Tonight he’d be Casey’s closest backup. If the killer managed to get into the house, he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect her, no matter what it cost him. Casey would be alive to see the next morning, he’d see to that. But he didn’t lay the same odds for himself. Too many things could go wrong.

  Travis met him some distance away from the lodge and Ashe filled him in on Casey’s strategy. Travis regarded his brother thoughtfully for several long moments before he spoke. “It’s a good plan. By tomorrow, Fox should be free again. But take a hint, little brother. Don’t let Casey walk out of your life after this case is closed. If you do, you’ll regret it.”

  “I do love her, but what happens next is up to her.”

  “So you’re bowing out so she can make the decision all by herself? That’s mighty big of you, but a woman likes to hear a man admit how much he needs and wants her. If you really love her, speak plainly, then you can sweep her off her feet.”

  Ashe looked at his brother in surprise. “You’re making a lot of sense, for a change.”

  “Don’t be so shocked.” Travis laughed. “Life’s taught me a thing or two along the way.”

  Ashe followed Travis to the cabin and visited with Katrina for a few minutes. If something happened to him tonight, he thought she should know that he’d died doing precisely what he’d wanted to do.

  Though he was careful not to give her details of the plan because it would only make her worry, he could see that she was already concerned.

  “Promise me you’ll be very careful. You’re not the same tough-as-nails cop who used to live for the job. You’ve changed. There’s something gentler about you lately. It’s like your heart has been opened...” Her voice trailed off. Then, suddenly, she smiled. “It must be Casey. Are you in love?”

  “Yeah, I guess I am,” he said in a quiet voice.

  Katrina sighed softly. “I wish you luck.” Lost in thought, she glanced across the room at Travis for a moment.

  He knew Fox was thinking about herself and Travis. But the feelings between them were ill-fated. Travis would never settle down. He was like the wind, finding purpose only in movement.

  “After tonight, if all goes well, you’ll have your life back,” he said. “Think of that.”

  “But it will come at a price, too,” she said. “Life seems to be that way a lot. You gain something, only to be asked to give up something else.”

  “You’ve turned into a very smart lady,” Ashe said.

  She gave him a familiar smile. “I was always smart. Now go do whatever it is you have to. And watch yourself.”

  CASEY PACED NEAR THE window of the Johnson-home living room, wearing the long blond wig. Anyone who approached the house would easily mistake her for Katrina.

  “It’s still quiet out here,” Ashe told her, speaking through a cell phone instead of risking the radio. He was just inside the door of the garage. From there, he could see the front of the house.

  “Someone will make a move soon.” There were two police-uniformed mannequins beside windows—one in the kitchen, and one at the back of the house—positioned as if they were keeping watch, and with enough backlight to make them only barely visible. This was the security that the attackers were supposed to see in order not to suspect a trap.

  “I just heard from three of my people,” Ashe said. “Prescott is on the move, and so is Spencer. Walker is at a coffee shop in Farmington.”

  “Let’s see what they decide to do.”

  Casey continued moving around the room, making herself visible at random intervals, without turning herself into an easy target.

  If her hunch was right, by daybreak, they’d have all the answers they needed. The thought weighed heavily on her. Once the case was officially closed, she’d have no reason to stay on the Rez. Ashe would no longer be a part of her life.

  There had been a time when the excitement of an operation like this would have been enough for her. Her job had been her life, her passion. But now, it seemed like a poor substitute for the kaleidoscope of emotions she’d found in Ashe’s embrace. Love had redefined her life.

  Ashe reported in, interrupting her thoughts. “We need to stay sharp now. One of my cousins just called in. Spencer and Prescott went into the mall on the west side and, although their cars are still outside, both men have dropped out of sight. Neither he nor the guy tailing Prescott has seen either one for over a half hour.”

  “I wonder if Prescott made Spencer a parole offer he couldn’t refuse,” Casey grumbled. “Ashe, do you hear a truck?”

  “Yes. There’s a postal-delivery van coming up,” he warned, urgency in his voice.

  “Great. Just what we need. Innocent bystanders.”

  “No, I don’t think so. There are no mail deliveries in this area. You have to pick up your packages at the post office.”

  “Then it’s showtime,” she said.

  Casey pulled out her pistol and felt for the spare clips in her pocket. Reassured that they were in easy reach, she held the weapon down by her side so anyone spotting her behind the curtain wouldn’t notice it.

  “I’m calling in our troops now, but I don’t think they’ll be here in time to help. There are two figures in the van, though I can’t make an ID yet, so the odds aren’t bad.”

