9

9Jude

Jude's heart was still pounding like a jackhammer twenty minutes later when Fitzgibbon turned into Running Eagle's driveway and parked the van. A half dozen pickup trucks sat in the yard, belonging to various members of the family who'd gathered to see Wolf and to meet Jude's friends.

As anxious as he was about the reunion, Jude was more upset about Cope's vision. He'd been hoping the worst part of this trip would be having to deal with petty family disagreements and the past coming back to haunt him in a variety of cruel ways, but never had he imagined the souls of dead Navajo women would ask for Cope's help.

"This is it!" Fitz announced with awe in his voice.

"It's so beautiful here, Uncle Jude! Thank you for bringing me." Everly pressed a kiss to his cheek and hurried out of the van into Ronan's arms.

"Let's keep your vision under wraps for now," Jude whispered. "I want to tell Eagle about what happened, but not the others."

Cope nodded. "I remember what you said last time about my gifts upsetting people here."

As much as Jude hated to admit it, having a husband with psychic and mediumistic abilities was just one more thing that set him apart from the other members of the family. Othering him once again. "Don't be surprised if Eagle knows something happened on the way here."

"Yeah." Cope took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Jude asked, pulling Cope to his feet and out of the van.

"I'm good. I was really hoping we could just have a simple vacation. Reconnect with family. Let Wolf see his culture up close. Do touristy things." Cope shrugged. "But now, it looks like I've got some extracurricular work to do here. Maybe the most important spirit work of my entire life."

"We'll sit down with Eagle and Ten later and see if we can make some sense of what you saw and to find out what's going on here with Navajo women going missing."

"I hate to say this, but Everly…" Cope sighed. "I think she was able to see my vision, but slowed down."

"What do you mean, slowed down?" Jude asked. In the time they'd been together, Cope had only had a handful of visions, but each time, they'd left him shaken and not quite himself.

"The whole thing was in fast-forward, but I could hear the voices speaking in real time. They weren't sped up and sounding like the Chipmunks. I could understand each word. These women were pleading for help. I could feel their pain. I swear I could have reached out and touched it."

"Do you think Everly experienced that too?" Jude asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"I think she got more than I did. Everly's gifts are off the charts, so it stands to reason that she was able to hear and see much more than I did." Cope shook his head. "She's six. It's not fair that she should be experiencing what those women went through. Violence. Fear. Pain. Loss. She should be playing dress-up or watching princess movies, not trying to help women who've been horribly abused and murdered."

"You keyed on the right word, babe. Help. That little girl is filled with light and love. All she wants to do is lift people up and help them any way she can. Ronan and I can try to keep her out of this as much as possible, but in the end, she'll offer her gift, and we'll accept."

"Fuck me with a rattlesnake." Cope sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"Come here." Jude pulled Cope to him and straightened his tousled locks. He pulled Cope's collar out of the inside of his shirt and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I know it will be hard, but let's put all of this behind us for the moment." He took Cope's hand and led him toward the house, where he could hear people laughing, no doubt at Wolf's antics. "I feel like I'm about to face a firing squad."

"Not this time." Cope shook his head. "You've got your best friends with you. This trip home is going to be a completely different experience for you because you've got people on your side. People who understand you and love you. None of us will let anyone hurt you."

Jude repeated Cope's words to himself and couldn't help but wonder what kind of life he would have led here if he'd had friends like Ronan and Fitz. Giving his head a shake, he and Cope walked toward the loud and laughing voices of his family.

"There they are!" Abel shouted. He ran to Jude, pulling his cousin into his arms and hugging him tightly. "I'm so glad you're here."

Jude felt his emotions rise. He hugged his cousin back, feeling the love between them. "You look great!" It was true. Abel's smile lit up his face. When they were growing up, his cousin had been an angry young man, which had turned him into an angry adult. Thankfully, he and Abel had been able to bury the hatchet. Becoming a father changed everything for him. They texted each other a few times a week and always traded pictures of their kids.

"I want you to meet our twins. Boys!" Abel called.

Two dark-haired little boys ran toward Abel. "Uncle Jooooo!" both kids shouted before hurling themselves at Jude.

"Hey, guys." Jude knelt down in front of the boys. "Okay, which one is Jacob, and which one is Jude?" After seeing the kids on FaceTime twice a week, he knew which boy was which but wanted to see the boys' reactions.

