by Jenna Kernan
“What’s so terrible about that?” he said.
He was even more handsome when he was angry. But she had reached her limit.
“Goodbye, Gabe.” She spun and marched away. Her heart heavy and her body shaking. But at least her head was up.
* * *
GABE STOOD BENEATH the cold starlight a long time after Selena shut the front door behind her. Somehow this time was worse than when she had offered back his ring. Then he had felt vindicated by her apparent unwillingness to forgive him. Now he knew she had never blamed him for doing his duty, only for choosing his career over her.
And he had.
Selena had broken the engagement and he had made all the right moves. His uncle had even encouraged him to apply to the Bureau. If he married Selena, they’d likely never take him. The background checking process used by the FBI was secret, but he knew that having Frasco as a father-in-law would not help his application. He had always known that. Now it seemed that his ambition had become an all-consuming glutton that devoured his personal life.
But he was a success. Gabe trudged back to his car and paused by his door. He was also living in his grandmother’s house and spending more nights sleeping on his office couch than in a bed.
Gabe did not want to face his grandmother or Clyne tonight. He needed time to think. So he headed for his office.
On the way he phoned the officer who was currently watching the Leekela place and got a report that all was quiet.
His force was small and stretched thin, but he still managed to have a twenty-four-hour watch on the junkyard. He wanted to be sure that meth lab stayed put and feared that with Jason’s and Oscar’s deaths, Sammy might correctly guess that his brother’s death was related to his illegal activity. He also had patrols swing by Selena’s place on rounds to be sure all was quiet at her home.
As he sat in the dark, alone with his computer and his work, he wondered again at the choices he had made.
How could he span the gap that stretched between them? He wondered what would happen if he told Selena that he was ready to put her first?
Somehow he didn’t think words would be enough, but he was baffled when it came to knowing what to do.
How did you show a woman you needed her more than anything else?
Gabe dozed but failed to find steady sleep and finally gave up at five in the morning and headed to his grandmother’s home for a shower. There was one at work, but he needed to change out of his dress uniform.
When he pulled into the drive in the dark on Sunday morning it was to find the porch light still on, which was bad. It meant his grandmother had expected him home.
Before leaving his unit he checked in with his patrols and got the all clear. Once he reached the house, he let himself in and headed to the bathroom, showered and changed into jeans and a dress shirt cinched at the neck with a bolo fashioned from a turquoise cabochon tucked beside a bear claw. His grandmother attended church every Sunday and Gabe thought he would take her today. Selena attended church, or she used to. Would she be there this morning? He slipped into a blazer and had his head in the refrigerator when the overhead light snapped on. He straightened so fast he nearly hit his head on the freezer door and was surprised to find his grandmother appear in her blue zip-up robe and bed slippers a moment later.
“Did you take her home?” she asked.
Gabe felt like he was suddenly sixteen again.
“Who?”
She made a face. “Selena Dosela. Her mother called and said you had taken her for coffee.”
Who else saw them leave together? His stomach tensed as he realized he was doing exactly what Selena had accused him of, damage control.
He shifted uncomfortably.
“Yes. I took her home.”
“This morning or last night?”
“Grandma, that’s not really your business.”
“Grandson, that girl’s mother practically grew up in this house. And I love that girl as if she were my own. So if you hurt her again I am going to take a switch to you, no matter how old you are.”
“If I hurt her?” His words were indignant. “I don’t hurt women.”
She made a noise in her throat that sounded like humph.
He pictured Selena when she had slipped out of his SUV in front of her house. He had offered to escort her in, but she had refused. She had walked to her front door with her chin up against the wind and she had not glanced back at him even once before letting herself in.
He looked at his grandmother’s stern face and was about to speak the same words he had said so many times that they had become a chant. She gave back the ring. She gave back the ring. The words that absolved him of all responsibility, preserved his reputation and made it so damned easy to play the wounded one. The gift she had given him that he had not even had the manners to acknowledge. He knew it. Even then. Deep in his heart and in places he didn’t examine too hard, he had known all along what she had done.
Selena hadn’t given back the ring out of anger; she had done so out of love. “Last night, Grandmother. I took her home last night.”
Glendora nodded and brushed him away from the refrigerator.
“Breakfast or a sandwich?” she asked.
“Sandwich sounds good.”
She pulled out all the fixings including the carved remains of a turkey breast.
He sat and his grandmother began assembling a meal, then she offered him a generous sandwich on a plate and a paper towel for a napkin. As he ate, she cleaned up the counter. She had just gotten out the sponge to mop up when he finished. He hadn’t realized he was that hungry.
His grandmother used a rag to wipe up the dampness left by the sponge and then hung the cloth on a peg beside the sink. Satisfied, she turned to face him, leaning back against her spotless counter.
“Clay called last night. He has the name of the parents.”
Gabe’s brows lifted and he pushed back his chair.
“What did he say?” Gabe carried his plate to the sink.