  As the van pulled up, Casey closed the cell phone, placing it in her pocket. Now she purposely stayed well back from the window as she walked past it so they could see that she was inside. Moving quickly toward the part of the room where the light was subdued, she stopped and peered out the side window. Prescott and Spencer, dressed as deliverymen, were carrying two boxes to the door.

  Casey moved into the darkness of the kitchen as they knocked. “I saw you come up and unlocked the door. Come on in.” She wasn’t ready to tip her hand, and prayed her voice had been so soft they wouldn’t recognize it.

  She wanted them inside, their plan evident, before she made her move. As the men entered, she saw Ashe pass by outside the window, moving into position behind them to block their exit.

  “Packages, ma’am,” Prescott said, looking around the room to see who else might be present.

  It was their signal, apparently, because both men reached inside the boxes, bringing out automatic pistols.

  Casey dropped to one knee and aimed, using the doorjamb as partial cover. “Federal Marshal. Lay down your weapons.”

  Prescott cursed, then snapped off two rounds at her as he scrambled for the front door. Casey flinched as the bullets struck the wall just above her head. The D.A. was halfway outside when Ashe ambushed him. He struck Prescott hard with the butt of his pistol, and the man dropped like a sack of grain.

  Spencer, seeing Prescott go down, panicked and dived behind the couch, firing wildly at Ashe. Several bullets struck around the entrance, and Ashe had to flatten himself against the concrete floor of the porch.

  Casey rushed into the front room to take the pressure off Ashe. She hit the floor and directed her pistol toward the far end of the couch. But Spencer appeared at the other end, at point-blank range, aiming at Casey. Ashe crouched and fired two shots. The man clutched his chest and crumpled to the floor, his gun slipping from his hand.

  Ashe stood slowly and went to Casey’s side. “You okay?” he asked, gently helping her up. His gaze caressed her as he made sure she was uninjured. “Great work, partner.”

  “Looks like we came through for each other once again,” she said quietly.

  Casey knelt by Spencer’s body, then checked the pulse point at his neck. She shook her head, answering Ashe’s unspoken question. “He’s gone.”

  Together with Ashe, she went to where Prescott lay. Ashe crouched next to him, noting the regular rise and fall of his chest. “He’ll live, but he’ll have one heck of a headache.”

  Hearing Prescott moan, Ashe handcuffed him quickly and made sure he didn’t have any weapons still on him. “Time to wrap this up,” Ashe said, hearing the wail of approaching sirens.

  As Ashe went outside to meet their backup, Casey looked down at Spencer’s body. His life had amounted to nothing more than a waste of the time he’d spent on earth. He had touched no one, and no one had touched him. Now he lay alone in death.

  A chill touched her soul. Life came with a ticking clock that could stop at any time. Without reaching out for a dream and having the courage to make it come true, life amounted to nothing more than an endless parade of days.

  Ashe came up to join her. “We have to go to the station now. I have some explaining to do to my captain, and I want him to hear what happened here from us first. I owe him that much.”

  “All right.” Later there would be time for them to talk. Love bound them together and, if it was as strong as she hoped, surely it would guide them now.

  HOURS LATER, AT THE police station, Travis, Katrina and Hayes sat in the conference room while Casey and Ashe filled the captain in on everything that had occurred.

  “It wasn’t Detective Redhawk’s decision to leave you out of this,” Casey explained. “It was mine, but I think you can clearly see my reasoning.”

  “I understand what prompted your decision, but I’m glad to hear that it wasn’t the detective’s choice. I’d hate to think one of my own officers felt I couldn’t be trusted.”

  Ashe looked at the captain. “I never believed that either you or John Nakai were involved, and it wasn’t just a matter of loyalty to another member of the tribe, or to the force. It was because I know you two well. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any hard-and-fast evidence to support that belief before we put the sting in motion.”

  Ashe saw the tension ease on Todacheene’s face, and knew that eventually they would work things out.

  “Prescott is back in his cell, stewing,” the captain said.

  “But he’s a crafty one. Don’t expect him to give you squat.”

  “We raked him over the coals for some time, but he won’t admit to anything. A confession at this point would be tidy, but it’s not necessary,” Ashe said. “The lab has identified his weapon as the gun used to kill my foster parents. There was also a stocking-cap mask in his possession, and the fibers from that look like a match for the ones found at the crime scene. Then there’s that dirt bike in his garage. He was so cocky, he didn’t get rid of any of the things that could put him behind bars. I bet we’ll find his size-ten boots, too. With that much evidence backing us up, the charges will stick.”

  “What about motive?”

