CHAPTER SEVEN
Monday, June 19
11:35 a.m.
It seemed to take forever for the other rangers to arrive with the stretcher to extract the body. Maggie used every ounce of her willpower not to pace. She wanted to cover the body, but she knew what Vic would say if she suggested it—that it was a waste of time and resources. All they had that would cover a body was the tent or a sleeping bag, both of which they needed if they were going to track down the rest of this girl’s party.
The sound of footsteps across the creek brought her head up. She moved to the edge of the running water and waited. It didn’t take long for two people to appear, and Maggie relaxed a little when she recognized David and Ava. It made sense that they’d sent those two—Ava had medic training and seniority, and David wanted a permanent position in Glacier, which meant it was trial by fire for him as far as Wyatt was concerned.
They made their way across the creek, holding an empty stretcher between them. From the way David’s shoulders were slightly bowed and he wouldn’t quite look directly at Ava, he’d offered to carry the stretcher and she’d told him where to stick it. Ava wouldn’t put up with that shit any more than Maggie would, and it wouldn’t occur to her that he was offering because he was a genuinely nice guy—not because he was a dick who didn’t think she could handle it.
“David, stand right there and try not to screw anything up.” Ava set down her side of the stretcher and nodded in greeting. “Hell of a way to start the season, huh?”
“You can say that again.” She took a deep breath. “It’s going to be tricky getting her back to the chopper. We can’t cut the arrows out of her back without screwing up evidence even more than it already is, and I think a bear got to her front.”
David went pale beneath his tan. “Shit.”
“Pretty much.”
Ava didn’t so much as blink. “No time like the present.”
In the years Maggie had known her, she’d never seen anything get under Ava’s skin. The woman had a wicked sense of humor, and she was more than a little bit of an adrenaline junkie, but she could set all that aside when the situation called for it. Honestly, Maggie was kind of surprised she hadn’t transferred out to Grand Canyon or Teton. Glacier wasn’t the wild ride that some of the other parks could claim for their rangers, and the sometimes-sedate pace didn’t seem to mesh well with Ava most of the time.
There was nothing sedate about the events of this week.
She turned to face the body. It didn’t matter how long she and Vic had been here, it was still a shock to see. Her attention kept coming back to the girl’s curly, dark hair. It seemed such a strange thing to draw her, but with the damage done to the body, it was the only thing that was Lauren anymore.
Maggie swallowed past the lump in her throat. “You brought the camera?”
“Yeah.” Ava held it up. “You going to do it? Or is the Fed?”
“I will.” Vic strode down from where he’d been wandering through the trees in widening arcs since he’d finished his calls. She knew what he was doing—making sure they didn’t miss something—but that didn’t stop her from nearly jumping out of her skin every time he made a sound.
Ava passed over the camera and crouched down to look at the body. “Definitely a bear.” She sighed. “Wyatt’s not going to like this.”
No, he wouldn’t. It was entirely likely the bear would move on with its life and never bother humans again . . . but if it got a taste for human flesh, it could pose a very real danger for the hikers that traveled along this trail. It was plain bad luck that the girl had died so close to such a popular trail, because there would be people hiking up and down it most days for the next few months. “He’ll have to be the one to make that call.”
Maggie had never aspired to being in charge, one of the many things her parents had never forgiven her for. Ambition was the heart and soul of the Gaines family and had been for generations. Her paternal grandfather had made partner in his law firm before he was thirty-five, and her father had followed in his footsteps. Even her mother had an MBA from Harvard, though she’d turned all that ambition into being the perfect wife once she and Maggie’s father got married.
If only she’d put half as much effort into being a good mother.
No, Maggie mostly just wanted to be left alone—and situations like this just drove that reality home. Either Wyatt would take a risk with people’s lives by hoping this situation was a one-off, or he’d have to put a kill order out on the bear who’d eaten part of the victim. Neither option was a good one.
An unfortunate side effect when people and nature came in such close contact. As a park ranger, it was her job to protect nature from people and people from nature, and most of the time, she was successful.
