Like Arrows (Cedar Tree #6) (26 page)

"
Diner..."
she mouths with a wicked little glint in her eyes. "Let them come to the diner."

"You know what, Mother? I have a better idea. If you follow County Road G like I said, don't turn off at the first stop. Keep going half a mile up the road and you'll see a diner on the left side. '
Arlene's Diner.'
They have excellent specials on Thursdays. I'll see you there at five? We'll have an early dinner, so you can get back on the road while it's still light," I ramble on to avoid the reaction I'm sure is coming.

"A
diner
? Good lord, you've turned into a real country bumpkin. Please tell me you haven't doubled in size since the last time I saw you?"

And there it is.

I jump in. "Yes, Arlene's Diner. I'll see you there at five." And before she has a chance to say anything else, I hang up.

"Holy shit—she's a piece of work," Emma says, having heard every word. Hard not to, my mother's last words were delivered at full volume in her customary high-pitched shriek. "I already understood it, but now I really get it." She shakes her head and looks at me sadly. "She doesn't know how lucky she is to have you as a daughter, although I can't figure how you ended up so wonderful. I'm sure it wasn't her loving influence."

Both of us have a good chuckle at that, but on the inside, Emma calling me wonderful settles me with warmth. Just like all the other bits and pieces of self worth I've picked up here and there since meeting these people.

"Why did you suggest the diner?" I want to know.

"Not a chance in hell she's gonna miss the kind of friends you've made for yourself, because they'll be all over her the minute she starts spouting her venom. We'll all be there for you," she says with a squeeze of my hand and I swallow the lump in my throat.

And right there is another piece.

M
al

"Got a call from a Detective James this morning."

We're meeting in Drew's office, and Damian doesn't hesitate to take the lead.

"Late last night a body was found in a parking lot just outside of Austin next to an unregistered vehicle, with his only identification a receipt for a coffee from Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. The general description fits Winters, but until the coroner has a chance to do the autopsy sometime this week, he can't give us a firm identification. Luckily the APB on Winters caught his eye and he put two and two together. Coroner will have to confirm, but it was pretty obvious the cause of death is a gunshot wound to the head. Large caliber, from the looks of what's left of his head and confirmed by a rifle round found earlier this morning. Someone picked him off. There was no cellphone, no luggage, nothing. Both the man and the car were stripped clean, except for that coffee receipt tucked in the coin pocket of his jeans."

"Any ID on the shell?" Drew asks.

"Hope to get that confirmed later today, but whoever pulled the trigger was a crack shot. The cartridge was found around three hundred yards away, on the other side of the road beside a one-story building. I'm thinking he was on the roof, lying in wait. He must've lost it off the side of the building or otherwise he dropped it on the way to his vehicle. Can't imagine someone who takes enough care to strip his victim and car clean would be so careless as to knowingly leave any trace."

That rings true to me. I don't have the military or police training the other guys in the room have, but three hundred yards in the dark sounded like someone with some serious training was at the trigger.

"Could be a link with something I picked up on," Neil offers. "I dug up a membership to an outdoor gun range just north of Austin. Jacob Hartnett has held a membership for over fifteen years. Ever since he demobilized."

"Can you access his military records, Damian?" Gus asks. "My gut says our boy was part of an army sniper team. He's taking out loose ends. Something's got him spooked."

That is not good news for Kim. You don't want someone talented with a long-range rifle to get spooked, especially when there's already a bullseye on your back.

Turning to me Gus says, "I'm adding Neil to Kim's detail. He has experience in the field."

I nod. I don't know a whole lot about Neil's history but I do know he was military at some point. My suspicion had always been special ops. The fact that Gus finds him most suited to deal with a potential sniper only strengthens that suspicion. The youngest of the team, and the jovial one, on the surface, Neil is by far the most intelligent one and has the poise of someone much older.

"I best get back." I'm restless about being half an hour out of reach from Kim. Especially with this bit of news.

"Caleb's keeping an eye out," Gus reminds me. I knew that. He told me on the way here that he'd asked him to look after the girls from a distance. I realize he must have done that after Neil found out about the rifle range. "Let's finish this brief and we'll head out."

The next hour is spent laying out any and all information. The content of the flash drive, the geologist's report on the oilfields, the name Hart Holdings which, as confirmed by the FBI, is a known front for Hartnett Oil and Vedica's role to obtain the real estate. Gus assures us that the Walker Family is being looked after by the Ute community, and that there have been no further incidents on their farm.

I'm fucking frustrated as hell at the threat of the unknown, and our inability to plan for it. At not having any idea where our suspect is, although the discovery of Winter's body would seem to indicate that Hartnett was in the Austin area as recent as last night.

Lastly we get security for Kim hammered down. Unfortunately I'm the who has to tell her she'll be even more restricted in her movements and that's not going to make her happy. But I can take the heat if it means she'll be safe.

-

"W
ell that's nice. I've just told my mother to meet me at Arlene's for an early dinner on Thursday."

Just as I thought, Kim is less than pleased to hear that unless she's willing to brave the outdoors with an entire entourage of armed men, she's to stay inside at all times.

"Meet
you
at Arlene's? You don't for one minute think I'd let you face that woman alone, right? And whose brilliant idea was Arlene's anyway?" I notice a light twitch of her mouth when I bring up the location.

"That would've been Emma, who seems to think I need a show of force. My mother will hate it," she says, the smile finally surfacing on her pretty mouth. "As for the other, I didn't want to presume you'd want to be there."

