by Aimée Thurlo
“The Diné have beautiful traditions and beliefs. Like them, I try to walk in beauty.”
He gazed at her, then fighting the attraction between them, looked away. “You’re a woman of…layers,” he said at last.
She took a cautious sip of her coffee. “You’re making me sound like a rock formation. Was that a compliment?” she said, and smiled.
“You’re like a beautiful image that shifts continually on a computer screen,” he said, nodding. “Before you get a handle on what you’re seeing, a new picture emerges.”
“The same could be said of you. I’ve seen the warrior—the security consultant who’s always on his guard, meeting trouble head-on. Yet your mentor was a hataalii, a man of healing and peace. I suspect there’s some of that gentleness inside you, as well.”
“Gentleness doesn’t play well in my world.”
As the grandfather clock began to chime, Holly glanced at the time. “It’s getting late and I have to work for the tribe at the Winter Job Fair tomorrow,” she said.
“The one at the Hartley Community Center? Bad idea,” he said. “You’re too exposed there.”
“I’ll take all the precautions you recommend, but if I let this man push me into hiding, I may never find my courage again. Then he really will have defeated me, whether or not he succeeds in killing me,” she said. “You don’t strike me as a person who has ever really known fear, Daniel, so I’m not sure you can understand my feelings about this.”
“I do know fear. I just have my own way of dealing with it, that’s all,” he said. He thought back to his days as a kid on the city streets. Being the only Navajo around at times often singled him out to the bullies, and the gangs. Then he’d met Gene. They’d banded together to avoid getting jumped, finding new strength by becoming allies. “I focus solely on the threat and how to defeat it.”
“What does it take to scare you, Daniel?” she asked. “I know that it’s not being outnumbered or having to fight.”
“No, neither of those.” He remembered the night his mother hadn’t come home. He’d just turned twelve. Days had gone by and eventually a neighbor had turned him over to foster care. He’d found out afterward that there’d been a fight at the bar where his mother had worked as a waitress. A stray bullet had ended her life. No one had ever come to claim him. Since he’d never known his father, he’d suddenly found himself all alone. He’d known terror then. “I fear what I can’t fight,” he said at last.
He saw the questions in her eyes, but instead of answering, he stood. She rose, as well, and for a moment they were so close he could feel the warmth of her body.
“The guy you’re up against is flesh and blood and can be defeated,” Daniel said. “This is a battle we can win.”
He brushed her face with the palm of his hand and saw her lips part slightly. Instinctively he leaned down and took her mouth in a slow, gentle kiss. She tasted the way she looked, delicate and sweet.
Her mouth flowered open, inviting him to take more, and a blast of heat slammed into him. He’d never passed up an invitation like this, but he had no choice but to walk away now, while he still could. Everything he knew about Holly assured him that she wasn’t the kind to have an easy, friends-with-benefits type of relationship.
“I’ll protect you, Holly, even from me,” he growled, moving away from her and toward the door. “You don’t owe me anything, not even a kiss. You’re hard to resist, so I won’t be turning any of those down, but you know what they say about playing with fire….” His voice rumbled like an approaching winter storm.
“A man of tenderness wrapped in danger…that’s what I see.”
He’d been called many things throughout his life, but no one had ever called him that. He wanted to kiss her again, but this time she was the one who moved away.
“Good night, Daniel,” she whispered.
He opened the door, then turned his head before he stepped outside. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow. What time?”
“Seven. Can you get here by then, or is that too early?”
“I think I’ll manage somehow,” he said, and smiled.
Soon he pulled out of her driveway. Unable to resist, he stopped in the street and looked back toward the house. The lights inside the small casita glimmered and danced just beyond the curtains. That soft glow called to him, whispering of secrets and longings that were not part of his world.
He shook free of those thoughts. He was tired and it was the holiday season, the time of year when old wounds ached, and outsiders were destined to remain just beyond the warmth.
Chapter Eleven
The Winter Job Fair was a semiannual event held in Hartley’s new community center. Along with a few local government agencies looking for temporary workers, representatives from several of the major in-state industries came looking to fill a handful of open positions. The recession and the lack of jobs that plagued the economy all but guaranteed that they’d have a great turnout.
“You can pass as my assistant,” she told Daniel as she set up the table.
“Fine, but I’d like to walk around first and get a feel for the people here. I won’t be far.”
“Okay,” she said, her mind already on the brochures and application forms she was setting out on the table. Last night Martin’s new assistant, Joe Yazzie, had placed the posters and assembled the booth for her. He’d done a great job, too.
As she glanced at the display in the booth next to hers, she tried not to cringe. Everything SunWest Futures did was legal, but she hated the way they recruited their students. What they promised their applicants and what the school actually delivered were two very different things.
She’d first heard about SunWest a year ago. They ran a highly profitable school that trained its students to assemble and install solar panels. They provided tuition loans and job placement services, but the company rarely delivered on the employment promises that were part of their sales pitch. What the students usually discovered, after spending a small fortune on tuition, was that the few local jobs in that field paid far less than promised, and most available positions were scattered all across the country. By then, they were also locked into high interest loans that bled them dry.
