Chapter Twenty-Three

Allis drove slowly around Bull Lake, knowing that Daniel had to have eyes watching her. She continued until she found a large field that faced the lake. There wouldn’t be a way for anyone to sneak up on her. So she pulled the SUV to the side of the road and turned it off, hoping that she could take care of this matter before Givon woke up and tracked her to where she’d driven.

She exited the vehicle, looking around. Dawn broke, and the first rays of the sun touched the calm surface of the lake. The sky turned from dark to blue and it would have been beautiful had it not been for the fact that she was setting herself up to face a madman.

Turning her back on the new day, she took the gun and made sure the safety was off before bending down and placing it behind the front tire. Then she hauled herself up on the hood and waited.

It didn’t take long.

Since the area was deserted and quiet, she heard the truck coming long before she saw it. She watched it for a while before getting off the hood and bracing her legs apart. Her heart thumped fearfully and her inner voice was screaming at her to run. But her newfound sense of pride kept her feet locked in place. Come hell or high water, she was seeing this through. She just had to keep to the plan.

Finally, the black truck came to a stop about fifty yards away and Daniel got out from the driver’s side. One of his goons exited the passenger side but didn’t approach with him.

“Well, well,” Daniel sneered. “All it took was me threatening a bunch of fucking bikers?”

“They’re better men than you are,” she said.

“No white man is better than the Shoshone,” he stated.

“I met a Shoshone,” she said. “I had dinner with him. He was raised with a white family. His wife is white. He’s better than you.”

“Then he’s a fucking traitor,” he said with a sneer as he walked closer to her.

He didn’t hold a gun, although she couldn’t be sure he didn’t have one tucked in his belt. He was a cop, so she was sure he was carrying some type of weapon. Daniel Two Feathers used his badge as an excuse to enact the laws he wanted, and because he was tribal, he pretty much had absolute autonomy. No one fucked with him or his Tribe. So she was sure he wasn’t expecting her to fight back.

And she wasn’t planning to.

At least, not for now.

“You cut me, bitch,” he snarled at her as he came within a foot.

“You killed my cat,” she said. “You bullied me. You harassed me. You had your goons over there destroy my property. So when you tried to rape me, yes, I hurt you. But it was an accident. I never meant to cut your face. Please, just accept my apology and leave me alone.”

“Leave you alone?” he asked incredulously. “You’ve got to be joking. You’re a dirty Crow whom I had graciously decided to take under my wing. But no. You felt you were too good for my benevolence.”

“You’re just a man, Daniel—a racist one at that.”

“Of course I’m racist!” he shouted. “The white men of this world have taken everything from us! It is up to me to protect the Shoshone, to protect our heritage and our lands. Or what’s left of them. And you could’ve been by my side, no longer a Crow outcast but a proud Shoshone bride.”

“I’d rather be eaten by bears,” she replied honestly.

His face turned an ugly mottled red as he backhanded her. Allis fell with a cry, landing hard on her back. As he advanced on her, she scooted backward as quickly as possible, crab-walking and half crying as he stalked her. She reached the SUV just as he brought his fist up to punch her. The left side of her face exploded in pain and for a second she swam dangerously close to unconsciousness.

She watched through a blurred gaze as he pulled a knife out of his boot and held it up in front of her. He waved it like a trophy, taunting her. She slowly realized it wasn’t a knife but a letter opener—the letter opener, the one she’d used on him—and now it had been sharpened to a very fine point. With each pass of the blade, he brought it closer to her face.

“I’m finally going to do to you what you did to me, bitch,” he snarled.

She started laughing, and he paused, the hand holding the weapon only half an inch from her cheek.

“What’s so goddamn funny?” he asked harshly.

“I’m remembering two words Givon said yesterday,” she mumbled, the pain of talking almost overwhelming her but she focused on stretching out her hand and finding the gun.

“What’s that?”

“Self-defense,” she said and pulled the gun out. Being this close to him, she didn’t even have to aim. All she had to do was shoot.

So she did.

Daniel Two Feathers fell back, smoke rising from his chest. A second gunshot rang out and she flinched, waiting for more pain as a bullet tore through her. It took her a moment to realize that except for her split cheek, she wasn’t shot or bleeding. She sat up and saw Nimrod walking slowly toward the black truck, holding his gun out in front of him. Daniel’s goon lay on the ground.

How the hell had he gotten there?

Nimrod examined the truck to make sure no one else was lurking and, when he turned back to her, he stuffed his gun into the holster under his armpit.

“You okay?” he called.

“Yes,” she whispered then realized he probably hadn’t heard her. So she nodded, which caused pain to slice through her head.

Nimrod crouched and felt for Daniel’s pulse. “This fucker’s dead.”

She began to tremble as tears poured from her eyes. Even though this was what she’d planned on doing, knowing she’d taken someone’s life left her feeling shell-shocked and guilty as hell.

“Hey,” Nimrod said gently. He took the gun from her hand and stuffed it into the back of his jeans. “He would’ve killed you. I’ve seen enough assholes to know he wasn’t going to stop. Come on. Let’s go sit on the tailgate and wait for North to get here.”

He helped her stand and led her to the back of the SUV, keeping his body between her and the horror of what she’d done.

“H-How did you get here?” she mumbled as he opened the back and helped her sit.

“I stowed away back here,” he said. “Pete saw me getting in.”

“I should’ve known.”

They heard bikes coming fast. Nimrod took out his gun once more and stood in front of her, waiting, his body tense. But a moment later, he relaxed as two motorcycles rounded the bend. He put his pistol away and waited.

“Allis!” North shouted and ran toward her.

The fear in his eyes turned to anger as he took in her beaten face and split cheek. He lightly touched the swelling. A second later, Givon reached her, followed by his deputy, Charlie Earenflight.

“Aw, babe,” North said. “I’m going to kill the fucker.”

“Too late,” she whispered. Her tears began again and he pulled her into his arms.

Givon eased her out of North’s arms and into his. As he rocked her, North began to drill Nimrod.

“What the hell happened?”

“She got him to admit to everything,” Nimrod said. “Pretty smart about it too. He went after her, hit her, took out this knife to cut her face when she fell down. Cried out self-defense as she brought out the gun then shot him. I killed the asshole over there because he was coming after her.”

“North,” Givon muttered, “it’s going to be her word over the Tribe’s—”

“No, it’s not,” Nimrod interrupted. He held up a cell phone. “The reason why I didn’t help her out right away was because I was filming what he was saying. The fucker was whacked, let me tell you.”

Givon smiled. “I don’t know why they call you Nimrod.”

“The idiot still put a muffler on backward,” North muttered. He held out his hand and smiled. “But I owe you, brother. Man, do I owe you.”

“Okay, I got this,” Charlie spoke up. “You guys take Allis to the hospital and get her fixed up. I’ll figure out this scene…somehow. Nimrod, I don’t suppose those guns are registered, are they?”