“You realize that failing to tell us puts you in the exact position you were trying to avoid.”

  “No, not really. I’m only involved circumstantially. By now you must have better suspects—those with motives.”

  “Your interest in Katrina, your involvement with motorcycles and your familiarity with weapons keeps you on the short list,” Ashe said, biting off the words.

  Though she knew Walker resented her authority, Casey held his gaze, forcing him to keep his attention on her.

  “A motorcyclist features in the crimes, though I’m not at liberty to explain how,” she said.

  “Well, it wasn’t me. I have two bikes, both big machines. That doesn’t make me a criminal. Just to show my goodwill, I’m more than happy to have you compare the tire impressions of my Harleys with whatever you lifted from your crime scene. But I warn you ahead of time, there are only a few cycle shops and brands of tires available in the Four Corners area. You might find a match by coincidence.”

  Casey glanced at Cooper, who was leaning against the wall in silence. The tall, dark-haired cop had not said one word, but she had no doubt that he was keeping careful track of everything.

  Casey looked back at Walker. “Thanks for your cooperation. I’ll have someone take tire prints for comparison.”

  “Let me know if they match. I deserve that much.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” Casey replied. “By the way, what size boots do you wear?” .

  “Bigger than your friend there.” Walker grinned, nodding toward Ashe. “Tens or bigger, depending on the brand and style.” Walker stood. “Anything else? It’s time for me to hit the street.”

  “That’s it for now. We know where to find you if we need you.”

  “Any time,” he said, giving her another cocky grin and ignoring Ashe altogether.

  The moment they were alone, Casey glanced at Ashe. “Can you have someone from your department check out the tire treads on his bikes? And see if they can tell if the tires have been changed recently.”

  “Sure.” Ashe’s expression remained impassive. “I’ll choose the person carefully, too. I don’t want anything to jeopardize this case.”

  She nodded. “That I know. That’s why I didn’t object to your being here when I questioned Walker. Officially, I was stretching it, you know.”

  “I’m aware of that.” He paused, and weighing his words, added slowly, “It’s strange how your trust works, isn’t it? You trust me a little, just not enough.”

  His accusation hurt, but there was nothing she could say. “Let’s get going. I’m going to follow up on the background checks I ordered on Nakai and Captain Todacheene. Those have been slow in coming in.”

  He shook his head. “I wish those weren’t necessary, but I suppose you’re right to do them, if only to eliminate them as suspects.”

  They were halfway out of town when Ashe’s carryall began to pull to one side. “There’s something wrong with one of the tires,” Ashe said, driving up a side street and parking.

  Casey got out, automatically glancing both ways to make sure there were no other surprises awaiting them.

  Ashe crouched by the left front tire. “Someone let the air out of this tire. The valve’s been loosened.” He got into the back to get the spare. “They tampered with this one, too. That means someone entered the vehicle while we were at the police station.”

  Casey heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching. Instinctively, she moved her hand slightly closer to her weapon. A motorcycle cop turned the corner, coming toward them, then parked and removed his helmet.

  Walker glanced at Ashe and Casey. “Car trouble?”

  “A bit,” Casey said coldly. “Seems someone messed with our tires. They even entered the vehicle and let the air out of the spare, too.”

  “Imagine that! The troublemaker must have had one of those slim jims that cops carry to help people who’ve locked themselves out of their cars.”

  As Walker strode toward Ashe, Casey moved between the men. There was no way she was going to let them square off here. Casey could see a squad car parked a block away. It had just arrived from the other direction. Whatever was going on, it was being monitored and had been carefully staged. She casually reached into her jacket pocket, having a plan in mind.

  Ashe straightened and faced Walker. Both men stood at least a head taller than she did, but Casey stayed squarely between them.

  “I’m sure you have patrol responsibilities, Officer,” Casey said. “The problem with the tires is an annoyance, nothing more. We can handle it.”

  “Shove off,” Ashe warned. “You’re not needed here.”

  “I figured you’d say that. You’ve spent all this time trying to get the pretty agent into the sack. The last thing you need is competition.”

  “You’re treading into sexual-harassment territory again, Officer Walker. I suggest you back off,” Casey said.

  “It would be your word and his against mine, baby. I can hold my own against that.”

  Casey smiled slowly. “You do such a fabulous job of incriminating yourself, it’s a wonder you’re still on the force.” She brought out the small tape recorder she carried in her jacket pocket and played back what he’d just said. “It may not be admissible in a court of law, but 1 bet your department would still like a copy for your file.”

  “Give me that,” he said, reaching out for the recorder.

  Anticipating his move gave her the advantage. Casey grabbed his outstretched hand, pinched a nerve, and increased the pressure until his knees began to sag.

  “Get going, Walker,” she said releasing the pressure and moving back. Casey glanced up the street and saw the squad car pulling away. “Even your backup is gone. It’s over.”

  “No, it’s not over—not by a long shot. It’s just beginning.”

  As he straddled the motorcycle and roared down the highway, Casey laughed. “I’ll bet his pride really stings about now.”

