The Vow (Black Arrowhead #1) - Dannika Dark Page 0,88
up behind me. “Are you okay?”
I turned around and flattened my hands on his chest. “You have to do something,” I said, my voice filled with despair.
“I can’t,” he whispered. “Not without proof. They have enough evidence to make a conviction. His weapon and satchel are damning, and he’s got no alibi. I don’t think anyone saw him leave, but they saw him coming back.”
“You know someone on the Council, right? Talk to him. Tell him Tak is innocent. Tell him you’re close to finding the killer. Lie.”
“I’ve got nothing to give them. Not everyone on the Council knows who I am. If it leaks, it’ll destroy my chances of finding the murderer, especially if it’s someone in the tribe. Shikoba will banish me from his land—forbid me to speak with his people.”
“I’m not going home until you find a way to free Tak.”
He glanced at the dark window. “Stay here. I’m going to borrow some clothes. I want to follow them and make sure an ambush isn’t waiting. After that, I’ll see what the word around town is. Make sure no one is planning to come out here and start shit.”
“You’re taking me with you.”
“I don’t have time for this, Mel.”
I gripped his arm and held tight. “I’m one of them,” I said, referring to the outside rogues. “I might be able to find out something. If I hang out in this drama-filled house, I’m going to go crazy. And besides, if you think there’s a chance the killer’s in this tribe, then I don’t feel safe staying here alone. Tak was the only one who stuck up for me. We’ll postpone the ceremony. I’m sure Shikoba’s not in the mood for cake and wine tonight.”
Lakota shook his head. He didn’t like the idea of my coming along, but he wasn’t totally dismissing it either. Leaving me alone could be a mistake. The killer might have seen me with Tak, and if so, that put me in danger since I was Tak’s only alibi.
“You could give my uncle Reno a call. He’s someone you can trust, and he’s got a lot of experience getting out of sticky situations. Just don’t tell him I’m involved in this, or else that’ll start World War III.”
Lakota heaved a sigh. “Come on. We’ll get married later.”
“Is that your stomach making all that noise?” Lakota asked in disbelief.
“Just pay attention to your driving and ignore the fact that my body is ready to cannibalize itself.”
“I think I have some gum in the glove compartment.”
I snickered. “If a hungry grizzly bear is ever chasing you, offer him a stick of wintergreen and see what happens.”
Lakota and I planned to follow Tak to wherever they were taking him and then hit a few spots where Shifters congregated to drink and gossip—ideally somewhere that had good food. The taillights flashed on the Councilman’s car as it slowed down. Luckily, they had no problem with us shadowing them. In fact, they’d suggested it might be a good idea so long as we weren’t planning to break Tak free.
“This is dangerous,” Lakota reminded me.
“Danger I can handle. Remember that wolf I almost took down in the pack war?”
“The one I saved you from?”
I shifted in my seat. “For your information, I was just baiting him.”
He gave me the side-eye. “You sure that’s how you want to tell it?”
“That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.”
As I stared at the headlight beams, I wondered how my life had gone from a chick-lit book to a murder mystery meets erotica romance in the span of two days.
Lakota propped his elbow on the door and sighed. “Your father would skin me alive if he found out that I let you talk me into bringing you along.”
“This isn’t a man’s world. I would have tailed behind in my Jeep if you’d said no. That’s the only reason why you agreed.”
Lakota rolled up his window, his hair now dry after our recent bath. Mine was disheveled and looked like the end of a mop.
He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Is Kaota still behind us?”
I looked out the rear window. “I can’t tell any more than you can, but I think that’s him. He fell back, so I can’t see what kind of car it is. Do you think he’ll do something stupid?”
Lakota chuckled. “Stupid is his middle name. Kaota has a temper, and right now I don’t know who he’s mad at.”