It was true. From the time I could talk, Tuck always knew when I wasn’t telling the truth. It was infuriating. I shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
“That’s more like it.” Tuck ripped open an alcohol wipe. “Give me your hands.” I held them out, palms up. “This is going to sting.” He began swiping the cool pad across one palm.
“Oh, frickedy freaking fuck!” It burned like the fires of Hell.
Tuck chuckled. “That’s some creative cursing.” He lifted my palm to his mouth and blew gently, taking away the worst of the sting. Our gazes locked and held. Something crackled between us.
No. No. No.This could not happen. I could not be having any sort of sexy feelings for my best friend.My brother’sbest friend. I opened my mouth to say something—I wasn’t sure what—when the sound of tires on gravel sounded.
Tuck glanced over his shoulder. “My team.” I nodded, still not quite able to find my words. He looked back at me. “I’m sorry you had to be the one to find her.”
I swallowed against the emotion that crept back up my throat. “I’m just glad someone did.” I gripped Tuck’s arm, uncaring that the action stung my palms. “You’re going to find whoever did this, right?”
“I’ll try. But I’m not sure we’ll have much luck. You know how many hunters there are around here.”
I squeezed his arm tighter. “But you’ll do everything you can?”
Tuck’s eyes bored into mine. “I’ll do everything in my power.”
His words were a promise. And Tuck never broke a promise.
9
Tuck
I watchedas Jensen’s SUV disappeared down the dirt road. The tightness in my chest lessened just a fraction. She was safe. She was heading home and would be out of the way of any potential harm.
It had only taken a single word when she called. One word and I had known that something was wrong. My entire body had locked. Now, it could ease. I could focus on what I needed to do.
I hoped that this was just a horrible calamity—someone hunting where they shouldn’t. Thinking a horse was an elk. Something. But my mind flashed back to finding Phoenix shot in a similar fashion. My gut said that none of this was an accident. But Jensen didn’t need to know that until I was sure.
I turned to Mackey and Dominguez. “Let’s go.”
We hiked out to the fallen mare. A muscle in my cheek ticked as I took in the details of the scene, things I hadn’t been able to process when I had been focused on getting Jensen gone.
I held up a hand to keep Mackey and Dominguez back. I needed the crime scene as undisturbed as possible. My experience tracking meant that I might be able to recreate what happened in my mind. I studied where the horse had fallen, did my best to estimate a possible range of trajectory. Then I searched.
My gaze traveled the ground and the surrounding underbrush for any sign of a shooter’s nest. As I focused on the task at hand, the rest of the world melted away.
Time passed without me having any sense of it. Small glimmers of hope flickered in and out as I thought I had found something, only to realize they were animal tracks. My eyes caught on a broken branch. I crouched, studying a patch of compressed underbrush.
A tiny flash of color caught my attention. I pulled out a glove from my back pocket along with an evidence bag. I plucked the cluster of red threads from the bramble and placed it in the plastic bag. I tied a marker to a nearby tree.
I headed back to my team. “There’s a shooter’s nest about twenty yards in. I want you to measure the exact distance and take photos.”
Mackey pulled a camera from her pack. “Got it.”
Dominguez looked at me. “What are you doing?”
Dominguez was hungry. Part of it was a desire to learn and grow as an officer. The other part was impatience for advancement. The first piece I could respect, the second annoyed the shit out of me. “I’m assessing the scene. And checking for signs of other casualties.”
Dominguez straightened. “I could help with that.”
I pinned him with a hard stare. “I gave you your orders. Go help Mackey.”
He held back whatever it was he wanted to say and followed after the female officer.
My gaze roamed the space, my eyes searching for anything that might provide a clue. A tree five feet away caught my attention. It seemed to have an explosion of bark on its trunk. I made my way towards it. Leaning closer, I examined the hole that appeared to have been drilled into it. A flash of metal shone in the sun.
