Arizona Game Ranger Madison Huntley, investigating a wild animal attack on a ranch in Cave Creek, discovers disturbing details. As a biologist and wildlife expert, she believes in facts and science, not the scary legends frightening the ranch hand.
When Kaletaka, a Hopi sculptor, awakens bloody with no recollection of the night before, he remembers the legends of his tribe.
Can Madison solve the mystery killings and insure the safety of the town? Let alone her own safety? For each step closer to the truth and to Kaletaka, unleashes an unspeakable evil, and no one is safe…
Excerpt
Nothing moved in the backyard. She called toward the house, "Anyone home?"
No one answered. Madison circled the white tent to peek inside from the open flap. She came face to face with a life size...Chupacabra? A cloud moved across the sky, hiding the sun and bathing the tent in shadow. Her heart raced and she reached for her sidearm. She stopped mid movement. When did she get so jumpy?
The object of her fright was a tall metal sculpture, an armored muscular man with the head of a coyote. Or was it Anubis, the Egyptian god with the jackal head? The bright silver finish and turquoise decorating the black metal could indicate either.
More sculptures crowded the concrete slab inside the tent, all stylized, teaming with life, strikingly beautiful and awe-inspiring, with bright enamel colors.
...
Something growled behind Madison. She whirled about, holding the 9mm .357 SIG pistol in a two-handed grip. Aiming, she stared into the yellow eyes of a large bobcat, sitting atop a flat boulder in the shade of a pine tree. The animal had an orange top coat and white spotted belly. Forty pounds of quick muscle. Was this the killer? Was it rabid? The bobcat growled again but didn't crouch to pounce.
"Felix seems to like you."
The low baritone at her back made Madison's skin prickle all over, but she maintained eye contact with the bobcat. Never take your eyes off a wild animal in a standoff. "Felix?"
"You better put that thing away. He's like me. He doesn't like guns." The calm male voice seemed to caress her. "It's okay, little brother."
The wild cat grunted a response, lay down on the flat rock and yawned. He licked a front paw and rested his head on it to resume an interrupted nap.
Madison lowered her firearm and relaxed her finger on the trigger, but her heart beat like a jungle drum. Reluctantly, she turned to face the man who had spoken in such a smooth voice.
Tall, with a welding mask flipped up over his head, he stood legs apart, boots firmly planted in the ground. The top part of his leather apron had fallen, and his black open shirt exposed a thick silver chain resting on the copper chiseled muscles glistening in sunlight. Madison allowed her gaze to linger on such male perfection.
"Sorry if Felix startled you." The Native American man removed the welding mask with gloved hands, revealing a face streaked with soot like black war paint. He wore his long black hair in a ponytail and stared at Madison with the most startling green eyes she had ever seen, fearless, with intense fire, like a wild animal.
Shaken, Madison buried her lusty thoughts under a gruff attitude and returned her sidearm to the holster. "A bobcat is not a pet. There are laws protecting wildlife."
"Felix chooses my company." He didn't seem sorry at all and grinned, showing white teeth, as if he'd enjoyed her fright. Something was odd about him.
The man's bold stare made Madison uncomfortable. "This is a dangerous animal to keep around, mainly for your neighbors' pets. Don't they complain?"
"Felix and I have an understanding. I feed him, and he doesn't kill." He grinned at her with insolence. "My name is Kaletaka, and I own this house."
Professional Reviews
Cassie - Bitten by Books
"...a fantastic story, with the integration of Navajo legend into the modern setting... this volume is a real page turner... I am a Choctaw Indian myself... I was truly impressed with the seamless integration of the Navajo legends of skinwalkers. This is a fun read that I highly recommend to anyone with a passion for shapeshifters, Indians and mystery."
I have only read the excerpts that are here so I can't really give a full review but I would like to mention a glaring technical error.
"holding a 9mm .357 Sig pistol" A 9 millimeter and a .357 are two different calibers. I checed the Sig sauer website and they do make handguns that are popular with law enforcement so it's not unlikely she would carry one. Probably a full sized frame in .357 Sig caliber. Most likely a model P226 in .357 if she supplied her own pistol. a military issue if it was a gun provided by her employer.
