Page 11 of Hawk and the Cougar

“I’m so sorry,” Liz said.

His expression hardened. “It’s not your fault. I’m half guilty of what the cops think I did. I got aggressive with you. I’m sorry, Liz.”

Warmth fluttered across the inside of her stomach. He would call her Liz, instead of Elizabeth.

“Let’s forget it,” she said.

He shook his head. “I’m lucky you’ll talk to me at all.”

“I could say the same,” she said.

“No, you couldn’t. It’s one thing for you to think you’re protecting your daughter, quite another for a man to intimidate a woman.”

“You did make it up to me by saving my life.” A rush of emotion flooded her. She’d never dreamed anyone would throw themselves in harm’s way to save her.

His expression turned grim. “Do the cops admit to having any leads on who the guys are?”

She shook her head. “I told them you suspected Reid’s men.”

“I bet they didn’t much care for that idea.”

Liz startled. “Are you saying they don’t want to catch Mr. Reid if he’s guilty?”

“Vance Reid is a very powerful man around here,” Hawk replied. “Even you knew who he was.”

She nodded. “He built the big mall that just went up. Still, the police must want to stop him. If he’s guilty.”

“Maybe. Or maybe it has to be a lot worse before the right people take notice.”

“What exactly is going on with him and you?” she asked. “You said he wants you to declare a dig out in Mesa to be Navajo. Why would he care?”

“The dig crosses onto property he’s building on. By all indications, the site is Paleo-Indian and could predate anything we’ve found so far.”

She grunted. “Pinning down evidence of Paleo-Indians is like hunting ghosts in a fog.”

Surprise flickered across his face. “You sure you’re not an archaeologist?”

Liz laughed. “Em was eight when she decided she wanted to be an archaeologist. Once she’d exhausted the library, she made me buy every book on Native American history she could find.”

“I see why she’s doing so well,” he said.

“Listen…” Liz hesitated, “I don’t have much experience with police, but the two detectives I spoke with wanted pretty badly for me to say that you…”

“Assaulted you?” he finished for her.

Liz nodded.

He released a breath. “I was wrong to blame you for Reid’s actions. Even if he had sent you, that doesn’t give me the right to be aggressive.”

She laid a hand on his arm. “Really, it’s ok. I did grab you in an effort to stop you.”

He shook his head. “I don’t care if you’d knocked me on my ass, it’s not ok. The cops are right to make sure you weren’t harmed.”

She allowed her hand to fall back to her side. “I’m not harmed because you saved me.”

“Professor,” a young man called.

He looked over his shoulder.