Whispering Spirits (18 page)

“Why would I do that?” Summer glared at the
over-confident, mafia-type man.

He took two steps and glared at her inches
from her face. “We are keeping grandma right here. You want her to
stay alive? Find that paper and make sure it has my signature on
it. You have one week or you can say goodbye to Grandma Morning
Star. You can get on that chopper with Bradley.”

“You’re an evil son-of-a-bitch, aren’t
you?”

He leaned in with clenched jaw. “Is your jaw
still sore from earlier?”

Summer rubbed her left cheek and jaw and
nodded.

“Keep that in mind the next time you can’t
control that mouth of yours. I’ve been more lenient with you than I
have most. Why? I respect your gutsiness. I wish my daughter had
some of your spunk and fearlessness. But stop pushing, girl.”

Summer wanted nothing more than to spit in
his face, but refrained. She looked up, then unexpectedly noticed
Running Crane inching toward the balcony. “I have one request, and
if you say no, you’ll have to kill both
Nah’ah
and me,
because I won’t lift a finger to help you.”

“I don’t like being threatened little girl.
What exactly is your request?” Worthington moved back from her and
walked over toward the windows. “If we weren’t here under these
circumstances…I think I could almost enjoy myself out here in this
wild Montana.”

“If I’m going to find that paper you so
desperately seek, then I’ll need Running Crane’s help. I want him
to go on that chopper with me.”

“How the hell do I know where Running Crane
is? The man shows up and disappears like that fog rolling in and
out of this valley. If my men are right, he’s dead.”

“I know for a fact he isn’t dead. He’s…he’s
right up there with a gun leveled at your forehead.” Summer pointed
above to the balcony where Running Crane stood, his gun extended
toward them.

“I’ll be damned! You have some Indian magic
that keeps you alive or what, boy? Damn! Put the gun down or my men
will shoot both your girlfriend and her grandma. If you think I’m
kidding, look around.”

Summer glanced to her right and left, finding
men pointing guns at them. She rushed to
Nah’ah
and stood in
front of her.

“What’s it going to be, Running Crane?”
Worthington shouted.

“Why don’t you let both
Nah’ah
and
Summer go with me? It would weigh in your favor at the trial.”

“There’s not going to be a trial. What
there’s going to be is someone killed if you don’t drop that gun
and get your ass down here, now!”

Summer raised her trembling hands and quickly
lowered them, hoping Worthington hadn’t notice. “Okay, let’s calm
down. Again, I want Running Crane to help me. I can’t do it alone.
You hurt
Nah’ah
at all and you’ll have the entire Blackfeet
Nation coming after you.”

“You talk big for a scared, little girl.
You’re out of your element, missy. You might consider yourself
lucky I haven’t killed you already.”

“Then who would you blackmail into getting
that document for you?”

“Running Crane, if you value this girl at
all, I expect you to get yourself down here right now.” Worthington
raised his hand, pointing a forty-five directly at Summer’s
head.

“Okay, I’m coming down. This doesn’t have to
go down like this. Let Summer and me go find that paper for you.
You’ve got
Nah’ah,
so you know we’ll be back. We don’t have
time to waste on all this shit. Bradley’s life is on the line and
we’re here fighting over who can shoot who first.” Running Crane
moved alongside Summer.

“Okay boys, lower your weapons, but keep them
ready. Get your asses out to that chopper.”

Summer hugged
Nah’ah
. “I love you.
Stay safe and don’t do anything to make that monster angry. We’ll
be back for you.”

“I love you, too,
Niipo
. Hurry…it
might save Bradley’s life. Please let your father know I am okay.
Burn sweetgrass for me if you find time…and let your ancestors help
you.”

“Enough of that shit! Go, before I change my
mind.” Worthington shouted, swinging his arms around like a
madman.

Summer kissed
Nah’ah’s
cheek. “I’ll
try very hard to listen to the whispering spirits.”

The blades whirled as she raced to the
chopper. Running Crane followed on her heels with great effort,
limping with each step. They got buckled in when one of
Worthington’s gunmen pulled himself alongside Summer.

