She didn’t say a word, but set her jaw in steel, mimicking his. And made a final decision. When the time came, she wouldn’t allow him to force her to go anywhere unless he went, too. No arguments. No questions. Period.
“A map?” Hunter was shocked. Why would a map be important enough to Skinwalkers to bring about this chaos? And how could a mere map be the reason he might be destined to die? It seemed all too confusing and trivial.
The three cousins squatted on their heels in a dark corner of the coyote cave, whispering and plotting their escape. Meanwhile, the females slept quietly on the soft piñon branches around the fire pit.
Because none of their cell phones were working in these cliffs, Lucas had received a message from the Brotherhood through the help of the Bird People. A map was supposed to be the ‘trade’ for the child. But the Skinwalkers had managed a magician’s trick and exchanged a doll in place of the real baby. The evil ones had gotten away with the map, and apparently still believed they had the baby stashed back in their cavern.
Willie Concho had lied, managing to sneak away from the FBI and the Brotherhood for the exchange without telling them. He’d hoped to save the child by secretly complying with what the Skinwalkers demanded. But he’d also had an agenda of his own—along with a secret plan to beat them at their own game.
Now, finding himself tricked and without hope, the old man was devastated. Positive his mistake in not confiding in the FBI would be the cause of his only granddaughter’s death, Willie Concho was begging for help.
Hunter’s brother, Kody, had talked privately with him about the map after Willie returned from the exchange. Kody then passed the information along to Lucas via the Bird People.
“Nearly six months ago Hastiin Concho found a shallow cave in a cliff overlooking the river. It’d been hidden by water for centuries.” Lucas repeated the story he’d been told by the birds. “When the drought first uncovered the cave, Willie crawled inside and found a half-buried stone container. It held an animal skin with marks resembling a map. On it he saw a drawing of a river and one of a monolith, both done in pictograph style. But that’s about all he remembers.
“He hid the map in his safe right away,” Lucas continued, “knowing the thing must be ancient and priceless. He figured to sell it to some museum, making another fortune to go along with the one he made selling off coal leases.”
Michael narrowed his eyes. “Did Concho copy any of the markings down? Did he take photos or drawings of it before he turned the map over to the Skinwalkers?”
Lucas solemnly shook his head. “He thought he was too smart to lose control of something so priceless to a crazy Skinwalker witch. And he certainly didn’t want any evidence of what he’d discovered left behind for the FBI to find.
“Willie was absolutely positive he would be able to trick the Skinwalkers and end up with both the map and the baby. He now knows better.”
“This new Navajo Wolf and his soldiers are clever.” Michael looked thoughtful for a moment. “How did the Skinwalkers learn of the existence of the map?”
Lucas shrugged. “That was not in the Bird People’s message. But I gather it must’ve been from a spy who either worked for or was friends with Willie.”
Hunter broke into the discussion. “It doesn’t matter. The map is gone. We need to plan how best to get the child and the women out of here.”
Michael put a hand on his cousin’s arm. “That map might be crucial in turning the tide of this war in the Skinwalker’s favor. There must be a good reason why it’s worth so much to them. I’ll need to review the Skinwalker legends when we return.”
“You do that, cousin,” Hunter said, with far too much sarcasm for a Navajo. “In the meantime, how the hell are we going to get the women back to their families without all of us being killed?”
Lucas and Michael exchanged quiet looks. Hunter knew he’d sounded out of balance and annoyed. Too bad. He would never find his way back to harmony until Bailey was safe with her father. And he was smart enough to know she would never agree to going without the baby. They had been down that road a few times before.
“We gave a plan some discussion while you slept,” Lucas said. “Five of us trekking through the desert or over the cliffs would be too obvious. Rather like waving a red flag at the Skinwalkers to come get us.”
“But I understood Michael had an SUV parked nearby,” Hunter stated. “Can’t we all sneak there during the night? If we’re lucky, we can be miles away before the Skinwalkers notice a thing.”
