Chapter Twenty-Six

 

After the doctors removed Taureka from the intensive care rolls and transferred him to the prison hospital, Rad and Tukaha had caught the next flight out of Auckland. With his brother out of danger, Tukaha wanted to get home to his wife, and Rad was impatient to get back to Toni. After almost losing her to Taureka's dagger, he'd feared leaving her alone for long.

Although late when the taxi pulled up in front of the ranch house, Rad had hoped she’d still be awake. He wanted, needed to see her, hold her.

Toni didn't answer his light tap on her bedroom door, but he knew she was in there. He could smell her rose fragrance through the door, or imagined he did.

In long, frustrated strides, he'd returned to his room and climbed into bed. He turned on his side and watched the dark silhouette of the leafy branch outside his window bow in the breeze.

She may’ve taken a sleeping pill. Of course there was always the chance she'd heard and chosen not to answer. If she cared too much to trust herself to be alone with him, it could be a good thing; a bad thing would be if she'd thought he'd come to make love and didn't want his touch ever again.

All he’d thought about while in Auckland was seeing her, loving her. He should have pounded on the door, but the huge chasm between their lifestyles stopped him.

Conceivably, she could be lying in the darkness now, fighting her own desires, knowing that in the end they’d have to part. It tormented him to imagine her night might be as restless and sleepless as his, and he wasn't doing anything about it. He thrashed around in bed until his sheets tangled and slid partly to the floor. He sat up and punched his pillow a couple of times. Finally, he pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, grabbed his jacket and headed for the barn, but he couldn't sleep well there either. Instead of smelling the hay around him, he smelled roses. He saw her image illuminating the darkness above him, her many faces and moods changing like the wind, some provoking, yet all captivating and enchanting.

****

He rose early the next morning. Minimal sleep and six cups of coffee had him wired. He tapped the table impatiently.

“Too much of that stuff’ll rot your insides,” Tukaha said.

“It's what I need right now,” Rad said.

“We both know what you need, boss.”

Rad narrowed his eyes. “And what would that be?”

Tukaha paused from his cooking and placed fresh cut roses from the garden in the center of the table.

Rad glared at them. Their fragrance brought forth images of Toni, her eyelashes closed in dark crescents, her mouth curved in a tiny smile as she slept soundly, oblivious to the storm raging within him.

“Why don't you wake her?” Tukaha asked, pouring pancake batter onto the grill. “You know you want to.”

“Aren't those pancakes done yet? All I want is to eat in peace.”

Tukaha chuckled. “A man doesn't need peace until he's dead. What a hot blooded ram like you needs is warmth and fire, and Miss Toni is definitely a fiery lady.”

Rad slammed the flat of his hand down on the table. “I've heard quite enough from you this morning, so kuti, old friend!”

****

The aroma of bacon and coffee awakened Toni. She glanced at the clock on the night stand. The time she'd slept felt like minutes, but her mind was alert. Now that she had the monitors, she felt confident they’d lead her to Duke.

Excitement gripped her as she heard the deep rumble of Rad's voice coming from the kitchen. He was talking to Tukaha. So it was their taxi she'd heard! Her surge of exhilaration plunged as she remembered the way her dream had ended. She hated him. Hated the Maori woman.

Rad bellowed something in Maori to Tukaha. In spite of herself, she smiled and shook her head. The man could be a bear in the morning. Even when he was irritable, his voice sounded good to her. Toni's excitement renewed, and she buried the resentment. After all, it was only a dream.

Grabbing clean clothes, she hurried to the bathroom. She hastily ran a comb through her hair, checked her gun, and strapped on her shoulder holster. She could hardly wait to tell Rad about the monitors. That should improve his mood.

Her steps slowed. What if their sudden return meant Taureka had died? No. She refused to believe that.

****

Rad turned when he heard the light footsteps behind him. Toni's aqua sweater deepened the green in her eyes to a luminous jade. Her jeans fit snugly around a small waist and curved provocatively over firm hips. That thick auburn hair looked as though she'd barely run a comb through it, a little rumpled and sexy. He wanted to grab her, draw her close and feel that sensational body pressed against his. The gun holstered under her arm reminded him she was there to do a job.

