“Yes. I mean, no. I came here to give you this.” He grabbed one of her hands and covered it with one of his own.
She felt something cold and hard in her palm. He closed her fingers around it.
“I really am sorry. And I’m probably half in love with you. I don’t know. All I know for sure is that you deserve better than the way I treated you. I should have respected your beliefs, respected you, believed in you.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. He squeezed her hand in his. “I hope you find the right Sagittarius one day.”
He turned around and walked out of the store.
Faye uncurled her fingers and looked down at what lay in her palm. The centaur, holding up the set of scales. The same one Calvin had tossed into the swamp. She blinked at it in confusion.
“He dove into that alligator-clogged cesspit to find that for you.” Buddy stood in front of her now. He pointed at the figurine. “He had some fancy-shmancy underwater metal detector. Had all of us stand on the bank and shoot the water to scare the gators away so he could keep diving until he found that. Even so, there were a couple of close calls. Had to drag him out a couple of times or he’d have sacrificed himself to the alligators for you. But he wouldn’t quit, wouldn’t stop going back in the water until he found that. I don’t know what that little figurine means to you, but apparently he thought it meant enough to you to risk his life for it.” He cocked a brow. “So what are you going to do about that?”
The other old-timers gathered around him in a circle, grumbling and adding “yeah, yeah” on top of Buddy’s statement, as if suddenly she’d become the bad guy in this scenario.
Freddie sidled up to her and put her arm around her shoulders. She dabbed at her eyes and sniffed. “Well? Don’t just stand there. Go get him.”
Faye handed the figurine to Freddie and ran to the front window. She had to push half the townspeople aside to look out at the street.
“His car is gone! He already left.”
“Faye, catch,” Buddy called out.
She turned around and caught the keys he threw to her. “Thanks, Buddy!”
“Don’t thank me. Just hurry.”
She turned and ran out the front door.
* * *
HE SHOULD HAVE washed the egg off his car somehow before he’d left Mystic Glades. Jake punched the windshield washer button again. Half the fluid shot up on top of the roof instead of on the windshield, rewetting the egg that had already dried and making it slide down onto the windows. He shook his head in disgust.
Something black ran across the road in front of him. He swerved to avoid it, sliding sideways to a bumpy stop. Sampson. The panther stopped at the edge of the trees and looked back. If Jake didn’t know better, he’d swear the panther was grinning at him. It disappeared into the swamp and Jake took off again. He rounded the next curve. His eyes widened and he slammed on his brakes again.
When his car shuddered to a complete stop, he sat there staring in disbelief at what was sitting in the middle of the road: Buddy’s swamp buggy, squatting like a World War II tank ready to take out anything that tried to pass. And standing in front of it, pointing a rifle at him—as usual—was Faye.
Great. Just great. He shoved the door open. Just as he was getting out, a gooey piece of egg slid off the roof onto his head.
Wonderful.
He sloughed it off, shook his head and shuffled reluctantly to confront the little armed pixie waiting for him. She tossed the rifle down when he reached her.
“You have egg on your face,” she said.
He sighed. “Yes. I know. I admit it. I screwed up. I’m a jerk. A slimeball. Or the worst insult Buddy could think of this afternoon, a ‘city slicker.’ I’m in total agreement with all of the above.”
Her brows creased. “What? Oh. No, no, no. I mean, literally. You have egg on your face. You... Here. Just, let me...” She reached up and wiped his face. A glob of yellow fell to the road.
“Perfect,” he mumbled. “Anything else?”
“Just this.” She put her arms around his neck and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He stumbled back against his car with her in his arms and plopped down on the hood. “Um, okay, what, ergmgf—”
She covered his mouth with hers and scorched him with a searing kiss. When she pulled back, all he could do was wait for the punch line. Because this was not what he’d expected.
“Say something,” she said.
“I...I don’t even know where to begin. I thought you were going to shoot me, not kiss me. I’m getting mixed signals here.”
She lightly punched him in the arm. “Are all city slickers this slow? Don’t you get it? You were wrong, back at the store.”
Now, this was what he’d expected. “I know. I’m sorry.”
She rolled her eyes. “You were wrong because you think I still need to find my Sagittarius. Jake, I don’t need to search anymore. I’ve already found my perfect Sagittarius, my fate, my future. You.”
