Two of Hearts by Lee Christina

Author:Lee, Christina [Lee, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780698184169
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2015-05-04T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

SHANE

I rounded the corner toward the Golden Arrow and clenched my jaw tight. The street had been overrun by a thick line of people holding signs and shouting in the direction of the casino. A protest was happening right before my eyes.

What in the hell was going on? I attempted to keep my gaze on the road while I slowly drove by, listening to voices and reading the signs that had been printed on large poster board and fastened to thick wood.

KEEP OUR HERITAGE ALIVE! HELP US PERSEVERE! one of the signs read, and I hissed through my teeth.

Another read, CASINOS RUIN NATIVE AMERICAN FAMILIES.

Dakota was going to freak. How had it come to this?

As my car rolled past this restless group of people, I felt pissed and sick at the same time. My phone was already buzzing with a heads-up from Grayson. He had left a message that I hadn’t gotten to listen to yet on my drive in.

Two reservation sheriffs were stationed on each corner in an effort to keep the protesters from crossing the street to the casino property. Still their intentions were clear. They wanted to send a message to passing vehicles on the busy strip, and create chaos and confusion for those entering the casino.

I pulled into the underground garage and unrolled my window to greet Uncle Elan’s son, West, who was stationed in the ticket holder booth, probably to deal with unhappy and confused patrons. His young staff, some still in high school, seemed a little freaked. “How long have they been out here?”

“A couple of hours, at least,” he said, his voice stiff. I could tell it would be a struggle to get any information out of him. If Dakota thought she had it hard, sometimes I had it doubly so. The staff who were familiar with me were cool, but most others kept their whispering and opinions to a minimum around me. “It’s definitely messing with business. Some cars have entered the garage only to turn around and head back out.”

Despite his rigid response, I attempted to talk to West anyway. “The public asking questions?”

“Almost every single passenger, which is why I took over the booth,” he said. “Been telling them it’s reservation business. Because it is.”

I nodded. Message delivered loud and clear.

I had just left Dakota a couple of hours ago, so I knew she’d already be at work. Still I asked, hoping she had arrived safely. “Boss lady here already?”

“Both of them,” he said, nodding. “Grayson drove them in together.”

I was thankful for that. No telling what the protesters would do had they seen their cars driving down the strip. It might’ve become dangerous.

My thoughts swam to West’s father. Would something like this satisfy him? Would he see this protest as another opportunity to encourage Mrs. Nakos to shut down? To prove his point that this division, this unrest was hurting the Native American people?

I needed to keep my eyes open, my suspicions sharp. “Your dad aware of this?”

“If he is, he didn’t hear it from me,” he said.

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