by Jill Knowles
A grin split his face. This was it. He’d succeeded. He saved the picture and picked up his phone, punching in the number of the Keily Ranger District. When the receptionist asked how to direct his call, he asked for Joni Taylor.
After a brief wait and a dreadful Muzak version of Jethro Tull’s Aqualung, a woman’s voice said, “This is Joni Taylor. May I help you?”
“Ms. Taylor, my name is D.X. Hunter. Please call me Dax.” He bounced in place as he spoke, excitement making it impossible to stand still. After a particularly vigorous leap, his shoulder sent a wave of agony though him, reminding him that only yesterday a rabid bear had tried to make a meal of him. Dax sank to his knees, tears blurring his vision. Through sheer force of will, he was able to keep his voice even. “Yesterday, my ...” He hesitated for a moment. “... friend, Maggie Monroe, and I found something you should see.” Even though he wasn’t sure she’d ever have anything more to do with him, Dax wanted to make sure Maggie got half the credit for discovering the cave. It was the least he could do for turning her world on its end. And this way, even if he never saw her again, their names would be forever linked. And, powers, the thought of never seeing her again stung.
“Really?” Joni Taylor sounded interested, if a bit skeptical.
“Yeah. I’ve got some photographs. Perhaps I could come to your office and show them to you?” He wasn’t sure the Forest Service would be the safest place to do this, but didn’t think she would agree to meet him anywhere else.
“Hang on.” He could hear a drawer opening. “Still there, Mr. Hunter?” At his affirmative murmur, she continued, “Can you come to the Ranger District right now? I’m sorry about the rush, but I have budget meetings scheduled all afternoon and all day tomorrow.”
Yes! “I can be there in fifteen minutes.” His shoulder hurt like hell, he hadn’t eaten anything more nourishing than turkey jerky in about eighteen hours, and his energy reserves were dangerously low. If he didn’t hurt so much, he’d be dancing in place.
“Great. Do you need directions?”
“No, thanks. I know where the office is. Thanks for seeing me.
“My pleasure.”
* * * * *
The phone rang. Maggie reached for it, her hand freezing over the receiver. Maybe it was Dax, wanting to talk. She wasn’t sure how that made her feel. She’d been badly frightened yesterday, but he had saved her life, endangering his own in the process. Could the bear have killed him? The shoulder wound had been ugly, and hadn’t healed instantly, so she had to assume that the bear could have fatally injured the demon. Was it right to fear someone who’d protected her? She pictured sharp teeth and dagger-like claws. How could she not?
Maggie picked up the phone on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, Maggie, it’s Sean. How are you?”
“I’ve been better.” Understatement of the century. “How are you?”
“Bored and depressed.”
I can be depressed, or I can get past this. “I hear that,” she said, chuckling. “Want some company in your misery?” She ignored the twinge of guilt telling her she was supposed to be at the library researching demons.
“I was calling to ask that very thing. Your place or mine?”
Maggie looked around and decided she wanted the comfort of being surrounded by her own things. “All the chocolate is here.” And Dax might call, which might be a good thing.
“I’ll be there in ten.”
After hanging up, she tidied up and gave the cats a treat. She’d just sat back down when the phone rang again. Did she want to talk to Dax? To somehow make everything okay? She took a deep breath and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
“Hi, Maggie. This is Joni Taylor. I had an interesting phone call a minute ago from someone who claims to know you.”
“Hi, Joni. Was Dax Hunter your caller?” She was surprised he’d dropped her name. And touched. Maybe I should call him.
“Yep. He claims to have some pictures I’d be interested in. All very mysterious.”
Maggie shivered, remembering the cave of bones. “You definitely want to see them.” The whole world will want to see them.
“Okay.” The word was drawn out. “And why aren’t you coming out to the office with him?”
