Page 80 of Shadows of You

“Seems to be quite protective of you,” he went on.

That heat was back in my cheeks as I handed Damien his change. “We’re good friends.”

Were we, though? I had no clue what Roan and I were in his mind.

“Seems like a bit of an extreme reaction for a friend.”

I worried the inside of my cheek. “He looks out for Cady and me.”

Damien shoved a few dollars into the tip jar. “Always good to have someone looking out for you. I’ll see you around, Aspen.”

He headed for the door, and I just stared after him.

As the door closed behind him, Elsie made bug eyes at me. “Are you crazy? That man is gorgeous, and he’s a vet.”

I shrugged. “I just don’t feel a spark.”

“Maybe you need to get your spark radar examined.”

I snorted and turned to grab my rag to continue my cleaning, but I couldn’t help hearing Damien’s words ringing in my ears.“Roan warned me not to ask, but I had to try.”

Now, what the heck did that mean?

25

ROAN

“This is bad,”Nash muttered as he stared at the poor, mangled bobcat that lay across the trail.

“This was rage,” Lawson said, a muscle fluttering beneath his eye.

I turned away from the fallen animal, unable to take the carnage anymore. Nothing could be gleaned from the body. Not until Dr. Miller arrived and we had test results back from the techs currently scouring the crime scene.

I started back down the trail, knowing my brothers would follow. Their footfalls sounded behind me, confirming as much.

It took less than a minute to reach the trailhead. Even bolder than the last scene.

“Can we get in someone’s car? I’m freezing my balls off,” Nash muttered.

Lawson beeped the locks on his SUV. I climbed into the front passenger seat while Nash got in the back, and Lawson hopped into the driver’s seat.

“I swear it gets colder every year,” Nash said, rubbing his hands together.

Lawson turned over the engine. “Or you’re going soft.”

Nash glared at him. “Just because I don’t want to lose my swimmers doesn’t make me soft.”

Lawson chuckled, but the sound died as he glanced back at the trail. “I don’t see how we still have nothing.”

We had less than nothing. None of the hikers ever saw someone hanging around the deceased animals. None of the Fish and Wildlife or Forest Service officers patrolling the area had seen anything suspicious. And there was no evidence except some hairs from previous animal kills on the blade.

“We know they’re linked,” I said.

“That’s not enough to point us in a direction,” Lawson argued.

Nash scrubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw. “Maybe we need to approach this from a behavioral standpoint instead of an evidence-based one.”

Lawson turned in his seat to look at Nash. “Say more.”

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