Michael was shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous. In the first place, my SUV is parked upwind from that missionary’s cabin near the well, where the Skinwalkers first took the child. We drove out here on the old wagon trail. But we stopped short, about a mile away, when we hit the wide-open desert surrounding the cabin. Going back to the SUV the fastest way would leave our larger group far too exposed.”
Hunter nodded.
“And in the second place,” Michael continued, “all of us going the same direction at the same time is not a sound security action. We need a point man and someone who follows. And for a plan to make any sense in this situation, we would need a good diversionary tactic.”
Hunter could hear the hesitant note in Michael’s voice. And he didn’t at all like what he figured was coming. He raised his chin, eyed his cousins and waited.
“Our understanding is that the Skinwalker Dog believes you and Bailey are dead,” Lucas stated. “Killed by fire and smoke in that shaft in the cliffs. I’m sensing that he believes the Brotherhood has sent a different tracker here to steal the grandmother and the baby back.”
Leaning back on his heels, Hunter waited to hear the plan. But he was already unhappy with his cousins’hedging.
“We need some way of sending the Skinwalkers off in the wrong direction while we slip the baby and the grandmother away. A couple of us can sneak them out through the open desert to the SUV.”
“All three females,” Hunter corrected. But through the darkness he saw Lucas’s deep ebony eyes watching him closely.
“We have to think clearly here, cousin,” Lucas said softly. “Not with our sentiment. The wrong move could cost everyone’s life.”
Lucas spoke quietly but firmly. “Getting rid of the grandmother is the evil ones’ main concern. They will be after her, but they won’t care a lot about finding the grandmother…and Bailey is already cut from their thoughts.”
“Hold it,” Hunter exclaimed. “If you’re about to suggest that we use Bailey as some kind of a decoy, don’t bother. It won’t happen.”
Hearing a sudden rustling behind him, he turned his head to find her on her hands and knees, crawling toward them.
“Did I hear my name?” she asked when she got close enough to whisper.
“Go back to sleep,” Hunter snapped. “Watch after the child.”
She screwed up her mouth and sat down with the men. “The grandmother is changing Tara. She does a much better job of watching the baby than I ever could. I want to help with the escape plans.”
“No—” he started to argue.
“Good idea,” Michael and Lucas chimed together.
“Explain it to me, please,” she asked Hunter’s cousins. But she kept her eyes trained on him as she spoke the words, daring him to fight with the lot of them.
Hunter sat back and folded his arms over his chest.
“The Skinwalkers believe you and Hunter are already dead,” Michael told her. “And the caretaker grandmother claims she overheard them talking about killing her and the child so there would be no witnesses.”
“They’ll be looking for those two, but not for me. Is that what you think?”
Michael nodded. “In fact, we believe they might ignore you altogether, even if they manage to catch you. You and Hunter seem to be totally unimportant to them now.”
“Okay. The grandmother is the one in the most danger, and probably Tara, too. I’ve got that. What can I do to make them safe?”
&nb
sp; Michael answered, “Help us create a diversion. We need time—or maybe just a little confusion. Either should do the trick.”
“No.” Hunter sat straight up. “I won’t allow it. All the females must go back together.”
“You won’t allow it?” Bailey had to grind her teeth together to keep from telling him off in front of his cousins. She tugged on his shirtsleeve and pulled him around so she could whisper to him without the others hearing everything she said.
“Uh…” She hesitated as he narrowed his gaze to a cold stare. But it was up to her to be strong. “Look. I appreciate all you’ve done for me. Really. But you have no right to tell me what I can or can’t do. We’ve already had this discussion once before, and just look how far we’ve come from then.
“Tara is almost safe,” she continued. “The baby’s out of Skinwalker hands. With a few more hours and the right plan, she’ll be with her mother. I have to help make that happen.”
He looked so angry—and isolated. It hurt her to see those emotions in the man she loved.