  Ashe stood immobile, his expression as impassive as a stone. “The men will razz Walker about this back at the station. He’s more than just one of several suspects now. He just became a dangerous, personal adversary.”

  Chapter Twelve

  A road-service truck couldn’t come to them for a half hour, so they elected to walk to the nearest gas station, only a mile away. They were halfway there, rolling the flat spare tire, when the D.A., Prescott, pulled up beside them in his county vehicle. “What on earth are you two doing out here?”

  Casey glanced down at the tire, then back at Prescott. “I would say that’s pretty obvious.”

  Prescott laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is. Come on, hop in.”

  “We wouldn’t want to put you out,” Ashe said.

  “No trouble at all. In fact, 1 was on my way to try and find you two. You’ve saved me a trip.” Prescott pulled a lever, and the trunk popped open.

  Casey slid into the front seat of the sedan as Ashe tossed the tire into the trunk. He closed the lid and got into the back seat.

  “What’s on your mind, Counselor?” Casey asked as Prescott pulled back onto the road.

  “I heard that you were questioning a Farmington cop today. What’s that all about? If you’re going to cross departmental lines, you should have had the courtesy to notify my office. This is my county.”

  “Counselor, I’m investigating a felony and interviewing those who know Katrina, not interrogating a suspect. I’m not obligated to keep your office apprised of every step we take.”

  “No, you’re not obligated, but let me explain something to you. I can’t have an FBI agent and an officer from the Navajo police going after a cop from a department not linked to either service. When that happens, my office will be contacted by that cop’s superiors, and I damned well better have strong answers to give them. I won’t tolerate being made to look like a fool.”

  Casey nodded, conceding for the moment. It would serve little purpose to have the district attorney gunning for her. “We’re following leads wherever they take us. In this case it was to a motorcycle cop who may have been harassing a woman linked to the crime I’m investigating.” She filled him in on their history with Walker, including their encounter by the road, but didn’t mention the tape.

  “If that man gives you a hard time again, you let me know about it,” Prescott told her. “Despite what you may believe, I’m very much on the side of justice. If the trail of evidence leads you to a cop, I’ll back you one hundred percent.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me until you’ve heard my warning. If you end up following a false trail and accuse a clean cop, we’ll have a problem. That’ll create a lot of bad blood between the departments and the heat from that’s going to land on my head. Watch your step and we’ll get along fine. Am I making myself clear?”

  “Eminently.”

  Prescott pulled to a stop in front of the gas station. “Okay, here you are.” He glanced at his watch. “I wish I could give you a ride back to your car, but I have a meeting I’m supposed to attend at the Farmington mayor’s office.”

  “That’s no problem, sir. It’s not far,” Casey said as Ashe removed the flat tire from Prescott’s trunk.

  As Prescott drove off, Ashe muttered an oath. “Despite the fact that he’s only been on the job here for a few months, that man makes every single cop I know crazy. He’s always around to soak up any good publicity, and won’t take a case to court unless he’s certain to win. He’s first in line for anything that could show him or his office in a positive light.”

  “What I’m wondering is how he happened to be on this road at precisely the right time.” Casey looked at Prescott’s sedan, now disappearing in the distance.

  He grinned at her. “I was wondering about that, myself. I have a lot of problems attributing anything to coincidence.”

  “Me, too. Any ideas why he’d be following us?”

  “He may want to keep an eye on the people who are making loud noises, since it could end up making him look bad.”

  “Possibly,” Casey replied, unconvinced but unable to think of a better explanation. If Prescott was involved in the Johnsons’ deaths, she and Ashe certainly hadn’t uncovered any apparent motive so far. Prescott was too young to have been associated with Nick Johnson in the military or during his days as an investigator.

  Twenty-five minutes later, they were back at Ashe’s carryall. He reached for the jack and lug wrench, and noticing the oil and grime on the tools, stood and stripped off his shirt. “Hold on to this, will you? Something happened to the rag I usually keep in here. I’d rather not get grease and dirt all over me. I don’t want to have to go home and change before we go back to the station.”

  “No problem.”

  Her gaze was riveted on him as he stood there, shirtless.

  He was magnificent. His bronzed skin gleamed in the fading sun. Every fiber in her body responded to him. Her hands tingled with the need to touch him. Casey watched the play of muscles on his back as he jacked the carryall up, took off the flat, and replaced it with the newly inflated spare. The sweet fire raging inside her made her feel weak at the knees.

  Ashe gave her a sideways glance. “Don’t look at me that way,” he warned, his voice deep and taut.

  “What way?” she managed.

  “Like a woman who sees a man she wants.”

  Casey knew she should have protested, but her throat closed and the words wouldn’t come.

  He grabbed a handful of sand, used it to rub away the grime on his hands, then shook off the dust. Then he stood and, holding her gaze, held out his hand.

  She couldn’t move. If she took his hand, she’d step into his arms.

  “My shirt.”

  “Oh—yes, of course.”

  Their fingers brushed as she handed it to him and the force of that casual touch sent ripples all through her.

  He sucked in his breath. “Do you know what you’re doing to me, and the consequences of it? When you dance near the fire, you’re bound to feel the heat. And if you draw too close, it will brand you forever.”

