“Humor me. If you simply had to pick something . . .”
“Well . . . the chicken fried steak probably won’t make you vomit.”
“Mmm-mmm, such a ringing endorsement. You have sold me. I will have chicken fried steak,” he said. “Do you have coffee?”
“Yeah, but it’s probably four or five hours old,” Ska warned.
“That is pretty much how I always drink it.”
She nodded, never making eye contact, “It’s your funeral. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Rainhorse noted the needle marks on the young woman’s arms, inside the bend of her elbow. The young Sioux made no attempt to hide the scars. They were undoubtedly unremarkable on the res.
He spent several minutes looking about the diner. It was problematic for a kill and a kidnapping. For a split second, he thought about waiting for a different opportunity, perhaps in Plentywood, but dismissed it. He needed to do this on reservation land, where the local tribal police would be the ones called in to investigate. If he kidnapped Apollo in Plentywood, the Sheridan County Sheriff would get the call. Here on the res, the Tribal Police wanted as little interference from white authorities as possible.
Hank Rattling Thunder was of no use to him. He would be eliminated immediately.
He had already done his research. The Fort Peck Tribal Police were severely undermanned and overwhelmed with murders, drug problems, prostitution and domestic violence, not to mention a backlog of murder investigations and untold missing persons reports. It would still be unlikely they would call in for help from the outside. The Tribal Police was very territorial and hated interference from the white man’s world. However, even if they did call in for help, the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Department had their own problems. They served nearly seventeen hundred square miles with less than twenty deputies. The killing of a scumbag like Hank Rattling Thunder would not draw too much attention. When the Sheriff’s Department got wind of Apollo’s kidnapping they might seek to get involved, or call in the FBI, but there would be a jurisdictional squabble that would delay things. With any luck, he’d be long gone before that was argument was resolved.
If the number of patrons were typical for the time of day, he didn’t want to risk shooting Hank Rattling Thunder at point-blank range and then abducting Apollo from inside the restaurant. There would be too many witnesses.
Both men would however, leave together, in all likelihood. His best bet, he decided, would be to wait for them to leave, knock Apollo out cold and kill Rattling Thunder at short-range. He would certainly risk being seen by a witness or two, but far fewer than if he did it inside the diner. He would use a silencer on his pistol to minimize attention from the inside. He also guessed that everyone in the diner probably knew who Tony Apollo and Hank Rattling Thunder were. He doubted whether it would break anyone’s heart to see them in distress. Members of the tribe had an inherent distrust for the police, even the tribal police. It was quite possible that any witness to the killings would develop a sudden case of amnesia when questioned.
The young Sioux waitress brought Rainhorse his chicken fried steak. The smell was atrocious. He took one small bite and shoved the plate aside. Ska was wrong, he decided. If he had eaten this, it probably would make him vomit. He sipped the coffee, which was not nearly as bad as he thought it would be.
As he sipped, he pulled two pictures from his wallet. The first picture was of his daughter, June Ann, taken some twelve years earlier when she was only sixteen. He often stared at her picture in the evenings, wondering what she was doing. Was she married? What was her husband like? Did she have children—his grandchildren?
All were questions he doubted he’d ever find the answer to. The second picture was one he printed off the Stanford University website. A picture of a stunningly beautiful girl . . . now woman, he imagined, a woman of about eighteen.
Not a day went by that he didn’t think of Lindsay Vanderbilt. He had only spent a short while with her but developed tremendous affection for the teenager. Her absence created a void in his heart that would never be filled by anyone else. He never had the opportunity to love and care for his own daughter, but the short time he took care of Lindsay and protected her—it gave him purpose. Those few days provided him with memories to last a lifetime. Her charm, her wit, her smile, her impetuous nature, her vulnerability . . . her silly laugh, even her foul mouth. They were all remembrances he cherished. He relived them every day. They kept him moving forward.
He desperately wanted to see her . . . or even call her, but he would never allow it to happen. She was now well guarded by professional bodyguards, and even if she wasn’t, he knew Barnabas Quince was still at large—still looking for him. Barnabas would be watching Lindsay closely, looking for signs that he’d try to make contact.
No, he thought. Lindsay was better off without him. He would not be able to live with himself if he ever drew her into harm’s way.
Rainhorse had nearly died in the final shootout that inevitably led to Lindsay’s rescue. He’d been shot multiple times and was badly bleeding. He turned to one of the few people in life he knew he could trust, Ellie Limberhand.
He had called her during the course of his journey with Lindsay, which he suspected might end badly for him. He had given Ellie his route. Once he knew Lindsay was safe, he called her. She was only minutes away.
She found him nearly dead. She whisked him away before the police and FBI arrived. She had provided medical attention, the kind of attention that is not in a hospital—no insurance claim filed.
It was touch and go for a long time, but he finally recovered, thanks to Ellie.
