Page 73 of Claiming Ours
“I couldn’t find a pack or campsite. Her body is here, but her stuff isn’t.” My brows pulled in tight as I stared at the victim. “You guys ready to get her out of here?” He shrugged off his pack and set it on the ground, pulling out everything we needed.
Oliver gestured for the black body bag in Ethan’s hand. “We brought four-wheelers as far as we could and hiked in the rest ofthe way. Hudson and I will haul her to where we left the ATVs, then take her to the docks. Langston will take me and the body to the coroner in Anchorage.”
He rolled out the body bag beside her and looked up at Hudson. “Did you already take pictures of the scene?”
Hudson held up his phone. “I did, from all different angles, plus the surrounding area.”
Oliver’s shoulders slumped in relief. It seemed having the former LA detective here to help him was doing just that. I was glad Oliver had someone competent and trustworthy to take a sliver of the workload off his shoulders.
“Great, then let’s get her out of here so Ethan can check out spots along the trail for her camping gear. I want him to get to it before animals have more time to destroy any evidence.”
We all helped carefully move the woman’s body, lifting it from a thin layer of mud and gently placing her in the bag. After zipping it up, we each grabbed an edge and headed back to the main campsite where Memphis and Baylee waited for us.
Hank stuck to my heels—as best as he could with the bad leg—every step through the trees.
“My girl will fix you right up,” I told the dog while adjusting my hold on the plastic as it slipped.
“You’re talking to a dog,” Ethan huffed while looking at the husky. “He’s a pretty thing, that’s for sure. Loyal too. I can’t believe he stayed and protected the body. He would be an asset for any lone hiker, male or female.”
“How was your last survival training group?” Oliver asked, eyeing Ethan with an intensity I couldn’t read.
“The same as the last few,” he grumbled while shifting to the side to not run smack into a tree. “The guys all thought they knew everything while the few women actually did and put in more work. I’m honestly not sure how much more I can takedoing these. I miss the long, guided hikes that take us out for weeks, where we eat what we kill or get killed and eaten.”
“This just got dark,” Hudson muttered.
“We’re carrying a body through the woods. It’s already pretty fucking dark, Hudson,” Ethan snipped back good-heartedly.
Back at camp, we carefully set the bag down, Hank lying down beside it with a heartbreaking howl. I marched over to where Memphis held Baylee tight in his arms, his chin resting on top of her head. I frowned, not liking the idea of her upset, but considering what we were doing, there was no way around it.
“They’re all set to head back down with her,” I said. Baylee turned in Memphis’s hold and leaned back against him, gazing up at me. “You sure you want to go with them?”
“Yeah, I want to treat him as soon as possible. He has to be dehydrated and starving too.” Pulling away from Memphis, she wrapped both arms around my waist, pushing her chin into my sternum to look up into my face. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me, Liam. Hudson, Oliver, and Ethan will be with me the whole time. I already have everything loaded up on the horses for you and Memphis for the last part of the trip to Caper. Call me if there’s an injured animal that needs my attention, and one of the guys will escort me there if needed.”
The calluses on my palms scraped over her soft cheeks as I cupped her face with both hands. “Please be safe, Baylee. If another random-ass dog tries to lure you away, please don’t fucking follow it alone.”
Her responding smile and kiss eased the frustration and darkness building in my chest from the day’s unexpected events.
My girl was safe and happy.
And no matter what happened, I’d make sure that never changed.
24
MEMPHIS
“Ireally don’t see how you wear this scratchy-ass shit all the time.” I adjusted the collar of the flannel shirt, hating the feel of the material rubbing against my neck. “It’s choking me.”
“Layers, Memphis. Layers will be key to survival here in Alaska. It could be thirty degrees in the morning, nice in the afternoon but feels hot when you’re working hard, then back to freezing at night. You need to find clothes you can put on or take off throughout the day as the fickle-ass weather changes.”
I huffed in annoyance and shifted in the saddle to ease the numbness spreading across both ass cheeks. We were a mile or so from Caper per Liam’s calculations, which meant I was almost done riding for a couple of days. While we rode, we crafted a basic plan for when we arrived. He would assess the manual labor aspects, and I the medical needs of the group. We would come back together, then start with the most urgent and work down the list from there.
We both wanted to get the jobs done as soon as possible, even though I knew it would mean being back on a horse sooner rather than later. Only a few hours had passed since we went inthe opposite direction of Baylee, Ethan, Hudson, and Oliver, and I already missed my Kitten. The deep ache in my chest grew with every clop of the horse’s hooves that took me farther and farther from her.
“I don’t know how I did it for so long,” I mused as I ducked beneath a low-hanging limb. “The years chained to my addictions, sure, that makes sense, and maybe part of it was drowning out how much I missed her, but after I got sober….” I shook my head and ran a hand through my dirty hair. “How did I not look her up immediately and come find her?”
Liam remained quiet for a while, making me wonder if he would respond or just ignore my rambling. Slowing his horse when we hit a gap wide enough to ride side by side, he adjusted in his saddle, removing the straw cowboy hat from his head to wipe a sleeve over his damp forehead.
“Timing is everything,” his deep voice rumbled, drowning out the birds chirping happily in the nearby trees. “You found her when it was time for both of you. Until recently, she wasn’t ready to see past her grief. She fought every day just to keep her head above water. Some days I had to literally watch her drown in it all with my hand held out, begging her to grab hold. You needed time to ensure you were strong enough to be with her, to not fall back into that temptation of oblivion that your addictions promised.”