  “We believe we also have a handle on that,” Casey answered. “The Phoenix connection and his affiliation at one time with a violent gang there is the key. That gang committed a lot of residential burglaries in the general area where Fox’s parents lived. My guess is that, at one time or another, the gang expanded their territory and Prescott ended up killing the people he’d come to rob. Fox, who’d seen it all, became his target, but he failed in that attempt at the foster home. Then, after he became an attorney, Fox loomed as an ever-present threat to his career and political ambitions. But he couldn’t track her down. Once he was able to determine she was in New Mexico, he came just to see if she still remembered and could recognize his face after all these years. He had other incentives, too. Shortly after he got here, he was presented with a wonderful political opportunity—he was appointed to take over for the D.A. who had left that post. He had to find out quickly, then, how dangerous Fox was to him and take care of that matter once and for all if she seemed to recognize him.”

  Fox exhaled softly. “I guess I must have prompted him to act after the political rally I attended with Mom and Dad several weeks ago. I was introduced to Prescott and I mentioned that he looked familiar somehow. He said that it was probably because he’d been in the papers so much, and I believed him. I guess he didn’t want to risk me remembering any of the details later on.”

  Casey nodded slowly. “From that moment, he knew he had to kill you and everyone else, like your adoptive parents, who might link him to the murders. He had no way of knowing how much the U.S. Attorney’s investigator—your adoptive father—had been told or, for that matter, what you’d told them.”

  “I think I know now why Prescott wanted Casey off the case, too,” Ashe said. “I bet he was hoping Fox would refuse to be relocated, and then she’d be an easy mark. On the other hand, if she did relocate, then it would have been to someplace so far away she would have stopped being a threat to him anyway.”

  “It explains a lot of things, but I have a feeling...” Todacheene shook his head, and smiled. “Never mind. This case is now closed. Since your witness is no longer under any threat, I suppose you’ll be leaving the Rez?” the captain asked Casey.

  Casey avoided looking at Ashe. “The time has come for me to face new challenges,” she said, avoiding a more direct answer.

  After Ashe and Casey left the captain’s office, Katrina, Travis and Hayes came up to meet them.

  “It’s really over, isn’t it?” Katrina asked.

  Ashe saw the sadness that flickered in her gaze for a moment as she looked at Travis. He understood what the end of the case meant to Katrina. Travis would be gone again within days, maybe hours. And if Ashe didn’t do something soon, Casey would be gone from his life, too.

  Ashe saw Travis place a gentle hand on Katrina’s shoulder. “It’s time for me to go rejoin my unit, Fox. But you’ll be okay now.”

  Hayes came up and abruptly grabbed Casey’s hand to shake it. “I’ll be packing up and heading out now. I’m retired, remember? I’ll call you later to see how things are going.”

  Casey thanked Hayes, and together they strolled to his car. Ashe started to go after Casey when Captain Todacheene approached him. “I don’t know where you think you’re going, Detective. I need you to sign a statement.”

  Ashe took care of the necessary paperwork in the captain’s office as quickly as he could. Minutes later, he rushed out, but as he reached the door, Travis blocked his way. “Easy, little brother. Take a breath. I knew you’d want to talk to Casey, so I made sure she’d stick around.”

  Ashe’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

  “Let me put it this way. Casey’s not going anywhere—not in that car of hers, anyway,” he replied, flipping a distributor cap over to Ashe.

  He caught it with one hand. “Thanks.” He was still grinning when he reached Casey’s vehicle. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere. I came out to move my car so that the DWI van could get into the garage area. But the car has other ideas.”

  “So did my brother,” Ashe said, holding up the distributor cap.

  Casey smiled. “That’s conspiracy.”

  “Yes, but it’s for a good cause.” Ashe took her hand and gently pulled her out of the car.

  For the first time, as he gazed into her eyes, he saw no trace of fear reflected there. “Our time has come, sawe. Our cultures are different, but we’ve both proven that the feelings we share are strong enough to help us find compromises. We can work anything out as long as we have each other. Will you marry me and share a future together?”

  Casey wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself against his chest. “Convince me,” she said, nuzzling him playfully.

  “Sawe!” The whispered caress reached her a second before his hungry mouth descended over hers.

  From somewhere behind him, Ashe heard Travis’s laughter mingling with cheers from people at the substation.

  Don’t miss Aimée Thurlo’s

  exciting conclusion to

  THE BROTHERS OF ROCK RIDGE,

  REDHAWK’S RETURN,

  coming next month

  from Harlequin Intrigue.

  THE BROTHERS OF ROCK RIDGE: Bound by

  blood, and steeped in the traditions of their heritage,

  these sexy brothers live their lives by their own

  rules—and love against all odds.

  ISBN : 978-1-4592-5118-2

  REDHAWK’S HEART

  Copyright © 1999 by Aimée and David Thurlo

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontano, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  The touch had been casual, yet the stab of desire that followed took Ashe compl

  Letter to Reader

  Dedication

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Copyright