“Name’s Elton Mosher. Looks like I’ll be
helping the two of you and making sure you don’t go running off to
the Feds.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding?” Running
Crane leaned over Summer. “You go back and tell Worthington we know
what needs to be done and we won’t jeopardize
Nah’ah
in the
process.”

“Can’t…he’ll shoot me if I go back.”

“I’ll shoot you if you don’t get off this
chopper.” Running Crane pointed his gun at the man.

“Fuck!” Elton unhooked the seatbelt and
jumped from the chopper.

“Get this thing in the air before any more
idiots try to delay us,” Running Crane shouted.

The fog formed a daunting obstacle, yet they
soon rose above the rolling mist. Summer glanced down and realized
a blanket covered Bradley. He nodded at her and then Running Crane.
She realized he wasn’t as hurt or unconscious as they all thought.
“You think Bradly will make it?” She shouted loud enough for the
men up front to hear.

“He’s not looking good,” Running Crane
answered. He slid his arm around Summer’s back and pulled her
against his side. “I missed you. I should have never let them get
their hands on
Nah’ah
and you. I’ve failed miserably. I
should never have let my feelings get in the way of my job. I’m not
going to let that happen again.”

“What are you saying? I’m a mistake? If it
wasn’t for me distracting you…
Nah’ah
would be safe? Maybe
you’re—”

“That’s not what I meant at all. The thing
is—”

“Does that sound right?” Summer gripped
Running Crane’s arm. The sputtering of the chopper blades forced
smoke into the entire body of the craft.

“Damn it! We’re going down. I’m gonna kill
Worthington if I live through this,” the pilot shouted.

Chapter Nine

Running Crane slipped his right arm through
his backpack and pulled Summer against him with his left. No doubt
Worthington was behind the chopper problems. He’d figured out a way
to eliminate three of his loose-ends—Bradley, Summer and him. The
bastard showed no mercy. Running Crane didn’t even want to think
about
Nah’ah
. One thing he was sure of: once Worthington
hurt that woman, he’d be lucky to survive a day. The people
wouldn’t stand idly by and let him get away with it.

He noticed Bradley pressed the blanket across
his face to keep from breathing in the smoke, and Summer coughed
and slid
Nah’ah’s
sweater up over her nose.

The billowing black smoke whirled with force
and Running Crane pressed his face into the sleeve of his jacket.
The chopper jerked right and left and he gripped Summer’s shoulder,
protecting her the best he could. Their rapid descent increased the
fear building within him. He didn’t even like carnival rides.

The rattle of trees scraping the chopper’s
belly wasn’t a good sign and the early morning light gave the pilot
little help.

“Lean down,” he yelled. The chopper slammed
against a granite rock wall and bounced in the other direction. The
blades scraped and squealed, yet they still whirled as they
descended upon the encroaching ground.

Hitting hard, the chopper skipped ahead and
slammed hard a second time. “Grab Bradley so he doesn’t get thrown
out,” he shouted. Pulling Bradley against their legs, Summer
grasped him by the arm and Running Crane caught his belt and held
tight.

“Thanks guys,” Bradley said through swollen
lips. He wrapped his arms tightly around Summer’s chair legs.

If they survived, Running Crane promised
himself Worthington would stand charges for four counts of
attempted murder if there was a way to prove he had anything to do
with the chopper’s crash.

The force with which they hit the ground
nearly took Running Crane’s breath away. He struggled against the
strain of Bradley’s body pulling on his biceps.

Crashing metal filled the space…then silence.
Running Crane wondered if he’d been unconscious long. He slowly
opened his eyes, realizing immediately he no longer gripped
Bradley’s belt. Smoke and the jet petroleum filled Running Crane’s
senses and his instincts snapped him to alert.

Adjusting to the dim morning light, he sat
upright slow and easy. Summer leaned against him and he gently
raised her head, struggling to see if she’d been injured.

“Summer…Summer,” he said, tapping her cheek
with his palm.

She drew in a deep breath, then opened her
eyes wide and searching. “We landed? We survived?”

“We’re not in heaven…that’s for sure.” He
unsnapped both their seatbelts.

“You two need to get out of there now!”
Bradley shouted from outside the chopper. “I think she’s going to
blow.”

Running Crane pulled Summer from the seat and
swung her toward Bradley. “Help her out…I’m right behind.”