Because he’s not human, and I’m afraid of him. “I’m not feeling well. Besides, he did all the work and should get the credit for the discovery. I was just a bystander.” Suddenly, she wondered why he’d invited her to go with him. Did he want her there as a witness, as a friend, or as something else? And was that a good thing or a bad thing?
“Okay, then. Thanks for the intel.”
* * * * *
The stunned look on Joni Taylor’s face was priceless. She stood and closed the door to her office. “You found this here? On the Keily Ranger District?”
He nodded, the movement pulling at his aching shoulder. “Yeah. It’s less than thirty miles away.”
“Damn,” she whispered.
He pulled the map from his backpack, but didn’t unfold it. “I hope you’re not offended, but I have to ask. Do you have a way to prevent the site from being looted?” He’d read about her fight to force the Forest Service to prosecute people who looted sites, but wanted to be sure that any looters were stopped well before they could start stealing anything.
She blew out a long breath. “Truthfully? I don’t have the resources to be out there twenty-four seven. I can’t offer any guarantees about protection.”
He wasn’t sure about that. She looked awfully fierce standing there with her hands on her hips, determination shining from her face. “But my son is an associate professor at Oregon State University, and he’s on summer break right now. Between his friends and his students, we should be able to keep people from doing any damage.” She grinned suddenly, her eyes twinkling with good humor. “And they already have tents and everything else they need for long-term camping.”
“Good.” He took a deep breath. “I want the exclusive for all the initial write-ups, and I want Maggie Monroe credited as the co-discoverer.” Was that even a word? “Or whatever it’s called.” Even if she hated him, she deserved to have half the credit for the discovery. The city council wouldn’t dare delay reopening the library for the woman who helped save the town. “I plan on camping nearby to discourage any trespassers, at least until you can get a crew there.”
“Sounds workable.” She bit her bottom lip. “I have to be honest, though. Once the Federal Government realizes what they’ve got, they’re going to want complete control.”
“I understand.” He grinned at her. “That’s why I’ve got the originals of everything I’m going to give you.” He unfolded the map on top of her desk. “It’s in a cave located inside this ridge.” He indicated a particular mark on the map. Earlier, he’d made a number of decoy marks on the map, just in case. A smile tugged at his lips as the rest of the sentence was boomed out in his mind, in full-on announcer voice. In case it falls into the wrong hands.
“How on earth did you find it?”
“Well, that’s an interesting story. Have you ever heard of saturation hiking?”
* * * * *
Sean’s cell phone chirped, scrolling through a series of different bird songs. “Hello? Hey, baby.”
Maggie watched his expression go from sappy, to concerned, to serious. “Where? I’ll bring Maggie. Love you.”
“What?” What now? Could things get anymore chaotic? Wait a minute; Dax said he was a chaos demon. Maybe he was causing all the trouble in the town.
“Beth Sweeney is missing from Camp Cottonwood. The horse she was riding came back to camp without her. They’re putting together a search party.”
“Let me change and grab my backpack.” Luckily, she’d never unpacked it from yesterday. Suspicion trickled into her mind. Dax, if you had anything to do with this, I’ll make you sorry you ever came to this town.
* * * * *
Someone knocked on the office door and then opened it. Dax casuall
y placed his hand over the village site.
Joni looked up, her eyes narrowed, her mouth pressed in a tight line as she saw her visitor. “Can I help you, Greg?”
“Hey,” the man said, cowboy hat in hand. Dax recognized him as the jerk who had tried to hit him in the grocery store. “We’ve got a missing ten year-old up at Camp Cottonwood. Interested in helping with the search party?”
“I’m in,” Dax said, glad he’d restocked his backpack and water supply before he’d called Joni. He had enough supplies to be okay for several days without replenishing them.
“Go,” she said, tucking the maps and memory stick with the photos into her purse. “I’ll keep these safe.”
* * * * *
“Who else can we call?” Maggie asked, tucking her backpack into the SUV’s cargo area.
