Chapter Four
One Bed
Jameson Bishop
The air is colder here, sharper, carrying the scent of pine and river stone. I’ve been in a lot of remote places, but this one feels… watchful.
I cant focus on anything except the way Ranger Dan keeps subtly looking at her. And being jealous of their easily comradery. I am good at presenting what people expect, putting them at ease.
But it isn’t real.
And being that way with Rachel feels wrong.
I don’t want to pretend with her. I want her to know the real me, but every attempt seems too sharp, too jagged.
Walking the edge of wanting her to be engaged with me and keeping distance is not easy to tread.
My frustration always comes through, ruining the delivery.
Nothing like sexual frustration to help ease a conversation into something civil.
David leads us down a gravel path toward the ranger compound, the mountains rising behind it like a wall.
I imagine slamming his head into the nearest tree. I have no reason, well no real reason, to dislike him. But I have too much on my mind to actively stave off my irritation and he is a handy target as any.
He better watch those fucking eyes though. And his big fucking hands or Ill tear them off at the wrist.
“We’ve got a cabin set aside for you,” David says, gesturing ahead.
Cabin. Singular.
My stomach sinks. That isn’t going to help the situation at all. The erection is going to be obvious at some point.
She makes no obvious reaction to the news; she is very careful to keep her thoughts private. Its part of the reason she drives me insane. I never know what’s going on behind the wall she has up. She’s better at concealing it than most people who have been trained to do that.
I wish Liam would put as much effort into that. I cant stand being around him when he’s with Gemma. I can respect her choice. But for Christ sake, I don’t need to know details.
Rachel walks beside me, arms crossed, eyes scanning the tree line like she’s cataloging threats. She’s tense, but not afraid. She knows these mountains.
And they both made sure I knew it.
She’s always had a wildness about her. Something untamed that caught and held my interest in a way that other women didn’t. Her small frame and wide pouty mouth. Her intense eyes and the way they focused on me. Even her honey brown hair. She was everything I wanted.
I shouldn’t have let her come. I shouldn’t have wanted her to. But how can I refuse her?
Besides, she’s right. The reasons I don’t want her here have nothing to do with her capabilities. And that’s a failing on my part.
But I have spent the last few hours driven to distraction by the way her breath catches when I touch her.
Her body shifting, drawing my attention.
Bringing to mind all the ways I want to possess her.
Things that will have her screaming and begging.
The way her green eyes would look up at me while I choked her with my cock down her throat.
Fuck. Ive been able to keep a professional distance this long because I was not constantly in her presence. But now she is all I can think of.
The cabin comes into view. Small, weathered, tucked between two massive oaks. David pushes open the door.
“This one was used by your agent,” he says. “His belongings are still inside.”
I step inside, and the first thing I see is the bed.
One bed. One shower. One room.
No separation.
No chance in hell this ends well. I can already feel my control slipping and we aren’t even alone.
Rachel stops behind me, and I feel her presence like heat at my back. She doesn’t say anything, but I can practically hear her thoughts: Great. Perfect. Fantastic.
I clear my throat. “We’ll make it work.”
She doesn’t answer, walking past me, brushing my arm accidentally, but enough to make my restraint crack for half a second.
I want to reach for her.
But I need to focus on the case. I have to. I cannot give in to these urges. I have been able to work with her for years without a single slip.
Has it made me an unbelievable asshole and unbearable boss? Probably.
David spreads a map across the small table. “These are the locations where people went missing. He was tracking them to their locations.”
But his eyes keep tracking to Rachel and its making me want to bash his skull in again. In a way it helps. Imagining violence is better than picturing fucking her through that small mattress.
Rachel leans in, her shoulder nearly touching mine. I shift slightly, giving her space. She doesn’t notice. Or she does and doesn’t care.
“Why was he alone?” She asks, studying the terrain within the selected areas.
David, looking uncomfortable, shifts. “We didn’t know he was going out. He didn’t notify anyone.”
“These are all along the river valley,” she says, tapping the map.
David nods. “That’s right.”
I study the pattern. It’s too consistent to be random. Too deliberate to be an accident.
All within a 50 mile radius, all along the river. Their last known locations all reported within a few days surrounding the full moon.
“The rangers think it’s an animal,” Rachel says, skepticism dripping from every word. “Why?”
David gestures for us to follow him. “I’ll show you.”
We walk to a small outbuilding which turns out to be a makeshift morgue. The smell hits first: cold air, disinfectant, and something metallic beneath it.
Inside, a single body lies under a sheet, the fluorescent lights giving it an eerie feel.
“This is the most recent victim we recovered,” David says quietly. “Only three out of sixteen have been found. We found him last night.”
And they didn’t think it was odd until I reached out.
I may not know these mountains, but I can spot the fucking obvious from a thousand miles away.
He pulls the sheet back. “The others were too decomposed by the time we got to them. The medical examiner is coming to collect the body this evening.”
Rachel inhales sharply. I feel her stiffen beside me.
Skin missing, deep cuts and gouges all the way down to organs. He was basically torn apart. Not natural. Not predatory in the way I’ve ever seen before.
“This isn’t how normal animals hunt,” Rachel says. “Or eat.”
David nods grimly. “We think the animal might be distressed. Hurt. Acting wildly. Possibly a mother being territorial.”
Rachel shakes her head immediately. “No. The area is too large for any predator to range that far. And mothers don’t roam this early in the season. Most are going into hibernation before winter hits”
Her voice is steady and confident. She knows what she’s talking about.
David looks between us. “Then what do you think it is?”
I answer before she can. “Something we haven’t identified yet.”
Rachel glances at me, surprised, maybe, or relieved that I’m not dismissing her expertise.
I have my own theories that I am not prepared to share yet.
Her eyes linger a moment too long. I look away.
I can’t afford this. Not here. Not now.
But the cabin is waiting with just one bed.
And Rachel is standing close enough that I can feel her breath when she exhales.
This case is going to kill me. And if it doesn’t, she might.