Читать книгу The Shadow - Aimee Thurlo - Страница 10

Dinétsoh gripped the heavy briefcase tightly with his uninjured hand as he tried to figure out what to do next. He couldn’t afford to lose those bearer bonds; anyone could cash them in. The Navajo Nation needed the funds to buy the land where their ancestral refuge had been hidden—then rediscovered, less than ten years ago.

He checked the makeshift bandage on his wounded arm as he stopped behind a tall juniper to catch his breath. The bullet from the high-powered rifle had passed through his arm cleanly, leaving two gaping holes in his biceps. The improvised bandage had temporarily stemmed the flow of blood, but just barely. His head felt light from the loss of blood, and he was running out of time. His strength was fading and he was finding it increasingly difficult to walk, much less run.

Duty drove him now. The Brotherhood of Warriors was counting on him to see this mission through. He’d been their only contact with the Anglo attorney, Powell Atkins. Now he was the only one alive who could identify the person who’d caused the wreck that had killed the attorney, and almost cost Dinétsoh his own life, as well.

Determination kept him moving. He had to live long enough to insure his tribe’s future, and the safety of the attorney’s daughter. If he failed to survive, the one hunting him would certainly turn on her next, and the promise the Brotherhood had made her father would be irreparably broken. Only one other Brotherhood Warrior had all the skills to prevent the unthinkable, but there was no way to reach him now.

Dinétsoh suddenly heard a sound in the brush below him. He tightened his grip on the briefcase once more and climbed wearily toward the bluffs. If he couldn’t make it to Fire Rock Hollow before dark, all would be lost.

An item fell from his torn pocket onto the sand, but before he could turn to pick it up, he heard the sound of footfalls crunching on the dry ground, coming closer. Ducking behind cover again, he waited. In the fading sunlight, the turquoise key took on a deep green glow. As the tribal artifact fell under a deep shadow, Dinétsoh reluctantly slipped away.