Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  She felt a sob well up in her chest. But there were no more tears left in her dehydrated body.

  Oh, please send someone to save her and Tara, she prayed. She couldn’t let herself imagine that this would be her end. Perhaps she should try bargaining with God for her life. She wasn’t ready to die.

  From his hiding place, Hunter could hear the two men’s conversation. And he knew Bailey must hear it, too. Did she understand the Navajo words? It didn’t matter much. He was positive she understood their meaning.

  Even in the dark he was impressed by how calm she looked. Safely hidden behind a creosote bush within twenty feet of her, he let his eyes devour her image. It had been eight long years, but his body reacted to her nearness the same way it always had.

  Though what he’d first thought he’d seen was really his memory. He looked again. Bailey’s very real cuts and bruises were evident even without the infrared glasses. The skirt and jacket she wore were hanging on her frame by mere threads. She had been abused and probably starved, but his mind had refused to accept the current vision of his long-ago lover.

  Over the years he had seen a few pictures of her in magazines and newspapers. So he wasn’t surprised by the different cut of her hair. Still, he couldn’t stop remembering how he had wrapped her long brunette curls around his fingers. Of how the silken strands would lie across his chest when they made love, and of how sensual and inviting they’d felt gliding against his belly in the heat of passion.

  He shook his head and chided himself. This was no time to dream of the past. Bailey had made it clear when she left that their relationship was over for good.

  It had been for the best, actually. Hunter had been too young then to comprehend how to keep himself in balance and still have all those erotic and chaotic feelings about her. But never again. He was a much tougher man today. The Skinwalkers were throwing the whole of Dinetah out of harmony, and yet most of the time he still managed to find peace within himself.

  Back in the present, Hunter needed to focus so he could figure out the best way to get Bailey and the baby away. He thought for a second of killing both men. As a sworn officer of the law, he had the authority to use deadly force. That would certainly be one way to avenge their savagery.

  But there were a few very good reasons not to kill them that he had better consider before he did anything rash. The first of those was the dark, moonless night. Though he had brought his infrared binoculars, the rifle was not equipped with a night scope.

  He’d been watching the two men for a while, and the Navajo with the wild eyes never completely took his hands off the baby. No matter what else he did, that man obviously intended to deliver his precious package or die trying. If Hunter did manage to take him out while keeping the infant alive, he knew the other guy would get to the baby before he could take a second shot.

  Unfortunately, that meant that killing both men in the dark would very probably endanger the child’s life more than was acceptable.

  Then there was the possibility that their bosses were Skinwalkers. It seemed highly unlikely that these two were anything but hired help.

  If Hunter killed them and then had to walk both an injured Bailey and the baby back out of the wilderness, he would be leaving them all open to attack. Skinwalkers would find them with no trouble and he would be hard-pressed to defend the two victims by himself.

  He watched for a couple more minutes as the first man urged the baby to drink a few sips of water. Then both guys sat down to share rations they’d taken from a beat-up pack one of them had been carrying. They ignored Bailey, who was about fifty feet away and starting to nod off.

  Would these two also take a nap? They didn’t seem interested in whether Bailey got away or not. The main target of this kidnapping was obviously the baby. They must not know who the other hostage really was.

  Hunter sat back on his heels and considered all the options. Taking both victims seemed impossible to do safely, presuming he could even manage to kill both men. He wasn’t sure exactly where they were headed, but one had said it was only a few more hours away. Did Hunter dare take Bailey all the way out to civilization and leave the baby until he could come back?

  If it were just him, he could climb the cliffs and mesas out of here and be back to his SUV in a few short hours. But he seriously doubted that Bailey was healthy enough to make the trip so fast.

  While he continued to watch and consider, the men quieted and both seemed to fall asleep, the one curling himself around the baby’s carrier. The time to make a decision was at hand.

  Bailey tried not to fall asleep, though her body was screaming for rest. She wanted to keep watching the two creeps, and was petrified of never waking up.

  Or, God forbid, Mr. Smelly Jacquez would decide he’d grown weary of her and simply walk away, leaving her behind. She wouldn’t stand a chance out here in the wilderness, all alone with her hands tied.

  As long as she was alive, there was an opportunity to buy her freedom. So the minute she saw them begin to gather their things to finish the journey, she intended to start negotiating for her life.

  But she was so tired. And she was so damn cold. When the sun went down, the temperature dropped a few degrees every hour. It must now be thirty degrees colder than it was during the day.

  Pulling her knees up, she tried to roll into a ball to stay warm. But the effort completely exhausted her. She couldn’t keep her eyes open a minute longer.

  A few seconds, or maybe an hour later, she awoke to find something warm and smelly pressing against her mouth. The shock startled her so badly her eyes popped open and she tried to scream. But whatever or whoever it was kept her quiet.

  “Shush, beauty,” a vaguely familiar voice whispered in her ear. “Let’s try not to wake the two charmers, okay?”

  Hunter Long? No, that was impossible. But she’d always been sure she would recognize his voice anywhere. She’d heard it in her dreams often enough. Was she dreaming?

  Another shaft of panic hit her between the shoulder blades. Who was this person? Someone coming to her rescue? Or another nightmare she would have to escape?