A few months ago, trying to find out if those stories were true, she’d agreed to meet with Ross Williams, one of their recruiters, for dinner. They’d both been at a job fair and she’d expected it to be nothing more than a quick mealtime break, but she’d been in for a big surprise. Ross, despite his respectable business suit and tie, turned out to be a real cockroach. He’d hit on her, refusing to take no for an answer and getting grabby. Out of options, she’d finally threatened to call the police.
Now here he was again, ripping people off with his smarmy sales pitch. Although she made it a point to avoid eye contact, he continued to look in her direction.
Knowing that Daniel was close by made it easier to work next to Ross and, before long, Holly forgot all about him. Many applicants had come to compete for the handful of jobs the tribe had to offer. As she answered questions and described the work locations and requirements, time slipped by.
After several hours of almost nonstop visitors, Holly was ready for a break. The crowd in front of her desk had moved on, though there were still several people filling out applications at SunWest.
As she glanced over, she saw Ross talking to two young Navajo men, one she recognized as the son of a gas company worker. More than anything, Holly wished she could have warned them, but there was nothing she could do. Frustrated, she decided to use the lull at her own table to grab a soft drink.
Walking around the fifteen-foot high Christmas tree in the center of the room, she headed to the wide hallway where the vending machines were located. It was off the main floor, and served as a passageway leading to the performing arts theater, which was empty today.
She looked at the drinks offered, and picked one without caffeine. She was amped up enough as it was.
“You next to me—it must be fate,
” a familiar, unwelcome voice said.
Holly turned around and saw Ross had followed her into the passage. “We have nothing to say to each other, Mr. Williams.”
“Aw, come on. You still playing Miss Innocent? You’re a player, I know it. I saw the look you gave me a minute ago.”
“What you saw was disgust—for you and for your alleged job placement program. Those people believe you and you’re ripping them off.”
“Nah, they get great training. If they lack the ambition or resources to search out the best jobs, that’s their problem. We just open the door, we can’t take their hands and lead them through. Now what do you say we talk about us? I could have sworn you were offering me a second chance. Regrets from last time?”
“I regret that you’re here and that you have the booth next to mine.”
“I’ve got a feeling about you, Holly,” he said quietly, coming closer. “Playing hard to get is foreplay for you, right? You’re hot and you want a man who can get rough.”
Suddenly afraid, she took a step back but ran into the wall. The last thing she wanted to do was make a scene here. The creep wasn’t worth it, but he wasn’t giving her many options. “Back off—now! I have to go back to work.”
“Come on, baby. That’s not what you really want and we both know it,” he murmured in her ear, leaning forward.
He pinned her against the wall with a hand on either side, then began nuzzling her neck.
She kneed him hard in the groin. “I warned you,” Holly said. “Back off.”
He gasped, his eyes watering as he stepped back in a crouch. “You little tease—” He reached out his hand to slap her, but Daniel appeared out of nowhere.
He grabbed Ross’s wrist, and applying some kind of nerve pinch, sent the man to his knees on the tile floor, groaning in agony.
Ross threw a punch with his other hand, but Daniel was out of reach and he simply increased the pressure. Ross squealed, his face contorted in agony.
“Settle down, or you’ll embarrass yourself in front of three-hundred people,” Daniel said in a cold-as-ice voice. “I can make this hurt a lot more.”
“No, let go,” Ross mumbled, looking toward the end of the passage. Three young people were watching them curiously.
“How about you and I go outside for a talk?” Daniel said. “I’ll back off on the pain, let you stand and walk on your own power. Just don’t screw with me or I’ll take you down again.”
“Okay, okay,” Ross said.
Daniel motioned toward the far end of the tunnel. “Take the outside door on your left.”
Holly started to follow, but Daniel turned and shook his head. “Stay here. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt him unless he insists.”
Holly watched them go. Daniel was her protector, but as grateful as she was for his help, it also made her uneasy. Having a man like Daniel around, one who could keep trouble at bay, could be addicting. It was always easier to let go and allow someone else to handle the hard stuff—at least at first. Yet life had taught her that relying on another always came at a price.
As she thought of her dad her throat tightened. People invariably let you down if you counted on them. Disappointment followed and, in Daniel’s case, maybe even heartbreak.
WHEN THE JOB FAIR finally came to an end at six and the doors were locked, Holly was more than eager to call it a day. She was exhausted. Hundreds of people had come to leave applications for the three-dozen job openings offered by the tribe. She’d seen the eagerness, and more often than not desperation in the eyes of the ones who’d come to her table. Jobs were too scarce these days and the inability to get employment often made people feel useless. That could trigger a long downward spiral that led only toward darkness.
She knew that road well. Her father had been a manager at a retail business for years. Then, faced with the store’s sudden closing and mounting debts from casino losses, he began his lifelong search for that illusive big score. The more he’d gambled, the worse their lives had become.
