Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  Reagan was hiding behind a cedar tree, text messaging with the Brotherhood, when she heard the sound of a gun exploding. Kody?

  She didn’t waste a second before calling the FBI. Good thing she’d stored their direct number in her Blackberry. Explaining that she was calling at Kody’s request, she answered their questions quickly and accurately. Agent Long would’ve been proud.

  During the whole conversation, Reagan kept moving through the trees toward the last place she’d spotted Kody. She’d followed him earlier because she’d been terrified for him.

  Hesitating behind a tree at the edge of the grassy yard next to the trailer, Reagan hung up with the FBI and tried to catch her breath. Where was Kody? She couldn’t see anything from this position.

  Did she dare sneak any closer? Damn straight she would. Taking one small step into the open, Reagan was stunned when someone grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back to the sheltering shade of the tree trunk.

  Ohmigod. One of the terrorists?

  She spun around, ready to kick and scratch. But Hunter stood there, shushing her while at the same time working his own cell phone in silent text messaging.

  Finally he stopped for a second. “There aren’t enough of us to rush them. The Brotherhood has the place surrounded, but the bad guys have barricaded themselves inside. Not sure, but I think there’s about six of them.”

  “The FBI is on the way,” she whispered. “Where’s Kody? Is he…?”

  Hunter smiled and raised one eyebrow. “You called in the feds? How long ago?”

  “A few minutes. Please. Is Kody all right?”

  “Looked fit as ever to me. He almost managed to take out one of the terrorists. Winged the guy’s shooting arm. But it was up to me to finish the job when that half-dead terrorist rose up a few minutes later and took a bead on my brother’s back…using his left arm.”

  She gasped and tried to drag in air.

  “Kody’s headed back to the pickup with your father,” Hunter hurriedly told her.

  The distant sound of helicopters suddenly interrupted their quiet conversation. Hunter looked skyward, then flipped open his cell phone and sent a message.

  In a minute he turned to her again. “You haven’t left yet? The Bird People say there are enough FBI agents headed this way to take care of everything. I don’t think you want to be here when they arrive.

  “Wouldn’t you rather check on your father?” he added.

  Reagan gave a start, then smiled. “Is the Brotherhood waiting for the bad guys to be rounded up?”

  “The Bird People have volunteered to remain and keep the terrorists contained until the feds take over,” Hunter told her with a solemn nod. “There are many other places where the rest of us can be useful today.”

  That was all she needed to hear. She quickly started back through the trees toward Kody and her father.

  The FBI would come and arrest the terrorists simply because they were here illegally. And the feds would never even know about the Brotherhood’s role in finding them. Or about one Navy commander who had been kidnapped during his vacation on the reservation.

  18

  “D ad’s fine this morning,” Reagan told Kody two days later. “The drugs are almost out of his system.”

  “Sheik Bashshar’s health seems better today, too,” he replied. “But I understand he’s roaring mad. Claims he lost several hundred million dollars to a weird guy who sometimes has fangs and pointed ears.”

  Kody couldn’t stop the chuckle. “The story he’s telling is so twisted, I don’t think the Bureau will ever connect your father to any of it.”

  “What does the FBI have to say about his story?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “They’re nodding and taking notes, but they don’t say much. In fact, my supervisor says the Washington big shots are racing through paperwork trying to get him and his buddies into a detention camp. Should be some interesting interrogations there.”

  Reagan looked so beautiful this morning with the sunshine adding scarlet highlights to her hair. He wanted to hold her, to soothe her the way he had before. But he sensed she wouldn’t be receptive to him. That harsh knowledge took a hammer to his balance.

  “Dad called his C.O.,” she said with a small shrug. “I’m going back to White Sands with him today so he can surrender. I’m not sure how much trouble he’s in, because he has the plans back in his possession…all thanks to you.”

  “Getting the plans out of that trailer is all thanks to the Bird People. The FBI wasn’t ready for the whole truth. They never even realized what happened.”