Bailey wasn’t trying to make him mad or to hurt him. She wasn’t even trying to make him say he loved her and wanted to keep her safe. She was so over that. Understanding, finally, that they would never have a permanent relationship, she’d already decided to move on.
She loved Hunter, maybe more than she would ever love anyone else in her entire life. But she couldn’t allow him to rule her actions. Not when she’d finally discovered what was really worth living for. And not when he would be long gone as soon as they were back to civilization.
“Hunter, please listen,” she begged. “You have given me the most wonderful of presents. I know now what I’m capable of doing. Thank you for that. But if you make me stop without finishing what I started, it will destroy my confidence and probably send me right back to the drugs.
“If you care anything about me—” Bailey broke off abruptly, immediately wishing she could take back those words.
What if he’d decided he didn’t care? Or if all he wanted now was to return her to her father. Maybe the only thing he really wanted was for them to share another roll in the hay, and he didn’t give a rip about what any of it might cost her.
Too late to quit talking. She had to continue. “Please don’t stop me this time. I beg you. I’ll do whatever else you ask. Give you anything you want. Anything.”
The sudden hurt look in his eyes was nearly her undoing. She’d said too much. Gone too far. A sob bubbled up her throat, but she forced a cough to keep it contained.
Hunter coldly turned his back and spoke to his cousins. “Tell us your plan.”
While dusk created additional shadows on the sandstone monoliths and orange-colored buttes, Bailey tried to stay behind Hunter. He was moving fast, in a zigzag pattern, back through the desert and cliffs on nearly the same path that the Skinwalkers had taken with her and the baby.
She couldn’t seem to stop her stupid sniffling. She’d won. But in winning, she’d lost him for good.
The only positive result that could come from her hateful words would be having Tara safely back in her mother’s arms. Michael and Lucas had spirited the baby and the old woman away just before dawn, with a quick dash across the desert. They’d headed straight for the SUV Michael had hidden a few miles away, and hopefully they’d made it out to the main highway by now.
Bailey was wearing the old woman’s shawl. She kept her head and neck bent in the way of an old Navajo grandmother, creating a diversion. A couple of full canteens lay inside the shawl, making it look as though Bailey was carrying Tara.
The plan was for her and Hunter to build a fire, make a lot of noise and then start crossing the mesa. Lucas hadn’t sensed anyone looking for them yet, but if the Skinwalkers showed up too soon, she and Hunter would be leading them in the opposite direction from the baby.
If anything went wrong with their scheme and they didn’t make it back to Hunter’s SUV before the Skinwalkers caught up, the Bird People were going to bring reinforcements.
It sounded like a good enough plan to Bailey. But Hunter hadn’t spoken one word since they’d started out.
One slim ray of hope that he wouldn’t hate her forever came when he’d insisted he would be the one to travel with her. The two of them were to be decoys. Michael and Lucas shared the responsibility of getting Tara back to her family safe and sound.
Still, tears kept on leaking from Bailey’s eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Hunter’s face had been so full of hurt when she’d gotten her own way, despite his wishes. She was trying not to think about his pain, but there didn’t seem to be any hope of forgetting it long enough to slow down the tears.
“Hold it.” Hunter reached out and grabbed her by the arm. “You seem to have a real suicidal instinct these days, slick. But I’m not willing to be the one left explaining your demise to your father.”
“Suicidal? What?” She stopped moving and looked up at him for an explanation.
He nodded to a spot directly in front of her. “We are not out for a morning jog, Ms. Howard. Watch your step.”
She still didn’t see what was the big deal. But moving to her left around a purple sagebrush, she found the edge of a narrow arroyo suddenly right in front of her. Another two feet and she would’ve fallen down a fifty-foot drop.
“Oh.” Her knees buckled, and she sat down hard in the sand. “Wow. I…” Her dry throat made speech impossible.
