Evidence of Trust

by Stacey Joy Netzel

  He was so used to being the one in control…this was going to be fun.

  She rose up and started with a long, deep kiss on the lips. At the base of his neck, she paused to inhale his scent. Combined with the vanilla-scented body wash in the shower was his unique musky scent she would never get enough of.

  “Mmm.” She let the sound vibrate against his skin and felt his pulse respond beneath her lips.

  Moving on, she explored the hard planes and angles of his chest with her hands, then followed with little kisses, licks and nibbles. She hadn’t told him to be quiet, and each guttural moan she wrung from him brought a smile. His stomach muscles clenched tight beneath her lips and his whole body jerked as her hand closed around his steel-velvet length.

  No more than her breath caressed the tip, and he startled her with a flurry of movement that landed her on her back with him poised over her.

  “Hey,” she protested.

  “You’ve got me ready to frickin’ explode, woman.”

  “Sorry.”

  “No you’re not.”

  She was becoming a grinning fool. “You’re right, I’m not.”

  He dropped his head to her chest in mock despair, but then became distracted by her breasts. His mouth closed over the tip of one while his hand massaged the other. Just like that, he was back in command.

  This time when she reached the point of begging, he rolled on a condom and she opened for his possession. The feeling of him sliding inside her was so intense, her chest swelled with emotions she couldn’t voice.

  She opened her eyes to find him watching her. The heat in his eyes nearly stopped her heart beating. Could he—

  He bent his head to capture her lips in a slow, bone-melting kiss and slid his tongue against hers in time with each thrust of his hips. As tension built again, she moved with him and hung on for the wild ride. He dragged his mouth from hers, his ragged breath hot in her ear.

  Sweat slicked their skin by the time they catapulted over the edge together.

  As they caught their breath, his body pressed hers into the mattress, but she held him tight to her chest, relishing the feel of his solid weight.

  Right then, in his arms, she had no thoughts past that moment, their coming together and the complete and utter peace he’d given her.

  * * *

  She woke to the unfamiliar sensation of being naked beneath the sheets. Delicious memory rushed back, and she rolled her head to the side, squinting her eyes against the bright sunlight to see if Joel was awake.

  Her clothes were draped across the pillow where his head should’ve been. The faint aroma of coffee registered on her senses—not freshly brewed, but as if it’d been made by someone who’d slipped out of bed hours ago. A slight lift of her head confirmed Joel fully dressed and back at work amidst the files spread across the table.

  She dropped back to the pillow, eyes squeezed shut against the sudden crush of disappointment that constricted her chest.

  What had she expected? That he’d cuddle beside her? Wait for her to wake up so they could start the morning in each other’s arms?

  That maybe, just maybe, he loved her, too?

  Of course not. What she’d imagined in his eyes last night was nothing more than a fantasy her love-sick heart had cooked up to fool her head. She knew he was a bachelor. He’d warned her from the start he’d take whatever she gave, and when the time came, he’d move on to his next job.

  And isn’t that exactly what you decided last night? You’d take what you could and damn the consequences?

  True. But in the light of day, it was much harder to damn those consequences, especially when so much was riding on them. She’d lost her heart and now realized she did want to wake up in his arms. Every morning. And not just for a week or a month from now, but ten, twenty, even fifty years down the road.

  You knew the score. Deal with it. And don’t make him feel bad for it.

  She drew in a deep breath and let it back out as reality settled without sympathy. The one night was over, and it was tomorrow. Joel was already hard at work while she lay in bed. Time to deal with so much more than her aching heart.

  She levered herself up on her elbows and forces a smile when Joel glanced up. “Good morning. What time is it?”

  “Almost ten.”

  Her eyes widened at the unexpected time and she immediately reached for her clothes. “Oh my God, why didn’t you wake me up?”

  “Because you needed the sleep.”

  She dragged on her top and then scooted to the edge of the mattress to pull on her bottoms. “I’ve got to get to the ranch.”

  “The stable’s closed, Brittany. I already talked to Mark this morning.”

  “I can still help with clean up. And I want to see Paelo and Gypsy.”

  He pushed his chair back and walked toward her as she stood by the bed. He must’ve showered again. His hair was damp, and he’d shaved, too. He looked too damn good for her peace of mind and her racing pulse, yet she couldn’t help but meet his gaze.

  It was cautious, guarded, yet she read a question in those brown depths she wasn’t prepared to answer.

  “Casey trailered both horses to his dad’s place in Allenspark,” he told her. “They’ll be safe there until this is over.”

  “I take it if you let Casey take the horses, you don’t think it’s him?”

  “He’s on the list because sometimes it helps to see the whole picture.”

  She nodded. When she started to move past him, he lightly caught her arm and finally gave voice to the question in his eyes. “You okay this morning?”

  No. I may never be okay again. “Yep, I’m fine.”

  “I’m not talking about your head or shoulder, Brittany.”

  “I know. And really, everything’s great.” She pasted on a bright smile. “No regrets.”

  His gaze narrowed as his jaw clenched. Clearly, he didn’t believe her. Well, she couldn’t help that right now. The musky scent of sex lingered on her skin and she had to get away before she begged him to take her back to bed.