Without wasting any time, Running Crane
grasped Summer’s hand and ran full throttle, hobbling the best he
could with his injured leg. They made it to several large boulders
before the first explosion shook the earth and sent metal sailing
to the sky and dropping helter skelter to the ground. They barely
sat upright when a second explosion followed.

The jet petroleum burned hot and furious.
“What about the pilot?” Running Crane asked, pulling Summer against
him.

Bradley pulled his fingers through his hair.
“He’s dead. The nose of the chopper slammed into a rock, killing
him instantly. I got lucky with you two holding onto me. If you
hadn’t, I think I’d be mince-meat out there somewhere. I owe you
both my life.”

“Think nothing of it. You’d do the same for
us, I’m sure,” Running Crane watched the fire.

“I also appreciate you’re coming to my rescue
at StoneHouse, Summer. You took a chance standing up to Worthington
like that. He was planning on killing me and I really believed you
talked him into getting me to a hospital. I should have known
better. You do realize this chopper failure was no accident?”

“Oh, yea, no doubt about it,” Running Crane
said. “I’m beginning to believe there’s more going on here. We know
about the land, oil and gold. We know the government just might
purchase land back from any non-Indian owner. It still seems like
we’re missing something.”

“You really don’t think that’s enough?”
Summer brushed dirt from
Nah’ah’s
sweater.

Bradley cleared his throat. “I agree with
Summer. If that gold strike is anything like he thinks, it’s worth
billions in today’s market. I’d say that’s more than enough reason
for Worthington’s…determination. He won’t risk that document
surfacing and exposing him. He’d lose the land agreement and go to
prison. He has enough money invested at this point, so he’s not the
kind of man to back down or out.”

Running Crane stood and extended his hand
toward Summer and pulled her up against his chest. He lowered his
head and pulled her lips into his. He’d wanted to do that the
minute she sat next to him on the chopper.

“When and how did the two of you happen?”
Bradley slowly got to his feet.

“By accident,” Summer said. “We both fought
it and lost. I’m not sure why I…doesn’t matter. We’re taking it
slow and see what happens.”

Running Crane kissed her, first soft, then
with more meaning. They already knew what happens.

“I see you’re taking it slow,” Bradley
laughed. “Okay, we need to get serious here and make a plan.”

“The plan I want to make is rescuing
Nah’ah
,” Summer said.

Running Crane retied the bottom of one braid,
then the other with red cloth. “We can do one of two things. We can
stick together and go rescue
Nah’ah
or we can split up. One
group going to get
Nah’ah
and one of us going for help. I
think splitting up makes more sense.”

“I agree with you, Running Crane,” Summer
said. “It seems like we’ve been down this road before.”

“We’re forgetting something,” Bradley licked
his swollen lip. “Worthington thinks we’re all dead. I know
Domonique will be an erupted volcano when she hears our chopper
went down and it appears there are no survivors.”

“So…are you two in love…or are you
undercover?” Running Crane stared at his old friend.

“It’s complicated, because a year with
Domonique does weigh heavy on a guy. She has her sweet spots, but
she’s a barracuda like her father underneath. I don’t want to hurt
her…but to answer your question, I’m not in love with her and I’m
still undercover. Does that make sense?”

“You haven’t changed much, have you Bradley
Wild Horse.” Summer stretched her neck, suddenly realizing her body
ached. “Is your father also undercover…or is he really—”

“You really need to ask?”

Running Crane rubbed his jaw. “Word is he’s
been taking kickbacks from Worthington for over a year. You know
anything about that?”

“Son-of-a-bitch! Who’d you hear that from?
You know my father and he wouldn’t do anything like that. Someone
is spreading rumors to make him look guilty. Maybe he’s protecting
the tribe by taking money to make Worthington believe he’s one of
them.”

“I hope that’s the case, Bradley,” Running
Crane drew in a breath. “I saw Stuart Wallace was one of the guys
at the house when they brought you to StoneHouse. What’s his part
in all this?”

“Nice guy. He and his brother have done
everything from running guns to selling narcotics. Then they
suddenly were working with the Perkins brothers. A real deadly
foursome. That Jordan Perkins got his inside track on the tribe’s
business from someone inside. Word is your father is somehow
involved, Summer.”