Renee Simons Special Edition (62 page)

"I'm gettin' used to your popping in and out," he said. "You leave and I'm gonna miss our visits."

"As long as they aren't disruptive."

Zan looked at the wall of glass and the sweep of land beyond it. The faint blue silhouette of a range of hills, their outline softened by distance and the blur of atmosphere, marked the horizon.

"What mountains are those?" Zan asked, pointing south.

"The
Black Hills
," Mike answered.

"They're sacred to your people aren't they?"

"They have been as far back as anyone knows." He shook his head. "I just wish we could have kept white folks out."

"Then I guess you wouldn't want me there."

"You're not white folks. You're just folks. Ask my nephew to take you. He knows them well from his youth."

"Thanks for accepting me," Zan said.

"Yeah, well, I'm a pragmatist. So what can I do for you this morning?"

"I'm looking for Stormwalker."

"He's in the storeroom. He'll be right back. How about some coffee?"

"Whatever you do, don't drink his coffee." Stormwalker stepped inside the small office. "And Uncle, I'd be obliged if you didn't subject my girl to your poisonous brew."

Mike lifted one eyebrow but took no other notice of Stormwalker's casual reference to his relationship with Zan. "What's wrong with my coffee?"

"Is today Thursday?"

"Nope."

Stormwalker turned to Zan. "Once a week, on Thursday, he makes a fresh pot of coffee. After that, he just adds new grounds and water to whatever is left. By Wednesday, the stuff is thick enough to support a spoon and acidic enough to peel paint. The caffeine can bug your eyes out of their sockets."

Zan's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter, as she looked at Mike. "Tell me he's exaggerating."

"Not by much," Mike said with a grin. "But if I did things any other way my brain would shut down like a rusty power plant and my insides would rebel out of sheer boredom."

"And if I'm here long enough," Stormwalker said, "I'll be just as addicted as he is."

"Thanks for the warning." His reference to time reminded her of why she'd come. The nausea returned.

"What's wrong?" Stormwalker touched her arm. "Did I say something?"

She shook her head. "We need to talk."

Mike excused himself and shut the door behind him.

"Is it about last night," he asked.

"Why would you think that?"

"When you left I thought you might be having regrets, that last night was a disappointment to you, that I'd been too rough or too impatient. Or maybe you were angry because we didn't take any precautions."

"We didn't need them. I'm on the pill."

"There are other reasons to be careful, but just so you know, in prison, they tested us every six months."

"Then I'm safe and you're healthy. What a pair." Her attempt at humor fell flat.

"You're upset about something." He touched her cheek with the back of his hand "Is that why you left?"

She leaned into his touch although she'd promised herself to keep away. "I was afraid you would think last night was a mistake."

He took her in his arms for a kiss that echoed the passion and hunger they had shared. "Last night was perfect." He examined her face. "What else?"

"Do you remember the conversation in the parking lot between the man with the voice box and the other guy?"

He nodded.

"Tell me what they said."

"That trying to use sex would never work because you hate me too much." He grinned broadly. "Let's not tell them how wrong they are."

Zan laughed despite the hollow feeling in her chest. Her memories of love with Dar had died this morning and she was afraid to hope she had something to take its place.

"Not yet, anyway." Was she talking about his problem or hers? "What else?"

He thought for a moment. "That in Vlad they'd tried without success to get to me through a woman?"

"Exactly." She took a folded sheet of paper from the back pocket of her jeans. "Take a look at this."

Stormwalker scanned the page. "This says I was involved with one of the female agents."

"That's from a report Dar filed. He lied."

"I'm sorry," he whispered against her hair.

"Why? This is good for you."

"I know, but you believed in him."

"Apparently, I'm not a very good judge of character."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. He had everyone fooled." He hooked his hands in his belt. "This does us no good. We can't prove what we heard."

"If he lied about this, then he lied about other things. We'll dig until we find something we can prove."

"I'd better let you get back to your work."

"One question," she said. "What kind of support was he supposed to give you?"

"Backup in case of trouble, and a way out if I couldn't make it on my own."

"And he knew what your mission was?"

"Yes."

"Why do you think he lied?"

"That's three questions. You're over the limit."

"Why do you think he lied?"

How much she could handle? How much would she believe? He decided to trust the bond forming between them.

"I think he lied because he was a double agent."

She caught her lush bottom lip between her teeth and a frown wrinkled her forehead. He knew she was fighting to stay in control of her feelings, but he needed to bring the truth out where she could see it and deal with it.

"Red, you have to know I wasn't the only one to think he'd turned, but when we set out to try and prove his guilt, the evidence got me deeper and deeper into the hole. When he was killed, the truth died with him."

"We'll bring it back to life," she said.

Now tears filled her eyes and Stormwalker silently cursed himself for having caused them. "If this is too difficult," he said, "I'll talk to Mac. We'll find some other way."

"No. I need to know if Dar was dirty and how I could have been so wrong about him."

She sighed and fought back another rush of threatening tears. He kissed her trembling mouth and watched as she left to return to the RV.

*****

Hours later, Zan heard a knock on the door. She hit a key to save her work and shut down the PC. Stormwalker stepped inside.

"You've been at this all day, Red."