  Kody knew because he’d called in to his field office a few minutes ago. He’d planned to go back to work today himself. But all that could change, if…

  “Do you want me to come with you, Red? I could act as a witness. Or I could—”

  Reagan shook her head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” She hesitated, refusing to look at him. “Listen, the Dine need you here. You’ve made vows to the Brotherhood.”

  She didn’t want him with her? Kody felt a sharp pain in the vicinity of his heart. But he steeled himself to show nothing.

  “Yeah,” he managed to grunt past his closed throat. “So will you come back after you get your dad settled?”

  This time she turned around and spoke over her shoulder. “No, that’s not such a hot idea, either. An Anglo woman doesn’t belong here. You said so yourself.”

  He took her shoulders and gently tugged her around until she was facing him. “I may have been wrong,” he rasped. “My father was an Anglo married to one of the People and he fit in okay. Others do it, too.”

  She was slowly shaking her head now and the panic built in his gut. “Reagan, come back to me. Don’t walk away. We have something. I—I…”

  “You can’t break your vow,” she said with a half sob. “If you did, I’m afraid you would grow to hate yourself…and you’d end up hating me, too.”

  He dropped his hands to his sides in defeat. Damned if she wasn’t right—as usual.

  But he couldn’t possibly let her go without giving her a piece of his spirit. Something to remember on cold, cruel nights. He had dozens of images of her to hold on to through the passage of time, but she might not even remember him next week.

  Hoping he could get the meaning across in a coherent enough manner, he decided that including a few vaguely remembered lines from an old Native American poem wouldn’t hurt. Those words would say what he really felt so much better than he ever could.

  “I will stay with my clan and be true to my heritage as I promised,” Kody began, taking her hand. “But I want you to know that I’ll always be with you, too. When you hear the rain falling on the ground, take a look around. I’ll be there. I will be the wind in your hair, the sunshine on your face…the beating of your heart during a thunderstorm. That will be me.”

  Kody looked into her eyes and saw tears and realized he was causing her pain. He couldn’t stand hurting her.

  He dropped her hand and stepped back. “From now on, you will never be alone again. Someone will always be walking beside you, Red. Forever.”

  Then he turned and did the hardest thing he’d ever attempted. He walked away from the only person that could’ve saved him from a lifetime of loneliness.

  “You have lost your harmony, brother.” Hunter sat at the wide kitchen table at their cousin’s hogan, shaking his head in that slight, almost imperceptible Navajo way.

  “Is this meeting about me?” Kody demanded irritably.

  Lucas Tso tilted his chin slightly in answer. “It has been a month since the computer woman left Dinetah. Since then you have developed a sickness of the heart. But what you have cannot be cured by any ancient medicine or chants.”

  Kody felt the fury building in his chest. Members of the Brotherhood were smart and he was loyal to them. But they had no right to tell him…

  “Listen with your heart and not your head, cousin.” Dr. Ben Wauneka spoke in low tones but with steely determ
ination. “There are many ways for the evil ones to win without lifting a finger. We cannot stand silent and watch one of our own be felled without a shot.”

  Kody had great respect for his cousin Ben, but this was butting in where he had no business. “Look. I might be a little off balance, but I’ll turn it around. It just takes time. You can’t rush these things.”

  Dammit. He really hoped that what he’d just said was the truth. Losing Reagan was killing him. His life seemed like walking death without her.

  “A warrior cannot ask for more time from an enemy,” Michael Ayze interjected. “The greatest break for the evil ones is your loss of concentration and harmony. With you as a weak link, the Brotherhood will be lost.”

  “You want me to leave the Brotherhood?” Kody was astounded. Could they really be kicking him out?

  Hunter smiled. “You are too good a warrior to lose, Bro. The Brotherhood needs more warriors, not less.”

  “More?”

  “Sit down, cousin. We have a proposition to put to you,” Ben said with an ironic smile. “The answer to your sickness lies with Reagan Wilson. That is clear to all. And we need you here, to fight the evil ones.”