  “I really need to use the bathroom.”

  The moment he released her, she hurried to shut the door between them. God help her, she was going to have to pull it together before she went back out there.

  A half-hour later, she felt much more in control as she faced Joel across the table to argue her case. “I want to go to the ranch.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve got work to get done.”

  “Exactly. But you aren’t going to catch this guy sitting here.” His jaw tightened at that statement and she pressed forward. “I’ll be surrounded by people all day at the ranch. It can’t get much safer than that.”

  “Except we don’t know who it is yet.”

  “You just said you trust Casey.”

  “I do.”

  “Then if he’s there all day with me, I’ll be fine. You can do whatever you need to do—meet with Aaron, go the station—and then pick me up later. I’ll be with someone the whole time.”

  Resignation filled his expression. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “I am, so let’s go.”

  During the drive through Estes Park and up along Highway 7, Britt avoided conversation by pulling out her camera and scrolling through the pictures. Just before they reached Highlands, she came across the ones she’d taken of Joel as he stretched out the kinks from being bent over the crime scene up near Lawn Lake for so long.

  The exhaustion on his face attested to how hard he’d been working to solve the case. She wanted to reach out and soothe the lines from his forehead.

  Realizing she was staring at a picture of him while he sat two feet away from her in the driver’s seat, she flipped to the next one. Her stomach rebelled at the image of the bloody, mutilated elk, so she moved her thumb to the delete button.

  Permanently delete this picture?

  She hesitated as Joel turned into the ranch resort driveway. “I have some pictures from up at Lawn Lake on my camera. They�
��re of the scene while you, Randy and Dennis were all working. You want them? Otherwise, I’m going to delete them.”

  He slowed for a family of five crossing the lane to one of the guest cabins. “I’ve already got all my pictures, but I can still take a look at them. I’ll get them off your card and give it back to you tonight.”

  “Thanks.” She ejected the card and placed it in his outstretched palm.

  She was still fiddling with the camera as he braked to a halt near the stables. Her first glance through the windshield brought a hand up to cover her whispered, “Oh my God.”

  When she realized Joel had come around to open her door, she slowly got out of the truck. Yesterday at the hospital, Mitch had told her the barn was a total loss, but she hadn’t tried to imagine what it would look like.

  Joel placed a hand on her shoulder as she stared beyond the ribbon of yellow crime-scene tape in disbelief. “You okay?”

  She didn’t reply. Everything was black, except for a couple spots near the middle where thin, wispy tendrils floated lazily into the air. That lingering scent of smoke and the reek of smoldering hay brought back the nightmare of last night. She covered her nose and mouth as she stared at the ruins.

  The entire right side had collapsed into a heap of blackened debris. On the left, the row of stalls was still discernible in the iron framework that had withstood the flames. Charred pieces of wood clung to the iron, and in other places, boards that had snapped under the collapse of the roof above stuck up from the pile in stark relief against the trees and blue sky.

  Mark walked over to join them from the main corral. He gave her a quick hug and then stepped back. “I didn’t expect to see you here today. Shouldn’t you be resting?”

  His gaze shifted to the stitches on her forehead. Her hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the way unfortunately made the multi-colored purple and green bruise that much more visible.

  “I’m rested out,” she stated. “And if I’m not here, I’m sitting somewhere doing absolutely nothing. My head is fine, my shoulder is fine, and after everything that’s happened, I really want to help.”

  He checked with Joel via a cocked eyebrow. Luckily, Joel did nothing more than shrug, and she suppressed her spurt of annoyance because she knew Mark was just concerned about her.

  “Okay, then, you can work with Casey,” he conceded. “He’ll be back from his dad’s place soon. Joel told you about him keeping the horses, right? We thought that’d be the safest place for them right now.”

  “That’s good. Thank you.”

  “You guys are going to be here all day?” Joel asked. “I figured I’d be back about five.”

  “I’ve got a meeting at four-thirty, but Casey will be here.”

  He nodded, yet didn’t appear completely reassured.

  “I will be fine,” Brittany insisted, despite her own reluctance to separate from him. “There are plenty of people around.”

  “We won’t leave her alone,” Mark promised.

  “Good.” His gaze transferred to hers. “I’ll see you later then. Be careful.”

  Warmth deepened the golden flecks in his eyes. His voice held a note of intimacy that increased her pulse and squeezed her chest with emotion.

  “I will.”

  Joel hesitated one more moment before reaching out to brush his fingers against her arm. Sizzling awareness skimmed across her skin even after he lowered his hand and started for his truck. She fisted her hands to keep from reaching out for him as she watched him leave.

  His step faltered after three strides and he swung back around, eyebrows drawn together in a frown.

  He looked like he was about to say something, but when he remained silent, her pulse kicked into second gear. “What?”

  His frown deepened, and he shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll see you at five.”

  Not caring if he saw her in the rearview mirror or not, she watched him until he drove out of sight, wishing her heart had listened to her head.

