Page 5 of Disappearance at Angel's Landing
The switchbacks were the worst, in her opinion. Steep angles, lots of effort, with very little actual elevation gain. Though she didn’t hate the hardpacked trail that saw millions of visitors.
Within another thirty minutes, the landscape angled upward as they approached Scout Lookout. Her legs shook under the effort. Three ascents in one day wasn’t unheard of for a regular shift, but this one felt different. She didn’t want to credit that feeling to the man easily keeping pace with her a few feet back. Instead, she’d pretend it had everything to do with the hiker she’d helped put in a body bag less than a few hours ago. She was good at pretending.
Chains swung ahead of her with a rogue gust of wind. No matter how many times she hiked this trail, there was always a chance she wouldn’t make it back down to the Grotto, but a sense of calm settled along her spine.
It had nothing to do with Branch. Nope.
They crested the lookout of Angel’s Landing, and Lila set out to ruin the days of three groups of hikers while Branch searched the perimeter of the plateau. No one wanted to spend four hours hiking Zion’s most popular trail in one-hundred-degree heat only to be told to go back once you reached the top, but she couldn’t take the chance of losing something that might point to Sarah Lantos’s killer.
Sarah had set off to climb Angel’s Landing at six this morning. She could’ve been stabbed anytime between ten and now, leaving a whole lot of time for visitors—or the killer—to compromise evidence of the attack.
There was only one place Sarah Lantos could’ve been stabbed: directly above where her body had been found.
“She was stabbed and thrown over here.” Branch stared straight down the cliffside.
“How can you be sure?” Lila stretched her gaze over the side of the cliff, just as she had earlier. Except there was no bright yellow marker telling her a hiker had gone over the edge. There was nothing but the shimmering surface of the Virgin River below and the riverside trail. “The medical examiner moved the body.”
He pointed between his feet, a couple inches past the chain lining the lookout. “Because the ground here is stained with blood.”
Chapter Four
Something had shifted.
Branch couldn’t put his finger on it as he studied Lila across the expanse of dirt that was Scout Lookout. Law enforcement rangers were en route to contain the scene and analyze the blood he’d discovered, but with the sun sinking below the horizon, it would take more than the usual four hours before he and Lila could distance themselves from this trail. Leaving nothing but the two of them and a path of budding stars in the east.
The entire hike to this point had coiled dread so thick in his gut he’d been able to taste the bitterness at the back of his throat. Being alone with Lila Jordan had never worked out in his favor. Her impulsivity, meddling in other peoples’ affairs and lack of discipline had left him with more than a few migraines at the end of a shift. Every aspect of her personality sat in opposition to his. It was one of the reasons he’d gone out of his way to ensure their schedules never coincided. He’d managed to switch days and trails with the other park rangers, but Risner had ordered the two of them to search Angel’s Landing together. Probably to get Ranger Barbie away from the scene down below.
Except Lila hadn’t been her normal upbeat self on the way up. As if she’d forgotten he was there at all, and all that enthusiasm and pink was nothing but a cover. For the first time, his nervous system hadn’t been on the defense around her. He’d been able to relax surrounded by the jaw-dropping views and crystal sky. Nopersonal questions, no attempts to bond, nothing. He’d actually been able to think. About Sarah Lantos, the stab wound, her killer. It’d been…unsettling.
It was no secret Lila had harbored a crush on him these past few months. If he was being honest, most of the female rangers did. He tended to have that effect simply due to the fact he had no real interest in dating or relationships after his divorce. Something about wanting what you couldn’t have. He’d gotten used to their personal crusades to help him break out of his shell, to be the one who got him to open up. Unfortunately for them and the rest of the female population, there was nothing inside but a whole lot of self-destructive rage that threatened to blow any minute. Something he only managed to keep locked up by avoiding others. Saving them the fallout.
Lila kicked at a patch of dirt across the Lookout, keeping to herself as they waited for the law enforcement unit. For some awful reason that didn’t sit well with him. As if he’d become uniquely tuned to her moods. Which was ridiculous. He should be grateful his ears weren’t bleeding from her incessant attempts at humor.
Had the death of a hiker gotten to her? Or had Risner’s earlier reprimand thrown her off her game?
Dislodging his pack, Branch crouched. They’d ascended and cleared Angel’s Landing in five hours and had been waiting for law enforcement for an hour. Not once had he seen her eat anything. Probably some strict diet to control her weight. Wasn’t that why most women starved themselves? But she was likely to pass out, and he had no intention of carrying her off this mountain.
“Eat.” He tossed one of the protein bars he’d packed in her direction.
Surprisingly, she caught it rather than dodge and squeal as he’d expected. Who was this pod person, and what the hellhad she done with Lila? Straightening with the bar in hand, she skimmed her thumbs over the wrapper. “Careful, Branch. Wouldn’t want to chip my manicure. I just touched it up this morning.”
Ah. There she was. He wasn’t sure why he’d bothered. Every ranger in this park was capable of taking care of themselves. They were trained to survive in the wilderness for days on end if necessary and through natural disasters. And yet, by setting aside her zaniness for just a couple minutes, Lila had somehow triggered his instinct to care. A mistake he wouldn’t make again. “I’m not carrying you out of here if you pass out.”
“Aw.” Lila tore into the wrapper, her upper body twisting from one side to the other. A gust of wind whipped her ponytail over one shoulder and consumed his attention as it brushed over her face. “Are you concerned about me, Branch?”
Why did she have to keep repeating his name? His nerves couldn’t take it much longer, going from zero to overdrive in the span of a single word out of her mouth. Branch locked his jaw to regain some semblance of control, but that was the thing about Lila. Anytime he found himself around her, that control didn’t exist. Like she’d subatomically convinced him to forget years of discipline with her free spirit that left him raw and confused and more than a little angry. He forced himself to focus on cinching his bag and not the way his fingers tingled to brush her hair out of her face.
“I think you secretly like me.” She took a bite of the protein bar, chewing with her mouth open while continuing to goad him. “I think all those times you switched shifts with the other rangers to make sure you didn’t have to work with me is because you’re trying to keep your distance when you really don’t want to.”
She knew about that? Hell.
Branch shoved to his feet as flashlights flickered down the trail. They were still a ways out, but law enforcement had arrived to take control of the scene. Releasing him from this hell and the demon trying to work her way under his skin. Satan had done an excellent job when he created Lila Jordan. Personalized just for him. “They’re here.”
“Oh, good. I hope they brought hand warmers.” Lila buried the protein bar wrapper in her pack and clapped her hands before heading toward the group of three flashlights. “I’m freezing my butt off.”
And what a butt it was. He hadn’t been able to avoid getting the perfect view the entire hike up. Say what you will about her eating habits, whatever she was doing had paid off in spades. A tendril of heat spiked through him as he caught another dose. Hell, he was disturbed. In no shape or form should he ever consider Ranger Barbie a good idea. They were coworkers. He’d barely survived his divorce. And she…was everything he didn’t want.
Branch settled his pack in place. He hadn’t noticed the drop in temperatures, too on edge from maintaining the wall he had to continually reinforce between him and Lila, but the cold seemed to rush him now that she’d escaped his orbit.
