“His enemies found him despite everything the Marshals Service had done?”

  She nodded. “Despite the repeated warnings of his handler, he would play the ponies at the racetrack from time to time. Eventually that led his enemies right to him. When Fox’s father and mother were killed, Fox was placed under our care. She was entitled to our protection on two counts—her father had arranged for protection not only for himself, but for his family, and Fox was the only witness to the murder of a federally protected witness.”

  “So you changed her identity...and my foster father, who was working for the U.S. Attorney’s office at the time, must have heard about the case and offered his help. It sounds like something he would have done.” Lost in thought, Ashe gazed at an indeterminate spot across the room. “Did Fox ever give you a better description of the killer?”

  “No. In fact, after the attempt at the foster home, she was unable to remember anything pertaining to the murders or even the attack on her. As far as she was concerned, she’d always lived a very happy life at the foster home.”

  “I gather the killer was never caught, but how does this fit with the present? Someone is after her now because of what she saw? But why, after all these years? If Fox was six at the time of the murders, that was fifteen years ago. Why come after her now?”

  “I can’t answer that. I also can’t guarantee that it’s got anything to do with what happened in the past.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “Your foster parents took custody of Fox, moved here to the Rez, and eventually adopted her, but she remained in WITSEC. Both your foster parents had our number. When the gentleman who had been Fox’s handler retired, the case became mine. Everything was quiet throughout the years. Then, out of the blue I received a call from your foster mother. She suspected that their house was being watched but she wasn’t sure.”

  “Why didn’t she call the tribal police, or me?”

  “Your foster parents did call the tribal police, but they weren’t at liberty to divulge the reason they were concerned except to Captain Todacheene. He was the only person here who knew about Fox.”

  “So I was right about the file I saw, and you knew about it all along,” Ashe observed flatly.

  Casey nodded, trying to block out the new betrayal and disappointment she saw mirrored on Ashe’s face. “The Rez was a perfect hiding place for Fox. There was a downside, though. We couldn’t monitor her very easily here, and that meant we needed someone on the inside. Captain Todacheene was our choice. We did a complete background check on him and knew he was clean. He was also in a high enough position to order any action that was necessary if there ever was trouble.”

  “So he had extra patrols scheduled in the area of my foster parents’ home?”

  “No. He checked things out himself. He went out several times and monitored the area. But he never found any evidence that there was anyone watching your foster parents’ home or Fox. Your foster father finally dismissed the matter, telling us that it was someone at school playing a prank. Now that I know more, my guess is that he had Patrick Gordon in mind. We let the matter drop at his insistence. To be honest, it just didn’t seem likely that anyone had tracked Fox down after all this time.”

  “My foster father could be stubborn at times,” Ashe conceded.

  “I didn’t just let it drop, though. I actually called your foster mother the day before the murders. I wanted to verify that everything really was okay, and that she was comfortable with the way things had been handled. She told me in no uncertain terms that she didn’t think it was a prank. Her fear for Fox’s safety was real so I decided to trust her instincts, and came to the Rez to check things out for myself.”

  “You arrived the day of the murders?”

  She nodded. “I was on my way here when I got an urgent call from your foster mother. She told me someone had followed her and Katrina that morning when they’d gone out shopping together after Fox’s first class. She assured me that Fox wasn’t at all concerned. To her, it was just coincidence. But your foster mother made a real good point. She told me that a local kid tailing them wouldn’t have had the skill to disappear and reappear almost as if by magic.” Casey paused. “I was less than a half hour away at that point. Your foster mother said Fox was at the Corral Café, so I made a stop there first, introduced myself, and asked her to come with me.”

  “And she went,” Ashe said. “She would have trusted any badge.”

  “She never questioned me,” Casey admitted. “Although she’d never been told that she was in WITSEC, I think that in her subconscious it was something she’d always known.”

  “So many secrets and too many deaths,” he said softly.

