Page 22 of Disappearance at Angel’s Landing (Red Rock Murders #2)

Something had changed. In the span of a mere twenty-four hours, Branch had been cracked wide open all over again. Only this time, the pieces were coming together without the need of isolation, hiding or avoidance. All because of the woman standing in front of him.

She’d washed her face free of makeup, leaving nothing but the imperfect beauty beneath.

Hair frizzing free from the ponytail she’d dragged it into, Lila stood against the backdrop of thunder and lightning and the promise of torrential summer rain.

And, damn it, she was perfect. Her uniform had worn through over her ribs, revealing her sleep shirt underneath where bruises darkened smooth skin, and in an instant, he recalled the feeling of the fabric between his fingers.

Recalled how his palm had fit perfectly against her hip, those little breathy sounds she made in her sleep, the guttural moan as he’d kissed her last night.

He’d fallen asleep to the rhythmic rise and fall of her back pressed against his chest, and it’d been the most peaceful night’s sleep he’d gotten in years.

Hell. He could still taste her. A driving, ravenous need to kiss her—to absorb her into his very bones—sucked the oxygen from his lungs, and Branch pushed himself to add another foot of distance between them.

He prided himself on discipline, on control, but everything about this woman urged him to discard every stupid rule he’d set in place to protect himself.

The mere thought terrified him beyond facing Sarah Lantos’s killer.

A smile caught at one corner of her mouth, sending an SOS straight to his nervous system as she studied him.

But even with as much as she’d revealed about herself last night—the assault, her parents’ reaction, her attempt to take her own life—he couldn’t rid himself of the feeling there was something Lila had left out. That he was being left in the dark.

That same feeling had been there in the days leading up to catching his ex-wife with his best friend, then afterward when his ex had admitted she was going to seek an abortion.

It burned low in his stomach, acidic and uncomfortable.

But what could Lila possibly have to keep from him?

They were rangers, had worked together for a mere four months.

They’d only recently crossed the line into something akin to friends—maybe more—and there wasn’t a single cell in his body that believed she owed him a damn thing.

Unless it had something to do with this investigation.

Shit. That thought shot his brain into hyperawareness, assessing every interaction they’d had over the past two days and deconstructing the meaning behind every word out of her perfect mouth.

The paranoia and betrayal he’d shoved in a box made of rage burst free, and in an instant, he was in too deep, drowning.

On the verge of putting himself right back where he didn’t want to be: at the mercy of someone he trusted.

Lila dragged her ponytail over her shoulder and twisted the ends between slender fingers tipped in that chipping manicure.

He wasn’t sure how long she’d been hiding underneath all the pink and rhinestones, but it would take months, if not years, to crawl out from the persona she’d built to shield herself from judgment, hurt and backstabbings.

She’d need support. She’d need him with her every step of the way, but she didn’t trust him.

“I’m not sure anyone has ever stood up to Risner and lived to tell the tale. ”

His mouth dried. Thunder exploded overhead as the clouds moved in. The first rain drops pattered against his scalp and shoulders, and Lila, in all her glory, stared up into the sky as if daring the torrent to do its worst. She closed her eyes against the onslaught without a care in the world.

And wasn’t that kindling to the fire raging inside of him? That she could go through life relying on her impulsiveness, her emotions and meddling without bothering to acknowledge the consequences? How did she get a pass when everyone else had to pay the price for their choices?

Somehow this woman had crawled beneath layers of armor and made herself at home as though she owned the place, and damn it, he was pretty sure she owned him.

After everything she’d been through—everything she’d suffered—she’d managed to bury it all with a smile, cheer for her enemies and push back despite the odds.

But it’d all been a lie. A manipulation.

And if he took that step to keep her, she would only end up breaking him completely.

Branch fisted both hands to stop himself from reaching for her, to feel her rain-slickened skin and wipe the drops from her lips with his mouth.

This resilient creature had shown him what life without pain could look like.

Shown him how to feel comfortable in his skin and move on while driving his invisible knife wounds deeper.

The muscles in his jaw ached under the pressure of his back teeth as he surveyed the storm overhead. To keep himself from memorizing her all over again. Or witnessing Lila break from what had to come next. “Why did Sarah Lantos’s killer want you dead?”

“Well, you sure know how to make a girl feel special.” Lila’s smile slipped as she opened her eyes to study him.

Rain plastered her hair against her face, and Branch’s fingers itched to set it back behind her ear.

To have one last touch. But it would only make this so much harder on both of them.

Her mouth parted on a rough exhale, and she diverted her attention to the ridgeline where the SAR unit would approach from.

As if hoping they would intervene and save her this conversation.

That was only one the red flags Branch noted.

“I don’t presume to know the inner workings of murderers, but I’m guessing I was standing in his way. ”

The lie shoved a bitter, acidic sensation up his throat. “Then why didn’t he just kill you? Why drag you to his campsite?”

“I told you.” Dropping her hands away from her hair, she squared her shoulders to him. “Sarah Lantos fought back. He needed me to patch up a stab wound to his thigh. You were there, weren’t you? Didn’t you see the bloodied gauze?”

