Chapter 19
The incident report on Sabrina’s desk had zero chance at holding her attention. She’d read the same paragraph eight times and still had no idea what it said. Something about trail maintenance blah blah blah.
As if that mattered when her entire world had imploded because a man had the audacity to order her to move in with him. No asking for Noah Colton. Just—Live here. I love you. We’re going to do everything together!
Where was her agency in all of this? Why did he get to say what happened? Where was her right to demand they go back to having fun, the way their relationship had started?
She bristled again, holding on to her anger, because if she let it go…well, she didn’t want to think about that.
Noah should have known better. Everyone knew better.
She had standards, boundaries and a firm policy against letting anyone think they could waltz into her life and tell her what to do.
Even if he’d given her a huge leg up toward her promotion by selflessly working with her and Ripley.
And giving her the dog in the first place.
Speaking of dogs, Bonner drifted in her direction, a deceptively casual expression on his face that didn’t fool her for a minute.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Officer West, actually at her desk for once instead of playing with dogs and SAR experts.” His voice grated across her nerves like sandpaper on a sunburn.
She didn’t look up. Her emotions simmered pretty close to the surface, and it might not take much to lose it completely. Which would result in a fist through Bonner’s face and disciplinary action for her.
Though honestly, the fact that she had all this stuff seething behind her rib cage was Noah’s fault. She’d been doing just fine before he showed up with his gorgeous smile and his thing about honesty and his complete inability to understand that some people weren’t built for happy ever after.
“Some of us do actual work around here, Bonner.” She deliberately kept her tone bored. Unaffected. He’d never clue in on her turmoil.
“That’s what I hear.” His tone dripped false sympathy. “Though I also heard your boyfriend’s not training you anymore. Trouble in paradise?”
Her pen snapped in her grip, spattering ink across the report. Perfect. Just perfect. Like she needed one more sign from the universe that her life was spiraling.
“Don’t you have something better to do?” She grabbed a tissue to clean up the mess, still refusing to meet his gaze. “Like actually patrolling your sector?”
“Already done.” He leaned against her doorframe, radiating smugness like a cat who’d found an injured bird. “Even checked out that suspicious activity report near where you found your body. Nothing there, of course. Waste of time, just like I told Reynolds it would be.”
That got her attention. “What suspicious activity?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear?” His grin widened, showing altogether too many teeth. “Someone reported movement up there last night. Lights where there shouldn’t be any. Probably just kids messing around. I did a thorough sweep of the area this morning. All clear.”
Thorough. Right. Bonner’s idea of thorough meant a cursory drive-by, if that. And lights in Peavine Canyon after dark? That wasn’t kids. Not in January, and not that far from the road. But Bonner wouldn’t know the difference between suspicious activity and his own reflection in a mirror.
“Really?” She kept her voice carefully neutral even as her pulse picked up. “You checked the whole area? Including the upper ridge?”
“Please.” He waved a dismissive hand. “I know how to do my job. Unlike some people who need their boyfriend to help them get ahead.”
The dark satisfaction in his voice made her stomach turn. He’d heard about her and Noah. Probably through the gossip machine that passed for interagency communication around here. And he was loving every second of her personal drama, the tool.
If there was anything she hated, it was her personal life being trotted through the office like some kind of game. She was a professional. No one had a reason to doubt her.
“If you’re done throwing all that swagger around,” she said with perfect calm that she definitely didn’t feel, “I have work to do.”
He lingered another moment, probably hoping for a reaction, then finally pushed off the doorframe. “Have fun with your paperwork, West. Maybe if you’re a really good girl, they’ll let you have my desk when I leave for the district office. You know, after I get the promotion.”
Fortunately—for him—he waltzed off then, or she would have rounded this desk to take great satisfaction in rearranging his face.
She waited until his footsteps faded before slumping back in her chair.
Her hands trembled slightly as she tried to salvage the ink-stained report.
What was it about men and their need to stake claims on everything?
Territory, promotions, women’s hearts. As if they had some divine right to plant their flag wherever they wanted.