I curse her mother for putting that hint of insecurity back on her face, and don't hesitate to get rid of it. I cup her face in my hands and have to bend down to touch my forehead to hers. "You, are the only person who's allowed to freely '
presume
' when it comes to me. It can't have escaped your notice that I like being around you. And I certainly won't give up a front seat to the big parental take-down."

The smile is back on her face and my heart beats a little faster when she stands up on tiptoes and reaches to touch my lips with hers. That's a first.

Keeping my mental fist-pump to myself, I quickly take over the kiss with one hand tangled in her hair and the other firmly on her lower back, pressing her body close. Reluctantly, I pull my mouth away from hers. "You know I'd love to take this where we both know it'll lead, but there are some other things I want to update you on."

We'd just walked in after I picked her up at Emma's, where the two of them had been chatting away like old friends. She seemed happy and relaxed and I hadn't had the heart to lay everything on her right away. At least not until we got home. Then Boo had demanded our attention with his boisterous hellos and I'd taken him for a quick walk before giving Kim an update. I know a lot of people would want to protect their loved ones from worry, but in my experience it's better to know what's at stake. So I want to give that honesty to Kim.

Loved ones
. I have to admit to myself I'm at that place—the place where certainty slips into your awareness. I'd seen it happen before to my brother with Katie, that moment there is no longer any hint of insecurity about how you feel. You
know
. It's as simple as that. Maybe it's the voluntary kiss she initiated, or maybe I've known it all along, but this moment seems to bring it home for me. I'm it for her, and as unexpected as it may be, she's it for me. In her I see a future I never thought possible.  One I never even looked for or strived toward, but now that I have it in my sights, I'm not going to let go. I'm certainly not going to risk it by keeping information from her.

"There's a reason for us needing to tighten up security around you for a bit." And with my arms holding her close and my nose almost touching hers, I tell her everything I found out this morning.

I feel her shock when she finds out Winters was found murdered, and again when I tell her we suspect Hartnett might be responsible and why, but I hold on tight when she tries to pull away.

"I can't believe someone else is dead because of me."

"Stop that," I tell her with a little shake until she lifts her tear-filled eyes to mine. "You did nothing but show up every day and do your job and show loyalty to your boss. You planning to take the blame for everything bad that happens? None of this is your responsibility and you know it. So knock it off."

Perhaps not the most sensitive way to handle her self-recriminations, but fuck, this woman lives inside her head so much, she's bound to get lost in there. Along with her self-doubts and blame. I'm grateful to see the flash of anger on her face.

"Don't you tell me to knock it off, Malachi Whitetail," she bites out. "I know it's not really my responsibility, but I can't help feeling bad. Even if he was obviously not a particularly upstanding citizen."

Her fire is like an aphrodisiac for me. My already half-hard cock grows to full attention with the heat she glares my way. Leaning in I skim my lips over her tightly clenched ones before moving my mouth to her ear. "You have no idea how turned on I get when you let your temper fly," I grumble. "And the words '
upstanding citizen
' from your cute little mouth has my cock stand at attention and salute."

I'm rewarded with a soft chuckle from her. "That's ridiculous," she says, smiling.

"Oh yeah?" I press my hard-on into her stomach. "Does that feel ridiculous,
Nizhóní
?"

"
Mmmmm
, no. It feels like it deserves a little attention of its own."

And in broad daylight without any hesitation, she sinks to her knees on the kitchen floor, and proceeds to give my dick her thoughtful and thorough consideration.

"You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep."

~ Navajo

K
im

I woke up with butterflies in my stomach this morning.

That feeling of an impending storm you can't really prepare for.

My appointment is today and I haven't yet broached the subject with Mal. I don't know what I was thinking. It's not like he would let me out of his sight long enough to sneak out to Cortez, get the MRI and sneak back without him noticing. I've just been avoiding. I had plenty of opportunity yesterday when we just hung around the house most of the day, watching a movie, putzing in the kitchen and spending an ungodly amount of time in bed. A great distraction in clearing negative thoughts from the mind.

I don't want to think about a potentially bad result, so I haven't brought it up because that would only highlight that possibility. I've always stuffed shit I don't want to think about far down, but I get a feeling in this case, it might have been prudent to share with Mal at some point. Not to mention the impending dinner with the '
fam
' after. Should make for a great day altogether. No. It's not a surprise my stomach is queasy.

"You're not eating," Mal points out.

I've been pushing the scrambled eggs he made us around my plate and I can't even remember if I've taken one taste. I demonstratively put a bite in my mouth and chew. It should be delicious but right now it tastes like rubber.

"Don't like it?"

It's obvious I made some kind of face, because Mal is looking at me with mild amusement. Time to face the first challenge of the day.

"It's not that. I should've told you about an appointment I have today. I...it's nothing, just routine, but I... Well, I need to go to Cortez this morning. I'm scheduled for a MRI. Just routine," I quickly add when I see the worry I’ve been trying to avoid, on his face. "It's just, before Naomi can make a proper diagnosis, there are a few tests she ordered for me." I don't tell him about the shadow the ultrasound had revealed. I convince myself I'm not lying when I tell the truth, even if it isn't complete. Let's face it, after today I might be able to forget about it too, when the MRI comes back clear.

"I'm taking you," Mal says, pushing himself away from me, his face dispassionate, but I can feel anger underneath.

"I'm sorry, I know I should've told you. I'm not used to... having someone care so much. I'm really sorry." I wrap my arms around his waist and hold him as tight as I can. His body feels like a stone column under my hands. I feel more than I hear a big breath of air expelled, before his body relaxes.