by T. J. Kline
No one wants to love someone they might have to bury in pieces.
Ben’s lips brushed over her bare shoulder, his breath warm over her skin as he swept her hair back from her face. Goose bumps chased one another over her skin. “Penny for your thoughts.”
“Hmm, wouldn’t that be considered a personal question?” She leaned her head to one side, giving his mouth better access to her skin, savoring his kiss.
She felt his shrug against her back. “More of a statement than a question.” His hand moved to cup her breast, his thumb brushing over the nipple that immediately pebbled in response.
She turned in his arms to face him, feeling his erection pressing against her, sending a surge of yearning through her yet again. “I was thinking about last night,” she lied. “I’m almost convinced that you were right about slow being better.”
He gave her a satisfied smirk. “I told you—”
“But not quite,” she finished, pushing the thoughts of her parents, her past and the weight of her responsibilities aside. “I do believe that another experiment might be in order. I may need a little more convincing.”
“I’d love to, but I have to get to the station.”
“What if I call in a fire?”
He laughed quietly. “Then you’d end up with an engine, at least four firemen, an ambulance and probably a police car or two. Not sure that’s what you had in mind.”
“Probably not,” she agreed, wrapping her leg around his hip.
Ben growled and pressed himself against her. “You’re making this really hard.”
“That’s exactly my intention.” She brushed her lips against his. As long as she could keep this on a physical plane, she could pretend to ignore the emotional attachment she was feeling toward Ben. She had to, because he was the only thing keeping her grounded and sane right now.
Chapter Twenty
Ben watched as Emma moved around the kitchen, preparing several bowls of food for various animals. She moved with a quiet grace, the confidence of a woman who knew exactly what she was doing and that she did it well. They didn’t speak but she cast him a curious glance every few minutes, as if she was waiting for him to pry, to try to force himself beyond what she was comfortable with, to break one of her “ground rules.”
Rising from her table, he poured himself a cup of coffee and glanced at hers. “You want more?”
“Not just yet. I’ll get it when I come back inside after feeding.”
“You want me to fix you breakfast before I go? I make a mean omelet.”
She paused, putting a hand on one hip and cocking it to the side. “You’re going to make me breakfast in my own house?”
“Sure.” His gaze slid over her curves, kept trim he suspected because she was too distracted to even eat most days. “You’re so busy taking care of animals, I get the feeling you haven’t had someone to take care of you in a long time.”
She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” she muttered, grabbing for the food bowls and hitting the back door open with her hip.
“I didn’t say you needed someone to do it. I said I wanted to do it.”
She stopped, halfway across the driveway, heading toward the animal compound. “Let’s get something straight,” she began.
The theme song for Cops sounded from his back pocket, breaking her train of thought. “Hang on, it’s Andrew.” He swiped a finger across the screen but didn’t even get a chance to answer.
“Get your ass back to Mom and Dad’s and bring that woman with you. She better be able to answer a few questions or there’s a good chance she’s going to find herself in a big mess today.”
“What now?”
“I’ve got two dead calves here and looks like some wild animal did it.”
Ben glanced at Emma, careful not to say anything that might worry her. “What makes you think that?”
“They’re pretty torn apart, but not like usual when it’s coyotes or dogs,” he added before Ben could even suggest it. “Whatever this was, it was big.”
“How recent?” Buster had been caught days ago and hadn’t left his cage. The entire compound had echoed with his complaining since, but that wolf had been out and they had no idea how long before they’d arrived to find him.
“Twelve hours, maybe a little more.”
“I’m supposed to be at the station this morning. Let me call them and we’ll be right over.”
“We’re in the south pasture, about three hundred yards from the water hole.”
Ben thanked his brother and hung up, quickly texting his captain to explain why he’d be late this morning.
Emma used the radio to call Monique to come relieve her for the feedings and turned back toward the house. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“We’ve got trouble, right?”
“Are you asking or telling me?” Ben didn’t like the resignation he saw in her face.
Emma shook her head. “Telling. Because with me, it’s always trouble. Haven’t you discovered that yet?”
Emma could easily read the concern in Ben’s eyes. He watched her warily, driving through the pasture to where his brother and parents waited. She felt the dread coil in her stomach, settling in. Damn it, he was still trying to protect her and refused to say where they were going or what to expect, only that Andrew wanted her input. But she knew enough to decipher the issue from what he wasn’t saying. She’d been dealing with this for weeks now.
They suspected one of her animals of something. There was no other reason to need her presence, or her expertise, unless there was another animal on the loose or, worse, damages from one. Either way, it likely meant even more trouble for the sanctuary, whether or not she was to blame.
Ben parked the truck near a tree and they walked the short distance to a small watering hole where she could see the form of what appeared to be at least two carcasses. She really couldn’t tell without inspecting them closer because the body parts were strewn at least fifteen feet over the field, with blood still seeping into the grass at the water’s edge. Flies buzzed, lazily moving from one area to the next, sluggish in the morning chill but not willing to forgo the feast. The metallic smell of blood hit her as they drew closer and the dread she’d felt earlier turned to deep-seated fear as she took in the grim faces at the scene of the carnage.