  Chapter 31

  By three-thirty, Joel wanted to punch something. Aaron hadn’t come up with any leads, and he could barely concentrate past the mental image of Brittany lying in bed, her blond hair shining as the morning sunlight slanted through the window. Yes, the sex had been phenomenal, but it was the whole package that’d done him in.

  Leaving her with someone else today had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. He knew Mark and Casey would keep her safe, but it still made him uneasy that he wasn’t the one by her side. Unfortunately, she’d been right at the cabin, when she’d said he wouldn’t catch the bastard sitting there with her.

  She’d been with him all day, and in less than two hours, she’d be standing before him, live in person. Tempting him. Making him want to say things he’d vowed never to say to a woman again.

  He picked up a manila folder from the table behind his desk and a handful of printed photos fluttered to the ground. His muttered oath was more so at the pictures in his mind than the ones on the floor. Then again, it wasn’t her fault he’d totally screwed up and fallen for her. So much so that he’d been appalled to realize at one point he almost hoped for a couple more nights at the cabin.

  How frickin’ messed up did he have to be to hope she remained in danger so she had to stay with him? She deserved so much better than that.

  The thought only added to his irritation, and he bent to pick up the pictures. Seeing the crime scene from up near Lawn Lake reminded him of Brittany’s photo card in his pocket. Wouldn’t hurt to check out what she had on there and then get them deleted for her. More than ever, she didn’t need to be reminded of what the man out there was capable of.

  Tossing the pages from the floor on his desk with one hand, he fished the SD card from his pocket with the other, and inserted it into his laptop. Scrolling through the mini-icons of all the photos, he searched for the correct shots.

  One of himself brought him up short. He clicked on the icon to enlarge it in the photo viewing program. What had she seen when she took the picture? What would she see now when she looked at it? After her obvious regret this morning, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that question.

  He clicked the arrow button for the next photo. Studied it for a moment, and moved to the next. Hmm…something didn’t look right.

  It took another moment of examination to figure out it was the footprints. After clicking through the remainder of the photos Brittany had taken, he returned to those first two that had tripped his awareness. The footprints didn’t add up.

  The stack of prints that’d scattered on the floor lay right next to his computer. He pushed aside the top copies until he found the one he wanted. Holding it up next to his computer screen, he shifted his gaze from one to the other.

  “Son. Of. A. Bitch.”

  There should be four distinct prints: the poacher’s, his, Randy’s and Dennis’s. Instead, there were only three. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions too fast, despite the obvious indications right in front of him. As he’d pointed out to Brittany once, it was a common tread, and one of the men may have purchased the same pair of hiking boots as the poacher.

  He made his way to Ryan’s office to access the time cards and helicopter flight logs, keeping an eye out for both men. He hadn’t seen Dennis all day, but Randy had been around earlier that morning.

  “Gifford or Mueller around?” he asked his boss.

  Ryan barely glanced up from his computer. “Mueller’s on night shift this week. Gifford left a little while ago. Said he wasn’t feeling well.”

  Joel paused at the door. “You talk to him yourself?”

  “Yeah. He looked like shit.” Now Ryan peered over a pair of bifocals. “Why?”

  “It’s just…he seemed fine when I saw him earlier.”

  “Then I’d say whatever he had for lunch didn’t agree with him.”

  Joel left it at that. He wasn’t prepared to make any accusations just yet, even though his own gut was churning. When he returned to his office with
the data, he made a call to Aaron.

  Seeing as they’d spoken less than an hour ago, Thompson answered with a hopeful, “You find something?”

  “We may have caught a break,” Joel confirmed. “I’m going to send you some pictures, can you have your tech guys take a look at them, paying particular attention to the footprints? The first picture was taken before we started to process the scene. The second toward the end of processing.”

  “We’ll get right on it.”

  “Good. I’m going to see if I can confirm my suspicion on my end.”

  “Keep me posted.”

  “Likewise.”

  Joel hung up and started tracking the schedules of both men to see if either had a work alibi for when the time of death had been estimated for each poached animal. Dennis had logged flying time in the chopper for each date except one. And the past three nights, he’d flown nighttime patrols on the opposite side of the park, including the night of the fire.

  A heavy weight settled in the pit of his stomach. Still, he dialed Dennis’s home, confirmed the time card, and let the man go back to sleep. Next, he called the man’s night patrol partner, who also confirmed the alibi.

  Which left Randy Gifford.

  More often than not, Randy had been off duty at the time of each killing, including being off the evening of the fire. He recalled hanging up from his call with Brittany to find Randy standing in his doorway. The man had known he was going to the grocery store, had heard him tell Brittany he’d probably see her there, so he could’ve easily slashed her tires.

  If he was the one who left the note at her apartment, he’d known her well enough to guess she’d want to check on her horse. He wouldn’t have had to follow too close.

  It pissed Joel off when he thought of Randy ‘assisting’ with his investigation all this time. He’d royally screwed up there, trusting the guy because Ryan had assigned the ranger to help him from the start. He didn’t blame Ryan, he blamed himself for overlooking something he never should’ve missed.

  Impotent fury doubled when he recalled Randy showing up at the hospital to check on Brittany after having attempted to burn them alive. His concern had appeared genuine at the time, and he’d managed to fool everyone.