Aimee Thurlo - Black Raven's Pride

Forcing herself not to even crack a smile, she stared at him coldly. “I hate to be a poor hostess, but I’ve got to put my son to bed.”

“Let me help you. Then we can talk,” Nick said, refusing to be put off.

Her chest constricted. This had been a favorite fantasy of hers—one she’d harbored in the deepest recesses of her heart.

“I’ll take care of it,” she said.

Eden tried not to look Nick in the eye as she silently took Christopher from him and started down the hall. Thankfully, Mrs. Chino had already bathed Christopher and he was in his pajamas. Giving her son a kiss on the forehead, she laid him gently in his crib and watched him for a moment. Christopher was her miracle, the only thing life had brought her that held nothing but good.

As she turned away, she noticed that Nick had followed her and was now standing just an arm’s length behind, watching the baby.

“You’re a lucky woman,” he said, following her out of the room. “That’s one special little boy.”

His words of praise only made her more nervous. Nick and Christopher had responded to each other in a way that had taken her by surprise. And that served to remind her of the need to be cautious.

“You’ve made a good life for yourself, Eden.” He brushed her face with his hand. His work-hardened palm made a shiver course through her. His body was all steel and muscle but, as it always had been, what made her melt inside was his gentleness.

Forcing her feelings aside, she walked to the door. “You have to go now, Nick. You don’t belong here. You’re not part of my life anymore.” Eden could see the impact her words had on him.

His eyes became hooded, his expression cold. “I know you want me to keep my nose out of your business, but any trouble that touches this pueblo is my business. If someone is trying to drive you out of town, I need to know. So, whether you like it or not, that makes you my business.”

Eden watched him from the living room window as he strode away. The attraction she felt for him was as strong as ever and that spelled big trouble. She’d have to protect herself or heartbreak would be sure to follow.

NICK DROVE AWAY, heading across country, pushing the Jeep through the worst terrain around. The rocky ground, full of risk and uncertainty, suited his mood.

Finding Eden after all this time had thrown him one heck of a curve ball. Not that his life had ever been simple. After his father had kicked Jake and him out of their home the day after high school graduation, nothing had ever come easy. His father’s brutal attempt to force their transition from boys into men had taught him many hard lessons. Never Count On Anything and Never Trust Anyone had become his motto. He’d learned all about hopelessness and fear back then, and what it could do to the human soul.

In time, he’d made a life for himself away from the pueblo, and had achieved a measure of success. He’d proven to himself and everyone else that he didn’t need his father’s support to make it in the world.

Yet, even though he’d thought he’d left his old life behind him forever, it eventually had called him back. After his father’s murder, he’d been forced to return to the pueblo. At first, it had been the last place he’d wanted to be, but things had changed over the last few months. He served a purpose here now, and he was exactly where he belonged. Nick knew he was home for good.

Moments later, he pulled up to the tribal police station, parked and went inside. The small, former residence was equipped only with the bare necessities. Crime had never really been much of a problem on the pueblo. For the most part, a San Esteban cop needed to know how to lead a wayward horse out of the road, or write a speeding ticket far more than he needed to know how to shoot. Of course, he’d had the required courses in self-defense and weapons, but it had only been a formality as far as he was concerned.

As he came in, Nick waved at Angelina, the civilian dispatcher. The desk against the wall that he shared with Deputy Torres was unoccupied at the moment. Torres was out on patrol somewhere. Walking to the back of the room, he knocked on Captain Mora’s open door. The man looked up, leaned back in his creaky old office chair, and waved him in.

Captain Daniel Mora was built like a safe—short, stocky, and nearly impossible to break. People often compared him to a pit bull because he had a reputation for never backing off once he was on the trail of a criminal. “What brings you here, Nick? You’re off duty tonight.”

“There’s a problem,” he said, then sitting across from Mora’s desk, related what had just occurred with Eden and the man in the pickup.

“You say she won’t file a complaint?”

“That’s right. She chalked it up to one of our tribe trying to scare her. She’s also been getting some unsigned notes demanding she move off the pueblo, but apparently she tossed them out. I told her that nobody had a right to make any threats, but in spite of what happened tonight, she doesn’t think she’s in any danger.”

“Was she in danger this evening?”

“I sure saw it that way. The person chasing her in that pickup wasn’t kidding around. He could have easily run her over, or caused her to injure herself.”

“Did you get a plate or an ID?”

“No, it was too dark.”

“Then, until she wants to file a complaint, our hands are tied.”

“My gut tells me to get to the bottom of this before whatever trouble she’s in poses a danger to the rest of the pueblo.”

Mora regarded Nick silently, his eagle-sharp gaze cutting through to the heart of the matter. “Are you worried about the woman, or about the tribe?”

“Both,” he admitted, grudgingly. The direct approach was the only way to work with a man like Mora.

“There’s something I want you to see. I think it’ll give you some insight into what’s going on with Eden Maes. It all goes back to when her parents were alive.”

Captain Mora reached inside the file cabinet, extracted a letter from one of the folders and handed it to Nick.

“Keep what this says to yourself,” he said. “Eden brought the original letter to me the day she moved back into her parents’ old house. She’d wanted me to know why she’d returned and what she hoped to learn by being here. Take a minute to read it then give it back to me.”

Nick saw the letter was to Eden from her grandmother. The text was handwritten and difficult to read, but he persisted.

Dear Eden,

If you’re reading this, I have gone on to the Lake of our Ancestors and you are now alone. You always said that someday you’d clear your parents’ name, and if that’s what you choose to do now, there are things you have to know.

Your father told me everything. Your mother was carrying trash out of the Cultural Center at the end of the day, as was her custom, when she accidentally discovered that one of the boxes contained ritual items. She realized then that one of the employees had used her to take the artifacts outside where the real thief could take them easily without leaving a trail. But she couldn’t figure out who hated her enough to implicate her in something like that. She decided to go to your father because he was a BIA cop. But the thief photographed your mother putting the sacred objects into her car, and used that to blackmail her. Shortly after your mother got home and before your father could go to the police, the thief called them. He ordered your father to get the objects off the pueblo and leave them at a specific place.

My son put his own plan in motion and led the thief on a wild-goose chase while your mother hid the artifacts elsewhere. Realizing that he’d been tricked, the thief turned on Isabel and gave the police the photos that incriminated her. Isabel went into hiding but the thieves found her and kidnapped her. Then they called your father, and offered to exchange Isabel for the artifacts.