No, no sign of…trouble,” Lucas said into the phone. “I’m not sure. She says she’s here to check out an abandoned truck.”

  Well, he didn’t seem to mind that she knew they were talking about her. That at least made him appear honest.

  “Yeah, we could use your help. Bring a light, Cousin. In fact, a lot of lights would come in handy if we’re going to be able to check out that truck tonight.”

  We? There was no way she would let a l
ayperson assist in any investigation of hers. She would have to find a way to tell Lucas thanks for saving her life, but bah-bye now.

  He closed the phone and stuck it back in his pocket. “Ten to fifteen minutes tops. Kody will be bringing lights. While we wait, let me tend to your injuries. That cut under your eye might need a stitch.”

  Huh? “How is your cousin Kody going to get here that fast?”

  She heard Lucas chuckle, though she couldn’t see his expression in the shadows.

  “My cousin was right up the road. And where we’re standing is only ten minutes from the highway.”

  “Ten minutes? What are you talking about? You and I walked down that shale path for nearly a half hour. And I had been climbing down it for fifteen minutes before you stopped my fall. How is that ten minutes from the highway?”

  “Didn’t you stop to consider how a truck would’ve gotten itself down into the bottom of a ravine?” he asked with a small snicker. “Someone drove it in and left it parked there.” Without waiting for her, he’d answered his own question.

  When she simply stood there open-mouthed, he continued, “They had to come down the gravel road from the highway. It turns to packed sand about a half mile up the dry streambed from here. But it’s doable by four-wheel drive.”

  “There’s a road?” Son-of-a…

  “Ah, Special Agent love, looks like you might need a lesson or two in getting around Dinetah. Let’s talk about that and our friendship while we wait for my cousin.”

  Oh, Lord. The two of them were certainly never going to stay close enough to be friends. Nuh-uh. Impossible.

  “We’ll talk about it,” he whispered, once again echoing her thoughts. “For now, come sit by me on this rock so I can clean your wounds.”

  “No…Yes.” She was sputtering. “But…But…”

  2

  L ucas carefully dabbed water from his pouch onto the back of her hands. He was stunned when she relented and was willing to let him touch her. Teal must be in much more pain than she was letting on. Trying to clean the dust from her cheeks and chin, he worked as gently as possible.