Sean got in the driver’s side. After they were both belted in, he said, “Luhree is working at Herman’s Drug today, so she’s out.” Blue eyes glanced at her then shifted away. “Is Julie working at the café today?”
“I don’t know. She stopped by earlier, but ...” Maggie felt a surge of anger, guilt, and regret. She looked out the window, not wanting her friend to see her expression. It was time to finally get this off her chest before it strangled her.
“What’s going on with you two?” Sean sounded exasperated.
“I think --” She stopped and thought for a moment. “I think our friendship is over. I think it has been for a while.” As she spoke, she realized that part of her reluctance to discuss what was bothering her was because she hadn’t been a good friend to Julie in months.
He patted her hand, but didn’t say anything.
Maggie struggled to put what she was feeling into words. “I feel like one of those wives who wakes up one day to find that her marriage is over, and she never even noticed it was failing. Julie and I stopped listening to each other. And talking to each other. I’m not sure which happened first.”
“I’m sorry.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“Me, too.” The echo of the last words she’d spoken with Dax sent a chill up her spine. I hope that’s not an omen.
Chapter Twelve
Camp Cottonwood, located about an hour’s drive west out of town, was a beautiful area, hugging the side of Cottonwood Reservoir. Generations of young people had spent summers here, leaving the ground so saturated with residual hormones Dax was worried his voice was going to squeak -- and it had been nearly a hundred years since he’d gone through puberty. He stood on the edge of the crowd, watching thirty-one people mill around while they waited for instructions. The twin scents of fear and excitement mingled with the more prosaic smells of sweat, pine needles, and car exhaust.
Someone jostled him, sending a sharp bolt of pain through his left shoulder. He bit his lip until he drew blood, the pain and the coppery taste preventing him from blacking out. He wasn’t up to a long hike -- or a short walk. The drive out of town had nearly done him in. The euphoria of finding the site and the pain in both his shoulder and his heart had masked his exhaustion a little too well. Joining the search hadn’t been a good idea. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to back out now.
If he didn’t get a hit of energy soon, he was going to pass out. He didn’t want to do anything that would impede the search for the missing girl, though. Memories of the small bones in the cave made him even more conscious of the potential for things to spin out of control when he was around. There had to be something he could do that would give him a much-needed boost without snarling up the search party. His family didn’t need the deaths of any more children on their heads.
A buxom brunette whose breasts strained the material of her halter-top caught his attention. Perfect. And kind of mean. He didn’t like doing things like this, but he was desperate. A tiny trickle of chaos whispered into the knot holding the blouse up. Even that small effort made his head swim.
The brunette’s halter dropped, and her bared breasts -- didn’t.
The miracle of silicone.
Her shriek of dismay drew every gaze to the woman’s face, then down to her chest. Every gaze except one. A slender young man with strawberry blond hair and an amazing number of freckles whipped off his shirt, elbowed his way through the crowd, and draped his shirt over the woman’s chest, hiding it from view. Throughout it all, the young man’s rapt attention had been on the woman’s face.
Dax breathed deep, drawing in the raw power of the crowd’s reaction, and the unexpected bonus of a young man getting up the courage to approach a woman he believed out of his league.
“Aw, Eddie, what’d you go and do that for?” a grizzled old cowboy called out.
“Neanderthal,” Eddie muttered. He held his shirt in front of the brunette while she retied her top, then took her hand in his. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Miss Emily.”
“Thank you,” she said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.
The energy leaking from Eddie hummed with sexual tension and bewildered satisfaction.
Dax looked away, ashamed at having stooped so low to get the boost he needed, and envious of the unlooked for reward to Eddie and Miss Emily. They’ll probably get married, live happily ever after, and have loads of sweet children whose names all begin with the letter E.