  “But it’s only within that heat that I feel truly alive,” she said, the words leaving her mouth before she ever realized she’d spoken them out loud.

  Through his open shirt, she could see the muscles on his chest grow taut as desire pounded through him. “Maybe it is time for us,” he said, his voice smoky. “I want you to see me as a man—one who cares for you, one who deserves your trust.”

  That last word wrenched at her heart. The need to show him how she felt drummed through her. She had to reach him somehow, and this was the only way she could do it before the whole story came out and she lost him. Maybe if she could touch his heart now, a piece of her would remain with him forever.

  As a car sped by, he gestured for her to get inside the carryall. “Let me take you someplace that’s special to me. Maybe there you can finally see me for who I am. Then it’ll be up to you to decide if I’m the man you want loving you.”

  The words cast a magic spell all their own. With Ashe, she was more than the career professional she’d worked so hard to become; she was a woman who wanted to be loved, and to give love in return.

  THEY ARRIVED AT A beautiful place southwest of Shiprock, where the mountain foothills met the desert floor. There was a peculiar formation of red sandstone that jutted out toward the skies like a monument to the majesty of the Navajo Nation.

  “When I was young,” Ashe said, “my father and I would leave the Rock Ridge area and head out on camping expeditions that would sometimes last weeks. This was a favorite place of his. It’s here that I learned about the Navajo ways. My father would tell me about the hero twins who fought to make the world safe. It was from those stories, handed down through generations, that I learned to love everything my people stand for and believe.”

  Long shadows flickered and danced around them. The temperature was dropping as the sun began its nightly descent, but the heat of passion warmed Casey, holding her in an inescapable embrace.

  Ashe took her hand in his and stood with her, facing Ship Rock, which jutted up from the desert floor like a lone sentinel standing guard over them.

  He glanced at Casey, then off toward the eastern horizon. “People come to our land and see only poverty and the harshness of life within the bounds of the mountains. But the earth itself defines the Dine and gives us strength.”

  Casey looked at the beauty around her, wondering how she could ever have seen this desert as other than full of color and life.

  “When you look with your heart, many things open up to you.”

  She looked at Ashe and held his gaze. “What I see is a man who is strong, but gentle in spirit, and who has shown me a way of life I never knew existed. I won’t bind you by making or asking for promises. What I want is as simple as this desert that claims your heart.”

  Ashe drew her into his arms. “You are the one who holds my heart in the palm of her hand.”

  He clasped her tightly against him. She felt his chest rising and falling in deep, uneven breaths. Engulfed by emotions as primitive as the land where they stood, she held him, basking in the warmth of a love more precious than anything she’d ever known.

  “We have been drawn together, though I have nothing to offer you. The riches I can share with you won’t buy you the pretty things out in your world.”

  “All I want is your love, here and now,” Casey whispered.

  “If I take you and make you mine, there will be no turning back,” Ashe warned her.

  As he stroked her cheek with the palm of his hand, she leaned into him. “Look at the way you respond to my slightest touch,” he said. “Our feelings for each other are too strong for a one-night stand. What we forge here today will bind us both. And the day may yet come when we regret those ties.”

  “Never,” Casey whispered. Standing on tiptoe, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Her kiss was gentle at first; giving, yet demanding nothing in return.

  She felt the shudder that ran through him as he struggled to hold himself in check, trying to slow things down. She wanted to give him pleasure, and make him as wild and as hungry for her as she was for him. As she pressed her body up against his, her fingers digging into his shoulders, she could feel the tension in him. His hand shook as he tilted her chin upward.

  “Let it be here and now, then, with Mother Earth protecting us,” he said, his voice ragged.

  He undressed her slowly, revealing every inch of her flesh, then branding it with moist, hot kisses that left her too weak to stand.

  “Lean on me,” he said, dropping to his knees before her. He kissed her stomach, and then moved lower until she could scarcely breathe.

  She’d never dreamed anything could be so intimate, so powerful. Shudders traveled through her, and when at last he stood, he wiped the tears from her eyes, and held her.

  She couldn’t speak. No one had ever loved her or held her like this. In his eyes, she was a treasure—precious and adored.

  Moving away from her, he stripped off his clothing, allowing her gaze to take him in. His body was hard and ready.

  Love filled her heart to aching. When he drew her back into his arms and took her mouth, his kiss was breathtakingly deep. Thinking ceased for her, and only a slow burning remained.

  He lowered her gently to the ground, onto a bed made of their discarded clothing. As the call of a hawk filled the skies, he entered her in one powerful stroke that wrenched a cry from her throat.

  “Please, don’t stop. Love me just like you promised.”

  His body was trembling as he took her mouth in another searingly tender kiss. Lights flashed before her in a kaleidoscope of color as feelings more intense than any she’d ever experienced rocked her. She could feel him deep inside her now and knew it was taking all his strength to hold back. Yet, with every second that passed, he was proving how much she meant to him.

  “I want this to be special for you—not just a moment of passion that someday you’ll forget, along with me,” Ashe said, his voice unsteady as he struggled for control.