“Her father was a US Army captain named Gerard Walker. He died in 2011 in Afghanistan when Jovanna was seven years old.”
Gabe did the count in his head. “Four years after her adoption.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Her mother?” asked Gabe.
“Her adoptive mother’s name is Cassidy Walker.”
Gabe’s skin began to tingle. It couldn’t be that Cassidy Walker. Where had his uncle said his partner came from, again?
“Do you know what she does for a living?”
“Yes. She works for the Federal Bureau of Investigations out of Phoenix. Clay said they wouldn’t tell him more than that.”
“Does Uncle Luke know?”
His grandmother frowned. “Uncle Luke. No, I haven’t called him yet. But I was tempted because I think he might know her. But he’s your father’s brother. If you think we should contact him, then it should be you or Clyne who makes the call.”
“Not Clyne,” he said, rubbing his neck, which was suddenly tight as a bowstring.
“Why not?”
“Because I think Cassidy Walker is Uncle Luke’s partner.”
Glendora sat heavily on a kitchen chair, absorbing the news that Gabe’s uncle’s associate had adopted her granddaughter. “I had no idea.” She pressed a hand over her heart. “My goodness, I’ve met her. And to think, all this time...”
Gabe met her gaze. “Did you tell Clyne?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. Clyne was out when he called and I haven’t seen him...” Then her hands came over her mouth and she stared wide-eyed at Gabe as the realization hit her. Cassidy Walker was white, really, really white, and Clyne was a staunch objector to the long-time practice of placing Indian children with white families.
“What should we do?” she asked.
Gabe gave a slow shake of his head as he sank into the chair across from her.
“We have a strong case. We’ll have her back soon. Then it won’t matter.”
But it mattered. Jovanna had been raised by a white woman. She would know little to nothing of who she was or where she had come from.
“But even if we win...what if Jovanna chooses her mom?” his grandmother asked, knitting her brows together.
His face went hard. He knew exactly what she meant. Their attorney had explained it to them all. Under the Indian Child Welfare Act, there were three reasons a child could be adopted by a non-Indian. One of them was if a child, over twelve, chose to be adopted away from her tribe. His sister would turn thirteen in five months. Gabe knew instinctively that Jovanna would pick her adoptive mother over the family she had never met.
“We have to get her back before June,” said Gabe.
Chapter Twenty
The crunch of snow and gravel in the drive alerted Selena to a visitor. Her route made her a perpetual early riser even on Sunday morning, her one day off. So she was alone in the kitchen at a little after eight in the morning when she heard someone pulling in.
She lifted the living room drape, peering out into the gray gloom. Who would be calling at this hour?
Her reflection obscured her view, so she pressed her cupped hands to the window pane. A chill of foreboding slithered up her spine as she spotted Ronnie Hare climbing out of his vehicle.
What was he doing here?
Another drop-in visit? But this was odd timing and something about his appearance didn’t feel right.
Selena’s heart began walloping in her chest. She reached for her phone to call Gabe as Hare parked beside the flatbed.
The parole officer straightened, wearing his slate-gray ski jacket unzipped and no gloves, scarf or hat. His step was quick and he looked over his shoulder twice as he hurried toward the house.
Her mother shuffled up beside her, squinting as she peered out the window, nearsighted without her glasses. “Who is that?”
“Mr. Hare.”
“I’ll go wake your father.” Her mom reversed course, leaving Selena alone.
Selena stepped back, dropped the drape and retrieved her phone from the charging unit.
Outside, the parole officer’s boot heels drummed on the wooden steps and his knock sounded loud as the crack of a rifle on a still afternoon.
She lifted her cloth coat, the one with the fleece lining and the bullet hole in the sleeve. Then, she stepped outside to intercept Hare. She planned to tell him that drop-ins or no drop-in visits, he had no right to wake her family out of a sound sleep. She stepped onto the porch, pulling the door shut behind her.
“Dagot’ee, Miss Dosela.”
“Mr. Hare.” She spoke in English instead of Apache. “It’s very early for a visit. My father is still in bed.”
“That’s all right.” He glanced about the yard, then back to her. “Because I’m not here to see him.”
Her mouth went dry as she wondered at the purpose of this visit. One of the icicles behind her on the gutter broke loose, fell and shattered on the glassy ice pack below, making her jump.
“Easy there,” he said.
He glanced toward the road again. What was he looking for? Or perhaps she should wonder who he was looking for.
When he turned back he held his steady, affable smile, only now there was something about him that made the hairs on her neck lift.
“Grab the keys to the 18-wheeler.”
“Excuse me?”
“Keys. Get them. Now.”
His tone seemed indulgent as if he were speaking to her brother Tomas instead of her.
“I’m not working with the parole office today. I’m running an errand for some friends in Salt River.”
“I don’t understand.”
