I could respond, he faced Koko. “Why is she here?”
I immediately started up with Taylor Swift in my head again so Achak couldn’t just probe my mind to answer the question himself. Meanwhile, Koko visibly cowered in front of him. Her shoulders slouched forward and she dropped her head in such a way that it looked like she was trying to avoid making eye contact with him.
“She said she wanted to ask me questions about Taktuq,” she whispered and then winced when he snarled at her. This guy had anger issues and then some.
“Why are you bothering her with questions about Alex?” he demanded once he looked at me again. “You don’t have permission from the tribal police to be here.” And as he spoke, I watched him staring at me, as if he were trying to get through the songs that I was relentlessly singing in my head. Yep, based on his determined expression, he was trying to read me and trying hard. Luckily, I was getting used to filling my thoughts with pop songs. I’d now moved on to Beyoncé’s latest and greatest.
“You don’t have a warrant,” he grunted. Even though it was a statement, there was definitely a question laced in there somewhere. I figured he was just assuming I didn’t have a warrant and he also happened to be correct.
I ignored him. “All I’m doing is asking Koko a few questions and she allowed me to do so,” I confessed as I decided to ignore his question about Alex, at least, for the time being. My hand was already resting on the Colt because I wasn’t sure what to make of Achak. He was just way too angry and that made him a threat. I had to wonder why he was so angry… it was almost like he was hiding something…
“Whatever reason you’re here, she has nothing else to tell you,” he snapped at me. “So you can leave now.”
I nodded but made no motion to leave. Apparently realizing I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, he took a step past Koko and one closer to me until maybe a foot separated us. He was much larger than I was. He towered over me by maybe a head or so and with his beefy build, he could easily overpower me. Good thing I was armed and he was… naked.
“Do you normally go outside in the freezing cold temperatures completely devoid of clothing?” I asked as I eyed him narrowly.
“What I do is my business,” he answered with what sounded like a growl. “And I don’t have to answer to you.”
Yes, he was right. I faced Koko because it was getting painfully obvious that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with either one of them. “Are you okay with this man in your house?”
“Of course she’s okay!” he railed at me. “She’s my woman!”
Interesting. I made a mental note of it. But, currently, my concern was for Koko’s safety. I glanced at Achak only briefly but glared at him with the full weight of my stare. “I’m not asking you,” I replied. “I’m asking Koko if she feels like her safety is being threatened by having you here. If it is, I’m going to ask you to leave.”
“I’ll be fucking—” he started.
“Is this your house?” I asked him.
“No, but she’s my woman,” he repeated himself as anger began boiling in my stomach. There was nothing I hated more than macho men like this. I would have bet money that he was the type of man to hit her, if he hadn’t already.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if she’s the pope’s woman!” I fired back at him and momentarily shut him up. “And if you interfere again, I’m taking you back to the station with me, with or without your clothes,” I continued, even though it was a bluff because I couldn’t remove him without permission from the tribe. Hopefully, he didn’t already know that. Apparently, he didn’t because he held his tongue and didn’t talk out of turn again. I pulled my attention from Achak and focused it on Koko again. “Are you okay?”
She nodded quickly. “Yes, I’m okay.”
“You’re sure?” I repeated, eyeing Achak again with an acidic expression that told him he better not tempt me.
“Yes,” Koko announced, this time more firmly. I did notice that she wouldn’t look either of us in the eyes.
“Okay.” I headed for the door. “Thank you for your help and if you need me, please don’t hesitate. My name is