“Birdsong…the stock car racing family?” she asked.
He nodded, picking up speed to match the posted limit. “I work in their auto performance shop.”
“The Birdsongs will let you just borrow one of their cars?”
“Sure.” The Birdsong brothers weren’t full Navajo, but the tribe was one of their racing team sponsors. The Brotherhood of Warriors usually bought their modified pickups and cars from the Birdsongs, too. The brothers had learned not to ask questions, especially since the warriors’ financial backing came from the tribal president’s special fund.
Ranger reached for the cell phone and made a call. “Tony, this is Ranger. Hope I didn’t wake you up, buddy, but I need a new set of wheels ASAP. What’s available?”
“We’ve got that new model everyone in law enforcement is salivating for-and we’ve made some improvements on it, too. It’ll run circles around every bad guy on the road. And guess what, The Ringer just came out of the shop an hour ago, and she’s ready to roll.”
Ranger smiled. He’d driven the generic-looking pale blue sedan. It was disguised to look like something Granny might drive to her quilting group, complete with knitted baby shoes dangling from the rearview mirror. Yet it had a racing and handling setup that could beat most high-performance vehicles. It had started out as a joke, but once everyone at Birdsong had gotten involved, it had ended up being one of the fastest cars around. Everyone wanted a chance to get behind the wheel. The car was hot, and constantly being tweaked to raise the bar a little higher.
“It’s gotta be The Ringer. Can you meet me in the parking lot of the Terminal Café-West Side Mall? We’ll trade keys. You can take my truck.”
“I’ve always had my eye on that truck of yours. What do you say I keep your little jewel for the weekend?”
Ranger laughed. “Yeah, fine.”
“Any other way I can help?”
“No, I’ve got it covered. Thanks,” Ranger answered, keeping it vague.
Switching off the phone, Ranger glanced over at her. “I’m going to borrow one of Tony Birdsong’s best kept secrets.”
Dana didn’t press him for more details. As he headed back to Farmington, Ranger wondered about the woman next to him. What she lacked in training, she more than made up for in spirit. He found himself liking her more by the hour.
Uploaded by Coral
Chapter Six
Dana looked at her watch. “It’s two a.m.,” she said, yawning. “I’m tired, and I’m just not thinking straight anymore. I need some sleep. Can we go back to my place and get a few hours of sleep? I understand criminals don’t return to the scene of the crime.”
“Who gave you that lesson in crime fighting? Was it in your teacher’s manual?” he teased.
“I heard it on TV,” she answered, annoyed. “But it makes sense.”
“Not in this case. They wanted you badly enough to go after you at home, then on the road, despite the fact that you’re being protected. Never assume what the bad guys will or won’t do.” He glanced over at her. She was tired so her resistance would be low. Now was the ideal time to press her for answers.
“You’re a witness…maybe more.”
“More than what?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.
“You tell me. I’m on your side, Dana. You must have noticed that by now. Whatever it is you know, or are keeping secret, is making you a target. Tell me what it is. Then I can pull some strings and hide you somewhere, maybe out of state, until these guys are caught.”
She shook her head slowly. “I’m not going away. I’ve got business here.”
“Business?”
“Yeah. I’m a teacher in Shiprock.” Although she knew he was a good ally, she had a secret she’d vowed to protect. It would probably be better for her not to talk at all right now rather than risk any slipups. “I’m going to lay back for a few minutes. If I fall asleep and you need something, wake me.”
“I could use some company, too. Talk to me. I need to stay sharp.”
Dana was more convinced than ever that he wasn’t playing fair. Then again, nothing about this had been fair-not from the moment she and Hastiin Sani had been kidnapped.
“So we’ll talk, but don’t expect much,” she said, yawning.
“Tell me, how did you and our medicine man become friends?”
It appeared to be an innocent question, but she could practically feel the undercurrent there. “You already know how it was for me growing up. Back then, the medicine man was my unofficial guardian angel. He was always there for me, no matter what.”
“And you remained close friends all these years?”
She nodded. “He was one of my character references when I applied for my teaching job in Shiprock. Lately, he’d become very involved with some tribal consulting work so we hadn’t gotten together since the beginning of the school year. I was really happy to see him when he showed up at the parent/teacher conference I’d scheduled with his son and wife.” Her voice shook and she lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. “And you?” she finally added.
“I’ve known him for a very long time. He’s the man I’d always look to for answers.”
“Then you’ll miss him as much as I will,” she said with a soft sigh.
His face remained without expression for a moment, then his eyes softened and he nodded solemnly.
Though he hadn’t said much, she could feel his grief as clearly as she did her own. A very precious life had been lost. “I wish I were home right now, grading papers, and none of this had ever happened.”
“The pain will pass, and the papers will still be there for you when this is over.”
She yawned, leaning back, her eyes automatically closing. “It’ll end soon. It has to,” she murmured, then drifted off to sleep.
Ranger glanced at Dana. She was exhausted and he didn’t have the heart to wake her.
DANA WOKE UP when the truck came to a stop. The lights of the parking lot were bright and it was hard to stop squinting and get her eyes to focus.
Ranger placed a hand on her shoulder. “Wait for me here. I’m not going far.”
Her senses numbed with exhaustion, she tried to concentrate on the conversation he was having with the other man.
“If you want to stay below the radar for a few days, I’ll be glad to pass along a message to your brother,” the man she took to be Tony Birdsong said.
“Not necessary. But thanks for bringing the car.”
Hearing a bunch of car details that meant absolutely nothing to her, Dana drifted off to sleep again. In a sleepy haze, she felt strong arms lifting her out of the pickup. Without even opening her eyes she knew it was Ranger. He had a special outdoor woodsy scent about him that seemed to fit in perfectly with the man he was. Dana rested her head against his shoulder, comforted by the warmth of his strong, male body.
Awareness and desire ribboned around her-and that suddenly brought her back to a state of alertness. “Put me down, Ranger,” she said, her eyes wide open. “I’m perfectly capable of walking.”
He laughed. “Enjoy the luxury while you can. You’re so tired you can’t see straight.”
“You’ve got to be worn out yourself, and if you faint from exhaustion, I’ll need a forklift to carry you.”
The chuckle started like a low rumble in his chest, then became a full-throated laugh as Ranger set her down.
For a brief second Dana stared at the old car, wondering if Ranger was playing a joke on her. The two-door sedan had its original finish-a medium blue that was nearly gray in places from oxidation.
The interior, from what she could see from her position by the passenger’s side, was original, not including the almost matching blue tape that covered several splits in the vinyl dashboard. The upholstery was covered with stretchy terry cloth in a pale green-machine washable, no doubt. A battery-powered radio, one of those probably offered free with a magazine subscription, occupied a portion of the gaping hole in the front dash where the original radio had once been installed.