“All right, people.” Junior Davis, voice amplified through a red megaphone, cut across the chatter. “Beth Sweeney has been missing for about five hours. The horse she was riding came back to camp just over an hour ago. We need to find her and get her home in time for tonight’s sing-along.” He checked his watch. “That gives us maybe six hours. First things first. I want all the experienced hikers to stand over there.” He pointed to the long, low wooden building that housed the kitchen and dining area.
Seventeen people moved to the area indicated.
“Good,” Junior said, after everyone was settled. “Now, those of you with cell phones check and see if you’ve got reception.”
Dax cursed the injuries that had so drained him. Weak as he was, there was nothing he could do to help stimulate the radio waves and boost reception. Snarling under his breath, he flipped open his phone. It was at full capacity.
A tall, honey-blonde woman turned to the man beside her, saying, “There’s a repeater up on top of Crane Mountain. We should be okay unless she’s in one of the deep valleys.”
“That’s good news,” the man said, clipping his phone back to his belt.
With a sigh of relief, Dax turned his attention back to Junior.
“Great,” the policeman said. “It looks like we’ve got plenty of phones.” Next, he directed the volunteers to split up into groups of two, with at least one phone per group. Those volunteers who weren’t experienced in the woods were given the task of remaining at camp to stay in contact with those searching.
Dax had just finished programming the base-camp phone numbers into his phone when the scent of apples and musk filled his nostrils. He looked up and saw Maggie walking toward him, the redheaded man from the library beside her.
Dax was here, not more than fifteen feet away. Maggie glared at him. Of course he was. He just had to be where all the action was. If he was responsible for this, he’d regret it.
He gave her a pained look and shook his head. Blowing out a breath that fluffed up his bangs, he walked the fingers of his right hand across his left palm, then tapped the side of his nose. He looked pale, and tired, and she wondered about his injury, which should have kept him bedridden for at least several days. Did demons have some sort of magical healing ability? Was he still hurting? Did she care? He repeated the strange gestures. What the heck is he doing?
Either he was doing some sort of weird demon greeting, or he was trying to tell her something. Giving him a pissy look, she turned away. I have nothing to say to you. Jerk. A tiny voice whispered that she wasn’t being fair. Maggie didn’t know for a fact that he had anything to do with Beth’s disappearance. It reflected well on him that he’d come to help find the missing girl. Unless his mot
ives were more sinister. And how crazy did that sound?
“Short and gorgeous is heading this way,” Sean said, peering over her shoulder. “Shall I chase him off?” His eyes narrowed. “Why are you avoiding him? Did he do something? Should I have Junior beat him up?”
It was tempting, but she had to talk to the demon, for her own peace of mind if nothing else. “No, it’s fine.” Maggie stiffened as Dax came up beside them. Fear and anger battled for dominance inside her.
“Hello, Maggie.” His voice sent a shiver up her spine, and made her pussy ache with remembered passion. Traitor, she thought, pressing her legs together.
“Dax.” She gave him a brittle smile. “This is my friend, Sean. He’s Junior’s husband. I believe you said you’ve met Officer Davis?” She knew she wasn’t being subtle, but couldn’t bring herself to care.
“I have.” He offered his hand to Sean. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Sean? I need to speak with you,” Junior called.
The redhead looked at his lover, then back at Maggie. She could see that the need to go to Junior was conflicting with his desire not to leave her alone in a tense situation.
There’s no sense getting him mixed up in this. “Go,” she said, nudging him in the direction of his lover.
He gave her an uncertain look and slowly walked away.
“They’re breaking us up into groups of two. I don’t have a partner yet.”
Of all the nerve. Screw peace of mind. “When hell freezes over.” She let out a nasty laugh. “And I guess you’d know all about that.” She was a bit taken aback by the bitchy ferocity of her response. “I know I’m being unreasonable, I just can’t make myself care.”
Dax smiled at her through clenched teeth. “Did you know that humans have a lousy sense of smell? Lots of other creatures can track just about anything if the scent is fresh. Too bad we don’t have a bloodhound available.”