"Me Joo!" Jacob said.

"Me Jake," Jude said. Both boys laughed. "See Woofie!" The boys ran off in the direction they'd come, toward Running Eagle, who was holding court with Wolf, Everly, and Aurora.

"You've got your hands full with those two." Jude laughed. "Here's Misty." He gave Abel's wife a hug. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to have you home, Jude. Eagle hasn't been able to talk about anything else for the last two weeks. He's been so excited that you wanted to come home and that you were bringing your friends too. Lizbet is absolutely scrumptious."

"Do not give my wife any ideas. The boys run us ragged as it is." Abel laughed.

"Just think about a little girl with your good looks and my personality." Misty kissed her husband and headed off in Lizbet's direction. The baby was being passed around from person to person like a church collection plate.

"We've got a lot to talk about," Abel said.

Jude nodded. "Let's hook up after the party's over. There are some things we need to tell you and Eagle as well."

"I'm gonna get back to the grill. Fingers crossed Eagle didn't burn the burgers." Abel slapped Jude's back and headed off.

Cope laughed. "Okay, we're off to a good start."

Abel hadn't been nearly as welcoming the last time Jude and Cope had come to Arizona. He'd been downright hostile. Jude noticed his hammering heart had quieted, and he felt much more at ease. "Let's go see Eagle." He took Cope's hand and led them toward his grandfather, who was having an animated conversation with Abel about the right way to cook chicken.

"Ah, there you are, Little Phoenix." Eagle handed his grill tongs to Abel and wrapped Jude in his arms. "It's good to have you home."

"It's good to be home," Jude said, meaning every word. For the first time ever, he felt comfortable calling the reservation home.

"Cope, welcome." Eagle hugged Jude's husband but quickly pulled back, his eyes narrowed. "There is something we need to speak about. I felt something from Everly but could not grasp it fully."

"We have a lot to tell you, later." Jude turned around to make sure no one else was listening. "Cope had a vision on our way here."

"Da!" Lizbet called, toddling toward Jude, who scooped his daughter into his arms. He cuddled her for a few seconds before the baby reached for Eagle.

"Hello, little one." Eagle took the baby from Jude and started singing to her in a low voice. Lizbet had fallen in love with Eagle's songs so much that Jude asked him to sing those songs while his phone recorded them so he could play them to Lizbet after he left. "Kaye is looking well," he said, clearing his throat.

Jude could see Ten's mother speaking to Abel and Misty. She cast the occasional glance at Eagle, and unless he missed his guess, Kaye was blushing. He knew the two of them had kept in touch after Eagle's Christmas visit had ended. She worked her way toward Eagle.

"Kaye. Welcome to my home." Eagle's dark eyes danced with happiness. "If you'll excuse us." Eagle handed Lizbet to Jude and took Kaye's arm, leading her away from the crowd.

"Okay, wow!" Jude said. He watched as Eagle took Kaye into his mobile home and shut the door.

"If the double wide's a-rockin', don't come a-knockin.'" Ronan laughed.

"Ah, so that's the magical Kaye," Abel said from behind Jude. "When he came back after Christmas, it was like Eagle had a new lease on life."

Jude had seen the same thing when his grandfather was in Massachusetts. He knew the old man had been weighed down by mistakes of the past, but he seemed to have shed those old demons much in the same way Jude had done. "She's been a godsend to all of us with the way she watches the kids before and after school. We all love her like a mother."

"I can feel that energy from her." Abel pulled Jude aside. "Speaking of energy. There are some people I want you to see."

Jude knew exactly where Abel was taking him. Building a pyre for tonight's bonfire were faces Jude would recognize anywhere. John Parker, Trevor Northman, and Nathan Strong, three boys, now men, who'd tormented Jude from the day Eagle brought him to live on the reservation. All three men were huddled together, wearing serious looks on their faces. Jude couldn't help but wonder what kind of a greeting he'd receive and if their little conference had anything to do with his return.

"Jude!" John cried. "I can't believe it's you." He hurried toward Jude, holding out his hand. "You look amazing. It's great to see you again after all this time."

Shaking his old enemy's hand, Jude felt like he'd been dropped into The Twilight Zone, where up was down and foe was friend. "It's good to see you too. What have you been up to?"

"We're all members of the tribal police force, and I liaise with Liam Flynn From the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We've had a string of women go missing, and we're working hard to get to the root of the problem."