He and Ellie laid low for a long time. His wounds healed. As far as Quince and the FBI were concerned, Rainhorse had simply vanished into thin air. He was content to leave it that way, that is, until he got the call from Neha Littlebird. Her only daughter, Lona, had been kidnapped by Apollo and Rattling Thunder.
Neha was terrified and beside herself with worry. Rainhorse reacted immediately.
And now he was here. Soon, Apollo and Rattling Thunder would pay.
End of sample:
Also by Jesse Jacobson
Elle James’s Brotherhood Protector Series
Steele Ranger
When billionaire-CEO “Vandy” Vanderbilt’s world crashed around her, she seeks the peace and quiet of secluded range to decompress in solitude. An unknown enemy stalks her and tries to kill her during the worst snowstorm in decades but a stranger shows up to foil the murder. The unlikely pair hole up in a cabin, cut off from the world. They form a bond as they try to unravel the mystery and survive.
Guardian Ranger
When Lindsay, the daughter of billionaire Vandy Vanderbilt is kidnapped, she is rescued by an unlikely benefactor—one of her kidnappers. When the assassin, Rainhorse, learns his boss plans to kill the teen, he breaks her free. The unlikely pair must elude his boss and the FBI forming a unique bond of friendship and love along the way.
Rainhorse
For two years Lindsay seeks her friend and benefactor, who is presumed dead. She finds he is alive and has reignited a flame with his childhood sweetheart, whose daughter was sold into prostitution. She finds her way to him only to find herself in the middle of nightmare when she discovers Rainhorse has been single-handedly trying to bring down a sex and drug traffic ring.
Rainhorse: The Return
Rainhorse has spent fifteen months in prison after turning himself over to the authorities. However, the FBI needs the reformed assassin to help them capture his old boss, who is threatening to detonate a weapon of mass destruction on US soil. The Cheyenne breaks free of the FBI to independently bring down the mastermind of the chaos, receiving help from Lindsay and his long-time flame along the way.
Susan Stoker’s Operation Alpha Special Forces Series
Protecting Honor
Honor Carpenter is a smart, beautiful woman with deep psychological scars left from an early sexual assault. When she meets the man of
her dreams, Navy SEAL Trevor Saunders, she begins to come out of her shell. An attempt to kidnap Honor is foiled by Trevor and his friends, Matthew “Wolf” Steel and his wife Caroline, but the kidnappers return. Trevor and Wolf must unravel the mystery and protect Honor.
Fighting for Honor
Long after Honor was saved from kidnappers, they return and this time take Honor. Trevor, Wolf and Caroline quickly react and find themselves in the middle of an all-out war with Middle Eastern powers.
Defending Honor
Honor is framed for a murder she did not commit. Trevor once again calls on his friends Wolf and Caroline, to unravel the mystery and exonerate Honor.
Summer Breeze
When attorney Rose Summer comes home to bury her father, she finds herself thrust into a huge mess with an aggressive oil company, who will stop at nothing to acquire her father’s property. She meets her father’s friend and landscaper, “Red” Red Feather, a former Navy SEAL. He foils a violent attempt to force Rose to sell her father’s land and promises to help her resolve the situation, against nearly insurmountable odds.
Major Events
May Major, a graphic designer in Seattle, is thrust into an overwhelming situation when her estranged father dies suddenly and leaves her in charge of a fading multimillion-dollar business in the process of being acquired by a corporate giant. Two of the company’s investors pressure May to step aside and allow the sale to go through but she begins to realize that the investors have a dark agenda and selling out is not what her father intended to do. May meets a local man, a retired Navy SEAL interrogator, who helps May find the courage to get through times that are not only difficult but become deadly. A kidnapping occurs with a demand to complete the sale by a deadline. The clock is ticking and all appears to be lost when help from an unexpected source suddenly appears.
Original Brotherhood Protectors Series
By Elle james
Brotherhood Protectors Series
Montana SEAL (#1)
Bride Protector SEAL (#2)
Montana D-Force (#3)
Cowboy D-Force (#4)
Montana Ranger (#5)
Montana Dog Soldier (#6)
Montana SEAL Daddy (#7)
Montana Ranger’s Wedding Vow (#8)
Montana SEAL Undercover Daddy (#9)
Cape Cod SEAL Rescue (#10)
Montana SEAL Friendly Fire (#11)
Montana SEAL’s Bride (#12)
Montana Rescue
Hot SEAL, Salty Dog
About Elle James
ELLE JAMES also writing as MYLA JACKSON is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of books including cowboys, intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edges of their seats. With over eighty works in a variety of sub-genres and lengths she has published with Harlequin, Samhain, Ellora’s Cave, Kensington, Cleis Press, and Avon. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, snow skiing, boating, or riding her ATV, dreaming up new stories. Learn more about Elle James at www.ellejames.com
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