  The same quiet strength she’d loved in him, now kept him together, but the pain he felt was etched in his features. Seeing it there, and knowing she’d played a part in breaking his heart, made her ache everywhere.

  Ashe went to the door and without looking back, returned to the adjoining room. Casey heard him speak briefly to Fox, then leave. She stood alone by the window, watching as he walked to his vehicle. Today she’d lost the only man she’d ever truly loved. As his carryall faded from her sight, tears spilled down her cheeks.

  ASHE DROVE DOWN THE highway, trying to come to terms with everything he’d learned. Fox would be all right with Casey and Hayes for now. What he needed to do was put everything he’d learned into perspective.

  He’d always been proud of his ability to control his emotions but, right now, all he felt was the pain of Casey’s betrayal. Beneath that, there was nothing—just a cold emptiness. He wasn’t sure which was worse.

  He gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles began to hurt. He still had a debt to pay for the Johnsons, and there was Fox, who continued to need protection. For that, he’d have to work with Casey but, first, he had to find a way to shut her out of his heart. Only then would his thinking be clear enough to make him an asset to the investigation.

  Only one thing was perfectly clear to him now—there was no time for him to nurture the pain she’d caused him. There were other things to attend to. He turned the carryall around and headed back to the motel.

  Hearing the cell phone ring, he picked it up, and instantly recognized the voice that came over the unit as D.A. Prescott’s. The D.A. wanted an immediate progress report on the case.

  Ashe was stalling, trying to find a way to get off the phone without giving the man any information, when he caught sight of a van the same color and model as the one that had tried to run him and Casey down. It was moving slowly up the alley behind the motel where Fox was hidden. A chill ran up his spine as he saw the van stop behind a tree directly in line with Fox’s room.

  He hung up on Prescott and called Casey as he screeched to a stop in front of Fox’s room. He had a minute or so lead time, maybe more. If they could get Fox out of there before the occupants of the van made their move, they’d have a chance to get away clean.

  Casey was near the door, Hayes at her side, shielding Fox, as they urged her to his carryall.

  Suddenly the olive green van emerged from behind the tree and sped across the parking lot. As it closed in, someone inside the vehicle opened fire.

  Casey pushed Fox to the ground and shielded her with her body. Bullets peppered the wall above them as Ashe and Hayes returned fire. The van made a sharp turn away, then pulled around in a tight circle.

  “Get them back inside the room!” Hayes shouted to Ashe.

  Ashe pushed Fox and Casey through the doorway. He turned to give Hayes cover fire but, at that moment, two bullets slammed into the man’s chest, hurling him backward.

  As Hayes crumpled to the ground, Ashe and Casey deluged the front of the van with bullets, shattering the windshield. Their accurate return fire saved them for the moment; the van sped away in a shower of dust and gravel.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ashe fired two more shots in rapid succession at the fleeing van as Casey ran over to where Hayes had gone down.

  “You better have worn a vest, you stubborn old coot,” she muttered in a strangled voice.

  Hayes’s eyes blinked open as Casey hurriedly unbuttoned his shirt. “Easy there, will ya? Vest or not, it feels like I got kicked by a mule.”

  Casey stared at the two slugs embedded in the synthetic fabric of the vest and smiled. “You’ll live, but you may have a cracked rib or two.”

  “Man, what did they use? It feels like they almost penetrated the vest.”

  “They nearly did,” Ashe said, studying the rounds. “They’re fully jacketed nine-millimeter slugs, probably a real high-velocity load. At point-blank range, they might have done the job.”

  Casey gave Hayes a hand up. “We’ve got to get out of here now. They obviously know where we are, and they’re still after Fox.”

  “No one followed Katrina and me here,” Hayes said firmly. “I made darned sure of that.”

  “They didn’t follow me, either,” Ashe said.