Yeah. He had, and it’d driven him nearly out of his mind imagining Lila had been injured.

That her abductor was trying to save her life, but it’d turned out, she’d been trying to save his.

Branch took that step forward, more determined than ever to uncover what she was hiding.

“But you ran. And he followed, even with a stab wound and the risk of bleeding out. He could’ve just shot you.

He had the gun. Why did he chase you down? Why follow you into that cave?”

“Branch, don’t do this.” Her eyes widened, begging him to back off, and right then, he knew. He knew there was something she hadn’t told him about the man they were hunting.

“Why did he want you dead, Ranger Jordan?” Using her title and last name suddenly made it far easier for him to keep his emotions out of this, and physical pain registered on her face.

A flinch of the worst kind. Was that why Risner insisted on calling his female rangers by their last names?

To distance himself from giving a damn about them?

Maybe the man wasn’t sexist, after all. Maybe he’d just learned to not to get emotionally involved.

No, that guy was still an asshole.

The rain picked up, but it did nothing to mask the swell of tears in her eyes or the sweet scent of her skin.

Her tongue darted across her bottom lip.

Only this time Branch wouldn’t let himself get taken in.

“He said I was just like her. Sarah Lantos. That I deserved to suffer for manipulating people into doing what I wanted by convincing them I was something I wasn’t. Is that what you want to hear?”

His gut somersaulted, and he countered his advance. Her lie had been right there, staring him in the face, but he’d refused to let himself see it because of the feelings she’d stirred in him. “You lied to me. When I asked, you told me you didn’t remember anything else from the cave.”

“I didn’t…” She shook her head, then stilled. Branch watched as she connected the dots. Realized her mistake and what it meant. Lila took a step forward but halted as he took one back. Her face drained of color, voice softening. “I didn’t mean to lie to you, I swear. I just—”

“You just what? After everything I told you about my ex-wife, you ended up being just like her, didn’t you?

Willing to do whatever it takes to get your way at the cost of the people around you.

I trusted you to be up front with me, but you may have just compromised this investigation.

The killer’s motives can tell us about the types of victims he targets or his next move.

That information might’ve given us a clue as to where he’s going, and you kept it to yourself because, what?

You didn’t want to confirm what everyone else already knows?

” Branch didn’t wait for an answer, stalking past her.

He was well aware he was searching for an excuse to sever this gut-wrenching need for her out of fear, but he couldn’t afford to risk his heart again.

Ending it now was the only way to protect himself, no matter how much he hated himself for it.

“Wait here for the search party, Ranger Jordan. Tell Risner I’m still on the killer’s trail. ”

“You can’t go out there alone. Branch, please. You’re not in any condition to face him again.” Threading her hand between his arm and rib cage, she fought to stop him in his tracks.

He turned on her with every ounce of disgust he could muster in his expression.

She dropped her hold as if she’d been burned. Her throat worked on a deep swallow. “I’m sorry. Okay? I didn’t want you to think I was that person he accused me of being, the one everyone accuses me of being. I can’t lose you, too.”

“Too late.” Branch lowered his voice, hating himself more than ever before. “Were you even telling the truth about that scar, or was it another way for you to get attention? To make me and the other rangers feel bad for you?”

The words achieved the impact he’d wanted. He’d used her mother’s accusations against her, and Branch couldn’t help but feel he’d gone too far.

“You said you see me.” Her voice barely reached him over the storm throwing her hair in her face. “That I’m not broken.”

This was how he ended it. How he kept what’d happened leading to his divorce from happening again. Every muscle in his body stiffened with self-hatred, but he’d already made the jump. He had to see this through to the end. “I was wrong.”

It took less than three seconds for Ranger Barbie to make an appearance, and he couldn’t stand to watch her rebuild those impenetrable walls. “You’ve exceeded the limits of my medication. So enjoy your next twenty-four hours, Branch Thompson.”

Lila turned on her heel, soaked to the bone, and headed in the direction of Angel’s Landing.

Never one to follow orders. Then again, he’d liked that about her.

Her penchant for doing whatever the hell she wanted had put her on his radar in the first place and secured her position in the investigation into Sarah Lantos’s murder.

But now…now his gut warned him not to let her trudge through the desert during an increasingly violent storm alone. Without his protection.

But hadn’t that been the point? To add this distance—physically and emotionally—between them? So why didn’t he feel better about his decision?

He dug his fingertips into his palms to stop himself from calling after her. Risner would intercept her in the next few minutes. She’d return to headquarters, give her statement of the past two days and go back to the way things were supposed to be. And he’d…move on. Once and for all.

Branch couldn’t go back. Ever. He couldn’t see her patrolling the park every day and not want to get a dose of that smile she seemingly reserved for him or show up at her front door with a couple pints of Cherry Garcia and a romantic comedy from the 2000s.

No. He was going to finish what he started by ensuring the killer didn’t come for Lila again.