Hed been more than a crush, and she wasnt the only one whod changed during their time apart. But neither comment seemed to mean much right now. She wasnt here to recapture the relationship that had been, and he wouldnt force her into the relationship that could be. Not when she was so intent on leaving. Again.
As he disentangled his fingers from her hair, he let her nudge him aside. Joanna patted the spot on his chest, then curled her fingers into her palm. It was a kind, but definite, send-off. I have a new name, a new life. You dont know me anymore.
Ethan stayed in the small room for a moment as the door opened and closed. He listened to the spirit of Mother Earth inside him, listened to his training as a soldier, listened to his conscienceand made a decision. He opened the door and followed her out.
Joanna Kuchumake that Rhodes nowdidnt know him, either, if she thought he was going to let her face off against that bastard Watts on her own a second time.
GET IT TOGETHER, GIRL, Joanna muttered. The skin at her nape was still tingling with tiny tremors from the warmth of Ethans hand.
Her heart pounded away at an equally unsettling rate as she left the interview room and forced one foot in front of the other along the KCCUs tiled hallway. She could do this. She had to do this. Shed prepared herself to look Sherman Watts in the eye, to see familiar faces and places and deal with the memories they might trigger.
But she hadnt prepared herself for Ethan Bia.
Not really.
Shed forgotten how impossible it was to reason with himhow he could watch her with those dark, nearly black, eyes and get under her skin and into her head and make her think that she was the one who was being unreasonable. His inner peace and age-old wisdomeven at twenty-onehad frustrated her as much as it fascinated. His certainty about the world and belief in what was right or wrong had confounded as much as it had comforted her. Hed been a rock in her chaotic young life, a constant shed never known with her alcoholic parents. Hed also been a mysterious, compellingcompletely sexy man.
Maybe that was the part she hadnt prepared herself for.
Stopping to straighten her jacket and tuck her hair back into place, Joanna gave herself a moment to silence the confusion in her head. Shed devoted herself to her career, taught herself that her strongest allies were her own wits and determination. Shed gone through counseling and had prepared herself to accept a mans touch again. It wasnt so much that she was afraid of being with a man at some point in the future, but that she was afraid of needing him.
Ethan Bia, with that deep, rumbly voice and those gentle, work-roughened hands, had undone in fifteen minutes what had taken her fifteen years to firmly fix into place.
Hed gotten her blood boiling with his insistence that she had no business working an investigation that involved Sherman Watts. And then hed hushed her, touched hersoothed her fears and anger and her constant fight to be strong and independentand the years between them melted away. Shed wanted nothing more than to burrow against his big chest and feel his sturdy arms around her again. Shed wanted the shelter he offered as much as shed wanted to welcome his kiss.
Felt a hell of a lot like need to her.
No. The wall beside her reacted to her firm insistence about as well as her turbulent emotions did. It couldnt work then. It wont work now.
There. Better. Think it through.
She was leaving tomorrow, Sunday at the latest, depending on how well Watts cooperated with her. She was too smart to risk her heart on a relationship that couldnt last. Ethan was a man of the earth; she was a woman of the city. He was a Bia, son of a successful business owner and a tribal elder, a well-respected name on the reservation. She was a Kuchu, reservation trash, daughter of Ralph, a charmer with a big heart whose addictions had cost him his money as soon as hed earned it, and Naomi, a flirtatious beauty whose drunk driving had gotten them both killed.
Joanna was too fractured inside to believe in anything more than what she could do for herself and control with her own two hands. What she needed was to keep moving forward with her life.
A mystic force of nature like Ethan Bia didnt fit into her plans. She stood a better chance of surviving this trip home if he wasnt a part of it.
So get over it, already. Smoothing her expression and her thoughts into business mode, she found Patrick Martinez pacing a rut into the carpeting of his office.
Are you kidding me? Hell. He cursed into his cell phone as he peered outside his window into the waning daylight.
Joannas training buzzed her senses on alert. What was he looking for? Sheriff Martinez?
Yes. Lock it down before this rain gets worse and washes away any trail he might have left behind. No one goes in or out until I get there. He snapped the phone shut and strode from the office. Elizabeth!
Im right here, Patrick. The Indian woman set down the two mugs of coffee she carried and took a position at her desk, ready to handle whatever the sheriff needed.
Sorry. He offered the gruff apology in the same breath he started giving orders. Get Miguel down from the lab and tell him to scrounge up any of his field techs he can call on short notice. I need them over at Wattss place on the rez ASAP.
Got it. Elizabeth spared Joanna a quick concerned look at the mention of the suspects name before picking up the phone and punching in the labs extension, quickly relaying the sheriffs orders.
Has something happened? Joanna asked. Nobodynot Ethan, not Elizabeth Reddawnhad to protect her from Sherman Watts anymore.
Martinez grabbed his Stetson, pointing it at Elizabeth before putting it on. And call my wife. Tell her Im going to miss that movie.
Elizabeth nodded, reading off an address shed brought up on her computer screen.
Trouble?
Joanna jumped inside her skin at the sound of Ethans deep voice from right behind her. How could such a big man move without making a noise?
Martinez nodded to him over her shoulder. Good. Im gonna need you with me, big guy.
Sheriff. Joanna ignored her erratic pulse and insisted on an explanation.
You might as well come, too, Rhodes. Watts isnt at his trailer. The rat must have gotten wind we wanted to talk to him and skipped town. Hes cleared out his stuff and gone to ground. His blue eyes shifted back up to Ethan. I need you to track him for me.
My gears in my truck. A hand at the small of her back guided Joanna into step behind the sheriff as they headed for the exit. You think we had another info leak? Ethan asked.
Who knows? Martinez paused just inside the doorway. He probably knows that once we bring him in and he starts talking about Julie Graingers murder, he wont be going back home for twenty years or so. Maybe his survival instincts kicked in.
Joanna took an extra step to move beyond the distracting brush of Ethans hand. You dont believe that.
No. But I like the idea of having a mole on my team even less than I like the idea of Wattss dumb luck keeping him one step ahead of us. The sheriff pulled his hat low on his forehead before pushing open the door. Makes me think he doesnt want to answer your questions.