  “Just because we didn’t spot a tail doesn’t mean one of us didn’t have one,” Casey warned. “We don’t have a lot of people assigned to covering our movements, in case you haven’t noticed. Or maybe management here was paid to tip off the killers, or a patrol car saw our vehicles.”

  “Nakai spotted your sedan. That’s how I found you. But there’s another possibility. Somebody might be monitoring police-radio traffic. We should start being very careful what we say over the air.”

  “And we have to keep Nakai out of the loop at all costs,” Casey added.

  “All right. But, for the record, you’re barking up the wrong tree,” Ashe insisted. “He’s clean. I’d stake my life on it.”

  Ashe’s faith in Officer Nakai was admirable, but years of working in the U.S. Marshals’ office had shown Casey that human nature wasn’t always predictable. Some of their own people had sold out in the past, and might be doing so now.

  Casey turned to Katrina and Hayes. “Get your things. We’re leaving here right now.”

  “Where to?” Hayes asked.

  “Good question. I’m not really sure. I’m thinking that maybe we should leave the Reservation.”

  “No. Bad idea,” Ashe said. “If something happens that absolutely requires fast backup without relying on either your department or mine, I can get that for us here, guaranteed. We can’t count on the same thing outside the Rez.”

  “All right, but the problem is that it doesn’t leave many motels to choose from if somebody is checking them out.”

  “We’ll find a place,” Ashe said. “But first let’s check our vehicles for tracking devices. I don’t think it’s likely, but it won’t hurt to look.” A loud squeal reverberated from his handheld radio, which lay on the sidewalk where it had fallen during the shooting. He picked it up quickly.

  “Be careful what you report. We’ve got to secure a new hiding place quickly, and it’s imperative that no one know where Fox is,” Casey said.

  He nodded in agreement as Prescott’s voice came over the radio clearly.

  “What the heck do you think you’re doing hanging up on me? What’s going on out there? You’re not answering your cell phone. I had to resort to the radio just to get hold of you.”

  Ashe glanced toward his carryall, where the cell phone still rested on the seat where he’d tossed it after the warning call to Casey. “A kid cut me off on the highway, and I had to drop the phone and keep both hands on the wheel to avoid an accident. Then I tracked him down and pulled him over. Sorry about the delay, but I have nothing new to report. As soon as I do, I’ll be in contact. Ten-four?”

  “Yeah,” came the reply. “Ten-four.”

  Casey went outside with Ashe and, together, while Hayes kept watch from the doorway, they checked the carryall and the two sedans for tracking devices, but found none.

  “We’re clear,” Casey said, noticing a few people standing at their windows and watching them. “Time for us to get going before more officers arrive.”

  As they went back into the room to get Hayes and Katrina, Casey fell into step beside Ashe. “We can’t have this wall of animosity between us and still work well together. Let’s settle this.”

  “It is settled. We’ll do our jobs. We’re both professionals. Our personal feelings don’t figure into the equation—not anymore.”

  “If you can turn off your feelings that easily, then I’m not sure you ever understood love nearly as much as you said you did,” Casey replied, hoping to force a reaction out of him. Anything was better than this coldness.

  Ashe stopped in mid-stride and faced her. He started to say something, then turned away and continued into the room.

  Her heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t over. There was still a chance that hope would not be a cheat. For a brief instant, just beyond the pain mirrored in his eyes, she’d seen the shadow of love.

  KATRINA MET ASHE the moment he entered the room. “I know where we can go. It’s a place only Travis and you would know how to find. Remember the lodge?”

  Ashe nodded and smiled slowly. The cabin west of Rock Ridge had been their favorite camping spot for years, and he’d looked there for Katrina the day of the murders.

  “Do you think you can remember how to get there?” he asked her.

  “Count on it.”

  He smiled, remembering that day at the lodge when he’d seen Travis kiss her. He still remembered teasing his brother about it—and taking a solid punch in the jaw for his trouble. Travis had never had much of a sense of humor when it came to Katrina.

