Chapter 4
4
ALTA
“ T he hell?” John’s voice lowered as he shifted a concerned glance to where I sat in shock at Agent Peters’s words. “You’re leaving out a lot of information. We need all the details you have connecting these cases before we agree to work with you.”
Agent Peters broke his focus on me to acknowledge John, who was looking paler by the second.
“Nine women?—”
The door hurled open, letting in a welcomed rush of heat from the hall. For a split second, I relished the warmth, until he walked in. My mouth fell open at the surly man from the parking lot, his scarred hand gripping the door handle. He stood eerily still, almost like he was just as surprised to see me, his near-black eyes burning into mine. The two others in the office faded into the background as a rampage of questions and unfamiliar feelings flooded through me.
“You,” I said on a pushed breath, finally remembering oxygen intake was necessary for staying alive. Chest rising and falling in rapid succession, the cold from the office turned comforting against my too-hot skin. What the heck is wrong with me? This man was dangerous and a stranger—both of which I’d avoided at all costs the past several years. But here I was having a stupid hot flash like I was in high school all over again just from his soul-searching eyes.
The seat rocked to the side with a clatter as I shoved out of it to take a cautious step back. His eyes narrowed, but a small, knowing smirk pulled at the corner of his stone-cold features, as if my fear amused him. But it wasn’t the type of anxiety I managed on a second-by-second basis. No, this fear was hot, sizzling in my veins, making beads of sweat build beneath my armpits and along my palms.
Our intense staring contest broke when a hard shoulder brushed against mine, making me tense all over at the contact.
The stranger’s eyes narrowed on my shoulder, only to direct an angry glare at John, who now stood at my side. Way too close to my side.
“Can we help you?” John took an obvious step to angle himself between the man and me.
Thankful for the brief reprieve from the man's scrutiny, I glanced to Agent Peters, only to be more confused. He sat in the same position, leaning back in his chair, but now he smiled at the whole scene like it entertained him.
“He’s with me,” Agent Peters finally said with a deep sigh, cracking the growing tension. “He’s the one I spoke about earlier. You always knew how to make an entrance, didn’t you, Mathews?”
John didn’t move.
Neither did the Mathews character.
Long, tense seconds ticked by on the old-school clock on the wall as the two continued their standoff.
“As I was saying,” Agent Peters said, drawing out the last word in an obvious attempt to gain everyone's attention, “nine women plus the female special agent in charge of the case went missing in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in nine months.”
Not ready to be in close proximity to Mathews again, I leaned against the far wall and kept my attention focused on Agent Peters. Only after Mathews had stepped farther into the office in order to close the door behind him did John relax and turn back to the chair behind his desk.
“Ten women. How did that not make national news?” I questioned.
Mathews gaze burned into each inch of my body as he stared. Every instinct insisted I look, but instead of giving in, I willed my focus to stay on Agent Peters.
“It made the news in East Tennessee, but nothing on the larger networks. Mostly because we had nothing to go on. We had zero evidence from the crime scenes.”
I chewed on the edge of my thumb. “And now you think he’s here.”
Against my will, my eyes darted to where Mathews leaned against the door, confirming what I already knew.
Not a single facial muscle flinched, indicating he couldn’t care less that I’d caught him staring.
Fine.
Two could play that game.
Taking the opportunity, I observed every detail of his harsh, handsome face. High cheekbones for a man accentuated a strong jawline that was dusted with faint facial stubble. A thin nose had two distinct knots along the bone, indicating he’d broken it more than once. Dark brows and messy, light brown hair completed the ruggedly handsome look that he no doubt knew looked good on him. Because it did.
Then there were his eyes. They were captivating, holding me in place with some warlock power. Whatever it was, it called to me. Locked in his gaze, I felt safe, protected and, for the first time in a long time, alive. Instead of running from this stranger, I wanted to run to him. Wanted to feel his large hands running along my bare skin, my stomach, and inner thighs.