Ava frowned at the body. “Is he eating them?”
It took Maggie a few seconds to jump topics with her. “They don’t think so.”
“Good.” She nodded. “Good. That’s a kind of evil that you don’t want to be messing with.”
Since Maggie couldn’t imagine an evil much worse than hunting a defenseless and terrified person through the dark, she kept her mouth shut. Ava was right. Eating the victim would be much, much worse. She shuddered.
“How’re the pictures coming, Vic?” she asked. The sooner they got the body on its way out of the park, the sooner she and Vic could keep moving and leave this place behind.
She’d never be able to hike this trail without thinking about finding the body—without picturing the woman lying on the ground and dying. Maggie’s stomach lurched. Oh, God. Please tell me she was dead when the bear found her.
Vic snapped one last picture and stood. “I’m good. Mind if I keep this until we get back?”
“Sure.” Ava shrugged. “It’s Wyatt’s.” She shot a look at David. “You good?”
“Yeah.” He looked green, but his hands were mostly steady as he laid a body bag next to the dead girl and helped Ava shift her into it. A few minutes later, it was zipped up to the arrows and strapped to the stretcher. David shuddered. “So glad we don’t have to do this shit often.”
“Grow a pair, Downey. You want to be a full-time ranger, that means sometimes you’re on body retrieval—and believe me, the corpses are rarely pretty.” Ava turned to Maggie. “You watch your back, you hear me? I like your contrary ass, and I’m going to be seriously pissed if you get yourself murdered by some psychopath.”
“I’ll do my best to stay among the living.” She hadn’t really thought about it too much when she’d first agreed to this, but it was becoming all too clear that she might actually come face-to-face with this unsub at some point. If he was condensing his cooling-off period this much, he wasn’t going to stop. He’d track each of those other four kids, and then he’d keep going until someone stopped him.
Until they stopped him.
There was no one else. Even though Wyatt needed to authorize a search party, the SAR people were trained in rescue—not self-defense. They’d be out in the park and potentially putting themselves in the line of fire.
Stop.
Maggie took a deep breath. One thing at a time. Figure out where the other four hikers are. Then you can freak out as necessary. She rubbed a hand over her eyes, exhaustion starting to weigh on her. “I’ll try,” she said again.
Ava’s gaze flicked over her shoulder to where Maggie could feel Vic standing. “You, too, Fed.” Then she motioned to David, and they lifted the stretcher. They crossed the creek and marched down the trail toward where the helicopter would be waiting for them at Kootenai Lake.
Maggie watched them until they were out of sight and then rolled her shoulders. “We need to get moving. There are a couple spots before Fifty Mountain where we could camp in a pinch, but it’d be better to just bust ass and make it.”
“Agreed,” said Vic.
He didn’t have to say that they might not be getting much sleep—again—depending on what they found. She was afraid there were more dead bodies in her future.
Better to be the one finding the dead bodies than one who turned up dead.
Monday, June 19
12:51 p.m.
Vic couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being stalked. It started about a mile after they left the creek and only seemed to get worse the longer they hiked. He had to force himself to keep his eyes on Maggie, because otherwise he was in danger of looking over his shoulder every three seconds. He wouldn’t see anything. Even if it was the unsub, the guy was too good at what he did to be observed.
If it wasn’t the unsub . . .
He picked up his pace, skirting the edge of the path to walk next to Maggie. “We’re being followed.”
She didn’t so much as miss a step or look at him. “You think it’s our guy?”
“Hard to say.”
Maggie pressed her lips into a thin line. “On one hand, if it is him, we don’t want to spook him. Getting him close is worth the risk of an arrow in the back—especially since I’d bet my best pair of boots that he gives some kind of warning before he attacks. That fucker likes the chase too much to settle for a sneak attack.”
Her logic was sound, and it fit the working profile he’d put together for the unsub. “Still a risk.”