“What happened?” She should have known Ben would be the one to break the silence, facing things head on.
“I don’t know,” his father answered. “We came out to dump the hay this morning and saw the buzzards.” He looked around him, shaking his head. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It looks like they were butchered.”
Emma moved closer, tugging latex gloves from her pocket and squatting to inspect the gore surrounding her. The bones were, in fact, scattered but, from the size and number of them, she could confirm it was at least two calves. Several of them had teeth marks ground into the surface. A few of the smaller ones were splintered where they’d been chewed on by animals attracted by the smell of blood. Most of the entrails were missing.
“Ms. Jordan?” Andrew began.
She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Why all the formality, Andrew? You didn’t mind calling me Emma when I was taking your money.”
“Because this is a formal investigation that may result in a claim against the sanctuary.”
“Andrew,” his mother scolded. “Emma, I’m sorry for my son being rude. He’s just trying to do his job.”
Emma immediately took a liking to Ben’s mother. She seemed friendly, in spite of the fact that there appeared to be plenty of evidence that Emma was responsible for the loss of two of their calves. Not exactly the best circumstances to meet his parents.
Andrew pressed on, ignoring his mother. “Have you had any other animals loose in the past few days?”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Ben said, jumping to her defense.
She loved that he was so ready to stand up
for her, even taking on his own family in the process, knowing there was a possibility that Cana caused this.
“It’s fine if I do.” She stood up and waved over the small group of people she knew had already judged her guilty. “Because this wasn’t one of my animals.”
“You think it’s another mountain lion that’s coming down into the area?”
“No. You see this?” Emma pointed at what was left of one of the calves’ head and neck, torn from the rest of the body.
“What exactly am I looking at?” Andrew sounded confused so Emma squatted down and pointed directly under the jaw of the animal.
“Here. An animal couldn’t sever a head this cleanly. This was a knife. This calf’s jugular was cut and he bled out, which attracted scavengers. I’m guessing from the teeth marks, and the blood that I saw on Cana, that he was here, but he didn’t kill these calves. They were already dead.”
“Why would someone sneak onto my property, all the way out here, to kill a couple of calves and leave them?” It wasn’t difficult to hear the dubiousness in Ben’s father’s tone.
Emma looked at each one of the McQuaids in turn, wondering if any of them would believe the truth. As it turned out, she didn’t have to voice her suspicions. Ben did it for her.
“Because someone is trying to sabotage Emma and get her shut down.”
Ben called Angie and explained the details, hoping she’d take pity on him and cover his shift, even though she just ended one of her own. He was going to owe her for it but he didn’t want to leave Emma alone with Andrew when they returned to the sanctuary to inspect Cana. If Andrew found anything suspicious, Ben doubted anything would stop him from closing her down immediately.
“I have to warn you,” Emma began, “Cana isn’t fond of men and I’m not sure why he’s even here.” She explained how Cana had been sent to the rescue.
Andrew cocked his head at her. “Can you tell whether it’s blood on him or not?”
“Would you trust me to tell you the truth?” Andrew’s brows lifted, daring her to test him. She met his gaze with a challenging one of her own. “I can tell whether it’s blood, but I can’t tell what kind without running some testing. I doubt he’ll let me get close enough to even try to get a sample if you’re with me.”
“So, either way, you’re telling me I just have to trust you.”
Emma’s hands hit her hips and Ben could see the frustration building in her, tension bunching her shoulders, and he longed to massage them, to do something to help. He also knew it was the last thing she’d want from him right now.
“Well, unless you’re qualified to run the blood test yourself and want to chance being attacked by a dog that is ninety percent wolf just to clip some hair from him, then yes, you’ll have to trust me. Think you can manage to do that?”
The muscle in Andrew’s jaw pulsed and Ben knew he was considering his options. It wasn’t in his nature to trust anyone quickly. That was Ben’s MO and what usually got him into these kinds of messes.
“You can’t sedate him so we can go in?”
She dropped her chin, somehow managing to look down at him, in spite of the fact that Andrew was at least a foot taller than she was. “You seriously want me to give an animal drugs, not knowing his physical well-being or his tolerance, rather than trust me to do my job?”
“Give me a break. We don’t run blood work on animals in the wild before we dart them. Don’t act like it’ll kill him to do it.”
“Just because you’re willing to take that risk, doesn’t mean I am. If that’s the route you’re going to insist on—which I find ridiculous, by the way—I’m going to have to insist that I get in touch with the rescue to find out his history first.”
“I could just call in Animal Control and let them confiscate him.”
“You could,” she agreed. “But then you’d have to wait for your tests because I’d call every rescue in the area to pick him up and you’d be back at square one.”
“I don’t have time for that.”
Emma folded her arms over her chest and stared at Andrew defiantly. Ben had a hard time not grinning as she stood her ground against a man who had at least one hundred pounds and eight inches on her.
“You think this is all I have to do today?”