  Trying to turn around to check, Bailey found herself firmly restrained by two strong arms.

  “You ready to blow this picnic?” His casual tone and the slow drawl from behind her back reminded her only too well of easier, happier times. But her heart still threatened to pound right out of her chest.

  “Nod your head if you can stand on your own.”

  Still stunned, Bailey managed only a shoulder shrug. She wasn’t sure of anything right now except that it suddenly seemed she might make it out of this ordeal alive, after all. It was really Hunter. But how? Why?

  “Okay, don’t try,” he murmured against her ear. “I’ll carry you into the cliffs first. Far enough that the idiots can’t follow. Relax and don’t make a sound.”

  He released her mouth. Before she knew what was happening, Hunter had whisked her up in his arms and they seemed to be flying through the dark night.

  She would’ve loved to be able to throw her arms around his neck and hang on, to enjoy the feel of his muscled chest after so many years. But her hands were still tied and she wasn’t sure she had the energy left, anyway.

  It seemed to take a long time, but probably it was only a few minutes that Hunter climbed among the boulders with her in his arms. Finally he reached a strip of level ground and halted.

  “This is far enough. I’m going to set you down now, Bailey. Lean against me until you’re steady. I’ll cut the rope off your wrists in a second, but we still have to be quiet. Sound echoes in these canyons.”

  He slowly lowered her body along the length of his. Her blistered and bloody feet rebelled with excruciating pain when they touched the ground, but she found a reserve of strength and ignored it. Leaning back against him, she silently kicked out the leg cramps until she could stand firmly upright and steady once again.

  “Good girl. Now hold still while I cut the rope.”

&nb
sp; As the bonds went slack, she moved her arms apart. Without warning, sharp pains replaced the numbness in her fingers and nearly brought her to her knees. Whimpering, she pulled her throbbing hands to her chest.

  The stabbing pain must’ve been clear on her face even in the darkness, because Hunter began vigorously rubbing her hands and forearms. “I know it hurts,” he said soothingly. “But it’ll go away in a moment.”

  He was right. A few minutes later the ache was a memory. She looked up into his face, wishing for tears enough to cry for joy.

  Opening her mouth to thank him for saving her, she was surprised when he gripped the back of her head and covered her mouth in a searing kiss. It was all too short-lived, and a second later he pulled back. But he continued to grip her shoulders as if he was afraid she would fall down if he didn’t. Or maybe that he would collapse if he had to let her go.

  “Hunter…” She managed a dry, raspy squeak.

  “Sorry,” he said with a shake of his head. “But I’m so damn glad you’re still alive. Forget it and have some water.” He unscrewed the top from a canteen and handed it to her, then took it back after she’d had just a few gulps. “Not too much at one time, though. If it settles all right, you can try one of the MREs I’m carrying before we head off.”

  She cleared her less-parched throat and let her thoughts babble out. “Sheesh, your hands stink. Do you have any chocolate on you? What are you doing here?” She wasn’t making sense, she knew. But she was so stunned her old lover had been the one to come to her rescue. “I demand to know if my father sent you or if this is as much a surprise to you as it is to me.”

  Even in the darkness of a moonless night, she could see his same old charming grin. The one she’d remembered through eight long years. Hunter had always been famous for flashing that boyish charm at all the girls.

  “You haven’t changed a bit, Bailey. Still the spoiled little rich girl, ordering everyone around. As it happens, your father did ask that I be the one to bring you home.”

  It was too much. She felt the weakness creeping up on her again. “Can I sit down? Please?”

  “Sure. Here, let me help.” The tone of his voice softened, evened out, ended up right back at that sexy baritone he’d always used to get into her pants when they were in college.

  Once she was seated on the rocky shelf of a flat boulder, she began to feel stronger again. “So, why did he want you to come for me?”

  Hunter chuckled in the darkness and she wished she could see his expression clearly. “I’m a Navajo Tribal Police special investigator. The best tracker west of the Mississippi.”

  “A cop? You sound like a character in an old black-and-white western.” But unfortunately, everything about this whole horrible situation felt like a melodrama. Why shouldn’t the dialogue be tacky, too?

  Suddenly her stomach complained about her not eating in who knew how long. “You didn’t say anything about chocolate. But you did mention MREs,” she said. “I’m guessing that’s something to eat.”

  “Army traveling food. Meals Ready to Eat. Not good, but filling.” He handed her the canteen again. “Slowly.”

  A couple more sips of water and Bailey figured she was getting a second wind. Not having any chocolate to stem the desire to do a line was a disappointment, but she’d manage to get around the jitters with food instead.

  “Does it take long to fix one of those MRE things?”

  He shook his head and reached behind him to the pack on his back. “That’s the whole point.”

  “Good. While I eat it, you can go back for the baby.”

  Shaking his head again, he ripped open the package and handed it to her. “I can’t figure out how to manage taking both of you to safety at one time, Bailey. I have to get you out first and then come back.”

  “What? No. What will happen to Tara?”

  “I can move fast. Depending on how bad your injuries are, I should be able to return before nightfall tomorrow. They want to keep the baby alive for ransom,” he added. “She should be okay. As soon as you’re safe, I’ll come back for her.”

