a week.”
Nash glared at me as only Nash Jones could glare. His eyes were clear light gray, his hair black and cut short. A square white bandage covered the base of his scalp.
“What do you want, Begay?” he growled.
“I came to see whether you were all right. And to find Maya.”
“You escaped FBI custody?” Maya asked, her eyes gleaming.
I grinned at her. “He was lenient.”
Nash, who’d been out during the attack on his hospital room, came alert. “FBI custody? What the hell have you done now?”
“Calm down.” I hopped up on the stool at the breakfast bar. “Didn’t Maya tell you what happened?”
Nash transferred the glare to Maya. “No.”
Maya flushed, but she didn’t stop me as I told him, in detail, about what I’d seen in the sinkhole, the woman in the hospital room and how Mick had killed her, finishing with Coyote’s ploy that got Mick and me out of Flagstaff.
“She pretended to be my mother ?” Nash asked, enraged, when I’d finished. “Who was she?”
“We don’t know. She died fast under Mick’s fire.”
“You should have kept her alive for questioning.”
“We didn’t have a choice,” I said, exasperated. “It was the only way Mick could stop her.”
“What are your conclusions? Or Mick’s?”
I rubbed my head. “I think she was connected to what I saw in the sinkhole. Her reaction to my magic was the same—it made her stronger, not weaker. I thought the hands in the hole were coming for me, but maybe they were coming for you. The women in the hospital didn’t seem interested in attacking me, or Mick.”
Maya’s brown eyes widened. “Someone’s after Nash?”
“Looks that way,” I said.
“Why?” she demanded.
“That’s a good question,” Nash said. “There’s no reason anyone should be hunting me, especially not someone magical.”
“I can think of dozens of people who’d want you dead,” I said. “Every person you’ve ever gotten sent to prison, for example. And magically, you’re special. Unique. You have the ability to soak up magic, nullify it, not be hurt by it.”
“Exactly what I mean.” Nash dismissed the drug dealers, thieves, and assaulters with a flick of his fingers. “If, according to you, a magical attack won’t work on me, why would someone try it?”
“Maybe they weren’t trying to kill you, but capture you. To figure out how you work and how they can make your non-magic work for them.”
“That’s a lot of suppositions,” Nash said.
“It’s all I have right now. You need to be careful. I can ward your house if you want, or better still, Mick or Cassandra can do it. They’re skilled, and their magic is earthbased. My brand obviously makes whoever it is stronger.” Which really bugged me.
“None of this means I need to stay home,” Nash said stubbornly.
“Nash,” Maya began. Her voice was waiting to return to the screech, I could feel it.
“I’ll sit behind my desk and write reports,” Nash snapped. “I’m not stupid enough to chase criminals through the desert when I know I’ll pass out after ten strides. I have deputies. I’ll use them.”
I pitied the deputies. If Nash couldn’t run around himself, he’d make sure his deputies covered every inch he couldn’t and report every detail to him.
“I also came to talk about this,” I said, pulling Ted’s list out of my pocket. “You wouldn’t have had anything to do with hiring the new county inspector, would you?”
“Wingate?” Nash looked surprised. “No. Why?”
Maya grabbed the list and read it with widening eyes. “What the hell? Is he crazy? I’ve done all this. There’s nothing wrong with my wiring.”
“Ted Wingate is a huge pain in the ass,” Nash said with conviction.
I was surprised. I thought he’d be the kind of guy that Nash liked—obsessive, annoying, and arrogant. “I take it you’ve met him?”
Nash nodded. “One of the first things he did was come to my office and tell me I didn’t know how to run my
Nash glared at me as only Nash Jones could glare. His eyes were clear light gray, his hair black and cut short. A square white bandage covered the base of his scalp.
“What do you want, Begay?” he growled.
“I came to see whether you were all right. And to find Maya.”
“You escaped FBI custody?” Maya asked, her eyes gleaming.
I grinned at her. “He was lenient.”
Nash, who’d been out during the attack on his hospital room, came alert. “FBI custody? What the hell have you done now?”
“Calm down.” I hopped up on the stool at the breakfast bar. “Didn’t Maya tell you what happened?”
Nash transferred the glare to Maya. “No.”
Maya flushed, but she didn’t stop me as I told him, in detail, about what I’d seen in the sinkhole, the woman in the hospital room and how Mick had killed her, finishing with Coyote’s ploy that got Mick and me out of Flagstaff.
“She pretended to be my mother ?” Nash asked, enraged, when I’d finished. “Who was she?”
“We don’t know. She died fast under Mick’s fire.”
“You should have kept her alive for questioning.”
“We didn’t have a choice,” I said, exasperated. “It was the only way Mick could stop her.”
“What are your conclusions? Or Mick’s?”
I rubbed my head. “I think she was connected to what I saw in the sinkhole. Her reaction to my magic was the same—it made her stronger, not weaker. I thought the hands in the hole were coming for me, but maybe they were coming for you. The women in the hospital didn’t seem interested in attacking me, or Mick.”
Maya’s brown eyes widened. “Someone’s after Nash?”
“Looks that way,” I said.
“Why?” she demanded.
“That’s a good question,” Nash said. “There’s no reason anyone should be hunting me, especially not someone magical.”
“I can think of dozens of people who’d want you dead,” I said. “Every person you’ve ever gotten sent to prison, for example. And magically, you’re special. Unique. You have the ability to soak up magic, nullify it, not be hurt by it.”
“Exactly what I mean.” Nash dismissed the drug dealers, thieves, and assaulters with a flick of his fingers. “If, according to you, a magical attack won’t work on me, why would someone try it?”
“Maybe they weren’t trying to kill you, but capture you. To figure out how you work and how they can make your non-magic work for them.”
“That’s a lot of suppositions,” Nash said.
“It’s all I have right now. You need to be careful. I can ward your house if you want, or better still, Mick or Cassandra can do it. They’re skilled, and their magic is earthbased. My brand obviously makes whoever it is stronger.” Which really bugged me.
“None of this means I need to stay home,” Nash said stubbornly.
“Nash,” Maya began. Her voice was waiting to return to the screech, I could feel it.
“I’ll sit behind my desk and write reports,” Nash snapped. “I’m not stupid enough to chase criminals through the desert when I know I’ll pass out after ten strides. I have deputies. I’ll use them.”
I pitied the deputies. If Nash couldn’t run around himself, he’d make sure his deputies covered every inch he couldn’t and report every detail to him.
“I also came to talk about this,” I said, pulling Ted’s list out of my pocket. “You wouldn’t have had anything to do with hiring the new county inspector, would you?”
“Wingate?” Nash looked surprised. “No. Why?”
Maya grabbed the list and read it with widening eyes. “What the hell? Is he crazy? I’ve done all this. There’s nothing wrong with my wiring.”
“Ted Wingate is a huge pain in the ass,” Nash said with conviction.
I was surprised. I thought he’d be the kind of guy that Nash liked—obsessive, annoying, and arrogant. “I take it you’ve met him?”
Nash nodded. “One of the first things he did was come to my office and tell me I didn’t know how to run my
Similar Books