“Yeah. Especially since, if it isn’t him, it’s one of the cats.” Maggie finally looked at him, her dark eyes serious but nowhere near as panicked as a normal person would be if they discovered they were prey. “And if that’s the case and if we ignore it, we won’t see it coming until it’s too late. They’re dogged. They’ll stalk their prey across miles before a kill if it’s necessary.”
He finally glanced back down the trail. As expected, it was empty. There wasn’t some convenient sign shouting BEWARE MOUNTAIN LION. Fuck. Tucker was right. He was out of practice in a big way. “Not a bear?”
“No. They’ll bum-rush you or attack if startled, but they don’t do the silent-stalking thing.” She rubbed the back of her hand across her mouth. “Having both a cat and a bear in such close proximity is a real bitch.”
“Especially since there’s a third predator to consider.” He moved closer and touched her elbow. It should have been innocent contact, but the touch sparked a slow heat that rolled through him.
Inappropriate.
Just plain wrong.
But no matter how many times he thought the words, his body wasn’t getting the memo. Vic stepped closer yet, until they were nearly chest to chest. “They cover dealing with mountain lions in that ranger training of yours?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Pretty sure it was in the handbook.”
He could barely draw a full breath for wanting her. My problem. Not hers. Vic took a measured step back, and then another. “We’ll have to hedge our bets and hope we aren’t scaring off the unsub.”
“We wouldn’t scare him off. He’s not the type. If anything, it’d just add spice to his hunt. Just stay here. This shouldn’t take long.”
“Wait.” He started to grab her and aborted the move halfway through. Vic didn’t grab women, no matter how crazy they were determined to act. “You can’t honestly think I’m going to stand here while you bolt off into danger.” It had been bad enough when he’d had to watch her march forward to find the body and a theoretical bear.
To do it again?
Out of the question.
Maggie gave him a look like he was an idiot. “You might have been the more experienced partner when I was in the BAU, but this is my wheelhouse. I’ve spent almost six years working here, first as a seasonal ranger and then full-time. When it comes to these trails and the wildlife, I am the more experienced one. I’m not going to let you get yourself hurt or killed just to assuage your manly pride.” She didn’t give him a chance to argue, turning on her heel and heading back down the trail.
“Hey! Hey, cat!” she yelled, waving her arms and charging forward.
Vic took a step before he caught himself. As much as he hated it, she was right. Maggie was more qualified when it came to dealing with this shit than he was. He might be able to theoretically call on his SEAL training to live off the land indefinitely or kill a man in a dozen ways without a weapon, but he didn’t know the first thing about facing down a hungry mountain lion or bear.
Fuck.
Something made a noise that sounded a whole lot like a scream, and then Maggie took a menacing step forward, her arms still waving. It should have looked ridiculous, but all he could imagine was a cat leaping out of the trees and onto her back. She wasn’t petite, but she didn’t have claws or teeth to defend herself. All she had was some goddamn bear spray, and that was no guarantee against a mountain lion. It might scare it off, or it might piss it off enough to drive it to attack.
Vic touched the butt of his gun, tracking her movements and searching the forest around her. Every instinct demanded he protect her, but that wasn’t in the cards for their situation. If he wanted to protect her, he should have insisted she accompany the other female ranger back with the body and taken that guy as his guide. He’d actually considered it while she was talking with the woman—Ava—but he hadn’t been able to make himself speak.
He was too fucking selfish.
He’d always been too fucking selfish when it came to Maggie.
Her shoulders dropped, and he heard her sigh across the distance. “It was a cat. He backed off, but I suspect we haven’t seen the last of him.”
“Because mountain lions can be dogged in pursuit of prey.”
“He can be taught.” She moved back to him, never quite presenting her back to the spot where she’d seen the cat.
He kept his eyes peeled, but it all looked like trees.
Something like panic rose, a trapped bird fluttering in his chest. He didn’t know how to do this. He’d spent the last ten years in control. He might not choose his cases, but he’d worked his way up to being one of the best in their department because nothing put him off his game. The triggers that other agents had just didn’t apply. Vic had considered that an asset.
