Native Born

His hair was short, his frame was athletic and slim and he only vaguely resembled Clyne around the eyes and brows.

Cassidy stared at Luke and wondered what Clyne’s mother had looked like because she was Amanda’s biological mother, too.

“What?” said Luke.

“Did you know Clyne’s mother?”

“Of course.”

“What was she like?”

He gave her an odd look, but answered. “Beautiful. Strong. Protective of her kids.”

Cassidy nodded. Strong and beautiful, just like Clyne, she realized.

Why was she comparing everyone to Clyne Cosen? With any luck she wouldn’t have to see him again. Her stomach twisted, knowing from her attorney that she would lose. Clinging to the only loophole allowed in the Indian Child Welfare Act. Thank God her daughter had turned twelve last June. Of course neither had known her real birthday until recently and had always celebrated on her adoption day on February 19.

“Where’ve you been?” she asked.

His eyes did that thing, the quick narrowing before his face returned to a congenial expression.

“Luke?”

He chuckled. “I must be losing my edge. I was with Tully and with Gabe Cosen. They’re both on the joint task force.”

She knew that Gabe had been invited belatedly to the joint drug enforcement task force that had been behind the operation to find the mobile meth lab and precursor needed to make the drugs. They had done an end run around Gabe, the chief of the tribal police force, and her partner because they were both Black Mountain Apache and therefore also suspects. Reasonable precaution, she had thought at the time. Now she felt differently.

“Listen, I’m sorry they left you out of the loop,” she said.

“Yeah. Me, too.” He gave her a long look. “You sure you’re okay? You had a close call today.”

“Yeah.” Cassidy waved away his concerns as if they were smoke.

She refused to think about it, refused to consider that her daughter might have been left without a mother, again. Would Amanda then be turned over to her birth family?

She focused on what Luke had said. “So does Tully think this has to do with the bust on Black Mountain?”

“It might. Might be someone after Obella Chemicals. Hell, it might be someone from Obella Chemicals.”

“In other words, they have no leads.”

Forrest shook his head.

“Tully said that he thinks Clyne Cosen was the target. Gabe Cosen agrees and wants his brother to have added security detail when off the rez.”

“Reasonable,” said Cassidy.

Forrest rubbed his chin and Cassidy knew he was holding back.

“Spill it.”

“Your name came up as a possibility, too.” He gave an apologetic shrug.

Her first reaction was indignation but she reined that in. “They figure how I shot myself in the back?”

Forrest chuckled. “Yeah, that did put a chink in their theory.”

“Anyway, we’re trying to get Clyne to accept protection. He’s resisting,” said Forrest.

“You think Tully will pick you?” Luke Forrest would make sense. He spoke Apache, knew the culture and the tribe. He’d blend in while the other agents would stick out like flies on rice.

“Don’t know. Doesn’t matter if Clyne won’t take us up on the offer. Plus we’re still on cleanup with the Raggar case.”

Which was proving much easier now that Gabe Cosen was on board. They had the meth lab and the precursor and were working on shutting down the distribution ring, run by mob boss Cesaro Raggar, currently in federal prison. She knew this because she’d been pissed not to get that assignment herself, when she was the one who’d responded to Gabe Cosen’s call for backup once the precursor had been located. “How’s the youngest brother doing?”

“Kino?” Luke rubbed his neck reflexively in the place his youngest nephew had taken a bullet. “Healing. And back to work on the tribal force.”

As a tribal police officer, she knew. He’d also been a Shadow Wolf working on the border, tracking smugglers with his brother Clay. The Shadow Wolves were an elite team of Native American trackers working under Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hunt and apprehend drug traffickers on the Arizona border.

“Anyway, Gabe mentioned to Tully about the petition to overturn.”

Cassidy’s gaze flashed to Forrest and held.

“You should have told him, Cassidy. He’s talking about pulling you off the Raggar case.”

Which was exactly why she had not told Tully about the custody battle.

“That has nothing to do with me doing my job. Damn it, Luke. I’ve been on this since the beginning. I’ve put in the time and I deserve to see it through.” Plus she knew bringing down Raggar and Manny Escalanti would give her the commendation she needed to earn a promotion to a major field office. Escalanti was the leader of the Black Mountain’s only gang, the Wolf Posse. He’d managed to insulate himself on the reservation and by using others to run his errands. Cassidy wanted him bad.

Forrest shrugged. “It’s a problem.”

Clyne burst back into the room with her boss and his brother Gabe Cosen on his heels. Gabe scanned the room, met her gaze and did a quick clinical sweep before moving on. He kept his gun hand clear and immediately stepped out of the doorway to a position where he could see anyone approach the entrance. She smiled in admiration. The man would make a good agent, she decided, thinking that being the chief of police on the rez seemed a waste of his talents.

“Councilman Cosen, please,” said Tully. “We can’t guarantee your safety.”

“Your guarantee. We all know what a guarantee from the federal government is worth.”

Man, she could see the chip on his shoulder from clear across the room. If she had it right, his tribe was one of the few that had remained on their land because they had succeeded in making a deal with the federal government that had been kept.

“It would be easier with your consent,” said Gabe. “We are only talking about the times when you come down off Black Mountain.”

“I’d rather have you,” said Clyne, his dark eyes flicking to his younger brother.

“Well, I already have a job on the rez. These folks are much better prepared to watch your back, as evidenced by Agent Walker here.”

Clyne came up short when he spotted her.

Gabe’s comment forced Clyne to look at her. Cassidy sucked in a breath and felt the twinge at her ribs. Why did the simple connection of his gaze and hers make her skin buzz with an electricity? Oh, this was really bad.