Holly packed all her materials in boxes, and by the time she was ready to go, Daniel was back, after having excused himself to take one more look around the parking lot and display area.
“Williams left early, and hasn’t returned. After we talked, I reported what happened to the police and event security. They’ll both be speaking to him,” Daniel said.
“In case you’re wondering, I’m almost sure he’s not the one who attacked me outside the café. Think about it—that’s not what a cockroach does. A cockroach is a bottom-feeder, sneaky but predictable.”
“You might be right,” Daniel said with a shrug. “Either way, Preston will talk to him and let us know what he gets from him. In the meantime, you need to give more thought to other possible suspects. You never put Ross Williams on your list. Are you sure you haven’t left anyone else out?”
“As I said, I don’t consider Ross a suspect.” She ran a hand through her hair. “The other people I deal with regularly are tribal employees, and you already know most of them. I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the answers you want.”
“All right. Where to now?” he asked.
“My office. I need to get these applications ready to mail to the tribal offices in Window Rock, and pick up some files,” she said.
As Daniel drove, she glanced over at him. “I’ve just realized something. Your job’s all about danger.”
“No, not really. I’d say it’s more about anticipating danger and making sure my tactics remain unpredictable to whatever enemy I’m fighting.”
As she thought about what he’d said, she looked around, studying the route he’d chosen. They weren’t heading to her office, or if they were, he’d chosen a long, roundabout way. Holly looked over at Daniel and immediately noticed the rigid set of his jaw and the way he kept glancing into the rearview mirror.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re being followed. What kind of car does Williams drive?”
“You think he’s coming after us?” she asked, her voice rising.
“Answer my question. What kind of car does he drive?”
“A company car, at least the last time I saw him. It’s a white, four-door sedan with a SunWest Futures sign on the doors.”
“What make?” he insisted.
“I don’t know, Ford, Chevy maybe. It’s a sedan.”
“This one’s silver. Maybe he’s got a new ride.” Daniel used his Bluetooth. “Call Preston,” he said, giving the command.
A moment later his brother answered. Daniel described the situation, listened, then hung up.
“They have an unmarked unit not too far from where we are. Once that vehicle’s in position, we’ll keep going while they box him in,” Daniel said in a low growl.
“But that’s not what you want to do,” she said. As sure as she was of her next breath, she knew he wanted to confront the person behind them.
“If it were up to me, I’d force whoever’s back there off the road, then…have a talk with him,” he said at last. “But this is up to the police, and all things considered, the city’s a poor location for a confrontation that might involve a high-speed chase. We’ll just concentrate on ditching this guy once the cops are ready to take over.”
Daniel made a sharp right, then cut to the left at the next intersection. The silver sedan remained a half block away. After another three minutes, his cell phone rang.
“He’s still with us,” Daniel said after a beat. “No, no threatening moves, just tailing and maintaining his distance.” He paused. “I could lead him into a trap. The warehouse district….”
Another pause.
“All right,” Daniel answered at length. “I’ll be passing the cruiser’s location in another minute. As soon as the officer has eyes on the guy, I’ll break off and head for my office while you handle things.”
As Daniel turned the corner, he saw the unmarked police sedan, a make and model he recognized, parked by a fast-food place. Daniel drove past, noddi
ng slightly for the officer’s sake, then made a right turn and sped away. “It’s up to the cops now.”
Their tail followed them into the turn, then abruptly cut across traffic and disappeared up an alley behind a strip mall. The unmarked police car ended up being blocked by traffic and had to wait for the light.
“I wish they would have let me help, but Preston’s in charge and he’s a stickler for procedure. He’ll choke on that rule book of his one day,” Daniel said.
“Tell me about the others Hosteen Silver took in.”
“We were all trouble, I mean Trouble with a capital T. That’s the reason Hosteen Silver would only take on two kids at a time, though those of us who had already left were usually available to help, if needed. He turned our lives around. Without him, all six of us might have ended up in prison or dead on the street.”
Daniel suddenly cursed.
“What’s up?” Holly straightened up in her seat and glanced around.
“Our tail’s still with us,” Daniel said. “He must have doubled back and circled until he spotted us.”
“Call Preston,” she said instantly.
He shook his head. “We’re out of his jurisdiction here in county. We’re in a no-man’s-land covered by a few deputies and the state police. It takes them forever to respond.”
“Once we reach Hartley we can get Preston’s help,” Holly replied.
“We’ll also give our tail a whole city to get lost in, if he follows us that far without turning back. No, I want to corner this guy, or at least get a good look before he knows we’re on to him.”
Holly nodded. “So do I. What do you have in mind?”
He glanced ahead at a cluster of businesses beside the highway. “Will you trust me? I’ve got an idea.”
“Okay. How can I help?”
He smiled, thinking of how much he liked Holly. He slowed, then turned into the parking lot of the Bucking Bronco. “I’m hoping he’ll follow us inside. If he does, he and I can…talk.”