“They need a driver for that.” He pointed to the flatbed truck. “My friends think they should be in charge of distribution. The suppliers have been slow to accept them, so we’re taking over Escalanti’s operation. First step was disturbing his supply line. Second step, procure the product. Product, transport, driver.” He pointed at her.
Selena backed toward the door. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“No?” he said, with a cold smile. “That’s hard to believe. Thursday’s attack. You were there and your police chief was there. Ruined our raid, but he helped me convince my contacts across the border to go with Salt River instead of the Wolf Posse. Better location. Better protection. When I saw Nota show up here, it all fell into place. Escalanti’s man tells me they had secured transportation for their operation and next thing I know your dad gets early release and...”
Selena peered back over her shoulder, wondering if she could get inside and lock the door before he grabbed her. She caught movement at the window and saw a glimpse of her mother’s blue robe before the drape fell into place.
Hare cleared his throat. When she looked back at him, he wore an impatient look.
“The point is we need a driver and you can drive. All four of Frasco’s girls can drive big rigs. He told me. He’s very proud of you. You answered the door, so you win! Get the keys.”
“I’m not leaving with you.”
Hare made a tsking sound. “I think you’ll reconsider when you hear my offer. You drive or I shoot everyone in your family, beginning with your mother.” He pointed toward the living room window where she knew her mother watched. It seemed Hare knew, as well.
The chill that had slithered down her spine now seemed to be squeezing her ribs so she could barely breathe.
“And your sisters are all home, I hear. Folks are so nice hereabouts. Catching me up on all the news. Like you and Chief Cosen. An item again. That’s not good for business. Transportation and law enforcement. Bad match. Yet another reason to move the operation.”
He pushed past her and entered the house. Every hair on Selena’s head lifted as she rushed after him.
Ronnie Hare left the door wide-open, letting the cold air fill the room.
“Selena?” said her mother.
“Don’t worry, Momma.”
“Your daughter was just getting her keys,” Hare said and then smiled at Selena.
She did exactly as he said.
“Where are you going?” asked her mother.
Hare had Selena’s elbow and hustled her outside. He leaned back to call to her mother in Apache.
“Call the police and you won’t see her alive again.”
Her mother’s screams were cut short by the slamming of the front door.
“Phone,” he said, extending his hand.
She gave it to him and he threw it. The rectangular device spiraled through the air and vanished into a snowbank beside the house.
“Get in the truck.”
She did and made sure she hit the snowbank on the way out of the drive. If anyone was looking for her, she wanted to leave a trail of bread crumbs.
Gabe, she thought, come and find me.
* * *
GABE CALLED CLAY and he confirmed his fears. Jovanna’s adoptive parent was the same Cassidy Walker who was their uncle’s new partner. Clyne was going to flip.
He had just disconnected when his phone vibrated again. He checked the caller ID and recognized Selena’s home number. He picked up.
“Selena?”
But it was not Selena.
He heard a woman shouting. Something about them saying not to call the police. The next words came in a wail and were very clear. “Don’t. Don’t. They’ll kill her.”
Gabe clutched the phone. It was Selena’s parents and her mother was screaming.
“Frasco? Ruth?” he called. The
y didn’t seem to hear him.
He understood only two words—taken and Selena—but that was enough.
Gabe retrieved his badge, holster and pistol. Then he headed for the door.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gabe had tried to call twice en route with no success. He reached the Dosela home with Kino, Dryer and Juris all behind him.
As Gabe pulled into the gravel drive, he saw immediately that the tractor trailer and flatbed were gone and felt a moment’s relief. Perhaps the twins were already gone on another a run and Selena was safe. But the cold lump remained in the pit of his stomach as he skidded to a stop and threw open the door to his unit.
Where was Selena?
He dialed her phone again and heard it ringing nearby. Gabe retrieved her mobile from the snow. He judged the distance from the porch and the plowed drive and decided the mobile could not have just slipped from her pocket. It seemed to have been thrown there. Gabe tucked her phone into his front pocket.
The front door swung open and a very anxious Ruthie Dosela appeared, her tattered blue terry-cloth robe flapping open to reveal her flannel nightie and worn pink slippers. His heart gave a little jolt at her complete disregard for her state of undress as she motioned Gabe back.
“Go away,” she shouted.
Her husband emerged behind her, his high-topped moccasins tugged over his sweatpants and his hooded winter coat also flapping open. The gash and bruise on his hairline had turned his forehead purple. Ruth grabbed at him, but he brushed her off. He was followed closely by Selena’s three sisters who poured down the steps, passing their parents at a run. Behind them her mother paused on the steps.
“Go away!” wailed Ruth from the bottom step. “They’ll kill her.”
Mia and Carla were both talking at once to Detective Juris, and Kino was trying to make sense of Paula’s babbling. Tomas appeared on the steps in his pajamas crying and clasping his stuffed frog to his chest. Ruth retreated up the steps to hold him, rocking as they both wailed.
Gabe intercepted Frasco as he reached the drive.