It never occurred to him that it would make him soft.
“I can’t protect you.”
She stopped short, a line appearing between her brows. “I can protect myself.”
“That’s not the point.” He couldn’t tear his gaze from the trees, certain that the second he did, there’d be an attack. Even if there was, he might not be able to react in time. She could be hurt because he was out of his element.
“Vic.” The quiet strength in her voice drew him to her face. She didn’t look annoyed or amused. Her expression was full of understanding. Maggie smiled. “It sucks realizing you’re not at the top of the food chain, doesn’t it?”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“That’s exactly what this is about. You’re a control freak, and you’re just starting to realize you can’t control this park or anything in it.” Maggie chuckled. “Congratulations—at least you’re smart enough to recognize that fact. Too many people come out here thinking they can control it. You can’t dominate nature, not in its rawest form—and Glacier is nothing if not raw. Trying to control it is a good way to get yourself killed.”
Vic stared at her, feeling like an idiot. “I’m not a control freak.” He might keep himself removed from everything around him, but that was just being a good FBI agent. Except I was like that before I was an agent.
He knew what a shrink would say—the one time he’d been involved in a shooting of a suspect, Britton had ordered him to see the department psychologist. Vic was used to doing the profiling, so having someone try to crawl around inside his head hadn’t appealed to him. He’d gotten through it because it was required to get back to the job, had listened while the woman told him that his coldness was a result of his childhood spent without the true safety that children needed to flourish, and then he’d said all the right words to get her to give him a pass.
It wasn’t like she was telling him anything he didn’t already know.
He knew damn well that all the men, and moving without notice, during his formative years created a bone-deep desire for stability. When he enlisted in the Navy, he’d thought there was nothing more stable than the military. In some ways, he was right . . . in others, not so much. But he’d learned to love the balance—both in the SEALs and in the BAU. A good team led by a strong leader against the worst the world had to offer. He didn’t need a PhD in psychology to put two and two together to get four.
This was different.
This felt like Maggie had just flayed him alive and peeled back his skin to expose throbbing nerves to the daylight.
“You’re the biggest control freak I’ve ever known, and that’s saying something. You just hide it better than most. People think because you’re a big, quiet guy, you’re laid-back. You’re not.”
None of his other partners had ever bothered to figure that aspect out. They did their job, he did his, and most of them ended up friends to one degree or another. He’d never consciously held people at arm’s length, but it was just the way he operated. “It won’t affect my ability to do my job.”
“I didn’t say it would.” Maggie pushed a stray hair out of her face and eyed the sky. “We need to get moving. We have a long climb ahead of us, and the altitude change can be killer if we’re not careful.”
And that was that.
She started off without looking to see if he was following. He shook his head. Just when I thought I had everyone’s number down, she goes and changes it up on me.
He wasn’t sure what it said about him that he actually kind of liked it.
Five years ago, July
Madison watched her friends’ faces in the flickering firelight. Ashleigh sat next to Josh, though there was a careful distance between them that wasn’t there normally. From the tight set of his shoulders and the meanness in his eyes, Madison knew what was coming. Josh had always had a vicious streak when things didn’t go his way. He rarely turned it on her or the others in their circle, but she’d seen it in action enough times to be wary of it.
Would she and Ashleigh even be considered part of the circle anymore if they left?
Would there even be a circle with just the Conlon twins and Lauren?
Ethan had his arm draped over Lauren’s shoulders as they lounged against a fallen log on the other side of the fire. Madison had always found it strange that they were together. They were both so reserved, and they seemed to get even more so when they were together. One night not too long ago, Ashleigh had jokingly asked Lauren if they even talked when they were alone, and Lauren had snapped back harshly enough that she’d set them all back.
All Madison wanted was for her friends to be happy, but right now it felt like what she’d thought was happy was a fracturing thing that covered up . . .
She didn’t know what it covered up. But she didn’t like looking up and realizing that her idyllic teenage years maybe weren’t as great as she thought. Let it go. You’re overthinking because you feel guilty. That’s all. There’s nothing to worry about.