  Kody sat down and rested his chin on his fist. “Yeah. But she’s already rejected my—”

  Hunter shook his head and interrupted. “Hear us out. We were impressed by her computer work and text messaging at Three Eagles. The Brotherhood needs to use modern methods. The Skinwalkers have proved that though they are using ancient powers, they are also using advanced technology to stay ahead of us.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “We would like your woman to join our side in the war,” Lucas said. “Her genius will make for a more even fight.”

  “What?” He was stunned. Would she? Could she?

  “She thinks the People won’t accept her, that you…” Lucas waved his hands. “The woman is too smart to believe in that. She spoke those words with no meaning in order to give you a way out. Ask again.”

  “I don’t…I’m not sure she’ll believe me. If you want her in the Brotherhood, couldn’t one of you ask?”

  Hunter smiled again. “You must ask her yourself. But, yes, we have also prepared the way.”

  “Huh?”

  “Our birth mother and the one who gave birth to the Brotherhood are traveling to your woman now. They will prepare her for clan life. She will be expected to join the family.”

  “Mother and Shirley Nez? They left Dinetah?”

  “Your woman has been staying in Albuquerque with her father. Our mother and Shirley will be meeting with her in their brother’s hogan there. Don’t worry. The elders will be safe with their clan, and they don’t mind being modern for Reagan’s sake.”

  “Oh.” Now Kody was nearly speechless. But a tiny spurt of hope began to grow in his gut.

  It might work. Maybe. Reagan was definitely the kind to feel a strong responsibility to do good work, and to be loyal to a cause. Wasn’t she the one who had reminded him of his vows?

  “How soon will you leave?” The question came from Michael Ayze, who had been sitting quietly in a shadowed corner.

  “Leave?”

  “Go now,” Hunter demanded. “The sooner you have full concentration again, the sooner the Brotherhood will be back in harmony and ready to do battle.”

  Yes, Kody agreed silently as he stood and checked off the moves it would take to get himself and his vehicle ready to travel the three hundred miles to Albuquerque. Now was the best time to find out whether his life could be put back in balance. Or whether he was doomed to forever wander as only half a man.

  Reagan quietly sipped her tea, hoping the two older women wouldn’t see how badly her hands were shaking. They looked so solemn, almost scary. Why had they invited her to visit with them? Had she done something wrong? Broken some taboo?

  For the last month, she had been checking regularly on Mrs. Long’s health—first in the hospital and then by calling her after she had been released. Reagan knew the sweet woman was healing, almost miraculously. Her bruising was completely gone and she was down to a removable, temporary cast on the wrist.

  Thinking of Kody’s mother and how kind she was gave Reagan a warm feeling. Unfortunately, the feeling was followed by a hollow thump in her chest. It had been a long month of tears for Reagan, aching for the man she had left behind.

  Many times she’d caught herself wishing that Mrs. Long was her own mother. How different her life would’ve been if only she’d had someone that kind and easy to talk to in her own family.

  Family? Ha. That was a misnomer if there ever was one. Reagan had no real family. Just people who were related to her by genes and money.

  Her dad had turned out to be a good person, of course. And had also turned out to be a lot like her. But maybe that was the problem. He was too much like her. A genius, surely. But scatterbrained and so focused on science and computers that he had very little real life. Reagan had finally figured out how he could’ve gone for all those years not knowing that his wife was taking drugs.

  “How is your birth father, my daughter?” Mrs. Long asked, as if reading her mind.

  “He’s well, thank you. The Navy inquiry into his actions is finished. They’ve decided to have him quietly retire from the service.

  “He’ll be continuing with his work, however,” Reagan added. “The country needs his ideas. But he’ll be working as a government-contracted consultant. My guess is Navy security will plan to stick much closer to him in the future.”

  “Will that be troublesome for him?” Shirley asked.

  “No. I doubt if he’ll even notice the difference.”

