“Later.”
She looked at him. “Is Wind your nickname?”
“I use it in business. It’s a name that seems to fit me.”
She nodded in agreement. He could be fierce or as gentle as a breeze in summer. He could move in total silence and leave no evidence of his passing. Wind was the perfect code name for him.
Despite knowing the red truck had gone in the opposite direction, Ranger was very cautious, stopping often to make sure no one was on his tail.
Satisfied after a long circuitous route, they finally drove to Hastiin Dííl’s. Two log hogans, their joints sealed with clay, were side by side, but one was considerably larger than the other. From what she’d read, Dana knew that the larger hogan with the smoke hole and the blanket over the doorway was the medicine hogan.
“Don’t,” he said, as she started to open the door. “I’m not even going to turn the engine off. Let’s wait a bit and make sure we’re not getting suckered into a trap. They could be on foot, inside.”
Parked behind a cluster of trees, he left the engine idling. They waited for over ten minutes before he finally pulled the key out. “Keep your eyes open and stay sharp,” he said, his gaze never resting.
“This place looks completely deserted,” she said, looking around as she opened the passenger’s door.
“Don’t trust anything. Expect the unexpected and it won’t broadside you.”
He walked over, then crouched down by a set of vehicle tracks. “A large pickup was here,” he said.
“Probably Hastiin Dííl’s, don’t you think?”
“No, here are his vehicle’s tracks. He drives a VW bus. It’s ancient, but he loves it. His tracks are a few days old, considering the amount of dust that settled over them,” he said.
“These others, the ones from the pickup, must be fairly new then,” she said, taking a closer look.
“We have no proof that the truck belonged to Trujillo ’s men, but I’m almost certain it did. Those are brand-new tires, and it’s a six-wheeled pickup. Most of our people can’t afford the fancy stuff.” He stood. “Stay put. I’m going to take a look at the residence.”
“Do you have a key?” she asked.
“Traditionalists don’t generally lock doors,” he said, then added, “But all things considered, he may have decided to start. I’ll find out soon enough.”
He strode off to the hogan being used as a home-the one with the stovepipe passing through the center of the roof and the solid wooden door.
Dana watched him go around to the front. Finding the door partially open, he stuck his head inside. While he was busy with that, she kept watch for trouble. A cottontail rushing about caught her eye and, as she watched him scamper off, she spotted a set of footprints.
Following them, she realized they came from the arroyo and led almost directly to the medicine hogan. From the absence of windblown dust over them, she could tell the visitor had been there today. She followed the tracks to the medicine hogan, then, looking up, saw Ranger walking in her direction.
“I found some footprints, so I’m going to take a quick look,” she called out to him. Since women also had Sings done, she knew she wouldn’t be violating any taboos by peering inside. She drew the blanket aside about a foot, then stuck her head inside.
A click followed by a thud caught her attention immediately and a roundish object rolled by her boot. Ranger leaped forward, scooped it up, then hurled it toward the arroyo. Spinning around, he knocked her down, and covered her with his body.
The ground shook from a deafening blast and the air was alive with screeching, flying debris. She heard thumps all along the log sides of the hogan. Hearing a thud to her right, she shifted her gaze and saw a jagged, foot-long splinter of wood jammed into the ground inches from Ranger’s head.
He kept her pinned for several more seconds as debris continued to rain down, then finally rolled clear. A cloud of dust was starting to settle around them. “From now on, I go in first. To heck with the Anglo ladies’ first custom.”
She was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering as he helped her to her feet. “Are you hurt?” he asked, looking her over.
She looked down at herself, unable to even mutter a simple yes-or-no answer. Now that it was over, the reality of what had just happened slammed into her with a vengeance. Tears stung her eyes, and she couldn’t stop shaking.
He pulled her into his arms and she didn’t resist. The gentleness of his embrace gave her an anchor and a haven in the midst of the violence that surrounded them. “That wooden spike could have killed you.”
Before he could answer, she drew his mouth down to hers. A verbal thank-you for all he’d done would have never been enough to convey what she was feeling. She needed to show him what was in her heart. She wanted him to feel what she did, that crazy swirl of gentle emotions edged with fire.
Dana pressed herself into the kiss, tasting him tentatively, then more boldly. His welcoming tenderness made everything inside her melt. Flickers of delicious pleasure that started at the pit of her stomach and wound downward ignited a more desperate need, and she felt herself drowning in its intensity.
With a deep groan, Ranger eased his hold. “We can’t, not now. We have to get going, and I’ve got to let others know what happened here.” Ranger turned to look at the heavily damaged medicine hogan. “I’m going to find the lowlife who did this. Count on it.”
When Ranger looked back at her, Dana saw that his earlier gentleness had vanished and been replaced by a ruthlessness she’d never dreamed he possessed.
“A quick death here and now would have been more merciful than what they have planned for me,” she said in a barely audible voice.
He pressed his palm to her cheek, forcing her to look at him. “You may walk away from me freely someday, but I’ll die before I let anyone take you. I will keep you safe.” He held her gaze for a brief eternity.
When he turned away at long last, his gaze traveled to what was left of the hogan. The blast had driven several of the logs inward, dislodging them from their notched joints like sticks. The roof had given way above, and now sagged almost within arm’s reach in places.
“We need to call the tribal police,” she said.
“We will, but give me a moment.”
He crouched and began to study the splinters of wood and chunks of hardened clay now scattered around the partially collapsed entrance.
Dana joined him. “Let me help,” she said. “What are we looking for?”
“The pin and the handle from the grenade. They should still be around here somewhere. But look, don’t touch. The FBI will have to go through all of this with a fine-tooth comb and the less we disturb the scene, the more thorough their job can be. All I’m trying to do is figure out how new their ordinance is.”
As she began searching through the rubble, the reality of how close Ranger had come to death hit her hard. He could have just dove to the ground, yet he’d chosen to grab the explosive, throw it away, then shield her with his own body. That knowledge impacted on every part of her being. At one point she’d wondered if he really cared about her. She had no doubts now. There was no greater proof of love.
When she stepped back to get an overview, she saw the blood on the back of Ranger’s shirt and pants leg. For a second her heart forgot to beat. Then, as pure instinct took over, she ran to his side. “You’re hurt. You need help.”
Chapter Fourteen
Seeing the look on her face, Ranger brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “Stop worrying. I can handle it. They’re just minor cuts-shrapnel or flying debris.”
“You need a doctor.”
Ranger shook his head. “It’ll have to wait. I want to identify the ordinance first. Then I’ve got to make sure Hastiin Dííl’s hogan isn’t wired, too.”
“Another grenade?” she said in a thin voice.