Black Rock Guardian

by Jenna Kernan

  “Ty. Should have known from that grin. I’ll get to you in a minute.” He turned back to Burt.

  “No. You’ll get to me now.”

  Colton turned, his expression filled with anticipation. His dark eyes glittered and a smile lifted his mouth. He was looking forward to this. Ty managed not to take a step backward as he met his father’s cold stare, but it was hard.

  “Figured it out. Took a while because you’re so slick. But I finally worked it through.” Colton turned to May, who had slipped off the chair and kneeled beside Burt. “Get away from him.”

  His father pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Burt. May complied, dragging herself up and back to her chair. When Ty’s father turned back, Ty was three steps closer.

  Ty lifted a finger at the pistol and then pointed to Burt. “Got three parole violations that I see. B and E, weapon and assault. Not your best start.”

  “Shut up,” said Colton, and turned the gun on Ty as he spoke to May. “You know what your son did? He set me up. Crashed on purpose so we’d all get caught. What they call that? Cut off his nose despite his face.”

  “To spite his face,” Ty said, correcting him.

  “Shut up,” said Colton. That was his favorite expression, his easy go-to.

  Ty spoke to the Doka children. “Girls, I want you to walk behind me and out the back door.”

  They rose, but Colton turned his pistol in their direction.

  “Abbie stays,” he said.

  He’d last seen Abbie when she was eight years old. It was no surprise that he could not recognize her.

  “Like I’ve been telling you,” said his mother.

  “Shut up,” barked Colton.

  “Those are foster kids. None of them is Abbie,” said Ty.

  His father glared at him. “Why should I believe anything you say?”

  Ty motioned to the girls to come to him with one hand. Jackie pushed her younger siblings ahead of her. They rushed past Ty and out the back door a moment later.

  “Fine, go on,” said Colton, closing the door after the cow was out of the barn.

  Ty had hoped that he wouldn’t shoot children, but his father’s temper had not improved with his incarceration and he had never looked more fit. Ty, on the other hand, was still recovering from the lacerations on his shoulder.

  “Where’s Abbie?” Colton raged. “I want to see my little girl.”

  “Faras Pike kidnapped her to get my cooperation.”

  May cried out and then began to weep.

  “Faras? That little turd. He’s next on my list.”

  His father would have to stand in line behind the FBI, thought Ty.

  “You want to call him?” Ty offered his phone.

  Colton grinned. “My message needs to be delivered in person.”

  Ty slipped his phone into his back pocket.

  “How about you and I settle this outside?” asked Ty.

  “You’re my son, but you betrayed me. Betrayed your own father. So I’m going to return the favor, make ’em open those closed records.” He turned the grip of the pistol toward Burt. Then he wiped the trigger and grip with his shirttails. Ty had an inkling of what Colton planned as his father crouched beside Burt’s still form and pressed the pistol into his limp fingers.

  “That won’t fool anyone,” said Ty.

  “Shut up.”

  Ty had been told that just one too many times. He kicked his father’s arm, sending the gun thumping across the carpet, but Colton grabbed Ty’s leg and twisted, sending Ty sprawling to the floor.

  His father roared and dove onto Ty. During the wrestling match, Ty only once had his father in a headlock, but was quickly tossed by the man who outweighed him by fifty pounds of muscle.

  His mother struggled to get Burt to his feet. Ty wished she’d leave Burt and run, but she didn’t. When Colton reached for her, Ty landed a body blow to his exposed ribs. His father expelled the air from his lungs and caved toward the blow. His mother was up and Burt gained his feet as the two shuffled out the front door. Ty blocked his father’s pursuit with his body and his father changed direction, retrieving the pistol.

  Colton aimed the weapon at Ty and ordered him to move. Ty didn’t. Colton roared as he holstered the weapon in the front of his jeans. Then he charged Ty, the tackle sending them both out the door, Ty flying backward. Ty caught a glimpse of his mother on the hard ground first beside Burt, who was on his hands and knees, retching.

