Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
It took three weeks for Kennedy to relax long enough to let Cree do anything more than go to the bathroom alone.
He told her continuously that he was fine, but there had been perks to him being shot.
Even if it was a through and through, the woman didn’t mind doing all the work when it came to sex, and Cree was finding out she was also a great cook.
Now that Roddy Little Elk and his pals had been picked up for the attack on the cabin and for shooting Cree, they had one less threat.
Late at night, he noticed she checked the locks multiple times before going to bed.
A few times, he caught her staring out the windows, checking for any sign that someone lurked outside.
He knew there was nothing he could do to help her with the fear she was feeling. All he could do was be supportive.
Lying in bed, he listened to the winter wind coming off the lake as it battered the cabin. With the sun peeking through the new drapes, he knew Kennedy would be waking up soon. They needed to make some decisions. The longer they remained on the reservation, the bigger the chance of her being found.
Enjoying having Kennedy tucked against him, Cree closed his eyes. He’d sleep in until she woke up. Dozing back off, he heard a vehicle out front and tossed the covers off. He got up and dragged on a pair of jeans, cursing when the movement pulled at the wound.
The quick movement woke Kennedy. Pushing the heavy fall of hair from her face, she saw Cree hurriedly dressing and sat up. “What’s wrong?”
Buttoning his jeans, he gave her a wink.
“Someone’s here.” He saw the panicked look on her sleepy face.
“I’ll keep whomever it is outside.” Cree headed toward the front of the house then stopped, backtracked, and grabbed the gun from the bedside table.
“Maybe get dressed.” He told her before leaving her scrambling from the bed.
Cree glanced back before opening the door, watching as she rushed toward the bathroom naked. Damn woman was sexy. Yanking the door open, he saw Maliki standing on the porch. “What has you here so early, Maliki?”
“I need to speak with you and Kennedy.”
Cree stepped outside onto the porch, closing the door behind him. “What’s going on?”
The door popped open, revealing a fresh-faced Kennedy hugging a throw blanket around her shoulders. “Coffee’s on. You boys wanna come inside and I’ll start some breakfast for us?”
“Thanks, katawasisiw. Give us a minute and we’ll be right in.” Cree saw the raised eyebrow from Maliki. Ignoring the look, he waited for Kennedy to go back inside.
Once the door was closed, he looked at Maliki. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“You seem to have gotten yourself into some serious trouble, cousin.”
“What trouble are we talking about, n?tisan? The fact that the Little Elk family are still pissed? Or are we talking about the men hunting Kennedy?”
“It’s not the Little Elk family.”
“Fuck.” Cree ran a hand through his long hair. “Do me a favour, wait until after we eat breakfast.”
“No problem.”
Opening the door, Cree looked back at the quiet street before following Maliki inside. The two men headed straight for the kitchen island. Cree moved around it, taking three mugs from a cabinet and setting them on the island. He needed to know what was going on.
When Kennedy poured the coffee, she asked Maliki why he’d come by so early. She saw the shared look between the two men and knew something was wrong. “What’s wrong?”
Maliki looked at Cree, and Cree held his hands out as if to say ‘go ahead’.
The whole situation had her palms sweating.
She listened as Maliki told them two men in a dark sedan were seen driving around Red Lake.
“I pulled them over myself, inquiring their being on the reservation. They said they’re here to do some ice fishing.
I’m sure they knew I didn’t believe a word of it. ”
Smoke from the stove had Kennedy rushing back to the food she’d been cooking. Turning the stove off, she set the sausage to the side. Taking a breath, she focused on what needed to happen. “Maliki, can you get me off the reservation and to a bus station?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not going to a damn bus station.”
Kennedy slammed her hands onto the counter. Turning around, she glared at Cree. “You can’t get me out of here. You’re hurt.”
“We’ll leave together or we’re staying right here.”
“You and I know all it will take is those two men showing my picture to the right person and the jig’s up, Cree.”
Ignoring Kennedy’s comment, Cree brought the food to the table along with plates and flatware.
He needed time to think, time to come up with a plan that would keep her safe.
If they left the reservation, they could pop over the border.
That had been his plan when they headed to Red Lake.
Now, with them being there on the reservation, they needed to rethink that idea.
The big question on his mind was, how did they track them there?
“Kennedy, is there anything you haven’t told me about what happened? Any detail that might shed some light on how they’ve ended up here on the reservation? Did you hear anything that was said before your boss shot the other man?”
“Mr. Angelini called the man George. Said he stole from him. George told him that he didn’t take the money, that another man stole the money.”
“What money?”
“Mr. Angelini had a large duffle bag of money that he’d kicked and a crap ton of money bundles fell out at George’s feet.”
“How’d you see all that without being seen?”
“I used my phone.”
What?”
“I used my phone. I stuck it right at the edge of the glass and used it to see what was going on.”
“Too bad you didn’t video it.”
“I don’t think I did. But we tossed my phone back in Sioux Falls because it was being tracked.” Knowing the two men were on the reservation looking for her, Kennedy’s heart beat rapidly in her chest. “Can you arrest them for being part of a murder in Reno?”
“No.” Maliki drummed his fingers on the counter. “I have no authority to detain a non-native individual.”
“So, they can do whatever they want to us and drive off the reservation, no questions asked?”
“If they commit a crime against a native or reservation property, they can be arrested.”
Cree was already coming up with a plan in his head. If he caused an altercation between himself and the two men hunting Kennedy, then Maliki could arrest them. That would give them time to get off the reservation and put some distance between them.
“I’m done.” Kennedy’s comment cut into his thoughts.
“What?” Cree asked, staring at her as she sat down and started eating.
“I’m done. I’m calling the FBI and telling them I witnessed a murder in Reno and that I’m on the run from hitmen.
” Kennedy took a bite of food and continued explaining her point of view.
“Cree can cause a scene with them. You, Maliki, can arrest them so they’re detained for the FBI.
After that, we can head to Montreal, and when they need me to testify, I’ll be happy to help. ”
It wasn’t a half bad idea. Before they did anything, they needed to know where the two men were and where Kennedy’s boss was. And whether the FBI would come to the reservation. If all else failed, they’d make a run for the border.
Sitting on the barstool, Cree pulled Kennedy over to him where she stood between his thighs. “Let’s slow down and think this whole thing through, okay?”
“Okay.”
Cree rested his chin on her shoulder as he stared at Maliki.
There would be no calling the FBI. There would be no causing a scene to have them detained because neither the local sheriff nor the FBI would be in a hurry to help.
They all tended to ignore crimes on the reservations when a non-native person was at the centre of it.
No, he would take the fight to the two men.
Most of the shoreline was undeveloped, and it was a good place where a couple bodies could disappear easily in the thick acreage.
“We’ll put our heads together and figure it out. I promise.” Cree kissed the top of her head, wanting to take the worry from her.