She'd been strictly professional until danger and a sense of futility had drawn them together. They hadn't planned it; he didn't want to embarrass her by pursuing something that shouldn't have happened. A city woman like Toni would never settle for a dusty sheep rancher.

****

Toni paused in the doorway, feeling uncharacteristically restrained. Rad gripped a steaming cup of coffee with both hands as though he feared that if he let go he’d lose control. His unapproachable look stopped her from rushing into his arms. Perhaps it was for the best; the intimacy between them should never have happened. He wanted a Maori woman; even her own dreams confirmed her sub-consicious awareness of that. She would pretend the lovemaking never happened, or tear her heart out trying.

“Toa Mumu, did you sleep well?” Tukaha asked.

She nodded, warmed by his caring tone and big smile.

“Thought you'd be hungry when you got up,” he said, placing a platter

of golden pancakes on the table.

She went to him and kissed his leathery cheek. “Your smile must mean your brother is okay.”

“Yes, thank Atua and everyone who helped to capture him alive.”

Rad stood and held a chair out for her. She noticed he had shaven. A musky scent of aftershave wafted over her. She repressed the desire to touch the smooth contours of his face.

Tukaha poured some coffee into her cup and placed a platter of bacon in front of her. She looked up at the old man and studied his eyes for signs of sorrow. “Please, tell me about your brother.”

“He’s doing fine. Better than he deserves,” Tukaha said without any trace of bitterness. “The authorities transferred him to the prison ward. Know a good solicitor?”

She'd recently worked with a fine one Chuck had recommended, and the man hadn't disappointed her. She'd later learned that he'd never lost a case. “Miles York is one of the best. I'll give you his number.”

“That's what he needs,” Tukaha said, handing her a pad and pen. “He's playing the crazy bit all the way, hoping to use that as a defense.”

Tukaha sat down at the table and served himself a heaping portion of everything. They all ate silently for a few minutes. Toni wondered if Miles could help Taureka. The twin deserved punishment, but she hoped he would receive counseling and rehabilitation as well.

“Maybe your brother has something there, trying for an insanity defense,” Toni said gently. “A man who dresses up like Manu-wuruhi-tane and spends most of his time alone in a dark cave isn't what most people would call normal.”

“That's what he wants everyone to believe,” Tukaha said. “In the past, I never wanted to admit that my own brother was a shiftless, greedy leech.” Tukaha glanced down at his half empty plate and sighed. “The truth is, he's never kept a job for over six months, and has always chased the easy money.”

Rad stirred his coffee, as though blankly watching it swirl inside the cup. “I offered Taureka a job here on my station several times. He acted interested and hung around from time to time, but he never took me up on my offer.”

Tukaha sighed. “He always used the excuse that he had something big brewing and wanted to be free to pursue it.” Tukaha's eyes darkened with a flicker of resentment. “What galls me most is he won't even admit he knows anyone named Duke. It’d be easier to forgive him if he helped us. But as usual, he's looking out for only himself.”

“Still, you love him,” Toni said softly.

Tukaha shrugged. “He's family.”

“I remember the first time I saw your brother.” Toni held Tukaha's gaze. “I believed it was you.” How strange, she thought, for two men who look so much alike to be so different.

“I figured he was finally here to take the boss up on a job. But it was only to conspire with Tinihanga.”

Toni watched the clean, strong lines of Rad's face and his dark eyes for signs of pain, knowing how unwaveringly he'd once trusted Tinihanga. His features remained expressionless. He didn't even blink. The tiny lines of fatigue around his eyes told her he hadn't slept much in the last couple of days.

Rad moistened his lips, and she remembered their fire when they'd closed over hers. Her heart pounded like the native drums of his ancestors.

“The head man must be the devil himself,” Rad said. “I didn't think anyone could intimidate Tinihanga, but my lean, mean ex-foreman quakes at the mere mention of Duke's name.”