  His father twisted and grabbed something at his hip. Ty saw the flash of steel. His father had a knife. He needed to keep his father from hurting his mother. Sending him to prison had worked but only for a while. He was back, he was a wild animal and he needed to be put down. But Ty did not know if he could do it. A primal part of him resisted until Colton’s gaze locked on his mother. Then something broke inside him.

  Ty lunged for the blade, capturing his father’s wrist in both hands. His father released the weapon. They rolled over and over, out into the yard. Colton came up on top, straddling him and tugging the pistol from the front of his jeans.

  Colton’s eyes blazed with triumph. “Still the better man,” he growled, and then lifted the pistol, pressing the barrel to the center of Ty’s forehead.

  Ty kept his eyes wide open. The gunshot made him jump.

  There was another shot, followed by another.

  He shouldn’t have heard that, not if the bullet passed through his skull. He stared up at his father, at first thinking his dad had shot wide just to scare him.

  Colton’s arms hung at his sides and he gaped at Ty with a look of confusion etched on his brow. Ty’s attention moved to the red stains blooming by the second on the front of his father’s blue denim shirt. Colton tipped sideways and fell beside Ty. Behind his father stood FBI Special Agent Beth Hoosay, her gold badge swinging before her and her arms outstretched, holding her pistol.

  * * *

  BETH STARED IN shock at Colton Redhorse’s inert form. She’d discharged three rounds, fearing all the while that she might hit Ty. The cold panic still froze her from the inside out and she stood motionless, pistol still aimed at Colton Redhorse’s body.

  Neither man had heard her approach or her order for Colton to drop his weapon. Only May Redhorse had looked in her direction, seen her run across the lawn and draw her sidearm, shouting that she was FBI.

  Kee had phoned her, told her what had happened. During that drive, racing from Darabee to his mother’s home, all she could think of was that she’d be too late. Too late to save Ty. Too late to reach the conclusion that she didn’t want a promotion if it meant losing him. Too late to understand what was really important in her life...who was really important. And too late to have a chance to tell him that she loved him with all her ambitious imperfect self.

  Beth stood staring at Colton Redhorse, waiting for him to move or groan or try to hurt Ty again. Her finger began to cramp upon the trigger. If he moved, she’d shoot him again right in the back.

  Colton Redhorse didn’t move because her training was too good and her reflexes too programmed not to hit center mass. Now there would be an inquiry into this shooting, as there was with all cases when an agent used deadly force. But instead of considering the implications to her career, she could think only of how close she had come to losing Ty forever.

  Would he forgive her for killing his father or would he thank her? Ty understood about protecting his family, and they were a wonderful family. Getting to know them all made her long for what she had missed being an only child. Every one of his family had treated her with the respect and acceptance she thought could only be found in her career. What was a career set against the potential of the man before her?

  Ty had shown her his capacity to love. He loved his mother and his sister. He’d protected everyone in his family at great personal expense. He was a shining example of b
rains and heart. And she knew she’d never find another man like him.

  Ty shoved his father the rest of the way off him. There was the sound of sirens heading toward them. His brother Jake was coming. The whole tribal police was coming, but they’d all been out between Turquoise Ridge and Koun’nde. Darabee had been closer and she’d driven like a madwoman. Her backup pulled in, Agent Forrest exiting his vehicle with his service weapon drawn.

  Ty checked his father’s pulse and then left him to move to his mother and Mr. Rope. Ty never looked at Beth or even acknowledged her presence. His shoulder was bleeding again, but he didn’t seem to notice that, either, as he gathered his weeping mother in his arms.

  Beth kept her weapon on Colton Redhorse as Forrest placed a foot on the perp’s weapon and then stooped to retrieve it. He also checked the man’s pulse and shook his head, eyes on her.

  “Clear,” he said.

  She holstered her pistol and expelled a long breath. The next one came fast and rasping. The adrenaline, previously contained to the narrow focus of her suspect, now released into her nervous system, giving her a trembling, disjointed feeling that surged through her with increasing ferocity.