Not that Noah was anything like Bonner. He at least truly cared, which somehow made it worse. Because caring led to feelings and feelings led to love and love led to…
Nope. Not going there.
Instead, she focused on what mattered. Suspicious activity near Annie’s site. And Bonner had brushed it off without a second thought.
He hadn’t seen the baby supplies hidden in that apartment. Hadn’t connected the dots between Annie and the woman they’d rescued from the fire. Didn’t know what she and Noah had discovered about missing women and—
The ache in her chest flared. She couldn’t think about Noah. Not now. Not ever, preferably, though that was about as likely as Bonner developing actual investigative skills.
But she could do her job. The job she’d been doing long before Noah Colton whirled into her life and flipped everything over with his gale force winds. He’d even told her to expect Hurricane Noah to roar onshore at any moment.
And what had she done? Made huge assumptions that his admittedly thrilling personality meant they were a good match. All intensity, all the time, no apologies.
Gah, she had to stop thinking about this and go do something with a chance of distracting her.
Decision made, she grabbed her gear. Bonner might not care about suspicious activity in her canyon, but she did. And she had a partner who could help her investigate. One who wouldn’t complicate everything.
* * *
Ripley’s tail wagged the moment Sabrina collected her from the department’s K-9 kennel. The dog had adapted well to staying there during Sabrina’s shifts, though she missed having her around the way she did at home.
She missed a lot of things lately. Not that she’d admit that to anyone, especially not herself.
Dogs didn’t gossip, so she’d found her companion for the day. They also didn’t try to move you in with them or make grand declarations that turned your entire world inside out. They were happy with belly rubs and treats and the occasional game of fetch. No expectations. Exactly what she needed.
“Just us today, girl.” The words felt hollow as she loaded Ripley into her vehicle. “Think you can work without your boyfriend?”
The lab’s tail drooped slightly at the mention of Dancer. Great. Even her dog was going to make her feel guilty about this. Ironic. Ripley was her longest relationship and she was screwing it up too.
The drive to Peavine Canyon normally got her pumped to be out in the wilderness. This time, not so much.
Peavine was where she’d met Noah. All of this just reminded her of him, the way he jumped into absolutely everything, danger, love, rock climbing, kissing—ugh, she could have done herself a favor and not thought about that.
She’d done the right thing walking away.
She had. Because the alternative was letting Noah catch up, and she’d never recover when it inevitably fell apart.
And it would have fallen apart. Everything did.
Men didn’t stay. They told you what to do, ignored your right to choose and then disappointed you.
The mantra felt emptier with each repetition, but she clung to it anyway. No man she’d ever met had been any different, starting with her father and ending with Noah.
The morning sun painted the red rock cliffs in shades of flame as she parked in the small turnout.
Late January air bit through her jacket, sharp enough to steal her breath.
Or maybe that was the memory of Noah’s face when she’d walked out—that devastating mix of hurt and confusion that haunted her every time she closed her eyes.
At least he’d looked surprised. As if he genuinely hadn’t seen it coming. Which just proved her point that he didn’t really know her at all. Anyone who truly loved her would have known she’d freak out.
Focus. She was here to work.
Ripley bounded ahead as they climbed toward where she’d found Annie’s body.
The rockslide had changed the terrain, creating new patterns of shadow and stone that she cataloged with practiced efficiency.
Recent footprints marked the sandy soil—Bonner’s cursory inspection, no doubt.
He hadn’t even bothered to check the upper ledges where someone could easily observe the whole canyon.
Men like Bonner were exactly why she was better off alone. All of them thought they could handle her, talk to her like she was an idiot who couldn’t figure out her own mind. Even the good ones. Maybe especially the good ones, because they actually believed their own press.
Something caught her eye—a flash of white against the red rock. Paper?
She moved closer, careful of her footing on the loose scree. A torn piece of notebook paper fluttered from where it had snagged on a thorny bush. The edges were weathered but the writing remained legible.
Friday 8 p.m. Same place.
Her pulse quickened. The paper was relatively fresh—the ink hadn’t faded despite exposure to the elements. Someone had been here recently.