Funny how that name sounds more and more like a caress, she thought.

"It's time to take a breather," he said.

He was right, of course. She stood and they went outside. She rubbed the back of her neck and stretched to erase the tension caused by hours in front of the screen. He came up behind her and gently massaged her shoulders as she closed her eyes.

"Find anything?" he asked with his mouth near her ear and his breath soft and warm against her skin.

She leaned against him and welcomed the arms that slipped around her waist to hold her close. "I don't know. There are so many bits and pieces and they're all swirling around in my brain."

He turned her in his arms and looked at her. "You're tired. You stayed at it too long and your mind has rebelled." He saw the fatigue in the sag of her shoulders and a slightly out-of-focus look in her eyes. "I should have stopped you two hours ago."

She smiled wearily and shook her head. "Two hours ago, I wouldn't have let you pull me away."

"Will you come willingly now?" She nodded. "Let's see what Uncle Mike's plans are for supper. Maybe we'll all go to Maggie's and grab a bite." 

They found Mike on the phone, arguing about circulation figures. They stood close together by the window and looked out at the scenery. Stormwalker had seen the view before, but sharing it with Zan gave it new meaning.

As he glanced from side to side, the glint of sunlight on a polished surface caught his eye. A form materialized in the grass about a hundred yards away. He grabbed her and pulled her to the far side of the big wooden desk, then hauled Mike out of his chair. He pushed them to the floor and followed.

A series of shots slammed against the glass. Expecting it to shatter, he covered them with his body and buried his face to protect his eyes. The window remained intact.

"Stay here," he ordered, and before her protest could start, squeezed Zan's shoulder. "I mean it."

She waited behind the desk, following only when Mike charged outside. She ran to Stormwalker.

"He's gone," he said. He pointed to the ground. "Here's where he waited, where the grass has been trampled." His hand traced an area. "This is where he lay. Here's the imprint of his body." Stormwalker picked up a slender green blade. "This was broken early enough in the day to have dried out in the heat. The guy was out here a long time."

"Did he leave anything behind," Zan asked.

"Nothing much. He policed the area pretty thoroughly."

She knelt and examined the blind. "Here's a peach pit, still slightly moist, and this button."

"That could have come from any men's sport shirt."

Stormwalker sighted along an imaginary line to the wall of glass opposite them. "He was just under a hundred yards out."

They joined Mike, who had knelt at the base of the building to check the window.

"Did you know this glass was bullet proof?" Stormwalker asked.

"Not until now," Mike replied. "I'll have to thank the guys who installed it."

Zan held out a handkerchief cradling three spent shell casings. "Take a look at these, Stormwalker."

He examined the heads, flattened by their impact with the window. "Soft point, medium caliber. . . ." He looked at her. "Can you have someone do a ballistics test?"

"I'll ask Kenny Becker when I call to report the incident."

"How come you trust him?"

"Because Mac seems to. So unless something happens to change my mind, I will also." She shrugged. "And if nothing else, we can use him and his connections."

"Well, I don't like the guy. There's something not right about him."

"We'll be careful with what we give him."

"Why don't you call from my office," Mike suggested.

They went inside while Mike inspected the window again.

Kenny answered on the first ring and listened while Zan brought him up to date on the latest developments. "We need finger print and ballistics tests on the shells and a background check on Billy Winter. Maybe even a DNA test on the pit."

"Why do you think he was responsible for this incident?"

"Just a hunch. We want anything in his past that doesn't fit what we know about him."

"I don't know about that peach pit you mentioned. DNA testing is too expensive, but we can analyze the shells." After a pause he added, "I have to be out your way. Write up an incident report and get together whatever evidence you have. I’ll pick it all up and take it back with me.”

"When should we look for you?" she asked.

"In forty minutes. Maybe an hour."

An hour and forty minutes later, Zan and Stormwalker watched Kenny’s four-by-four head back to Crossroads with a meager collection of evidence, a half-dozen spent cartridges and a summary of what had happened.

"I’m going to take my grandmother home," Stormwalker said as they walked to his mother’s house. "This place isn’t safe."

"Will she be safe there?"

"More so than here."

"I’ll go with you," Zan said.

He nodded, satisfied that he wouldn’t have to leave her behind, possibly exposing her to another attack. Being out on the plain carried another brand of risk, but he felt confident he could handle whatever came at them.

They reached the house and climbed the porch steps. Her hand swept the mass of hair from her neck and then let it fall.

"When does it cool off around here?"

Stormwalker saw the gesture and felt desire stir as he remembered the silky feel of that hair against his skin. He reached out and caressed a lock clinging to her neck, then freed it from her damp skin to let it fall to her shoulder.

"I want to be alone with you," he said. The roughness of his voice surprised him. He looked at her, afraid she might laugh at him and the emotions that left him feeling like a raw, callow youth with his first love. Her eyes were dark and warm and filled with longing and he was comforted.

"After we make sure my grandmother is safe, I’ll take you to a place where you can escape the heat for a while." They went inside. "So how about you pack some food while I saddle the horses?"

She moved closer and whispered against the side of his face, "How about you pack some food while I saddle the horses?"

He rubbed his cheek against hers. "How about we do it together?"

Chapter 9