  “Is he...?” Her voice had lifted an octave. Nothing in her training had prepared her for the moment she took a life.

  Forrest nodded.

  The yard filled up with law enforcement vehicles, headlights shone across the yellow grass, casting long shadows before her. Ty and May’s faces turned blue and red as the lights from the police vehicles flashed. Officer Redhorse jogged past her to his mother while Ty saw to Burt Rope, getting him to his seat to await the incoming ambulance. Beth just stood there watching the chaos as her ears buzzed.

  Forrest approached, touching her elbow. “You all right?”

  “Never shot anyone before,” she said.

  It didn’t feel good, and even knowing it was necessary and that Colton Redhorse was a dangerous man, she felt ill. Suddenly Beth understood Ty’s insistence to never hold a firearm.

  “Feel sick.”

  “Yeah. I know,” said Forrest.

  He ushered her to his vehicle and opened the passenger side door, pressing her into the seat. “Going to need you to make a statement. Man, you got here fast. Never seen anyone drive like that. I lost you on the switchbacks between here and Darabee.”

  Switchbacks? She didn’t even remember them. She lifted a trembling hand, extending her fingers to show him.

  “That normal?” she asked.

  “It hits everyone differently. But always after the danger is past. You did your job, Agent Hoosay.”

  That was a nice way of saying it. But she hadn’t been doing her job. Her flight here and the shooting had been personal. Only her training had ensured that she announced herself and followed the rules of engagement. But she would have shot Colton Redhorse regardless and the fact that she shot him in the back mattered to her not at all.

  “Listen, I’m going to have the EMTs have a look at you.”

  “Is Ty all right?” She tried to see past Forrest, who squatted before her. There were so many people here now and Ty was lost in the crowd.

  “He’s with his brother Jake. I have to set up the perimeter.”

  Perimeter? Yes, that was what needed to be done.

  “His mom and the girls?”

  “The girls are all scared but safe. Burt will need a trip to the ER. But I’m sure he’ll recover.”

  “Can I see Ty?”

  “Not now. We need his statement first. You wait here a while, okay?”

  No. Not okay. She put her head in her hands and took some deep breaths. She just needed a minute.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  What a car wreck, thought Ty. Two hours after the shooting, he waited in the interrogation room, the only one in the small tribal police headquarters. The walls were white and the floor a scuffed gray tile. Furniture consisted of two chairs, one with a student-style, flip-up desk. He sat in the other, the one where the occupant was not required to take notes. A glance at the mirror showed only his reflection. His hair was disheveled, his cheek bruised and his T-shirt bloody from the wound that just would not stay closed. Kee would be mad at him about that again, no doubt.

  Ty had been here before, once too often. This time he was not handcuffed...yet.

  He’d wanted to help Beth make her case, her career and gain her ticket out of the field office where she had reached as far as she could. FBI agents advanced by making a big case. But he sure had never intended to have his dysfunctional family as the center of her investigation.

  His father was dead and his overwhelming emotion was relief. The man who had terrorized his family and beaten his mother would never hurt them again. But the scars he left behind would take time to heal. His mother and Burt had gone by ambulance to the tribe’s clinic, where Kee would be seeing to their injuries. Abbie was already there. Kee’s family had become some of his best customers, and that was no coveted position.

  He wondered if Shirley, Jackie and Winnie were all right and he wondered how many nightmares would follow from this evening’s events. Had they seen Ty’s father shot down like the rabid animal that he was?

  The door opened and Ty shifted, lifting his chin in a weary acceptance that things would get worse before they got better. Three men stepped into the small room, Kenshaw Little Falcon, their medicine man and a certified therapist, Police Chief Wallace Tinnin, chewing gum and rocking awkwardly on his booted foot, and FBI Agent Luke Forrest. Ty looked toward the hall but Beth did not appear, and Forrest closed the door.

