Black Rock Guardian. Jenna Kernan

police detective stood to the FBI agent’s left, and Tinnin moved to her right, resting his armpits on his crutches. Ty could hear him working his gum. All three blocked his path to the door that he knew was locked.

      He was the only one sitting. They’d placed him in a position of weakness. But he knew the game and kept his attention on this new threat.

      “I’m agent Beth Hoosay. I’m a member of the Apache tribe of Oklahoma and a field agent for the FBI assigned to a special task force here in Arizona.”

      “How’s the sled?” he asked, feeling off balance, but forcing himself to relax past the buzzing that was now in his ears. “Get it going?”

      “Just a starter motor, loose wire. Easy fix.”

      No doubt because she’d been the one to loosen it to begin with, he thought.

      “Your boss know the company you been keeping?” he asked. If he thought to embarrass her, he failed. Her smile widened and she looked pleased with herself.

      “A better question is, do you want your boss to know the company you’ve been keeping?”

      Ty shifted in his seat and then told himself to sit still.

      “Okay, points for you. Counting coup? You have coup sticks up there in Oklahoma, right?”

      “It’s on our great seal.” Beth opened the file she carried. “But that’s not all I’ve got.”

      She drew out a sheet of paper, laid it on the table and turned it toward him. “This is a transcript of a conversation recorded by Agent Luke Forrest on his phone. It is from the phone of Colt Redhorse, your brother, a phone given to him by Agent Forrest. It was used by Kacey Doka to call for help during her abduction.”

      He knew that because he’d been the one to tell her to call the FBI. That had been one of his stupider moves. But one that did help save her life.

      “The pertinent portion is right here.” She stretched out her arm and pointed with one well-manicured nail. “Do you recognize this conversation?”

      He glanced at the page and read:

      Kacey Doka: “They aren’t here yet.”

      Driver: “Look again.”

      Pause.

      Driver: “Exactly.”

      Kacey Doka: “Where’s Colt?”

      Driver: “Don’t know. High ground, I hope. He’s a hell of a good shot. But so are they.”

      * * *

      TY PUSHED THE page back. They had proof he’d driven Kacey. But he’d admitted that already and they had both his and Kacey Doka’s statements. They wouldn’t hang him on that, he hoped. But they might.

      “What am I looking at?”

      “Don’t you know?” asked Beth.

      He did not reply.

      “Well, then.” Agent Hoosay retrieved the page and substituted another. “This one might interest you.” She pointed. “Blood results from the shoot-out involving your brother Dr. Kee Redhorse at Antelope Lake five days ago. Somehow Dr. Redhorse managed to get two kidnap victims out of that house past two armed men, yet he was unarmed and both captors had handguns. This blood was found in the living room on broken glass. On the dock behind the house. On the boat that your brother used to escape and on the shore at the northeastern shore of the lake.”

      Ty did not look at the page. He preferred looking at Beth. She was so sure she had him boxed. Did she remember that a trapped animal is the most dangerous kind?

      “It’s your blood. We don’t need a sample because we obtained one with a warrant from your clinic. Perfect match. So we don’t need your brother Kee or Louisa Tah or former detective Ava Hood to verify your presence at Antelope Lake.”

      Ty propped an elbow on the table and splayed his hand over his jaw, studying her. He’d known she was beautiful at first sight. Her entrance at the roadhouse showed she had a confidence bordering on recklessness. She also knew how to ride a motorcycle, a beauty of a bike. He added smarts to her list of attributes and wondered what she’d do if he put his hand over the one beside the damning evidence.

      He wouldn’t, of course. They were adversaries from now on and he’d do well to remember it instead of noticing the way her eyes bordered on gray under the fluorescent lights.

      Bear Den spoke up. “You assisted Dr. Redhorse in rescuing Ava Hood and Louisa Tah.”

      “You here to give me my medal?”

      Bear Den’s smile showed how much he was enjoying this. Ty had been a burr under Bear Den’s saddle for years.

      “You were there and that is no crime. But how you knew where to find your brother and Dr. Hauser might be,” said Beth, the threat veiled in her soft, honeyed voice.

      “Yet I’m not under arrest,” he said.

      The FBI agent glanced to Tinnin. “Because you encouraged Kacey to call for backup and stayed to help her escape and you came to your brother Kee’s aid on Antelope Lake. Other circumstances, you’d be a hero, son.”

      Ty made a face and sat back in his chair. “My whole life has been other circumstances.”

      “Distinguished yourself in the US Marines,” added Tinnin.

      “After accepting a deal to serve in lieu of facing charges for armed robbery at eighteen,” Bear Den said.

      Jeez. Did the detective have his file memorized?

      Tinnin ignored Bear Den’s comment. “We know you’ve helped your brothers. We want you to help your tribe the same way.”

      “How exactly do you expect me to do that?”

      “First off, if you have any information on any criminal activity on this rez, you need to tell us now.”

      Ty thought of the meth lab operating on Deer Kill Meadow and kept his mouth shut.

      “Nothing?” said Bear Den.

      “You didn’t call me in here to be a snitch. Tell me what you really want.”

      They told him and he laughed. “So. Take the deal or my tribe will turn me over to face federal charges. Question is, how likely is it that this deal of yours is going to get me killed?”

      Agent Hoosay sat back, draping an arm over the back of her chair. Now there was the woman he had met the other night, all danger and promise.