Page 61 of Kiss of Deceit

After shooting me a scathing glare, he spun around. Adella and I followed as we walked between the buildings before stepping onto the trail, leading into the forest. The snow covered the path, but I’d lived here long enough to know where to step by memory.

“Jealousy?” Adella breathed out, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “You have it bad for the intern.”

I clenched my jaw. “I’m not jealous. I’m doing what any decent man would.”

“Sure.” Sarcasm was thick in her voice, but she didn’t say anything more. We moved deeper into the forest, shadows casting over us. The pine trees were covered in thick snow, making everything sparkle when streams of sunlight cut through.

Riggs didn’t look back at us once as he stomped through the snow. After ten more minutes, his steps slowed. He blew out a long breath, coming to a halt. Knots coiled in my stomach as I stopped beside him.

“I fucking slipped in it,” he grumbled. “That’s how it got on my jacket.”

The snow was stained red from the massive puddle of blood. I swallowed thickly, searching the surrounding area. Adella grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin.

“That’s too much blood,” she hissed, a note of fear in her voice. “If it’s not animal blood?—”

“Then we have another death in this town,” I finished. “Fuck.”

Riggs rubbed the back of his neck before pulling out another cigarette. I bit my tongue to keep from snagging one. I’d quit smoking years ago, but after the last few weeks, the cravings had returned.

“I thought a hunter just left a mess,” Riggs muttered. “But it doesn’t make any sense. If an animal was gutted here, there’d be a lot more than just blood.”

He was right. There was no evidence this was from an animal. My eyes darted to the closest tree, noticing smeared blood on the bark. I crept closer to the blood, circling it. Adella stood there with her arms crossed, her eyes not leaving the red mess.

I looked at Riggs. “Go get Harry. He needs to see this.”

“I thought he was passed out. I’ll just go to the station?—”

“No,” I cut in sharply. “He’s the fucking sheriff. He gets to deal with it.”

Riggs snickered. “Is there a reason you don’t want me talking to the intern?”

A rush of heated anger shot down my spine. “She’s not law enforcement. Go get Harry.”

My eyes stayed on his until he blew out a harsh laugh, spinning around and stomping away. Adella stepped where I’d already walked to avoid getting her shoes any wetter as she got closer.

She pointed to the right. “There’s a trail of it.”

“I know. Let’s see where it leads.”

She stayed behind me as I followed the small droplets of blood. My pulse thudded when I noticed a set of shoe prints. It looked close to my size boot. I guessed whoever was walking out here was a man. Some blood was smeared with the shoe prints, and at first, I followed it deeper into the forest before circling back. The back of my neck prickled as we got closer to town.

“No body,” Adella mumbled from behind me. “So much blood. Where did it come from?”

“Whodid it come from?” I gritted out. “I’d bet money it’s not from an animal.”

“If this doesn’t end, then others will get involved,” she muttered. “Harry can’t take care of this himself. The FBI will come to investigate if there are more murders.”

“I know.”

“The town won’t be the same.”

I sighed. “No, it won’t. Let’s hope the asshole is caught before it comes to that.”

We got to the edge of the woods, and I stopped, scanning the row of townhomes in front of me. Most of the backyards weren’t fenced, revealing the back patios where a few had grills and small fire pits. The tracks seemed to end right here. I stepped into the last visible set of shoe prints to figure out what this person was looking at.

“Umm…isn’t that your house?” Adella asked hesitantly.

“Yes.”