  They wanted his statement. He wanted some answers. They indulged him. He learned that Abbie was dehydrated but otherwise healthy...physically, that is. Jewell Tasa had been charged with kidnapping and currently occupied the tribe’s only jail cell right down the hall. Ty’s mother was being treated for a spike in her blood pressure and Burt was recovering from a head wound and broken ribs. The Doka girls had been seen by Kee and released to Hazel Tran, one of their tribal council members and the retired teacher who had been fostering their younger brothers, Hewett and Jeffery. The Doka family was together again, except for their big sister Kacey, still in witness protection with Ty’s brother Colt.

  Forrest answered all of Ty’s questions. Except the one he didn’t ask—where was Beth?

  Tinnin took over. “We got Faras and all members of the Wolf Posse under arrest. They’ve been transported to the Darabee jail under Detective Bear Den’s supervision.”

  Ty had no doubt that the posse would not be seen by visitors of any sort while Bear Den was in charge. “Randy Tasa?”

  “Protective services picked him up. He’ll be placed with a family on the rez in a day or two,” said Kenshaw.

  “So,” said Tinnin. “We need to take your statement.”

  “Starting where?” asked Ty.

  “Go through your day, searching for your sister with Agent Hoosay.”

  “Where is she?” he asked.

  “Debriefing. Statements,” said Forrest. “Same as you.”

  “Can I see her?”

  Forest shook his head.

  Ty sighed and then gave them what they came for, going through the events of the day and their search for his sister, ending with their successful recovery of Abbie from a dog crate. He wondered if he’d ever be able to think about that without the scalding fury filling his stomach like boiling sap.

  They released him a little before 10:00 p.m. with instructions to return in the morning for a second round of questioning. Jake took him over to the clinic for treatment. Kee scolded him as he opted for Steri-Strips instead of stitches or staples.

  “If you’re just going to keep tearing them out, this will work best. That cut will leave a scar. Don’t blame me. It’s your fault.”

  “Most things are,” he muttered, the weariness settling between his shoulde
rs.

  Kee looked at him with wide eyes. Ty cocked his head in confusion and then watched in surprise as Kee’s dark eyes filled with tears. Despite his injury, Kee hugged him, holding him tight as the sobs came.

  Ty looked to Jake, who stood with his hands on his utility belt, his own eyes swimming.

  “You saved Abbie,” Jake said. “You found her and brought her home safe and you saved Mom.”

  Jake stepped forward to join the hug. Ty lifted his free hand to pat his older and younger brothers in turn.

  Kee drew back first and yanked a tissue from the stainless-steel cart beside the examining table.

  Jake pulled back and dropped his gaze to the floor as he spoke. “We just found out what you did.”

  The myriad of possibilities filled Ty’s mind, but he kept mute, unsure as to what Jake referred to.

  “Dad,” clarified Jake, meeting his gaze. “Driving Dad and hitting that pole. You did it on purpose to get him out of our life.”

  Ty’s eyes rounded, but he inclined his chin.

  “And you helped me protect my baby girl,” said Jake, “when the posse came after my baby.”

  “I couldn’t have gotten Ava out of the hands of those Russian mobsters without you,” added Kee.

  “And he made sure Colt was in place to save Kacey,” Jake said to Kee. Then he turned to Ty. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand. That all this time I thought you were one of them.”

  “He’s always been one of us,” said Kee. “Always.”

  Ty’s throat tightened. They were seeing him as if for the first time, recognizing his value, and their gratitude tore him up inside. He didn’t know what to say.

  “Does Mom know?” asked Ty at last.

  “She said she knew all along. Suspected, at least, that you were the reason our dad was locked up,” said Jake. “I don’t know why she didn’t tell me.”

  “Is she here?” Ty asked.

  “Spending the night in the clinic with Abbie,” said Kee. “Burt, too.”

  “Her house is still an active crime scene,” added Jake. He rested a hand on Ty’s uninjured shoulder. “They’re gone now, the posse. Finished.”