The Shadow Page 2

  This was the first time she’d heard his full name. He watched her whisper it as if getting a feel for it, and savoring the knowledge. Navajos didn’t readily give out their names, which were said to have power an enemy could use against a person. But on her lips, Jonas’s name became a caress, a promise.

  “I’ll be back in a minute. My phone is on the…bed.”

  As Emily walked down the short passage to pick up the cell phone, he watched her hips sway gently. His body tightened as memories of the past collided with their inescapable present.

  Cursing himself, he looked away. The past was gone. This was now and he had a job to do.

  EMILY ENDED THE CALL a few minutes later, then returned to sit across the table from him. “They know you at the sheriff’s office,” she said.

  “Some do, some don’t. Who did you speak to?”

  “A sergeant named Charlie Nez.”

  Jonas nodded. “He’s Navajo. We went to Shiprock High together…back in the stagecoach and wagon train days.”

  She laughed. He was trying to get her to relax and it was working. “They said they’d send out a deputy later to take our statements—long distances, and not so many officers, I guess.”

  Emily sipped her coffee. Her pulse had slowed to a normal rate, and now that she could think clearly, she knew there was more to Jonas’s visit than he’d told her. He hadn’t just shown up—he’d been watching her property. But for how long?

  Minutes of silence stretched out between them as questions circled in her mind. Tired of waiting for him to fill in the gaps, she decided to probe for answers. “My father had many clients, and he never discussed their business with me, but I get the impression that the work he did for the tribe had many layers.”

  She allowed what she hadn’t said to linger between them. Working as an innkeeper at a mountain resort east of Albuquerque had taught her that people often talked to hear the sound of their own voices, or to make sure their opinions still mattered. All you had to do was be willing to wait, and listen.

  Yet rules didn’t seem to apply to Jonas Slowman. When her patience finally stretched to the limit, she continued. “Was it me you were watching, or the men who attacked me? Just exactly what kind of work do you do for the tribe?”

  Jonas leaned back in his seat and regarded her for a moment. “I’m what’s best described as a vindicator—one who defends a cause—at least that’s the English equivalent. My work enables the tribe to continue to walk in beauty.”

  “How does that connect to my dad?”

  “Your father handled some delicate matters for our tribe. The circumstances surrounding his death have raised some questions for us, and I was sent to provide any help you might need.”

  She sat up abruptly. “Are you telling me that the tribe doesn’t think that what happened to Dad was just an accident?”

  Jonas remained quiet for several long moments. “We have no proof to the contrary, but questions remain. For example, your father was the last person to see one of our people—a man who’s now missing. We believe he may have been in your dad’s car when it crashed.”

  “You mean, somebody wandered off badly hurt and is out there somewhere?”

  “A search was conducted the day and night following the accident, and is still going on, but there’s been no sign of him. He may have caught a ride along the highway—or not. So far, we have nothing to go on.”

  “Who’s the missing man? Anyone I know?”

  “The tribe has its own reasons for wanting to keep his identity a secret for now.”

  “But the tribe thinks his disappearance might somehow be connected to what happened to Dad?”

  “The timing and other factors fit,” Jonas said with a nod. “If we’re right, and your father’s death wasn’t an accident, you can use someone like me around. I’m here to offer my services.”

  His unwavering gaze nearly tore her breath away, but she kept her wits about her. “I obviously need some form of security, but I can’t afford it right now. My funds are tied into the new construction. Dad and I were getting ready to build a vacation inn for people with special needs. But some of the funds we were expecting haven’t come in yet, so I’m living on a very tight budget.”

  “No payment’s necessary. I’ve got you covered,” he said.

  Seeing herself reflected in those intense dark eyes brought back a kaleidoscope of emotions that left her feeling weak at the knees. Sharing his sleeping bag…and what had happened next…had kept her from dying of hypothermia. But maybe what they’d shared hadn’t meant the same to him. For all she knew, he saw it as nothing more than an unusual one-nighter.

  The fact was she didn’t know, and maybe it was better that way. She needed to take him at face value now and stop looking back. Five years was a very long time. Jonas didn’t have a ring on his finger, but he’d obviously gone on with his life.

  “I can’t pay you, Jonas,” she said at last, “but I have something to offer. I’d be happy to search the property, talk to my neighbors and do whatever else you might need to find the missing man.”

  “There’s balance in what you propose,” he said. “I accept your arrangement.”

  “Is the missing man a vindicator like you?”

  He shook his head. “His service to the tribe goes above and beyond what I do.”

  “It would help if I could view a photo. I’d be happy to keep everything confidential.”

  “I’ll see if I can get you one,” he said.

  As she looked up at him, her heart skipped a beat. His face was chiseled and his expression as hard as steel—but it could be gentle, too, at the right moments. Though that was based on her memory of the past, she could see echoes of it in the coal-black eyes that held hers.

  Jonas was a walking temptation, his body lean and hard. Judging from the way he could fight, he was also the most dangerous man she’d ever met. He was like a strong wind that swept away everything in its path. But she needed more in her life than another unforgettable adventure. Her future depended on every decision she made, or failed to make, now.

