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“I’ll get her cleaned up. You pack her a bag,” I nodded back in the direction of her room. “We need to get someone from the crime lab to the animal hospital. “Just hearing it made a low sob bubble from Alta’s throat. Clearing my own, I looked over Chandler’s shoulder to focus out the back windows. “Even if that dog were on his last breath, he would’ve fought back. I bet my life and yours that there’s evidence on him. Saving him comes first, then evidence.”

Again Chandler stayed quiet, nodding as I spoke, telling me he heard it all.

Shaking out the numbness in both hands, I reached out and tucked them under Alta’s shoulders and legs. Mixed feelings of relief and trepidation swept through me as I curled her body to my chest.

Shit, she was cold.

My lips pursed at the sight of her blue-rimmed lips and glassy eyes.Shit, shit, shit.Storming to the bathroom, I gently sat her on top of the counter. I steadied Alta with one hand so she didn’t fall while I fumbled blindly behind the shower curtain with the other, turning the faucet all the way hot.

Within seconds, steam billowed through the room.

“I have to get these clothes off you,” I whispered, running a hand down her tangled hair. Blood coated her pretty red sweater and the small patch of exposed pale skin that had tempted me all night. “We need to get you warm.” And clean, but preventing hypothermia was the most important.

Taking her nonresponse as permission, I tugged the sweater off while somehow managing to keep her upright on the counter. The jeans proved challenging, but I managed to get those, her socks and boots off without incident. With a flick of my fingers, her bra fell to the ground, adding to the pile of clothes.

“Alta.” I held her chin and tilted so her glassy gaze met mine. “I’m going to put you in the shower, okay? It might sting at first since you’re so cold, but we have to get you warm.”

The hot water pricked my numb fingers, sending jolts of pain through them as I lowered her into the tub. Angling the shower head for the water to rinse the dried blood and dirt off her arms and chest, I rinsed my hands too. She was still unresponsive, so I shifted through the stupid amount of half-empty bottles along the tub in search for shampoo.

With a muttered curse, I gave up reading the tiny labels and snagged a bottle of something that looked like shampoo, squirting a massive amount into my palm. Gentler than I ever thought I could be, I massaged the soap into her scalp and pulled it down to the tips of her hair. Twigs and leaves floated along the bottom of the tub as I rinsed out the thick suds.

I made quick work of cleaning her face, neck, and chest before tackling her blood-caked hands.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” I muttered under my breath as I scrubbed and rewashed beneath her fingernails to remove the last bits of Benny’s blood.

The color in her cheeks returned, as did the pretty pink tint of her lips as I rinsed her one more time to make sure all evidence of the night was washed down the drain.

The shower handle squeaked as I shut it off.

“I need you to stand up so I can dry you off,” I whispered against her wet ears. “I can’t do this without your help.”

Her faint nod was all the acknowledgment she gave before leaning forward and using the sides of the tub as leverage to help her stand. Easing her out, I wrapped a large multicolored towel around her shoulders. With another, I kneeled at her feet to wipe up the streams of water still pouring off her onto the wet floor.

Steam billowed from the bathroom as we stepped out into the small hallway. Chandler wisely kept his eyes on his cell phone as we shuffled toward her room.

“Everything all set?”

“Just waiting for you two,” he said with a sigh. “Working on the evidence piece now.”

Less than five minutes later, I had her dressed in some old sweat pants I found in a bottom drawer and my marine’s sweatshirt that was discarded on the floor.

Alta in my arms, I marched out of the cabin with Chandler at my side, gun at the ready. Neither of us relaxed until we were situated in the Suburban with the doors locked. It was a false sense of security, but it was better than being in the cabin, where the asshat had already proved he could break in and do whatever the hell he wanted.

I needed to tell her about the note we had found inside, but not now. Hell, she wouldn’t even remember it right now. Still not a single word. And who could blame her? Fuck,Iwas traumatized, and I’d known the dog only a little over a week.

Curled against my chest, Alta shifted to taking deep and even breaths halfway to our cabin.

“She fell asleep,” I murmured to Chandler as we pulled to a stop.

“That’s good. It’s been a hell of a day for her,” he said, sounding just as exhausted. “I feel like a complete fuckup that I haven’t caught this guy yet, for her sake.”

“It’s not your fault,” I sighed, tugging her closer. “This guy is so fucking evasive, but we’ll get him. I’m willing to bet my left nut that Benny scored us some blood evidence of some kind.”

“I’ve never seen you like this, so connected.” Back against the driver door, he watched me watch her. “Not many women can put up with our level of issues.” His eyes shifted to look out the windshield. “I think it’d be nice to find someone who knew how fucked up you were but wanted you just the same. And after getting to know that one in your arms, I don’t think it has anything to do with her past. It’s just her. She’s so naïve, so innocent that she only sees the good in us.”

“Yeah.” Careful not to wake her, I brushed a lock of strawberry-blonde hair from her forehead. “Nothing can happen to her.”

“Nothing will happen to her.”