Two of Hearts Read online

  After a couple of left turns, my eyes scanned the horizon, connecting with the outskirts of the reservation and the looming structure of the casino. I couldn’t help feeling curious, wanting to know what had people up in arms besides this great man’s death. It felt comfortable being home, almost too much so. But I couldn’t get swept away in this community’s problems. I had plenty of my own to take care of.

  As soon as I heard about the funeral, I had taken a few days’ leave from my duties. I needed the time off from work to get my head screwed on straight. I was told that it happened to the best of us. The defeat, hopelessness, and frustration you experienced when you’d dealt with one too many scumbags. The problem was that I had reached my limit.

  I pulled in to the only gas station this side of the reservation, all the while considering how my job had taken its toll on me, body and soul. I’d put in a special transfer request weeks ago because I was done with fugitives. With their bullshit, their fucked-up logic about how the law worked. I no longer had the need nor the drive to deal with the underbelly of the world—and maybe I never did.

  I stepped out of the car, lifted my hand to an elderly gentleman with shiny black hair and wrinkled skin behind the counter, and stuck the nozzle in my gas tank. As I stood there, I considered how I had worked on a couple of protection cases—for witnesses and federal judges—and wondered if a transfer to that department would solve my itch to leave the field altogether. The job had its perks for sure. I had traveled a fair share and developed a close network of task force buddies—I’d definitely miss them. But fugitive work and I had never felt like a solid fit.

  Maybe it was because of how easily Dakota had let me go. We’d never had the opportunity to get anything started. By the time I had graduated with my criminal justice degree, things had already been strained based on distance alone. So when I announced I’d be heading to Marshal training, that had obviously sent her over the edge. She had said the words I’d always feared I’d hear from her: Let’s take a break.

  That had been one of our final conversations, other than some random text messages where neither one of us got to the bottom of anything. We definitely weren’t truthful with our feelings, anyway. And I was partially to blame for that. I’d never been one to openly express anything. Just like my dad.

  It felt like I was steering on autopilot as my Range Rover followed the curve of the road to the Nakos estate. I considered driving my beat-up red pickup truck from college while in town, because I liked the way her engine purred when I fired her up. But she was from another life, one I had tried hard to leave.

  The street was so crowded that cars had piled up on the lawn. I parked several houses down so I could make a quick escape if I needed to. My parents had gone home after the cemetery, so I was in this alone. Not that anyone would’ve been able to place a buffer between Dakota and me.

  The first person I saw as I headed up the driveway was my former boss at the casino and Mr. Nakos’s best friend.

  “Stuart,” I said, shaking his hand.

  “Son,” he said. “Looking good. Atlanta’s been treating you well.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said. “Not that I get to enjoy it much. Been on the road a lot.”

  He nodded. “Proud of you, son. Knew you’d find your peace, make something good of yourself.”

  “Thank you,” I said, not really certain his portrayal was accurate—but I let it go. “Sorry that this is the reason I’m back in town. How’s everybody holding up?”

  Lines grooved on his forehead and sadness filtered through his eyes. “This is a huge loss to the family and to this reservation.”

  “It certainly is, sir,” I said. “And still no suspect has been apprehended.”

  “Sounds like the trail has run a little dry,” he said, and I wondered if he was hoping I’d use my connections in town to inquire about the case. My father has been on the police force my entire life. But the crime had occurred outside the communal jurisdiction.

  “The rez is anxious about some other things,” he said, looking around the street and lowering his voice. “But this is a conversation for a different day.”

  My chest pounded. Mr. Nakos had always been outspoken about the struggles of modern-day Native Americans. He firmly believed that the solution would be found by keeping resources in his community. He was well respected; so hearing that people had become anxious after his death made my blood turn cold.

  “I’d like to be briefed, Stuart.” I’d worked security at the casino so my words felt familiar. Yet this issue felt bigger than anything we’d had to deal with in the past. “Maybe I could help, yeah?”

  “Not sure how, son. Don’t want to drag you into tribal business,” he said in a cooler voice, but his eyes told me otherwise. And I had gotten good at reading eyes. “Besides, you’re only here for a short visit.”

  And now my interest was piqued. Stuart was always a calming voice of reason in the casino. For him to look this restless was disconcerting.

  “I’m actually here for a few more days. A long vacation, if you will,” I said and followed his line of sight as two men walked out the front door to head to their cars. “I’ll come up to the casino tomorrow. We can discuss this further.”

  I didn’t leave it as a question, only as a statement, and he had no choice but to nod in agreement. Besides, knowing Stuart, he wouldn’t have told me if he hadn’t wanted me to know.

  I headed inside the house and was greeted by several employees who I used to work with during summers and holidays. It felt good to see them, even if we only made small talk, navigating the correct things to say to one another during this somber occasion. Meadow, who had always had a crush on Kai, had grown into a gorgeous woman with a toddler hanging on to her legs. Things around here had certainly changed.

  I spotted Kai and Rachel in the kitchen, loading what looked like cornbread onto a tray. Rachel’s hair was longer which softened her pretty face, and Kai stood close to her, his arm slung around her hip in an almost protective manner. In a house full of people they considered family, this gesture seemed odd, out of place.