  Wanting to put some distance between them, she began wiping down the counter, though it was perfectly clean.

  “What’s on your mind? Are you already having second thoughts about our deal?” he pressed.

  The fact that he could read her so easily startled her, but she rebounded quickly and did her best to cover. “If you’re right, I’m caught in something I just don’t understand, except that it seems connected to my dad and this place. But that’s not much to go on.” She swallowed hard. “I’m not a coward, but it’s hard to fight an enemy when you have no idea who that person is, and why he or she is after you.”

  “That’s why I’m here—to equalize the odds.”

  His voice was filled with an assurance and confidence that was contagious. “Welcome aboard then.” She smiled and reached out, offering to shake hands. Then, remembering Navajos didn’t believe in casual touch, she drew back. “Sorry.”

  Jonas reached for her hand and shook it. “You and I are hardly strangers.”

  A vivid image of her lying naked in his arms, their bodies pressed tightly together, flashed in her mind. The cold surrounding them had given way to heat….

  “You and I will start fresh today,” she said firmly, mostly for her own benefit. “History is only for those who like to live in the past.” Yet even as she spoke, she found it impossible not to notice the strength he kept in check or the hardness of his calloused palm. Though her insides were doing somersaults, she gave him an easy smile.

  “I’m here to do a job. And believe me when I tell you that I’m very good at what I do.” His voice was calm, yet had an unmistakable edge that caught her attention and held it. “You’ve never been safer.”

  The timbre of his voice sent a thrill up her spine. Jonas was the stuff dreams were made of. Somewhere along the way, he’d also acquired a quiet confidence that enhanced everything about him, and teased her imagination.

&n
bsp; Emily turned and poured herself another cup of coffee. She wasn’t just losing her sight, she was losing what was left of her mind. She had more problems now than she knew what to do with. The last thing she needed was another complication.

  Jonas was a temporary ally—that was all. As experience had repeatedly taught her, wishes were only the fragile whispers of a lonely heart.

  Chapter Two

  Shortly after eight the following morning, Emily noticed a patrol car in the distance motoring slowly down the highway.

  The deputies had told her last night when they’d come to take Jonas’s and her statements that they’d be increasing Jonas’s presence in the area.

  Standing at the sink of the trailer, Emily watched the main house from the small window. Jonas had insisted on sleeping outside. He’d parked his truck in a spot that allowed him to keep watch on her trailer, the construction materials and the main house.

  His presence reassured her even more than the added sheriff’s department deputies on patrol. Yet even so, she hadn’t been able to get much sleep last night. Thoughts and worries had chased each other in an endless circle.

  The news that her father might have been murdered had turned her world upside down. No matter how she looked at it, her life was now a maze of uncertainty filled with what-ifs.

  Emily took two mugs of coffee from the counter and stepped out of the trailer, trying to ignore the cold wind whipping against her. Halfway across the grounds, she glanced at the ten-by-twelve-foot concrete pad that had once been intended as a floor for her mother’s hobby room.

  Her mom had vanished the day before it was poured, thirteen years ago, and the structure had never gone beyond that first step. Emily’s dad had always believed that her mom would someday return, so he’d left it there, ready for completion when the time came. But her mom hadn’t come home. Eventually, the police had stopped searching for answers. As the years went by, her dad, too, had come to terms with their loss.

  Old doubts filled Emily’s mind as she thought about her mother. As a kid she’d spend many nights wondering if she’d somehow been the reason her mom had left.

  Taking a deep breath, she stopped those musings abruptly. Her mother had made her choice. Now new dreams would spring up where the old had been. That useless concrete pad would be replaced by a new foundation. Once the Tamarisk Inn was up and running, Emily would build her own private residence on that spot.

  As she reached the main house, she found Jonas by the back door, waiting. He was wearing low-slung jeans and a flannel shirt that fitted his wide shoulders snugly.

  “Good morning,” she called, and held up the mugs. “I brought a cup for you, too.”

  “Caffeinated?” he asked, sounding decidedly hopeful.

  “Nope. Never drink the stuff. It gives me the jitters.”

  “Then I guess this’ll have to do,” he answered with a martyred sigh. “Did you eat breakfast already?”

  “I had a piece of toast. I don’t generally have breakfast.” Feeling guilty when she realized he was probably hungry, she added, “But my fridge is full. Help yourself to whatever you’d like. I’ve got plenty of eggs, bread and milk.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll wait,” he answered, and followed her inside the house.

  The interior felt bitterly cold. Standing on a step stool, she lifted off the curtain rod and removed the drapes from one window. The morning light immediately spilled inside. Emily knew a wave of warmth would soon be flowing across the room.

  Not realizing Jonas was behind her, she stepped down from the stool, turned around with the curtains still in hand and ran right into his rock-hard chest. Her heart did a crazy somersault and awareness made her tingle all the way to her toes.

  “Excuse me,” she muttered as he steadied her.

  With a smile hovering around the corners of his mouth, he stepped aside.

