Chapter One

Jasira Graham opened the door to her Nissan Pathfinder then slid inside slamming the door on the crisp fall day. Starting the engine, she looked at the gas pump in the side mirror and sighed.

“Rapid City, South Dakota,” she grumbled. “That’s what I get for waiting so long to get to the detailer.”

Without paying overly amounts of attention, Jasira listened to her navigational system, allowing it to lead her to the apartment she would be calling home for the next while.

“Three years!” she groused. “Thirty-six months or one thousand ninety-five days.” She winced and continued, “Twenty-six thousand two hundred and eighty hours. Or better yet, one million five hundred seventy-six thousand eight hundred minutes.” She sighed. “Good thing I’m not obsessing over this.”

With a groan, Jasira downshifted and waited for the light to change. There was total silence in the interior. She pulled into the parking lot and smiled at the sight of her brother leaning nonchalantly against the door of the moving truck he’d driven up for her. Once the engine was shut off, she climbed out.

“What took you so long, runt?” he asked playfully.

“Runt?” Jasira stuck her tongue out at him.

He just smiled innocently. “Did you get lost?” he teased.

“No, I filled up with gas.”

Rolling his eyes, her sibling reached out and pulled her in for a hug. “You always were full of hot air.” She elbowed him in the stomach. “Ready?” he asked gently.

Her fingers curled around the key for her new place. She’d met with the landlady at the rental office and done all remaining paperwork there. Nodding, she locked her vehicle and headed to the door of her first floor apartment.

“Petty Officer.” A voice brought her back to the here and now. It was the Air Force recruiter who was next door. Major Tom Bolden.

Jumping to her feet, Jasira blushed. “Yes, sir, Major. I’m sorry.”

He sent her a small grin. “No problem. I was just on my way to grab myself some chow. Can I get anything for you while I’m out?”

Jasira almost accepted. Almost. “Thank you for the offer, sir, but I have some food in the fridge back there.”

The officer stared at her before smiling. “Okay.” That was all he said for in the next second he headed out the door.

Rubbing her eyes, Jasira groaned. It’s been a long time since I’ve been lost in a daydream like that. Especially the one of first arriving here. She was in her final year of being a Navy recruiter in Rapid City, South Dakota. Staring out the glass door, she looked over the part of the city she could see. The trees had begun to change for autumn but some green remained on the hills which dotted the city, the windows shown in the sun. A nice place for sure but not one she could see herself living in forever.

“Not a bad place. I could do without the winters though.”

Jasira got up and restocked pamphlets then grabbed some lunch. Just as she finished her light meal, the ding from the door reached her. Making sure she was presentable, Jasira took a deep breath and headed out toward where the two young men were looking at pamphlets. Time to do my job. Pasting a smile on her face, she smoothed her hands down her uniform and said, “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

On Saturday morning, Jasira slid behind the wheel of her work vehicle. All the pamphlets and information she figured she might need sat packed in the back of the car. It may be the weekend, but she had an appointment with a possible recruit. He’d wanted to have his parents meet with her as well, so she offered to come to them instead of making them come back.

Her travel mug full of hot, fresh coffee in the console beside her, she started the engine and began the drive out to the reservation. Not long after departing Rapid City did she feel like the only person on the planet. It seemed she was the only vehicle on the road. The Badlands was a very vast place, wind blew through the grasses, and off in the distance taller cliffs that only added to the mystery and lure of the area. It was beautiful.

Singing along to the mix of music on her iPod as she drove, Jasira lost track of time and wasn’t prepared for the wave of emotional distress to hit her. In fact, it blindsided her. Pulse after pulse poured over her, so strong and powerful she almost swerved off the road. Shaking, she pulled over to the side and threw the car in park. Her hands gripped the wheel as if trying to choke the very life from it.

From deep within her chest cries of agony tried to claw their way out. Pain, loss, and desperation washed over her. Her skin burned as if she were standing in fire. Breathing was difficult and she rested her head upon the wheel as she fought to control that which warred within her.

“What the hell?”

Jasira reached over and paused her iPod. The silence did little to calm her. Heart pounding a mile a minute, she took her hands off the wheel and rubbed her temples. After reaching with a slightly shaky hand for her coffee, she drank some. When she felt a bit better, she took a deep breath, pulled back onto the road, and continued her journey, the music once again her companion.

Less than a mile passed before another wave crashed over her with the same results. This time she didn’t pull over. Jasira kept driving, her course taking her deeper through the Badlands. She descended from a mountain, growing nearer to her destination when before her eyes a man on a black horse appeared in the middle of the road riding all out directly toward her. Jerking the car to the right, she punched the brakes and swore a low string of curses as the vehicle almost went off the road again. She glanced in her rearview and saw nothing. No horse, no man, nothing.

“I’m fuckin’ hallucinating!” Jasira took several sharp breaths. “And not normal hallucinations, no, mine have to be near naked men on horseback. I need to get myself together before my meeting.”

Sweat beaded upon her brow. Worrying her lower lip, she got back on the road and began driving. Not long after, a siren complete with flashing lights appeared in her rearview and another round of cussing left her mouth. “Figures, that couldn’t be one.” Grinding her back teeth, Jasira pulled off the road and put the car in park. With a deep breath, she tried to compose herself. In the side mirror, she watched as the officer got out of his vehicle.

“Oh…mother of…!”

The sun highlighted the man coming toward her. Tight blue jeans hung over dusty and worn cowboy boots. On his right side, rested his firearm. A brown uniform shirt and the sun glinted off the badge settled upon his chest. Jasira couldn’t see his face for it was covered by a cowboy hat, tugged down against the glare. He moved with flawless precision.

Please be ugly, please, please, please! Jasira swallowed and got moisture back in her throat before turning her head completely when his large body stopped beside her window.