Lauren met her gaze over the fire. “I needed this so bad.”
They all had. The tension that had ridden them all individually when they got into Josh’s SUV faded as soon as they lost sight of the trailhead. It always happened like that. With the mountains the only thing hemming them in and the sky seeming endless, there wasn’t a single worry that could cling in the face of Glacier.
Even her worry couldn’t hold up against that feeling.
Madison tilted her head back, taking in the stars above them. It was a clear night, and it promised to be good weather all week. “Me, too.”
“You know what I need?”
She didn’t have to look to know what Josh meant. Ashleigh’s bitter laugh confirmed it. “Not going to happen, Josh.”
“Why the fuck not?”
The tone of his voice brought her head up. She jolted straight at the fury on Josh’s face. “Guys—”
But Ashleigh was having none of it. She shook her head, looking disgusted. “It might shock you, but I have no desire to go out into the woods and have you fuck me against a tree.”
“Since when?” His voice rose, becoming almost a roar. “Since you’ve been fucking that piece-of-shit lawyer in Washington?”
Madison froze, still in the process of shooting to her feet. “Josh, what the hell are you talking about? Knock it off. We’re having a good time.” And there was no way Ashleigh was sleeping with someone else. She wasn’t a cheater, and even if she was, she would have told Madison about it. They told each other everything, and this was too big of a bombshell for her not to have known about it if it were true.
Except the look on her best friend’s face wasn’t one of righteous fury that a baseless accusation like that deserved.
It was one of guilt.
Madison slowly straightened. “Ash?”
“Look, I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” She glared at Josh. “And what the hell is wrong with you? If you knew, you should have talked to me about it instead of bringing all of them into our shit.” Her wave encompassed everyone—even Madison.
Josh stood slowly, menacingly. “You’re nothing but a whore.”
“Sure. Yep. A whore. Whatever you have to tell yourself, because you’re as innocent as a virgin. Right.”
Madison caught Lauren’s gaze, her friend’s expression reflecting the misery and discomfort she felt at having to witness what should have been a private fight. She glanced at the spot where Ethan had been sitting, but he’d melted into the shadows, obviously preferring the dark forest to the scene playing out around the fire. Right now, she’d have given anything to join him and avoid the coming confrontation.
Ashleigh wasn’t done. She stood, getting in Josh’s face. “Did you really think I’d be satisfied in this shitty little town with a shitty boyfriend who only wants to talk about hunting and fishing and his shitty truck? Please.”
Josh clenched his fists, and Madison started forward, recognizing the warning sign for what it was. No matter how bad their fights had been in the past, he’d never hit Ashleigh—that she knew of.
She was starting to realize she didn’t know nearly as much about her friends as she’d thought.
“Guys, stop.” She wedged herself between them. “Now isn’t the time for this.”
Help came in the form of Lauren, grabbing Josh’s arm and pulling him away from the fire. At first he resisted, but then he finally shot Ashleigh one last look of loathing before he let Lauren tow him in the direction Madison hoped Ethan had gone.
Madison took one breath, and then another, and then she spun on Ashleigh. “What the hell was that?”
“I’m sorry, Mads.” Ashleigh’s blue eyes filled with tears, which scared Madison almost as much as the fight had. “I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t do any of this anymore.”
“It’s okay.” It wasn’t, though. Her one last escape from reality was now ruined. There was no way Josh would let this go for the next four days, and that meant the rest of them would have to play referee to make sure things didn’t get out of hand instead of enjoying their trip like they’d planned.
She didn’t have the heart to say that aloud, though. Ashleigh had never loved this place the way Madison did, and she wouldn’t understand. All it would do was potentially cause another fight, and that was the last thing she wanted.
Still, she couldn’t help saying one last thing. “You should have told me. I thought we told each other everything.”
Ashleigh’s smile was both bitter and condescending. “Mads, you know better. We all have secrets—even you.”
Especially me.