I startled at John’s loud attention-getting cough.
“Sorry, I guess I forgot to make introductions,” Agent Peters said. “This is Sergeant Cas Mathews of the USPP. Mathews, this is Ranger Police Officer Alta Johnson and Division Manager John Cartwright. There, can we move on now?”
Right. Back to the case, the reason these two men were here. I cleared my throat and tried to swallow, even though my mouth had turned bone-dry. “What do you think he does to them? The women?”
“Birdie.” John’s tone was laced with concern.
I cut a hard glare at him with a slight shake of my head.
“We don’t know. Without bodies to examine, there’s no way of knowing. Hell, they all might still be alive, held captive somewhere against their will.” My breath caught, that time not from the dangerously hot male, who was still staring, but from actual fear. “But my guess is they’re dead since he’s shifted to the Rockies.”
I tucked my trembling hands into the pockets of my pants—which, of course, Sergeant Mathews noticed. Nervous energy had me pulling both hands back out and clasping them behind my back. “How will we catch him?”
Agent Peters shrugged. “We’re hoping he’s already made a mistake on the two abductions here, or will with the next one?—”
“The next one?” I didn’t even try to conceal the shock in my high-pitched tone.
“Yes,” Peters said with a hint of disappointment. “There will be more, I’m sure, until we catch this bastard.”
“What do you need from us?” John asked, clearly not pleased with the turn in conversation. Not surprising. He was over-the-top sensitive to my past and knew conversations like this would drum up bad memories for me. John was a good guy. Sweet, caring, and very attractive in a smothering type of way.
“We landed and drove straight here. We’ll drop our bags off at the cabin, and then I would like to see the first and second scenes, preferably with the officers who were first on scene and spoke to the eyewitnesses.”
Out of a grade-school habit I’ve never been able to break, I raised my hand with a tight smile. “That would be me.”
“But I’ll take you,” John cut in, standing abruptly to his full five-nine height.
Unconsciously, my eyes drifted between the three men, comparing their features and builds. John was my height, but rounder compared to my lean frame. Agent Peters seemed tall with those long legs he had stretched out in front of him, but he was a bit lankier than John and Mathews. However, even without bulging muscles, anyone could tell Peters was capable of handling himself with ease against any threat.
Then there was Cas Mathews. A few inches taller than me but a mix between John’s and Agent Peters’s builds. Lean but muscular in all the places a man fit from doing actual work, not just lifting weights, would be. Strong arms stretched the sleeves of his shirt, and his exposed forearms had large, angry veins running down the thick muscle beneath. A bit of weight sat around his waist, but not enough to call him soft by any means. All that with his unnatural stillness and intense stare made him intimidating as all get-out.
“You weren’t at both scenes.” I said, staring at the floor to keep from gawking at Mathews more than I already had. “I’ll take them. My shift doesn’t start for another few hours.”
“At night?”
Everyone’s attention shifted to Sergeant Mathews. Those two words were all he’d spoken since he’d entered the office.
“Yes,” I said, chewing on the cuticle of my thumb.
Well done, Alta. Solid response. Direct and to the point.
“We have park police available at all times to make sure our guests who decide to camp within the park are safe,” John added.
“And the animals,” I grumbled.
The same corner of Sergeant Mathews’s lips twitched up, just as it had when he first walked in. Seemed I amused him in some way.
A loud clap echoed through the sparse office, making me jump. Agent Peters shoved out of the chair. “It’s settled. Ranger Johnson will come with us to drop off our bags, then direct us to the two scenes.”
Ready to get out of the suffocating office, I pushed off the wall, following the two men as they began to shuffle out.
“Johnson, hold up a second,” John called.
Well snap. I held back an eye roll. “I’ll meet you outside,” I called out as they filed down the hall. I swiveled to face John and crossed both arms across my small chest. “What?”
He rapped a knuckle on the desk, his forehead furrowed. “I don’t like it.”
“Don’t like what, exactly?”
