Stargazer's Woman

Before she could say anything more, a petite Navajo woman in a blue suit with long black hair tied back at the nape of her neck came into the room.

The woman made a faint gesture with the palm of her hand, indicating that Kris should withhold any more comments. “My client is free to go, correct?” It hadn’t been a question as much as a statement.

“Absolutely. But we ask that she stay in the area,” Lassiter said.

Kris looked directly at him. “My business is here, and so is every dime I have, Detective. Where else would I be?”

“You tell me,” he answered.

“That’s enough,” Emily said, looking at Kris and shaking her head slightly. To emphasize the need to end this conversation, she gave Kris a gentle nudge out the door.

As they stepped out into the hall, Kris saw the tall redheaded man who worked for Jewelry Outlet. “Mr. Talbot,” Kris said in a cold voice. Now she knew why he’d been coming around. He’d bought into the conspiracy angle as well.

“You may be leaving for now, but this isn’t over,” Talbot said. “The sheriff thinks you may be involved in the theft of tribal property, and so do I.”

“Ignore him.” Emily nudged her toward the side door. “Let’s get out of here.”

As they reached the exit, Emily stopped, then gave her a stern look. “I’m going to get Max. Wait here and speak to no one while I’m gone. Clear?”

“How much will I owe you for all this?” Kris asked, blurting out what was at the forefront of her mind. At the moment, her personal checking account wouldn’t have bought two tanks of gasoline.

“It’s already been covered,” the Navajo woman said, then went down the hall.

Detective Lassiter joined her again as soon as Emily disappeared from view. “She’s the tribe’s top gun,” he said. “Just remember my warning,” he added, then hurried away.

A gazillion questions were going through her mind, but one stood above all the others. Just who exactly was Max Natoni? The guy had some serious connections, that’s for sure. One way or another she’d have to figure out who she was dealing with.

Max came around the corner of the hall and joined her moments later. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, they’re through with me,” she said. “But where’s Ms. Largo?”

“She’s got other business at the moment.” He led the way outside. “I know you’ve got a lot of questions, I can see them in your eyes. But let’s wait until we put some distance between us and this zoo.”

She did as he asked. Neither spoke as she drove through the city and headed west, back toward the nursery, which lay between Farmington and the Navajo Nation along the San Juan River valley. Finally, after about fifteen minutes, he broke the silence.

“There’s no turning back now. We’re in too deep. You realize that, right?” he asked at last.

“I know we’re both targets, yes. That also means I’m going to have to stay away from the Smiling Cactus Nursery when it needs me most.”

He nodded. “Otherwise you could endanger your employees or customers.”

“I’ll turn the reins over to Maria as soon as we arrive. She can take care of business for me until all the details surrounding my sister’s death are settled.”

“I think that’s the right decision,” he agreed.

Her insides were knotted but pride kept her voice cool. “Who are you, Max? I mean, really.”

“I’m exactly who I’ve told you I am. I’m a tribal employee.”

She shook her head. “There’s more to you—and the job—than you’re saying.”

“That could be said about almost anyone,” he replied with a slow smile. “There’s more to you, too, than just being the owner of a plant nursery.”

Max scarcely moved when he spoke. Like a good fighter, he didn’t seem to believe in wasted motion. Yet there was a raw energy about him, an edginess, that made him exciting to be around. It was like watching the beginning of a storm.

“Talbot, from Jewelry Outlet, was at the station,” she said, bringing her thoughts back into focus. “He thinks we’re all part of the gang who heisted the platinum.”

“Talbot’s job is probably on the line. The insurance company doesn’t want to shell out a bundle of cash to cover the tribe’s claim and they’re probably putting heat on Jewelry Outlet.”

Kris rubbed her temple with one hand. “When I came back home I thought I’d finally be able to sleep in peace at night knowing I had a good chance of waking up again. That’s all I wanted. But all I’ve found so far is more death.”

“My people believe that when we restore the balance between good and evil, we walk in beauty,” he said. “You’ll find the peace you want once harmony is established again.”

She lapsed into a long, thoughtful silence, then spoke. “Restoring that balance you spoke about is going to take a fight. The bad guys think we’ve got the answers, and the good guys think we’re the bad guys. That doesn’t leave us with many allies.”

“Don’t assume we’re working alone just because you haven’t seen our allies,” he said in a quiet voice.

There was something oddly reassuring about his confidence. “Who are our allies?”

“The tribe, for one,” he said. “We’ve got good friends who can be counted on to cover our flanks if things get hot.”

“Tribal employees, like you? You’re pretty sure of them?” she asked, her mind filled with even more questions.

“I am.”

There’d been a finality to his tone that told her he’d answered all the questions he was going to for now.

As she glanced at Max she saw the way he held himself. His muscles were hard and tense. For a brief second she pictured herself running her hands gently over his arms and chest. Would he shudder at her touch, or would he be all hardness and control?

A delicious shiver touched her spine but, with effort, she suppressed it.

“You okay?” he asked. His eyes were dark and probing as they held hers.

Did his imagination misbehave, too, when he looked at her? She pushed the thought back firmly. Max Natoni was a dangerous man—to his enemies, and to any woman who didn’t encase her heart in armor.

“I won’t go back to work until this is resolved, but somehow I’ve got to make that clear to the ones who came after us. I have to make sure my staff stays safe,” she said turning back to the business at hand.

“My guess is they’ll keep a watch on the nursery for a few days and once they see you’re not around, they’ll pull out and go on the move. We’re the ones they want. The cops will be coming around here often, too, now that the nursery’s on their radar. That’s company the guys after us will want to avoid.”

Max’s voice was low and smoky, a hunter on the prowl. Yet in the confines of the car, it also seemed to hold an air of intimacy. She glanced over at him, then focused back on the road. Smoldering. That was the one word that best described him. So much lay just beneath the surface….

“You must really have some connections if you rate the tribe’s top attorney,” she said, mostly to see his reaction.

Max raised an eyebrow, then his lips curved in a wicked smile that made her breath catch in her throat.

“No answer?” she probed, refusing to let him get to her.

“As I told you, we have allies.”