  Based on the conversations I’d had with Kai over the last couple of year, I knew that they were trying to have a kid of their own but that it had become a struggle. One thing was for certain, though: When they finally did, that baby was going to be a gorgeous mix of their genes.

  But I also knew that due to Rachel’s health scare years ago—when she had suffered a closed-head injury—her pregnancy would be like a gift after all that she’d been through. Is that why Kai seemed defensive, his fingers shifting across her belly? She’d had a few early miscarriages, so I knew they needed to be extremely cautious. Was she pregnant and not telling anybody yet?

  “Kai,” I said, greeting my best friend. “Rachel. You good? Can I help with anything?”

  “I think we’re all set,” she said, lifting the tray and handing it to her husband to take to the guests. “I need to use the bathroom. Be right back.”

  When she walked away, Kai’s lips quirked up in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

  “You guys cool?” I said, knowing he’d get my meaning.

  “A conversation for later,” he said. Now that I’d heard that line for the second time from a trusted friend, I was practically crawling out of my skin. My eyes automatically scanned the gathering. I spotted their uncle Elan against the far wall. Once we made eye contact, I lifted my chin in recognition.

  His son, West, spotted me and offered me a tight smile. Despite his father’s decades-long feud with Mr. Nakos about casinos sucking the soul out of the Native American culture, West had still nabbed a job at Golden Arrow in the parking garage, the compromise being that it wasn’t actually inside the casino. I wondered if he still worked there.

  Kai placed the tray of bread on the side table, grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge, and motioned for me to follow him outside to the back deck. I still hadn’t seen Mrs. Nakos or Dakota since I’d gotten to the house. I breathed a
sigh of relief that this hadn’t been too awkward. Yet.

  “How’s your mom holding up?” I asked, my elbows on the railing and my eyes scanning the perimeter of their property. They owned a couple of acres and the landscape was pretty back here. The property boasted some apple trees, a stream, as well as a field of sunflowers that bloomed in the late summer.

  “She’s holding up okay, I guess. Mom’s unbelievably strong and Dakota has that quality too, you know? She just threw herself into the casino,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m surrounded by strong women on all sides. I look like a damn pussy in comparison.”

  I grinned and clapped him on the back. It was true. Even his wife was a force to be reckoned with. Dakota was always stubborn as shit and good at holding grudges. Christ, it was tough to be back here and around her again. I wanted to shake her and stick my tongue down her throat all at once. That woman made my blood boil like no other.

  “It was such a long wait for the autopsy, and in a lot of ways it’s a relief to get this part over with,” Kai said and then took a longer pull of his beer. “We needed this . . . this ritual, for some closure.”

  I nodded because I got that. Even I needed it, having been away for so long.

  “My aunt Emily is going to stay with Mom for a few days,” he said. She had stood near the family at the funeral with her two sons, Nate and Luke. “I think that will help.”

  “Definitely,” I said, thinking how important it was to surround yourself with the people you loved and trusted. Sometimes out in the field, and especially on surveillance, it could get lonely.

  “Can’t believe my dad is gone.” His voice was soft, almost worshipful.

  “Me, neither,” I said. “He was such a strong presence.”

  “So messed up,” he said. “I hope they catch the motherfucker and lock him up for life.”

  “I hope so, too.” I had already planned a visit to the station to find out some info myself. It helped to have family on the force.

  “I can’t help getting a weird vibe around here,” I said, lowering my voice.

  Kai’s eyes darted around the deck as a couple of employees emerged with plates of food. “I’ll tell you some other time, man.”

  I nodded. “I’ll stop by your studio this week.”

  Sooner rather than later. I needed to get to the bottom of this.

  Chapter Three

  DAKOTA

  I primped in front of the mirror, attempting to get my shaky breaths in order. My dad was gone, my mom was a wreck, and I was in charge of operations for an entire damn casino. On top of that, my ex-boyfriend, the only guy I ever cared about, was back in town.

  I didn’t know if Shane would show up to my parents’ house, or even what I’d say to him if he did. Part of me wanted to ignore him. But that would be wrong. For whatever little history we had together, he was Kai’s best friend and he had come home for my father’s funeral.

  I needed to pull up my big-girl panties and just let it all go. It’d been five years, and I’d had other relationships since he and I went our separate ways. I could do this. For me. For him. For our friendship.

  I heard a soft rap on the door and froze as if he’d be there, behind it. “Dakota, you in there? I gotta pee.”

  I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. It was just my best friend, Rachel. “Come in.”

  She flew past me, practically molding me to the vanity. “In or out, I don’t care which, just lock behind me.”

  I closed the door, not quite ready to face that crowd out there. Then I turned my back, to give her what was left of her privacy. “What gives, Rachel? Are you—”

  “Don’t even say it,” she said, cutting me off. “Don’t want to jinx anything.”

  Rachel and Kai had been having trouble conceiving the past couple of years. Since they’d already suffered three miscarriages, Rachel now kept any pregnancy-related news to herself. Even if she suspected she was pregnant. It bummed me out to see her so jaded. But she’d had enough heartache to go around.

