“Do you recognize it?” Tiernan asked.
Sick inside, she nodded. “Nathan’s truck.”
“How can you be certain?”
“I just rode in it this morning.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Tiernan said. “And keep a watch out in case he comes back.”
Ella’s nerves were on edge again the entire five minutes it took them to get to refuge headquarters. She didn’t relish the drive back and decided she would take the long way around. No more shortcuts for her.
Stopping near the front door, she said, “I guess I should report this, for all the good it will do.”
“You’re not going back to the reservation alone.” He touched her and said, “You’re shaking. Come inside and have a cuppa.”
“I shouldn’t.”
“I’m thinking you should. Now, come inside, Ella, and let me take care of you.”
Being taken care of sounded great right now. Relieved that she didn’t have to be alone for a while, she scrambled out of the vehicle and let Tiernan take her in his arms for a moment. She shuddered and then surrendered to the cocoon of warmth and the deeper connection she felt with him.
“That’s it,” Tiernan murmured into her hair. “Relax.”
The stress she’d felt on the chase had vanished only to be replaced by another kind of tension. Her pulse skittered through her and her skin grew hot and taut. She looked up at Tiernan. His expression was so serious, his gaze so deep, that she lost herself for a moment and rose on tiptoe to brush his lips with hers.
Tiernan held her tight and stared straight into her eyes. “What is it you want, Ella?”
Feeling as if all the air was suddenly squeezed out of her, thinking he was willing to give her whatever she did want, Ella said, “Just to thank you.”
“Is that all? Truly?”
She blinked and wet her lips. “I—I don’t know.” This was crazy. She shouldn’t be in his arms.
“’Tis honest. I don’t know, either, lass. Shall we table this discussion to another time, then?”
Breathless, Ella nodded and Tiernan released her. Still, he took her hand and led her inside. His grip was warm and comforting, and despite her reservations, she was glad for the contact.
The reception room was dark until Tiernan switched on a light. “There you go.”
“Are your relatives asleep this early?”
“Relax,” he said. “I didn’t notice Kate’s SUV out there, so I assume they went out for the evening. Come sit in the kitchen. I’ll put the kettle on to boil.”
“As much as I hate having to do this, I need to call in the incident,” she admitted. “The question is to whom? It was Nathan, but we were on refuge land. Then again, local law enforcement would probably have to turn him back over to the tribal police. So, I guess I have the answer.”
“The phone is over there,” he said, indicating one on the wall.
Reluctantly, Ella called tribal headquarters and said she needed to make an official report. The assistant put her through to Ted Grey. She was thankful to get someone she knew other than Jimmy, but not so thankful as to what the officer had to say.
“You weren’t hurt and your car wasn’t actually damaged?” Ted questioned.
“No, but the driver was trying to cause an accident. I almost slid over the embankment. And I saw the vehicle—a truck—and know the owner.” She took a deep breath and said, “Nathan Lantero.”
“Isn’t Nathan your cousin?” Ted asked, his voice suddenly thick with suspicion. “If it’s a family matter, I don’t know why you’re bothering us.”
“Because he tried to run me off the road!”
As she said it, Tiernan turned from the kettle on the stove and tuned in to her. That she could feel it put her off her game for a moment.
Ted asked, “You said this near-accident just took place?” He sounded as if he didn’t really believe her.
“Like ten minutes ago.”
“Then the driver couldn’t have been Nathan.”
“Why not?” Were Ted and Nathan buddies? she wondered, her grip on the phone tightening. She matched looks with Tiernan as she asked, “Is Nathan locked up?”
“Nope, but he was here an hour ago, making out a report—stolen truck. It couldn’t have been him.”
Taken by surprise, Ella was speechless for a moment. If the truck really had been stolen, that meant Nathan hadn’t tried to harm or at least to scare her. It hadn’t been her cousin who’d tried running her off the road.
A bit relieved, she found her voice. “Are you looking for the truck?”
“Actively? Nope,” Ted admitted. “But a description already went out. If anyone sees it and we are able to make an arrest, I’ll get back to you.”
Frustrated, she slammed the phone into its cradle.
“So… Nathan…?” Dropping tea bags into two mugs, Tiernan let the name dangle.
“Reported the truck stolen an hour ago.”
“Stolen? And you believe that?”
“I want to. When I was a kid, Nathan was like a big brother to me. He saved my life. I don’t want to think he changed into a bad person.”
Or that he’d been a bad person all along, which, of course, was a distinct possibility.
The kettle began to whistle, so Tiernan filled the mugs with hot water. Then he handed her one.
“Give it a moment.”
Taking it, she set it on the table. Her mind was whirling. “Maybe I should have told Ted about the slashed tires.” Truthfully, she’d forgotten about them until just now. “Do you think whoever slashed them was counting on my giving you a ride home?”
“A possibility, I would say.”
“Then we were both targets. Someone is trying to scare us both away.”
“Or worse.”
“Or worse,” she echoed. “But why would anyone want to hurt us?”
“Because we know too much?”
“What is it we know? Nothing!”
Frustrated anew, Ella picked up her mug and sipped at her tea. She didn’t have long to think before hearing a vehicle pull up near the house. She looked to Tiernan.
“Kate and Chase are home.” He set down his mug. “I’m going to tell them what happened. I’m sure Kate will want you to stay here for the night until we can think on what to do.”
Ella had no argument for that.
But when Tiernan’s cousin came in the door, followed by her husband—a tall man dressed in black jeans and a black shirt buttoned to the neck—he didn’t have the opportunity to tell them anything.
“We have a problem,” Kate immediately announced.
“What kind of problem?” Tiernan asked.
“Sick horses.”
“Where?”
“The pasture at the set,” Chase said.
“Is that where you’ve been?”
“Right. Nathan called to warn us.”
“Nathan?” Ella repeated, feeling the air leave her lungs again.
What did her cousin have to do with this?
Chase nodded. “He went to check on his horses and noticed several of ours had a rough cough and a clear discharge from the nose and eyes.”