Hunter crouched beside her and held out his canteen. “Take a few sips of water.”
Trying to lift her hands to grab the container, Bailey discovered she was as limp as overcooked spaghetti. She raised her eyes to meet his, and silently pleaded with him for assistance.
As mean and demanding as she’d been earlier, he should’ve ignored her. But he didn’t. That would not have been Hunter’s style.
“Here. Let me help.” He slid his arm around her shoulders so he could get closer. Gently lifting the canteen to her lips, he helped her take a drink.
Instantly those old devil tears were back, welling in her eyes. This time even worse than before. How could he be so damn kind?
She sniffed and bit her cheek, trying to restrain the sob threatening to bubble out of her mouth.
He patted her shoulder. “You’re okay. I won’t let any hidden catastrophes do you in. At least not until I get you back to your father. And then I may kill you myself.”
That did it. The floodgates opened and tears streamed down her cheeks. Huge, gasping sobs poured forth. Her nose started to run, and no doubt turned bright red, the way it did when she was stone drunk.
She didn’t want him to be nice. Why couldn’t he get mad and yell at her, for God’s sake? Or go far, far away…
But he didn’t move. He stayed right beside her, turned her into his chest and let her cry it out.
After a few minutes, she stemmed the shakes that had been racking her body. Leaning her head back, she looked up at his face through watery eyes. His jaw was set.
She was tired. She must be, because the impulse to kiss him was strong. That would be so wrong at this point.
From high above their heads, a sudden loud, shrieking noise filled the air. “What’s that?” she asked.
“Hell,” Hunter spat as he lifted her into his arms. “We’ve stayed in one place too long. The Skinwalkers must be close behind us.”
11
He’d made a couple of mistakes. And they might have cost them their lives.
Hunter had been heading toward a winter hogan, one belonging to his mother’s clan. His family members were still up in the mountains for the summer with the sheep. Their empty place would’ve been a good spot to hide for the night.
He’d gotten close to the safety it could provide. Just not close enough.
Shifting Bailey in his arms, he moved as fast as he could. He was running among rocks and snakeweed, heading away from the rim of the slot canyon where they’d stopped. Because of her baby-disguise bundle, Bailey’s body was too unwieldy to thr
ow over his shoulder. This time he had to cradle her close to his chest like an infant.
Good thing the sun was setting. Dusk was adding its growing shadows to the boulder-strewn desert. Conditions would’ve been much more dangerous for them if the sun was still high in the sky, illuminating their every move.
Damn it. He simply had not counted on the extra time Bailey would need. With the added weight around her neck, she’d slowed them down. He also should’ve paid closer attention to where she was going. But no, not him. Instead, he’d jumped out in front.
He’d known she was keeping her eyes lowered in the manner of the grandmother. What had he been thinking to allow her to wander around like that behind his back? There were far too many dangers in the desert.
“Are they gaining on us?” Her muffled question came as a shock. He’d almost forgotten she wasn’t a dead weight he’d been toting in his arms.
He shook his head. “No time to find out.” It was the most he could tell her. The most his fear and lung capacity would allow.
Even if he’d known for sure the Skinwalkers were right behind them, he wasn’t positive he would’ve told her. Not if there was still a chance he could save her life.
The thought of dying made his legs pump faster, propelling him closer to the base of a series of buttes leading to the escarpment known as White Rock Bench. Right beyond there, in a surprising wildflower-filled valley, was his clan’s winter hogan.
As they entered the deep shade of a familiar sheep trail, Hunter took his first solid breath since hearing the Bird People’s warning. This spot was less than a five minute run from the hogan. He might actually make it there before the Skinwalkers caught up to them.
He kept his mouth firmly shut and plowed on.
A few minutes later, he crashed through his great-aunt’s garden fence and rounded the west side of the hogan. When he came to the doorway on the eastern side, he skidded to a halt and set Bailey on her feet.
Books by Linda Conrad Page 68