  Not only that, some of the elders on the rez had superstitions about women who couldn’t conceive and had given Kai a jade turtle pendant for Rachel to wear. I explained that it was akin to an old wives’ tale, but understandably Rachel had reached her limit.

  Truth be told, with my father’s passing and our family finding ourselves in these new circumstances, many believed that we were cursed with evil spirits that needed to be cleansed from our dwellings.

  “Okay,” I said, cautiously. “So you might be pregnant, and you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

  She stood at the sink washing her hands. “Yep. That’s about right.”

  I gave her a good looking over. Her cheeks were flushed and her breasts looked bigger; she was most likely in the early stages of pregnancy. I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a squeeze.

  She hugged me back and then quietly said, “Shane just got here.”

  I sucked in a deep breath and immediately went back to primping in the mirror. She would understand enough not to ask any questions.

  “How long has it been?” she asked, watching my fingers go to town on my long thick hair, which was now on top of my head in a makeshift bun.

  “Not since your wedding three years ago, and even then it was a brief wave and a hello.”

  “Not to mention you had a date,” she said, her eyebrows grooving in disapproval over my choice.

  I thought of how beautiful that wedding had been in my parents’ backyard. I had brought Ridge, a local business owner, because I was dating him at the time and I thought having him there would help keep my mind off of Shane being in attendance. In hindsight, it hadn’t helped at all.

  Ridge knew something was up, asked me about it, and I was honest. I told him I wasn’t quite over Shane, and we broke up shortly thereafter. Now I was glad Ridge had to leave after the cemetery and wasn’t at my parents’ house—since Shane was here. I could only take so much.

  “He looks good,” she said, tentatively.

  I met her gaze in the mirror and sighed. “I know.”

  “Maybe if you—”

  “Stop,” I whispered and shook my head.

  “I know better than anybody about miscommunication. You didn’t even know what he was truly feeling, and you just let him go,” she said. I glared at her in the mirror.

  “I told him we should take a break, and he agreed. Seemed like a done deal to me.”

  “You were testing him, and he didn’t respond the way you wanted him to. You were a stubborn ass—you both were,” she said. And I felt my throat constricting, because she was right, mostly. I had been immature and inflexible. “Maybe you need to talk just to get closure.”

  “I’m afraid if we talk I won’t be able to shake it off . . . shake him off.”

  “Dakota, admit it,” she said. “You still have feelings for him after all of this time.”

  “Whatever,” I said. “I’m busy, he’s busy. It’s the day of my father’s funeral, for God’s sake.”

  She gave me a look half full of pity. The other half called my bluff.

  “Don’t have time to think about this,” I grumbled.

  “Yeah, that’s the problem,” she said, slathering on lip-gloss. “Both of you assheads are too busy and stubborn and driven. You set high expectations, and he didn’t meet them. Maybe thought he couldn’t meet them.”

  “What does it matter anyway?” I said, throwing up my hands. “Look at my mother right now. Her heart is broken. She loved my dad fiercely, and she ended up alone anyway.”

  “Sweetie, I’m going to guess that for all the pain your mom is feeling right now, she would have never given up those years with your dad. Sometimes love makes life more vibrant.” Her fingers trailed over her abdomen with a faraway smile on her lips. “Do you think I’d give all this up with your brother?”

  “I’m going to pretend that I didn’t just catch you rubbing your belly.”

  “Good idea,” she said, not meeting m
y eyes. “I’m out of here.”

  After Rachel left, I took a fortifying breath and walked out the door. I turned the corner to the hallway and almost smacked straight into Shane.

  I inhaled a lungful of air. Seeing him up close was definitely worse. His cobalt eyes penetrated mine, his full lips tilting into a lopsided grin, making the indent in his cheek stand out. And the corded muscles in his neck tightened as he swallowed roughly.

  “Dee,” he whispered, slipping so easily into his nickname for me from many years ago. The one word caused me to focus in on his mouth, and I watched how his lips dragged out that single syllable.

  “Shane,” I said, momentarily shutting my eyes to gain control of my erratic pulse. “Th-thanks for coming.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it. Your father meant a lot to me.” He stepped closer and reached out his fingers to touch my arm before they fell to his side. Still I felt it, the electric cable between us. As if his hand had indeed closed around my skin. “This community, this family does, too.”

  I nodded because I couldn’t get any words out. My mouth had turned arid and his condolences were laced with meaning, some of which I couldn’t allow myself to process.

  “I know how hard this is for you,” he said, moving disconcertingly nearer. I didn’t know whether to focus on his lips or eyes; they were both equally mesmerizing. “I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can do to help—”

  “We’re good,” I said, too fast, too tight. But I needed to rein it in, shove it all into a snug little package, or I’d be adrift again. I couldn’t afford to be lost—I needed to be strong. For myself, my family, my community.

  “Shane,” my mother’s voice rang out across the room. My head snapped up, and I saw her heading toward us. I resisted the urge to back myself against the wall. “So nice to see you again.”

  Even in her grief, my mother was a class act. She gave me a cursory glance, checking that I was okay. She understood how wrecked I’d been by this guy. How no other man I’d dated had ever measured up.