  “And how is your work?” Mrs. Long asked. “Have you extended your leave of absence?”

  Reagan shook her head slowly. This was the first time since she’d decided on her new future that she would be faced with explaining herself to someone else. Her life was so very different now than it had been before she’d come to the reservation looking for her father. She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk about it just yet.

  Certainly these days she had a more open mind about what was reality and what was in the realm of possibility. The idea of Skinwalkers no longer seemed like a fantasy. But that was only a minor blip in what had turned out to be life-altering changes.

  Her former work for NASA didn’t hold nearly the same fascination as it had before. She’d come to the conclusion that her best course of action would be to put in a request to become a contracted consultant like her father.

  Working on limited and part-time projects sounded like a great idea for now. It would allow her the time to do the other things she’d decided were most important in life.

  Things like volunteering to help others. She wasn’t sure yet exactly where or how, but she was convinced that helping people was what she was meant to do. Since she’d managed to assist the Brotherhood with their war, she’d discovered a new way of thinking about life’s true meaning.

  But somewhere buried inside her gut, Reagan knew that one of her reasons for change was purely selfish. Helping others would take her mind off the pain of not seeing Kody.

  Shirley Nez’s smile widened. “The Dine are worthy of your consideration.”

  “What?” This time it was almost as if the woman had actually read her mind.

  “You appear to be at a crossroads in life. We have come to ask for your help, and hope you will consider what we have to say.”

  “Oh? Well, yes. I’m willing to listen.”

  Both women nodded, while their faces grew somber. In low tones, they explained the Brotherhood’s growing need for her technological and scientific expertise. She asked them several questions, mostly about living arrangements and workloads. But the big questions stayed buried in her heart.

  “So, I would be living in your home, Mrs. Long? With you?” Reagan was afraid to ask where Kody would be. Neither of the women had mentioned him at all.

  Kody’s mother smiled. “The Begay clan has not yet b
een consulted, but this old woman has decided it is time for change. I will be marrying soon, and moving to Farmington.”

  “Marrying? Who?” Now wasn’t that just the rudest question? Reagan hoped Mrs. Long would forgive her.

  “Once again, I will be joining with an Anglo,” Mrs. Long answered openly. “But the man I join this time has a large clan of his own. Many grown children and grandchildren.”

  “How wonderful for you,” Reagan blurted.

  Suddenly she could see that the older woman must be deeply in love. It was right there in her eyes. Reagan wondered if that same look was in her own eyes.

  “I hope my sons will see the vision of my future with your eyes,” Mrs. Long said wryly.

  “The Brotherhood needs your help, my child,” Shirley stated. “They will arrange for you to be comfortable. And I will be there to be sure they do.”

  The whole Brotherhood? Did that include Kody?

  “But I thought the People were prejudiced against whites,” she began hesitantly. “Will they make my life difficult?”

  Mrs. Long touched her arm. “No one can make your life difficult but you. If you come to Dinetah with an open heart, and if your truest wish is to help and to learn the Way, then the People will be open and giving in return.

  “I only hope I will find my new Anglo clan and neighbors to be so open and giving,” Kody’s mother added with a touch of wistfulness.

  “I can’t imagine anyone, anywhere, not loving you immediately.” Reagan almost cried, thinking of how much she would miss talking to Mrs. Long on the phone. “I’ll really miss you.”

  “I won’t be far, daughter. An hour or two at most. We can still speak on the telephone. And I’ve agreed with the man who will be my new husband that I should learn what he calls ‘e-mail.’ You do such a thing, do you not?”

  Reagan smiled, even way down in her soul, where dark loneliness had been her emotional companion for weeks now. She talked on with the two older women another few minutes, but no one seemed ready to talk about Kody.

  She wasn’t positive she could stand to live on the reservation, being nearby and working with him, and never…never…That just might take much more courage than she’d found over the last month. Battling Skinwalkers and saving her father had not prepared her for the most daring undertaking of her life.