Page 46 of Claiming Ours (Anchor Bay #2)

LIAM

C areful to keep my distance to not disrupt any remaining evidence, I slowly circled the body for a third time, hoping to notice something I didn’t on the two previous passes.

I glanced over to where Baylee sat on a rock with Memphis kneeling in front of her, tending to the scrapes and other wounds that marked her legs.

A rumbling growl vibrated in my chest. The dog, watching my every move, shifted at the sound, the fur along his spine standing up. I huffed and shook my head, running a palm down my face, and refocused on the body.

There were several deep gashes on her head and face, but her hiking gear kept me from documenting additional wounds. A thin layer of silt covered the clothes, her skin, and even clumped in her long hair where it splayed around her head.

“The way the mud is deposited, I suspect she was here through the storms, and the washout from above left this sediment.”

“We need to call in help,” Baylee said, meeting my gaze.

“This wasn’t an accident. I can feel it.

” She pointed at the dog. “Look at his muzzle. That’s dried blood there and on his chest. My theory is he attacked whoever hurt her.

” She jabbed that single finger at the dead woman.

“It’s too close to the Soul Trail to be a coincidence. ”

I nodded. “But we’re at least two, maybe three miles away. What the hell was she doing out here?”

“Running for her life,” Baylee grumbled under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

Memphis chuffed. “Either way, we can’t leave her here.”

“Or Hank,” Baylee demanded, crossing her arms that once again got tangled up in my shirt, making her huff in annoyance.

“Or Hank,” Memphis repeated, grinning.

I almost did too, only to remember the sheer panic and terror from earlier when I woke up and she wasn’t beside me. I ground my teeth to keep from yelling at the top of my lungs, the pressure desperate to be released.

“The satellite phone is back at the campsite. We’ll go together, and I’ll call it in.”

Oliver and Hudson needed to see this. Baylee’s theory of this not being a tragic hiking accident was a solid one. Since those two headed up the missing women investigations, they would be my first call.

I eyed the dog. “What are we going to do about him?” From what I’d witnessed as we followed him, his back leg was too injured to make the hike back down on his own. “He’ll need a stretcher or something.”

“I call ‘not it’ on loading the bloody husky onto a stretcher to haul him from his owner’s body, which he has clearly been protecting.”

I grimaced, knowing Memphis had a point. The body showed no signs of animal activity, which was odd unless the dog had kept watch over it to ensure she wasn’t disturbed. My heart broke for the animal even though he’d lured my girl into the woods alone.

I rubbed at my chest to ease the ache thinking about losing Baylee caused. Nope, not going there. Not if I wanted to stay sane or not handcuff us together.

“Would you be okay wearing a tracker?” I asked out of the blue. Memphis’s hands stilled, and they both slowly turned to stare at me. “What?”

Memphis barked out a laugh, and Baylee just smirked while shaking her head in disbelief.

Not sure why they found that funny.

“I don’t like the idea of you going back without me.” Memphis cleared his throat and sent me a pointed glance from where he rolled up the tarp we’d used for the shelter. I inclined my head his way, acknowledging the poor word choice. “Without us .”

“You’ve only said that a few dozen times since you called Oliver.

” Baylee’s hand stilled on the horse’s flank.

“But I want to get Hank into the clinic, assessed, and X-rayed as soon as possible.” She twisted to see where the dog lay.

“If that back leg is fractured, the sooner I can get it mended, the better the outcome. Plus, Hank knows me, and I can keep him calm on the way down. Well,” she added with a shrug, “me and the sedative I plan to give him.”

“Explain to me again how you met Hank and his owner.” Memphis dropped the rolled-up tarp by the rest of the gear, eyeing the horses like they might attack him at any moment.

Baylee’s nose scrunched, and a deep line formed between her blonde brows. I fought the urge to kiss the tip of her nose, then take her lips with mine, nibble down her throat, and keep going until my tongue and lips were coated with the flavor of her.

“It was five or six days ago, maybe. She planned to leave the following morning to hike the Soul Trail. I told her to be careful,” Baylee murmured, a sad expression overtaking her features, “but she said Hank would never let something happen to her. That was why we met. She came by the clinic to get him checked over before they headed out.”

“We’ll figure it out, Little Bit,” I said, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck to pull her close, planting a kiss to her temple.

“But at what cost?” she asked, looking up at me, those big crystal blue eyes pleading with me. “How many more women or their male partners or dog companions have to get hurt before we figure this out, Liam? We’re into double digits, and that’s just on our side of the trail.”

Her shoulders rounded in what looked like defeat.

With a single finger under her chin, I tipped her face up to mine. “Don’t do that. Don’t give up.”

“I’m just sad.” She sniffed. “Sad for her. She was so fun and kind. And Hank.” Tears dripped from the corners of her eyes. “What’s going to happen to him now?”