He blinked, certain he couldn’t be hearing her right. “But I was terrible to you. I didn’t believe in you. I left you.”
“Oh come on. Seriously? Even if you’re a PI, you’re still a cop. You have standards. You thought I was a criminal. Did you hurt me by walking out? Yes. But I understood why you did it.” She kissed the tip of his nose. “You’re spiritually challenged.”
“Spiritually...what?”
“You don’t understand fate the way I do. And it’s only been a few days. You need time to come to grips with everything, to understand that you and I are meant to be together. It’s okay. You’ve come a long way in a short amount of time. I’ll be here to teach you what you need to know. I’ll be patient with you.”
“Faye, sweetheart. I have no idea what you’re saying. But I hope what you mean is that you forgive me.”
She punched his arm again, a little harder this time.
He winced.
“Of course I forgive you,” she said, smiling.
He swallowed hard. “Okay. And the rest of what you said, it means...you’re not going to shoot me?”
She let out a big sigh. “It means, sweetheart, that it’s time for plan D.”
He frowned. “Plan D?”
She curled her fingers into the front of his shirt, all signs of humor gone, her emerald green eyes searching his. “That’s the part where you fall in love with me.”
He stared at her in wonder, stunned at his good fortune, at the amazing, incredible woman who had burst into his life. And completely undone by the love shining in her eyes. For him. In spite of all his faults, in spite of all the mistakes he’d made, she loved him. And all she asked in return was that he fall in love with her.
His hands shook as he cupped her face in his palms. “Too late,” he whispered, “I already did that.” He covered her mouth with his.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781460388358
Missing in the Glades
Copyright © 2015 by Lena Diaz
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system,
in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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He wanted justice. For his family. For her.
Elite tracker Kino Cosen is hunting for the drug lord who murdered his father. After a decade of searching, he’s finally got the Viper in his sight—until a woman gets in the way. Now Kino has a new lead. Aid worker Lea Atlaha has seen the Viper face-to-face…and lived.
But now Lea’s a target. And while Kino thinks he’s protecting her because she can help him get justice for his father, he soon realizes that she’s not just another witness. As the Viper moves in for the kill, Kino has to choose between his need for vengeance, the traditions of his tribe and the woman he has grown to love.
“Where are we going?”
“My place.”
She lifted her head and stared, eyes narrowing as if trying to decipher his intentions. Funny, to think of that sort of danger after all the other threats she had faced today.
“I’m not comfortable with that.”
“You don’t need to be comfortable. You need to be safe. I can make sure he doesn’t get to you.”
When she spoke, her voice seemed almost sedated, as out of focus as her gaze. “Maybe I could stay with a friend.”
“That would just put the friend in the crosshairs.”
She rubbed her arms and rocked back and forth. “I can’t stay with you all night.”
“Lea, think for a minute. You need protection. Nowhere else is safe.”
“I could go home.”
“To Salt River? He’ll follow.”
She slapped her hands on her thighs in frustration. “You make him sound like an unstoppable robot or something.”
“Yeah. Exactly, but with one important difference. I can kill him.”
SHADOW WOLF
Jenna Kernan
Jenna Kernan writes fast-paced romantic suspense, Western and paranormal romantic adventures. She has penned over two dozen novels, has received two RITA® Award nominations, and in 2010 won the Book Buyers Best Award for her debut paranormal romance. Jenna loves an adventure. Her hobbies include recreational gold-prospecting, scuba diving and gem-hunting. Follow Jenna on Twitter, @jennakernan, on Facebook or at jennakernan.com.
Books by Jenna Kernan
Harlequin Intrigue
Apache Protectors
Shadow Wolf
Harlequin Historical
Gold Rush Groom
The Texas Ranger’s Daughter
Wild West Christmas
A Family for the Rancher
Running Wolf
Harlequin Nocturne
Dream Stalker
Ghost Stalker
Soul Whisperer
Beauty’s Beast
The Vampire’s Wolf
The Shifter’s Choice
Visit the Author Profile page at
Harlequin.com for more titles.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Kino Cosen—This Apache tribe police officer is on loan to Immigration & Customs Enforcement with the elite Shadow Wolf unit of trackers who are working to stem the tide of narcotics traffickers through the Rez. But Kino is hunting something else, his father’s killer, the infamous cartel drug boss known as the Viper.