"We all know what the root of the problem is," Nathan said, joining the group. Jude's old tormentor had grown at least a foot since the last time Jude had seen him and was solidly built, with bulked-up arms and a broad back.

Jude had a feeling Nathan was going to tell him that he and other people of two worlds were the problem. Same shit, different day.

"Assholes who can't take no for an answer," Nathan continued. "It's good to see you, Jude. Abel tells me you're in law enforcement back in Massachusetts." He offered his hand to shake.

Jude felt a wave of nausea pass through him. Of all the bullies Jude encountered when he was a teenager, Nathan was the worst. He'd delighted in coming up with new and inventive ways to torment Jude. "I'm a private investigator, and I'm also a member of the Salem Cold Case unit."

Nathan nodded. "We could certainly use a man with your qualifications here." He hooked a thumb toward the last man of the group, Trevor, who was still arranging wood and seemed to be muttering to himself. He stopped what he was doing to look up at Jude, his lips curled into an ugly scowl. Trevor had always been the follower of the group; it seemed times had changed. "We've got one hell of a problem."

"What's going on?" Jude had a feeling he already knew the answer, and it had to do with the vision Cope had when they'd crossed onto native land.

Nathan looked around before leaning closer to Jude. "Trevor's sister went missing last week. At first, we thought it was Prairie spreading her wings, but when she didn't come back after two days, we knew she was in trouble."

"Including Prairie, four Navajo women have gone missing in the last six months," John added.

Jude raised his hand in the air and caught Ronan's attention. He motioned his friend to join the group and saw that he'd grabbed Fitz and Cope to come join them. "This is Kevin Fitzgibbon," Jude said. "He's the captain of the cold case unit in Salem and worked for the Boston Police in the same capacity. This is Detective Ronan O'Mara, who also has extensive experience working cold cases. Lastly, this is my husband, Cope." Jude quickly introduced the men to Cope and the others. His hands balled into fists at his sides, ready to go if anyone had a negative word to say about him marrying a man.

"It's good to meet you, Cope," Nathan said, sounding as if he meant what he was saying. "We can use all the help we can get here."

"You're also a member of the tribal police?" Cope asked.

Jude knew his husband had been using his gift to scan the men.

"I am. It's all hands on deck, especially with Prairie going missing." Nathan's hands were balled into fists at his sides.

Jude quickly caught the others up on the situation.

"How can we help?" Fitz asked.

Nathan and John exchanged an uneasy glance. "Would you all be willing to take a look at our case files? Liam Flynn from the FBI will be here on Monday. Maybe between now and then, you could familiarize yourselves with the files and…" He trailed off, looking to John.

"Liam is one of those my-way-or-the-highway assholes. He doesn't like members of Navajo Nation telling him how to do his job."

"You think he might respond better to us being outsiders?" Jude asked.

"We think he'll respond to your friends being white," John said with a sour look on his face.

That explained the uneasy look between the friends. Jude thought they were going to say they'd rather have Satan's help than ask Jude for anything. It was a world gone fucking mad.

"I know this is a lot to spring on you with you just getting here and being on vacation." John grabbed his wallet and pulled out business cards, which he handed to Ronan, Fitz, and Jude. "Let us know by tomorrow morning if you'd like to help."

"We understand if you can't," Nathan said.

"We'll talk about it and let you know," Fitz said. Jude and the others nodded along. "In the meantime," Fitz said, "can you show us how to build the bonfire? I've tried doing it at home, and it always collapses in on itself."

"Sure thing." Nathan motioned for Fitz to join them. Ronan tagged along.

Jude watched as his friends were introduced to Trevor, who hugged both men, looking at them as if they were his saviors. "Pinch me so I know this isn't a dream."

"Only if you'll pinch me back, what with my vision and your teenage bullies acting like you're old friends. It's a world gone mad."

"Where do you stand with us looking into the disappearance of these women?" Jude asked, knowing what Cope's answer was going to be.

"I want to do as much as we can to help these women without it putting a bullseye on anyone's back or without it taking up this entire trip. The kids are excited to spend time with Eagle and to see the Grand Canyon."

"Agreed." Jude knew that he'd continue to fight for these missing women even if it made him a target. Ronan and Fitz would have his back no matter what. He'd find some way to balance family fun with trying to find the missing women. If they'd been missing for six months, time was running out, if it hadn't already.