“We don’t know them. Let me go, tell me what the witnesses?—”
“No, John. It’s my job, and I trust… I trust them.”
A spark of shock registered across his face before he schooled his features. “What was that between you and that Mathews guy?”
I shrugged a shoulder and turned to the open window, hoping to blame my cheeks’ rosy tint on the cold wind. “Nothing. I wanted to get a read on him. Which I didn’t. But him being with the USPP, he has to check out, right?”
“All those guys think they’re gods. Fuckers,” he grumbled, then shifted a few pieces of paper around on his desk. “I didn’t like the way he kept staring at you.”
I pursed my lips, not quite sure how to respond. Pretty sure saying ‘I did’ wasn’t in my best interest if I wanted this conversation to wrap up sooner than later.
“You want me to ride around with you tonight on your shift? You know, like old times?” John’s tone was wistful, nostalgic even.
Letting him down was the last thing I wanted to do, but I also didn’t want to lead him on. “Nah,” I said as I moved toward the open door. “I’ll be fine. I like the mountains at night. You know that. I should go though. Don’t want to keep them waiting.”
“Check in when you’re back. That’s an order.”
With my middle finger, I gave a fake salute and stepped out into the hall just as a wadded paper ball soared past my head.
“You missed,” I called over my shoulder.
In the main room, I slowed my quick steps at the sight of Sarah smiling and laughing, surrounded by Agent Peters and Sergeant Mathews. Benny’s soft head rested just under Sergeant Mathews’s hand as the man scratched the thick fur.
Oh crap, what do I do with Benny? I rubbed at my eyes. Maybe I could run him home and meet them at the first scene.
Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, I tentatively approached the group. Benny glanced up with a ‘please don’t make me move’ plea in his eyes.
“All set?” Agent Peters asked.
“Um, yeah I am, but I forgot about Benny.”
“He can come too,” Mathews directed over his shoulder as he marched to the front doors. I cringed at his ear-piercing whistle that sent Benny bounding after him.
Traitor.
“Okay….” I raised both brows in a silent question to Agent Peters, who merely offered a knowing smile before strolling toward the front doors.
Sarah’s hand wrapped around my wrist, holding me back from following. “Wow. He’s hot, right? Where are you going with them? Can I come?”
A pang of jealousy dipped my stomach. Flirting, talking, conversation came easy for Sarah. Plus, with her amazing looks, no doubt she could have both men in her bed by the end of the night if she put her mind to it. Which didn’t bother me about Peters, but Mathews was a different story.
We’d only said a handful of words, but to me, he was mine.
Which had to be the most backward thing for me to think, considering that same mindset from someone else was what put me in my perpetual state of fear and unease. But the difference between me and the freak who stalked me was I wouldn’t follow Mathews, leave him creepy notes, or drug him.
“I’m taking them to the two scenes where those women went missing.” I’d keep the part about a possible serial killer to myself for the time being. Sarah wouldn’t spread it around, but since it was an active case, protocol had to be followed. “I better go before they leave me.”
With a fake pout, Sarah crossed her arms across her ample chest. “Whatever. I’m meeting that new ranger in a few anyway.”
I tensed and frantically glanced around the room. “Oh no. Is she here? Please tell me she’s not here.”
Sarah shook her head and stretched her arms high over her head. “Nope, I’m meeting her at one of the trails. Your boy John thought I should include her since she’s having a hard time making friends on her own. And since you don’t like her….” Her mischievous smirk took a fraction of the hurt out of the accusation.
“Who doesn’t like dogs?” I said, a bit exasperated. The woman was strange, so no, I didn’t want to be friends with her. Either way, I was already at my max with Sarah and John. “I don’t trust anyone who won’t pet Benny.”
“I don’t blame her, Birdie. That dog stares her down like she’s his next meal.”
Okay, she was right. But I just assumed it was because he knew she didn’t like him.
Which was absurd.
I mean really, who couldn’t love Benny?