  “No.” Bailey surprised herself by how adamant and full of strength her voice suddenly sounded.

  “No?”

  “We can’t leave her with them. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but please help me find a way to rescue her. I can’t stand the thought of her being with them alone.”

  She waved a hand and her chin trembled. “I couldn’t bear it if I live and Tara dies. Please, don’t make me go.”

  Hunter leaned against the granite wall and stared out at a blanket of stars blazing in indigo skies. Without thinking, he reached down and stroked the silky rich hair of the woman whose head lay in his lap as she slept.

  Bailey had been so exhausted that she’d nearly freaked out when he’d told her his plan to leave the baby behind. He’d come to a quick conclusion that her need for sleep was more acute than his need to whisk her away to safety.

  They were temporarily not in danger, anyway, not up here on the shelf of this ancient sandstone monolith, with her tormentors sound asleep below them. So he intended to let her get as much healing sleep as possible before they started back toward civilization.

  When she awoke, he hoped she would be in a more reasonable mood. It wasn’t like the person he remembered to get so carried away with someone else’s welfare—even if that someone else was a helpless child. Where had the selfish, spoiled Bailey Howard of his yesterdays gone?

  The clear, high-desert night meant starlight illuminated most of their surroundings. Hunter had seen enough of Bailey’s bruises and cuts to feel anger, strong and dangerous, well up from some dark place in his gut.

  He hadn’t liked the intense feelings all that much, and was glad there was a need to take Bailey back before he had to deal with the kidnappers. A few hours to calm down and regain harmony would definitely be a good thing.

  The familiar flashback to his childhood and the terrible face of anger that was his clearest memory of his father came into his mind and set his teeth on edge. He had to fight it. Had to keep that awful genetic atrocity of memory tied down somewhere deep and hidden from view.

  That exact same terror dwelled inside him, he knew. It ran in his blood, but he didn’t have to give it free rein.

  Hunter was a better man. He was good enough to know his limitations and he was Navajo enough to keep his spirit in balance.

  He tried thinking of something else, and a picture of Bailey on their first date slipped into his head without warning. It had been on another late summer day, nearly ten years ago now.

  But the skies were cerulean on that particular afternoon, the clouds tall and the same flint hue as the bluffs of his homeland. He’d suggested a picnic at his favorite place, high above Dinetah on a butte surrounded by aspen and spruce. The view was startling from up there and he’d wanted to impress her.

  And he supposed he had. She’d turned her face to his in guileless wonder, her golden-amber eyes dancing with delight. “You must be able to see all the way to Colorado from here. It’s beautiful,” she’d murmured.

  But he was the one to be impressed. He’d been rendered speechless. She was so beautiful she’d taken his words away—in two languages.

  Bailey moaned and stirred in his lap, bringing him back to the present with a thud.

  She pushed herself up. “How long have I been out?”

  “A few hours.” He reached for the canteen. “Have a little more water. Then maybe you can catch another hour or two of sleep before daybreak. I don’t think we need to worry about getting too big a head start on your buddies, dumb and dumber. I’m willing to bet they won’t be all that concerned about where you’ve gone.”

  She swallowed the water and took a deep breath. “Hunter…”

  He wondered if she was trying to think of a way to thank him for coming to her rescue. That didn’t sound much like the old Bailey Howard, and he would prefer she skip the accolades until they were really safe. But if she felt the ne
ed, he would sit quietly until she was finished.

  “What can I say to make you understand that I can’t leave Tara?” Bailey said, instead of the words he’d expected to hear. “Every second she’s with those bastards the baby is in terrible danger. I couldn’t live with myself if we left and she was injured—or worse. Please. If we can’t get to her right away, can’t we at least stay close by?”

  It took him a second to catch up.

  “Now, beauty,” he began patiently. “I tried to explain this to you earlier. You’re in no shape to be chasing around the desert after a couple of goons who are set on killing you. It’s selfish for you to even consider it.”

  “Selfish?” When her argument hadn’t gotten the response she’d obviously hoped for, Bailey tried a different tack. “You can help me. Teach me as we go. Show me how to follow along until we find a way to get her free. Please.”

  “No. It would be a stupid move.”

  Her next deep sigh carried a hint of anger. “You’re being mean. Trying to get even with me for our breakup. That was years ago, Hunter. Get over it.”

  Ah. So now she was going to try using their old relationship to get what she wanted. That sounded a lot more like the girl he remembered.

  “Bailey…” He let his tone of voice warn her that his mind was made up.

  “Damn you,” she whined. “This is really important. For the first time something is…” She stopped talking and he could tell the words had surprised her. He knew they’d shocked him.

  “Look,” she began again. “Not too many people know about this, but I recently finished five months in drug rehab.”

  He didn’t let his surprise show in his face, The truth was, he wasn’t sure how he felt about her revelation.

  She hesitated for a second, then continued, “Part of the treatment consisted of being able to prioritize the things that are important. I found out something interesting. For me, nothing has ever been important until now. I was using drugs to cover up my meaningless existence.”

  “Hmm. Sounds like a bored little rich girl to me.”