She shrugged. “Probably not, but that isn’t my problem.”
“It’s about to be. I could just shut you down pending my investigation.”
“Go ahead and how will you explain that to the press? Animals left to die in cages with no one to take care of them, until another rescue steps in. Do you have time to handle that mess, or the paperwork and bad press? Because I promise you, there will be bad press. I’ll make sure of it.”
Andrew looked to Ben for assistance, throwing up a hand. “Will you explain to her—”
“I’m not an idiot,” she interrupted. “I understand the situation, as well as the gravity of it. However, you have nothing but circumstantial evidence that I am housing the animal that actually attacked those calves. You know, as well as I do, that even if it was Cana, he didn’t kill them, he just . . . chewed on them.”
Andrew looked from Emma back to Ben, shooting him a glare that clearly warned him to deal with her, to convince her to go along with Andrew’s demands. Ben gave his brother an almost imperceptible shake of his head. If he thought Ben could convince Emma of anything, he didn’t know her at all.
Andrew let loose a growl of frustration. “Fine, you go. Do your damn test and call me with the results. But, if I think for one second that you’re lying, I’ll shut you down.”
Emma smiled sweetly. “I have no doubt you’ll be leading the town charge with a pitchfork in one hand and a torch in the other.”
Ben snorted and Andrew glared at him, storming back to his patrol car. “I expect a call.”
“As soon as I have any answers but, by all means, Officer McQuaid, feel free to hold your breath,” she yelled back.
Emma watched as Cana romped playfully in the enclosure, coming back to her to flop into her lap, almost making her forget he was far more wolf than he was dog. He’d always held a special place in her heart, much like Buster, and it had physically pained her to send him to the rescue but she hadn’t been able to take him with her when she’d left for her job at the park and he couldn’t stay here with her father where he endangered both Cana and the staff.
Lindsay returned her call quickly, relieved to hear recent news of Cana, but the information she imparted wasn’t what Emma had been prepared to hear. Cana had been brought back, a year ago, apparently at her father’s request.
Emma had no clue where Cana had been for the last year because she’d been to the sanctuary several times to visit and had never seen him. Why hadn’t her father told her he’d brought him back? He’d known how much the animal meant to Emma.
Her questions only seemed to lead to more, making her mind race and her suspicions take root even deeper. Emma rubbed her hands in the salt-and-pepper–colored fur at his shoulder as he tried to lick at the side of her hand, a sign of affection and submissiveness, when her fingers felt a ridge of marred flesh under the skin. Parting the hair carefully, she could see what looked like a deep cut that had healed over, leaving a thick scar. She didn’t remember him having that when he was last with her but it was possible he’d gotten hurt at the rescue facility.
Or worse, after his return here. Her mind filled in the logical answer she didn’t want to consider.
Emma ran her hands over Cana examining him for more wounds while he yipped in delight at what he saw as bonding. Relaxing into her touch, Cana rolled to his side where she found several more thick scars, as well as one recent open wound near his hind end that was going to require a few stitches. It wasn’t an emergency, but she needed to get it cleaned and taken care of.
Since she was going to have to sedate Cana after all, Emma figured she might as well have Andrew there in case he needed anything else for his investigation. Not that it would actually matter much no
w. She’d already tested the blood that had matted much of the fur on his chest. As they’d suspected, it was bovine and, most likely, from the calves. But, allowing the cop to be there might earn her at least a little sympathy, although she doubted Andrew was much for sympathy.
Cana rolled onto his back, stretching his legs into the air and whining playfully for attention. She rubbed his chest and felt him tense, just before he jumped to his feet, growling at something beyond her sight. The hair on his neck stood straight up and he backed, moving so that a large boulder provided him a place to hide, snarling and snapping. Emma searched around but couldn’t see anything.
“Cana, stop. Down.”
His eyes barely flicked in her direction as he focused on something only he could see. Emma’s heart sped up. She scanned the area he watched closely. He was obviously afraid of something but she had no idea what might have triggered his fear since she saw nothing. Even if there was something outside the enclosure, it couldn’t get inside. She was in a precarious position. If she couldn’t get Cana to mind her commands, she was at risk of being attacked. She needed to calm him, for both of their safety. If she couldn’t, there was a high probability that he might turn on her.
“Cana, down,” she repeated. This time, his yellow gaze met hers and he let his head lower as he edged closer to her and moved his body behind hers. It was a sign of submission as well as one that solidified the fact that he believed she was his pack leader. “Down.”
Cana sat, keeping his shoulder pressed against her knee, growling quietly at whatever had spooked him. She would allow him to growl because his stance made it clear she was no longer in jeopardy from him but she strained to see anything that might have him riled. Emma squinted at the foliage that dotted the landscape surrounding the enclosure. She felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as goose bumps broke out over her arms. Near a pine tree she could just make out an odd shadow that seemed slightly out of place, moving when others didn’t. Taking a step closer, Cana moved with her. His deep growl rumbled louder but he stayed in step with her, offering protection to his female as wolves were prone to do.