  Avoiding his gaze, she moved from window to window, taking down the remaining curtains and folding them. She then packed them into cardboard boxes, trying her best to avoid looking at Jonas. He was leaning in the doorway, arms and ankles crossed.

  “Was last night the first time you had trouble with intruders?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, and explained about the break-in the day of her father’s funeral and the missing maps. “They were of different quadrants here on our land, but not particularly valuable.”

  He remembered his briefing. Diné Nééz, his contact, had raised the possibility that Dinétsoh might have gone to Fire Rock Hollow, the historical refuge legendary warriors like Manuelito had once used.

  Its location had been lost for nearly a century. Then one day, the attorney had found the turquoise key near some ruins on his property. He’d showed it to Dinétsoh, his friend and associate, and together they’d rediscovered the place.

  After that, Dinétsoh, appointed the cave’s new guardian, had kept the key with him, and to honor the past, had stocked the refuge with provisions. At the time of the accident, Dinétsoh and Powell Atkins had been on their way to conclude the sale that would have given the tribe ownership of that parcel of land.

  “How will you deal with your father’s papers?” Jonas asked, glancing into what had been Powell Atkins’s office.

  “I don’t have time to do much sorting, so I’m placing everything in storage. If there’s anything in there that pertains to the tribe, you’re welcome to it. Dad also had some papers in his safe-deposit box in town. I haven’t looked through those yet, except to get a few documents I needed right away, like his will, tax forms and the mortgage papers.”

  “You should go through everything he placed in the bank as soon as possible. You might find some answers there,” Jonas advised, entering the office and glancing around. It was possible that Emily’s father had hidden something others wanted badly enough to kill for.

  Emily stood by a window, gazing at the row of stacked lumber and construction materials opposite the house. “I think those men last night were trying to burn me out, beginning with my building materials.”

  “Losing all that lumber and sheeting would have cost you thousands of dollars.”

  “It would have been a disaster,” she agreed in a whisper. “I honestly don’t know if I could have recovered from a loss like that. My insurance rates would have doubled or tripled, and replacing the materials would have been extremely costly. Everything’s gone up so much lately.”

  “You should consider going away for a while and staying someplace safe—at least until we can figure out what you’re up against.” As he glanced at Emily, Jonas saw her back straighten and her chin jut out in defiance. “It was just a suggestion.”

  “No one’s going to chase me away,” she declared, facing him squarely. Then she exhaled softly and in a whisper added, “Life’s not taking anything else away from me—not without a fight.”

  The last part obviously hadn’t been meant for his ears, but the haunting sense of isolation that had resonated in her words touched him deeply. His thoughts drifted back to an afternoon at an Afghan border village and the few hours that had changed him forever. One moment’s distraction, a suicide bomber, then bodies everywhere.

  He’d sworn back then never to lower his guard again. Life was about survival, and to do that, you had to fight to stay in control—of yourself and your situation. That required constant vigilance and a fighting spirit that refused surrender—a spirit like Emily’s.

  “Just hang tough, Em. I’ll help you finish what you’ve set out to do.” His words carried the power of authority and utter conviction.

  “Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep,” she retorted.

  “I get things done. You can count on that.” As she glanced up at him he saw the flicker in her eyes, and recognized the return of hope. “I need to go meet someone, but I’ll be back soon.”

  “Take your time. I’ll be fine. It’s broad daylight. What can happen?”

  He didn’t answer. Jonas gave her one last look as she sat beneath the open
window, placing papers into folders, then packing them into boxes.

  Something else about Emily had changed. There was a quiet dignity about her that was new, and it intrigued him. He’d seen much the same look on the faces of fellow Rangers going into battle. He wasn’t sure how that fit yet, but it was that same quiet courage he saw in Emily now.

  JONAS DROVE TO A HILLOCK halfway to the highway, where cell phone reception would be stronger, and privacy insured. He had no doubt that last night’s incident would already be known to Diné Nééz. The man had contacts everywhere in the Four Corners and there was little he missed.

  He climbed out of his pickup and walked into the bosque, as the wooded area was called, stopping beside a thicket of salt cedars. Before he’d even finished dialing, Jonas felt it—a wave of movement in the air.

  He bent at the knees, automatically making himself a smaller target as he turned. Just then he saw Diné Nééz appear from behind an old cottonweed tree scarred by age and the elements.

  The middle-aged Navajo nodded to Jonas, and gestured for him to put away the phone. There was no need for it now. “We’ve had someone watching since the report to the police came in last night. The tracks left by the two men ended near the highway, so there’s not much I can offer you on that, but if you run into more trouble than you can handle, call. Backup will be twenty minutes away or less.”

  “My priority remains the woman?”

  “Yes. We’re handling the search for Dinétsoh. But if you come across something that reveals his whereabouts, pursue the lead.”

  “Those men weren’t there just to set fires. I think they were coming for her. She either knows something that she’s not aware of, or is an obstruction to whatever plan they have.”

  “It’s also possible that others are searching for Dinétsoh, and last night’s events were just a diversion,” Diné Nééz said.

  “Has word gotten out about the bearer bonds?” Jonas asked quickly.