Stargazer's Woman. Aimee Thurlo
her gaze went up to his face, recognition flashed in her eyes. “Max Natoni? I went to see you at the hospital, but you were pretty much out of it at the time. How are you feeling?”
She was his former partner’s spitting image—or nearly so. Yet where Tina’s honey-brown eyes had been cold and hard—the long-term results of being a police officer—Kris’s were lighter and softer somehow, like the scent of flowers that clung to her. All in all, not what he’d expected from a former marine.
“I’m doing much better, thanks,” he said at last.
Max reached to pick up the bag, but she was faster. She grabbed it by the corners with perfectly manicured hands, and swung it into a nearby wheelbarrow before he could help. He’d always liked capable women, and Kris was obviously no exception. Her blend of toughness and femininity was an appealing contradiction.
“I’ve been hoping for a chance to talk to you,” she said. “Why don’t we go into my office?”
As she led the way, Max saw the huge smiling cactus on the back of her denim work shirt. Prickly but sweet? As his gaze drifted downward, he observed the way she filled out her jeans. The soft curve of her hips, and the way they swayed with each stride certainly held his attention. Definitely sweet—a few thorns never hurt anyone.
THE SECOND THEY ENTERED her small office, Kris stepped around her desk and reached for the bottle of aspirin she kept in her drawer. She offered him two, but he declined.
Kris made herself comfortable in her chair and regarded Max Natoni thoughtfully as he took the seat by the window, shifting it around to face her directly. The dimples that flashed at the corners of his mouth whenever he smiled contrasted with the scar on his left cheek. There was something infinitely masculine about the man…and that killer smile…. It made her heart beat a little faster—something a battalion of jarheads had never quite managed to do.
Irritated with herself for getting soft, she glanced down at her desk. Heatstroke. That’s why her heart was acting weird. Where was that water bottle? Since leaving the Middle East she’d stopped hydrating enough.
“I’ve been hoping for the chance to talk to you alone,” Max said quietly, slipping his leather jacket off with a shrug and tossing it casually onto the corner coat rack’s hook.
Kris knew that if she wanted to find out what had happened to her sister, Max was the key. “Tina respected you,” she started, then saw him flinch. “Is that a surprise?” she asked.
He shook his head. “That’s not it. Navajos don’t speak the name of the dead out loud, particularly this soon after their passing.”
Kris nodded. “I’m sorry. I’d forgotten about that. I meant no disrespect. I know how important it is to cling to your own culture—to the things that define you.” She paused, organizing her thoughts. “My sister spoke highly of you—and often, too, I should add. That’s why I’m hoping you’ll help me now. I need to know what happened to her. Everyone I’ve spoken to so far, the sheriff’s department, the Farmington police, the Tribal cops, give me the same answer. They’re not free to talk about a case under investigation.”
“What exactly have they told you so far about the way she died?”
“I know my sister was working with you and another man—another courier named Harris. Your objective was to protect some tribal assets. From the bits and pieces I overheard at the station, those assets were some kind of jewelry. Now I want the rest of the details.”
“What led you to think jewelry was involved?” Max asked her.
“I overheard one of the detectives saying that the missing suitcase is worth over a half-million dollars. Then a few days later an investigator working for a company called Jewelry Outlet, a tall redhead by the name of Bruce Talbot, came by,” she said. “The man was a pain in the butt. He hung around questioning my employees, and then tried to grill me. From his questions I know he believes that my sister—and I—had something to do with the robbery.”
She met his gaze and saw how his dark brown eyes could change at a moment’s notice. Yet it was his air of self-possession that intrigued her most.
“I won’t allow that cloud of suspicion to remain over my sister or on me,” she continued. “I have every intention of finding out exactly what went down. Then I’m going to prove that my sister’s innocent, and that she died doing her job.”
“Do you have any background in investigative work?”
“I have a logical mind and I was an intelligence analyst in the Corps. That’ll be enough.” She paused, then continued. “Honor is more than just a word to me. It’s worth dying for.”
“Your sister gave her life to protect tribal assets. Next time Talbot comes around, send him to me.”
“I know you work for the tribe. But in what capacity? A courier? Security guard?” Judging from his neutral expression and his questions, he’d come with more than a social visit in mind.
He took out his card and handed it to her.
She studied it for a moment. “Security. Office of the Navajo Tribal President. That doesn’t tell me much.”
“I work on the President’s behalf, carrying out whatever assignments come up,” he answered, leaning back in his chair and stretching his long legs. “I’m an investigator who answers only to the tribe.”
She held his gaze. The man was holding back. Instinct and training told her that, and much more. Keeping secrets was second nature to him. His body language attested to his ease with them.
While serving in the military, she’d had to do the same thing. She wondered if Max knew what a toll secrets eventually took on those who guarded them.
Almost as quickly as the thought had formed, she focused back on the situation at hand. “Those assets you won’t identify—let’s just call them jewelry for now. Talbot intimated that I might know where they are, so he’s talking conspiracy.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Not much. I, shall we say, escorted him off my property?” She watched his gaze skim over her lips, then drop lower, grazing her neck, and taking in the soft swell of her breasts. The look hadn’t been insolent or disrespectful. It had been…appreciative.
Kris suppressed the shiver that touched her spine. He was playing her. He knew that nature had given him a certain amount of power over the opposite sex and he’d learned to use it. She wouldn’t be taken in.
“Back to my sister…what happened?” she pressed again. “At one point, Talbot had the nerve to suggest that I’d previously met with Harris and that I knew where the stolen merchandise was.” She paused. “He’s lucky he can still walk upright.”
“Harris is dead, but he was the key player. He betrayed the tribe, your sister and me,” he said, then taking a breath continued. “We all set out in the same vehicle with our cargo, Harris driving. Our route took us through Four Corners, and you know how desolate that stretch is. Not long after we passed into New Mexico, he insisted on pulling over. He claimed that there was something wrong with the steering and he wanted to stop and take a look. We all got out and he suddenly pulled a gun on us. He shot me, then fired at your sister as she scrambled out of the backseat. I went down, but managed to return fire and force him back, giving your sister the chance to drive away with the cargo. Unfortunately, her only option was to head down a dirt road, not the highway.”
She could picture it clearly. Tina would have done everything in her power to keep what had been entrusted to her out of a thief’s hands. “What happened to you then?”
“I took a hit to the head, maybe from a second gunman, and passed out. I didn’t wake up until the next day. Evidence at the scene suggests that Harris either had another vehicle hidden nearby, or was met shortly thereafter by a partner. We also have reason to believe Harris caught up to your sister after