Death Walker Read Online Free PDF Page B

here.”
    “I remember you from high school, and I also heard what you did against the skinwalkers. You’re my best hope now.”
    She studied Tony carefully. His black hair was worn long in a ponytail fastened at the base of his neck, in keeping with tradition. He worewell-worn denim jeans made for work, not style, and a long-sleeved workshirt. Since Tony’s speech was completely clear, she concluded that he wasn’t as drunk as he’d led everyone to believe. That meant she had a better chance of reasoning with him. “You’re trapped in here, and they’re not going to let you walk away. You’ve got to trust me. Step outside with me. Give yourself up. That’s your onlychance.”
    Tony kept the forty-five auto pointed directly at Ella’s chest. “I just want my daughter. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
    Ella looked over at the little girl, who had curled up in a fetal position on the easy chair. “You’ll lose her one way or another if you continue this. Look at her. She’s terrified of you. Put a stop to this now, for her sake and yours.”
    Zahnes’s gun wavered fora moment, but the uncertainty passed, and once again determination set his jaw. “She doesn’t understand, that’s all. She’ll be fine once we leave here. I’ll take her to the Rez with me, way back, and no one will find us there.”
    “And then what’ll you do? Lisa will need food and a place to live, water, and medical care. And is she going to give up school to hide out with you? Think man! What kindof future can you give her if you’ll always have to stay on the run?”
    He shook his head, dismissing her point. “I’ll take care of those things. I’m offering her a chance to learn about who and what she is. It’s better for her than staying with her mother. Jenny hates the Dineh and everything connected to us. That’s why she divorced me. And now she wants to make Lisa forget she’s Navajo. That’snot right. If you understand the Dineh and you value what we are, then you know why I have to do this.”
    “No. There are other ways for her to learn about the People. If you force her to leave her mother, Lisa will hate everything associated with the tribe.”
    Zahnes looked at Lisa, then back at Ella. “You’re wrong. Someday she’ll thank me. Now I want you to go out there and get a car for us. AJeep, maybe. And if I see we’re being followed, I’ll kill Lisa and myself.”
    Ella looked straight into the man’s eyes. He wasn’t bluffing, and she didn’t have to be a cop to know that. “You’ve come all this way just to make sure your daughter gets only the best, but now you’re willing to take her life? Think of what you’re doing!”
    She knew the anxiety their words would create in the little girl,but right now Ella’s concern was to save all their lives. She couldn’t shift her attention away from Tony to speak to Lisa. Training and experience had taught Ella the danger of that.
    “Lisa would be better off dead.”
    “Really? Look at her! You’re the one who’s causing her all that suffering.” The little girl had withdrawn and wouldn’t look up at either of them. She was curled in a tight ball,oblivious to everything around her. “She has a life now, and she needs her mother. If you love her, you can’t take those things from her.”
    “You don’t understand. Without me around, she’ll grow up thinking our people are all nothing. That’s how her mother feels.”
    “That problem is really between you and your wife. Why are you involving your daughter? She’s the innocent victim here. Give her afuture, or at least the chance of one. Despite your intentions, what you’re doing is taking things away from her, not adding what she needs. That’s selfishness, not love.”
    “She’s my kid. I love her.” His voice broke, but he cleared his throat quickly in an effort to cover it up.
    “If you love her, let her leave. Look at what you’re doing. There’s no way out of this for you, not without