  “It’ll take some expert driving to get there in a sedan,” Ashe told Casey, “but you and Hayes can make it with Fox showing you the way.”

  “Tell me more about this place,” Casey pressed as they hurried Katrina to Hayes’s car.

  “It’s an old log cabin that my real father built. It was mine and Travis’s special getaway place, but we shared it with our foster family after they agreed never to reveal where it was.”

  “Sounds perfect. I’ll hang back in my car and make sure you’re not followed,” Casey told Hayes. “If anyone tries, I’ll head them off.”

  “I’ll be nearby, too, in case backup’s needed,” Ashe said. “I’ll take a parallel road that cuts across some high ground. I’ll make sure the way in front of you is clear.”

  Once the others were under way, Ashe drove off in his carryall. He hadn’t gone far when his cell phone rang.

  “Hey, little brother. I’m almost home.” Travis’s voice was clear and distinct. “I’ll be there in another hour or two. You handling everything okay?”

  Travis’s question made him feel like the kid he’d once been—never quite sure of himself, and always wanting to be more like his older brother. He pushed back the feeling, annoyed with himself. “I found Fox. There was another attempt made on her life, but we took care of the situation.”

  Travis spat out a vicious oath. “Little Fox wasn’t hurt?” “No, I told you, the situation is under control. But we’ve still got a fight on our hands. Nothing’s solved yet.”

  “I’m not far away. When I get there, we’ll track down whoever’s after her. It’s time to end this.”

  “Leave this to me. I’m a cop. I want these guys, but in a way that will stand up in court.”

  “I don’t think I can play it your way—not totally, anyway,” Travis said. “But I’ll try. Where can I find her?”

  “You can’t at the moment. Go to my place instead. We’ll talk there.”

  “If you think for one second you’re going to keep me from seeing her—”

  “Just do it.” Ashe hung up on his brother, then smiled slowly. Travis had to be reminded that his kid brother didn’t take orders from him—and hadn’t for a very long time.

  ASHE WATCHED Fox AND Hayes’s car on the road below. Casey was hanging back, covering their rear. She was good at her job—he had to give her that. A knife-edged loss sliced through him as he thought of her and what they’d shared. He still loved her and, like his brother, he was a one-woman man. When a Redhawk gave his heart, there was no turning back. But he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to forget that she hadn’t really trusted him. He understood her dedication to her job, but the fact remained that, in her heart, she hadn’t been sure enough of him to disobey orders and let her intuition lead her.

  He shook his head. There was no time to figure this out now.

  Once assured that Fox and her guardians were safe at the lodge, Ashe radioed Casey that he’d be along later, then turned and headed home. It was time to face his brother.

  It was dark when he pulled up to his trailer and parked. Travis was standing there in his uniform, his feet braced and his jaw set. Ashe could tell he was just itching to run into someone with fists flying.

  “Hey, brother,” Ashe greeted, getting out of the carryall. “I hope you haven’t been waiting out here for long.”

  “No problem. I picked the lock an hour ago and helped myself to a cold one from the fridge. Where’s Little Fox?”

  “It’s good to see you, too,” Ashe said, going to the door and flipping on the outside light. He studied the doorknob. There was a hole where the lock had been. He saw the lock resting on the bookcase inside the trailer. “The skills you pick up in the army could get you arrested now that you’re back home. How did you do that?”

  “Military secret,” Travis answered coolly. “Where’s Little Fox?”

  Ashe looked at his brother, gauging his mood accurately. Travis wasn’t interested in conversation. He wanted to know everything that was going on, and now.

  Ashe deliberately kept his expression neutral. A few years ago Travis had tried to get answers out of him— answers he hadn’t been prepared to give. They’d ended up really getting into it, though, as usual, neither of them had come out with anything more serious than a few ugly bruises. Ashe unhooked the handheld radio from his belt and placed it on the top step. He did the same with his pistol and holster. Both of them knew what was coming.