“Forget Tinihanga,” Toni said excitedly. “I believe I have a gadget to lead us to this Duke person.” She shoved away her empty plate; a surge of adrenaline pulsed in her veins. “I'm going to set a trap that’ll end this rustling business and put Duke behind bars.”

Rad frowned. “What kind of trap?”

She took one of the button-sized monitors from her pocket and thrust it into his hand.

“What's this?”

“A wireless tracking device. I attach some of these to your sheep and wait for the rustlers to grab them.”

Rad's dark eyes glinted with interest. “How do you make sure they get the sheep with the device?”

“I'll put them on the ones closest to the road.”

“Maybe you could help the rustlers load the trucks, too.”

“You're joking. But that would be one way to make certain the sheep with the monitors got loaded.”

“With my station about to be foreclosed on, it's worth a try.” He laughed. “Not the part about helping the rustlers steal my sheep, of course, but using tracers makes sense. How do I attach them?”

“You don't. It takes small agile hands like mine, and a bit of experience to attach them so they can't be detected.”

“What if the rustlers come while you're attaching your little detective toys?”

“I'm alert and armed. Besides, the rustlers have always hit under the cover of darkness.”

Toni saw a flash of horror flicker in Rad’s eyes. “Criminals don’t always come in darkness,” he said grimly. “It was a beautiful sunny day much like today when they shot my grandmother and she died in my young arms. Tell her, Tukaha, it's just too dangerous.”

“Hey, don't get me into this,” Tukaha said. “Besides, I'm on her side.”

“What?” Rad frowned. “I thought you cared about her.”

“I do. But you told Toa Mumu no even before she explained why it takes small agile hands and an experienced person to do it. I would think a sheep handler like yourself with big, agile hands could do as well.” He tossed his head back and laughed. “Hear her out, and then say no.”

Rad's scowl turned to a look of amusement. “You're right, Tukaha. I was hasty.” Rad grinned as he put his hand on top of hers. “Let's hear why I can't do this as well as you. Or better.”

Toni suspected he'd added those last two words to get a rise out of her. She yanked her hand away and downed her juice without stopping for a breath.

Damn them! They joked while she fought for her right to do her job before Duke got wise to the fact Rad was still alive and came after him.

What was going on with Tukaha? She knew from their previous talks that he wasn't a chauvinist. Then it hit her. He'd used humor to get Rad to listen to her side of the argument.

Toni narrowed her eyes and glared at Rad.

“Before you explode, I want you to understand I know you're good at your job, and you’d do this better than anyone else, but call it male pride or whatever you want. I can't let you risk your life again. You can provide the technical advice, as long as you stay out of sight, but I'll attach the tracers to the sheep.”

“Fine! But until I show you, you won't know exactly how to do it, will you?”

“She's got you there, Boss,” Tukaha said grinning. “You can go with her. But let her do her job. What could go wrong?”

“Everything. She’s too brave, too daring, and people like that die.” He went to the window, looking past the tops of the thick, healthy ferns growing in the two clay pots on the window sill, toward the rolling hills in the distance.

“You’re too much like my grandmother. I remember her dropping at

my feet.”

She felt a pang of sympathy. “I know living through such horror was tramatic for a boy. But this is different. I'm not planning to walk into Duke's hide-out and take his gang down single-handed. I'm just going to put monitors on a few of your sheep. We use the tracing device to find their hide-out. Then we alert the constable, and he does the rest. Simple as that.”

Rad stared at the gun holstered under Toni's arm. “All right. It's impossible to hold out when both of you gang up on me. But I'm going with you. And staying close by your side.”

“I counted on it.” Toni gave Tukaha a hug. “Thanks, pal.”

“Be right back,” Rad said. He returned with his gun. “I’m a pushover for you two, but not foolhardy. “All right, let's go.”

Gently placing his hand in the center of her back, he guided her forward. With his history, giving in was a big step for him, and she was proud of his valiant effort.

As they headed out the door, Tukaha called, “Keep your two-way radio on in case of trouble.”