Page 4 of Disappearance at Angel's Landing
His name alone threatened to notch her body temperature a couple of degrees higher. The man had been made of sex appeal. If the National Park Service put together a yearbook of their rangers, Branch Thompson would easily win every Best category: eyes, smile, laugh, athleticism. He had it all.
Sigh.That strong jaw could slice her hand open if she wasn’t careful, though she hadn’t ever gotten the opportunity. He’d made sure of that.
With shorn hair, an abundance of muscle and a partially hidden spider tattoo stretching from the left side of his collar, he looked as though he’d stepped off the cover of a military magazine. She couldn’t be sure if he’d served. Actually, she didn’t know a whole lot about him other than he’d transferredfrom another park earlier in the year. Okay. Four months, two weeks and six days ago. But she wasn’t counting.
Branch tended to keep to himself. She was pretty sure she’d never heard him utter more than two words in a row other than to ask her if she ever stopped talking. All the grizzly vibes in the world told her and every other ranger in Zion he was as cuddly as a porcupine. He wasn’t the kind of man to pretend to be someone he wasn’t, and that had her wanting to get a closer look. To figure out how he got away with it. He was unforgiving, a little broody. Blunt. Not a guy who would ever look at her twice, let alone take her to that cute coffee shop in town on a date.
In fact, she was fairly certain he hated her guts, based on her few attempts to get to know him and the glares he threw her way anytime she managed get within a couple feet of him.
She wasn’t even the sole focus of all that intensity. Zion rangers had all learned to keep their distance, going out of their way to avoid partnering up with Branch as much as possible.
But there were times when she swore she could feel his eyes on her. Watching her every move. It came in goose bumps and shivers throughout the days she worked the trails. But the moment she tried to catch him, he’d be gone. Halfway convincing her she imagined it.
Tanned skin accentuated the rise and valley of muscle in Branch’s forearms as he settled the victim’s remains in the body bag.
Victim. That was what Sarah Lantos was now. Her fall hadn’t been an accident; she’d been stabbed. Another murder to add to the books while the park was just barely recovering from the last one.
Branch shoved to his full height, around six-four. An entire intimidating foot taller than her frame, and every cell in her body took notice. Her brain had no trouble imagining what it would feel like to have all that muscle pressed against her, howhe could easily toss her from one end of her trailer to the other. How he’d take control and—
Crap. He was looking at her with those dark eyes again, as if she’d broadcasted her thoughts.
She let a sugar-sweet smile take its place on her face. Innocent. Unbothered. Airheaded. Lila knew exactly what Branch thought of her—what every ranger in this park thought of her, including Risner—and she let them. Despite her unrequited crush on the man currently scoffing at her, it was far better for all of them to keep their distance than to see through the mask.
Risner clapped his hands together as if he’d done a lick of work helping that poor woman into the body bag. “Jordan, I want you to take Branch up to Scout Lookout and see what you can find by way of evidence. Now that we know our hiker was stabbed, there might be something there we can hand over to law enforcement. Get this taken care of and make sure to clear the trail while you’re at it.”
Noooooooo.It took everything Lila had not to growl. Or to look at the man who frequently starred in the wayward fantasies she used to get herself to sleep every night. Her skin felt too hot and too tight at the same time as she shifted her weight between her boots. Any time spent alone with Branch Thompson would only end in frustration and an emptiness she hadn’t figured out how to get rid of. “I think you meant Sayles. Or…” Lila searched for someone—anyone—she could put in Risner’s path, but they’d all taken to crowd control or running while they had the chance. Cowards. “…anyone else.”
“Right. Wouldn’t want you to chip your manicure.” Branch’s smirk only served to up her heart rate.
Hot anger pushed to the surface. She didn’t give a damn about her manicure. Lila took a step toward him but stopped herself short of pummeling that smirk off his face. She’d builtthis facade for a reason. She couldn’t break, but for some reason she couldn’t fathom, he’d somehow gained the ability to pry up her carefully laid scales.
Adding a psychotic twist to her smile, Lila locked her gaze on him. “I’ve been washing bloodstains off my clothes for years. Yours wouldn’t be a burden.”
Branch’s mouth hitched higher. Almost into a smile. If a grizzly bear summoned from the bowels of hell was capable of smiling.
“Jordan, move. Now. And how many times do I have to tell you to stop altering your uniform? Get rid of the pink, or I’m writing you up a third time. We’re federal agents. It’s time you start acting like it, or I will find someone who can follow orders.” Risner headed after the medical examiner and the body strung between her and another ranger. “For crying out loud. You look like someone threw up a bottle of Pepto Bismol.”
Her jaw ached from the pressure of her clenched back teeth. Heat that had nothing to do with the arching sun burned in her neck and cheeks. It was true Risner had a dedicated dislike for her pink accessories, but it’d been months since his last reprimand. And she hated that it had to be in front of Branch. The urge to pull at her kerchief brought her hand to her neck, but she caught herself before giving in. The pink was ridiculous. She knew that, but without it…
Lila turned for the trail that would take her and Branch up the ascent. “We better get moving if we want to make it to the top before sunset.”
She didn’t bother looking to see if he followed. She could feel him at her back. If she was being honest with herself, she could always feel him. Like her body had somehow attuned to his since her crush had started all those months ago. Traitor.
Though he kept his distance. He always did.
Her usual need to fill the silence failed as she ascended the melty rocks leading onto the permitted portion of the trail.Third time’s the charm.Now that the medical examiner had concluded Sarah Lantos had been murdered, they’d have to ensure every hiker they encountered left the trail as soon as possible. A killer was on the loose. And it could be anyone, but that was for the law enforcement rangers to deal with. All she had to do was search for evidence Sarah Lantos hadn’t gone over that cliff by accident.
“Does he always talk to you like that?” Branch’s voice cut through the incessant spiral of thoughts in her head.
It took her a moment to remember this wasn’t her every day shift. That she wasn’t out here alone and that she had a persona to uphold. Dang. She was losing her touch. Or maybe some of Branch’s personality had rubbed off on her today. “Who? Risner? He’s the district ranger. I think being an ass is part of his job description.”
A growl reached her ears, and she found herself searching the trail for a wild animal. Then realized it came from Branch. Why did she all of a sudden want to feel that growl vibrate through her? Oh, maybe she could add that to her sleep fantasies tonight.
She swallowed the groan working up her throat. Pathetic. This whole crush was just pathetic. Nothing would ever happen between her and Branch Thompson. He’d made that perfectly clear by practically inflating a five-foot-wide bubble between him and everyone around him. The longer she deluded herself that she could break through, the sooner she’d have to check herself into a psychiatric ward. “This next section is a lot steeper than the first half. You’re going to want to take your time on the switchbacks. Burning out before you get to the top will only slow us down.”
No answer.
Lila subtly—as subtly as she could—craned her chin over one shoulder to ensure she hadn’t been talking to herself for thepast few minutes. Yep. Branch was still there. Not even looking remotely out of breath or sweaty.All righty then.