I started to respond, but the sound of footsteps had me spinning, gun in hand and ready to take out any threat to my family.

I slow-blinked at that thought. Family. It felt right, the word describing exactly what the two behind me had started to represent. Well, Baylee for a while now and, shocking me completely, Memphis now too.

“Put that shit away,” Oliver called out as he stepped into the clearing. “You’re the one who called us, remember?”

My chest moved with the annoyed huff as I holstered my weapon.

Oliver, followed by Hudson and Ethan, strode toward us and then froze at the low, menacing growl that came from my side.

Surprise laced through me at Hank standing on my right, stance rigid as if prepared to fight at my side against the new unknown threats.

“Easy, buddy,” I murmured, the way I would to skittish horses. “They’re friend, not foe.”

“Is that blood on his mouth?” Hudson asked, pointing at Hank.

“Yep, so don’t fuck with him. Come on.” I motioned for them to follow me. “I’ll show you where the body is so you can get started. Did you bring a body bag and stretcher like I asked?”

Ethan appeared at my side opposite Hank and patted the stuffed pack strapped to his back. “I have all that in here. Oliver hauled in the detective-y shit he and Hudson need to gather any evidence.”

“Not sure how much we’ll find considering the storms the last few days, but we figured it was worth a shot,” Hudson added from somewhere behind me.

We didn’t speak another word as we weaved through the trees toward the dead woman.

The sound of our boots squelching in the saturated ground and the roar from the raging water below just emphasized Hudson’s point from earlier.

They would be lucky to get any evidence off the body, much less the surrounding area.

“Damn,” Oliver murmured when we approached the woman. He took off his hat out of respect and held it over his heart. “You mentioned on the phone that Baylee met her in Anchor Bay?”

“Once. She took her dog in to see her at the clinic before she left for the hike.”

“We’ll need her help to identify the victim if we don’t find any ID on her.” Resituating his ball cap, he turned in a slow circle, inspecting the area with a trained, critical eye. “If she was hiking and fell, her pack should be around here somewhere.”

“Or it tumbled down into the ravine and was swept away in the floodwaters,” Hudson suggested. “But I don’t think that’s what any of us believe happened here.”

“If not, then we need to find her campsite,” Ethan stated, studying the area while actively not looking at the woman.

“She wouldn’t have gone this far off the trail to camp, especially not here.

If she came for the Soul Trail, alone, then she was an experienced hiker and knew this entire area would be dangerous considering the weather. ”

“Let’s spread out, gather any potential evidence, and bag it, no matter how insignificant we think it might be,” Oliver commanded.

I studied the deputy sheriff for a moment, noting the dark bags under his eyes and the slump to his shoulders. Coming to stand beside him, I crossed both arms over my chest and released a heavy breath.

“You look like shit,” I murmured.

“I feel like shit. We’ve got nothing, Liam. Nothing but more missing women, and now this innocent victim left out here like fucking trash. It’s my job to keep people safe in this town, and look at me,” Oliver snapped. “Fucking failing everyone.”

“You’re not fucking failing. You and Hudson are doing what you can. That’s all you can do with what we know so far.”

He nodded, but it was clear he didn’t believe me.

“Did you ever find out why your dad is so against making all this public?”

Oliver released an incredulous laugh and ripped the Texas Rangers baseball cap off his head in obvious frustration.

“Nope. He’s sticking with not wanting people to panic, but all it’s doing is allowing more victims to go out onto the trail, not knowing the danger that’s out there.

It’s fucking bullshit, and I’m pissed but can’t do anything about it. ”

“Pissed enough to suggest he retire and you take the sheriff’s job?”

He shot me a doubtful look. “You know it’ll take more than me to get him out of that seat. But I wish he would step down on his own. I used to have respect for him, when he actually cared about the safety of the residents of Anchor Bay and not how the town appeared to tourists.”

“And now?” I questioned.

“Now that respect is almost gone with how he continues to hinder the investigation.”

“We need to know why, Oliver. I know he’s your dad, but that’s shady as fuck.”

He offered a reluctant nod and situated the hat back on his head. “I will, but first I need one damn lead in this investigation.” He gazed down at the dead woman, sympathy filling his brown eyes. “I can’t let this happen again, not to someone else.”

We went silent as Hudson approached while sealing an evidence bag. He held the plastic baggie up for both Oliver and me to inspect.

“Found this over there.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Must be hers.”

Edge of the thin plastic between my fingers, I angled the baggie, deflecting the sun’s glare to better see the silver chain and feather charm inside. I furrowed my brow as I studied the necklace, feeling like I’d seen something similar before, but shook it off when Ethan approached.

“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 of the 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 take doing 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.