Lea Altaha—Her work with Oasis, setting up water stations in the Sonora Desert, saves lives but also puts her in the middle of cartel business. She’s the only one alive who has seen the face of the Viper.
Bill Moody—Just a sheep farmer who is anxious to get the drug traffickers off his land. But then why does he seem to be thwarting their investigation?
Anthony DeClay—He runs Oasis, the aid organization charged with providing water stations in the harsh desert, but now he’s setting up illegal stations on federal and Indian land. He seems like a humanitarian, but is he?
Charlie Scott—Is the new chief of police for the Tohono O’odham Tribe and offers his assistance to the border patrol investigations. But he’s not Native and his outsider status makes him a suspect.
Gus Barrow—Border Patrol Captain and longtime veteran of the fight against the flood of drugs and violence from the cartels. He seems incorruptible, but is he?
Rick Rubio—Is Apache and captain of the Shadow Wolves, the elite Native American unit of trackers working under Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). Kino trusts him with his life.
Glendora Clawson—Kino’s grandmother who raised him and his brothers after their parents’ deaths. She has brought up “her” boys to be proud Apache and has just discovered that her granddaughter might not have died in an auto crash ten years earlier.
Clay Cosen—Kino’s next oldest brother has always been the wild one, but when trouble comes, this expert tracker for the Black Mountain Apache Tribe has got his brother’s back.
Gabe Cosen—The second to the oldest, Gabe is the chief of the Tribal Police on Sacred Mountain, but is he willing to use his resources off the Rez to keep Kino safe?
Clyne Cosen—Kino’s oldest brother is a member of the Apache Tribal Counsel. His first responsibility is the tribe’s welfare and right now that includes his little brother Kino.
For Jim, always.
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAPTER ONE
Kino Cosen wondered if this trail might be the one that would finally lead him to his father’s killer. Ten years he’d waited but he’d never been this close. Smugglers were dying, killed by the Viper. If he just had a little luck, he might finally be at the right place and at the right time.
He pulled the truck to the shoulder of the road on the lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation, which were just two miles from the Mexico border. Waves of heat undulated across the asphalt road as the June sun blazed down on the Sonoran Desert from a clear blue sky. His brother Clay opened the door of the SUV and the heat hit Kino like a furnace blast, eliminating all traces of AC in the time it took to take one single breath. He started sweating as he grabbed his rifle from the rack behind the seat. Clay took his from the opposite side.
Kino left the vehicle to investigate the solitary footprint where someone had stepped from the asphalt before returning to the impenetrable surface. This was the only visible sign of the smuggler’s passing. But farther up, he saw more tracks.
His brother slammed the passenger door shut and swore. “And this
isn’t even the hot part of the year.”
“They crossed here,” said Kino, pointing to the narrow gap of open ground between two thorny bushes. His brother fingered a bent branch.
Clay, the better tracker, saw things that even Kino missed. He squatted to study the imprints upon the sandy ground.
“Carpet shoes,” he said and stood, returning his attention to the unrelenting sun. “If we were home I’d be tracking elk right now instead of men.”
“Not men. Man. Just one and these guys can lead me right to him. Then we can head home.”
“It won’t change anything,” said Clay.
“Family first,” said Kino, echoing his father’s favorite expression.
Clay made a sound through his teeth before backtracking to the vehicle to retrieve their water. When he returned, he handed Kino his bottle and they both clipped the plastic containers to their belts, leaving their hands free for the rifles. Kino also carried his service pistol, a semiautomatic, but Clay would not carry one. It was a difference between them. Kino was the law and Clay an ex-con. Not a felony, but since his release, his brother despised handguns. Their captain, Rick Rubio, had told Clay he could carry, but to no avail.
Prepared to track on foot, they stepped into the thorny brush, following the faint depressions left by the distinctive carpet-soled shoes that marked the trespassers as smugglers. Clay went first and then Kino.
“Another,” said Kino, pointing at the slight disruption of the unbroken sand. The indentation was small and circular, definitely a track.
“Good work, little brother,” said Clay, slapping him on the back, making his shirt and bulletproof vest stick to his shoulders. “How many?”
Harlequin Intrigue, Box Set 1 of 2 Page 37
