Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, October 3
Over an hour later, Kenzie parked next to the charred ground where the SUV had burned this morning. What had Agent Rick Martinez been doing up here while he was on probation?
Kenzie’s pulse thrummed with adrenaline, recalling the message from SSA Irons as they’d left Seattle. “The case is yours, Harper. Liaise with DEA. Try not to ruffle too many feathers. And get this case solved yesterday.”
The weight of Irons’ mandate tempered her excitement, grounding her in the reality of the challenge ahead. This was more than just a case; it was a test of her capabilities, a proving ground she couldn’t afford to fail.
Yet, as she glanced toward Derek, the storm brewing next to her, Kenzie felt the personal stakes rise. The tension between them, thick and electric, unsettled her in ways she wasn’t accustomed to. Derek’s silence was a loud declaration of his stance on joining her team.
Attempting to break the ice, Kenzie ventured, “That was some expert level silent treatment on that drive, Derek. But I grew up with brothers. Shaun Jr. once didn’t talk to me for an entire month. It was actually pretty awesome, because he was a jerk.” She watched him closely, hoping for a crack in his armor.
To her relief, Derek’s lips twitched, betraying his attempt to suppress a smile. The small victory warmed her, even as he sighed heavily and climbed out of the car without a word.
Kenzie pulled her backpack out, unzipping the top pocket to drop her keys in. Her gaze landed on the brass compass nestled in the pocket. She swept a finger across its smooth surface. When Derek gave her the gift on a mountain pass in Glacier, she’d been so sure this team was the right path for her. Now Derek’s hesitation was giving her serious misgivings. Did he think she couldn’t lead this team? A familiar doubt crept into her belly. The same doubt her father had expressed when she joined the FBI instead of local law enforcement, like the rest of the family.
Kenzie’s fingers trembled as she zipped up the pocket.
“Let’s get moving.” Kenzie threw back her shoulders. She was determined to show she could lead this team and get results. She would prove to SSA Irons, Finley, Derek, her father, and the whole damn world that she could do it. “I’m ready.” Kenzie pulled on her pack.
Derek adjusted his much larger pack and positioned a can of bear spray near his hip for easy access.
Kenzie’s gaze locked on the canister. “You worried about bears?”
“Pays to be prepared,” Derek said. “They don’t have grizzlies here, just black bears.”
Kenzie really didn’t want any encounters with bears today. Last summer’s interaction with a grizzly sow and her ginormous cub had been enough for a lifetime.
“What exactly are you hoping to find?” Derek lifted the yellow crime scene tape flapping in the stiff breeze. Kenzie stepped under and shivered. The forest was growing colder as evening approached.
“The bag of clothes was still in the car, so I assume Martinez and Tori never made contact. Maybe he crashed the car before she arrived and she stayed hidden in the woods?” Kenzie asked.
Had Tori shown up late to the meeting and found Martinez dead? Had she watched the car burn from the trees, unable to help? Was Tori still out there?
“Maybe he had help crashing the car,” Derek pointed out.
Kenzie frowned. “Am I having a bad influence on you? That’s a very suspicious thought for you, Ranger Reese.”
Though she was trying to lighten the mood, Derek looked worried about the possibility she was having an influence on him. That stung a little.
“We’ve only got a few hours of daylight left, and we aren’t hiking here in the dark.” Derek’s voice was firm, and she recognized his Ranger Rick ‘safety first’ tone.
Kenzie stared at the impenetrable woods. “Where do we even start?”
Derek walked in a wide arc around the small dirt parking lot. Finally, he stopped and pointed into the dark forest. “Something went this way. Could have been a deer, or a firefighter this morning.”
“Or our missing DEA agent,” Kenzie said, anticipation rising in her gut. “Let’s go.”
She followed him into the thick trees. “How do you know something came through here?”
Derek pointed to a shrub. “Notice how the end of this branch is broken and dangling? Something big enough to break it brushed close by.”
“Did NPS teach you how to track?”
Derek shook his head. “Mostly, I’ve learned from Logan. He’s been tracking with his family since he was a little kid. I’m nowhere near his level.”
Little daylight filtered beyond the thick canopy of branches above. Hounded by the wind, leaves fell around them in a kaleidoscope of color. Dry, brittle leaves crunched loudly underfoot, shattering the silence of the woods. It was such a remote location. Why was Martinez meeting Tori here? And why wouldn’t she reach out to anyone at the DEA if she’d found her handler dead? Had Tori’s cover been blown?
The tunnel of trees pressed in further and she rolled her shoulders under her pack to shake off the claustrophobia. I’m not afraid of the woods.
She pushed on.
A crack split the air and a small branch fell from a tree several yards away. Kenzie barely suppressed her scream. Her heart raced, and she sucked in the musty scent of the decaying forest. Recognizing the signs of a panic attack, she stopped and closed her eyes.
The image of the sunrise in Glacier took longer to conjure than it usually did. Images of Tori being tortured flashed through her mind. She struggled to paint the brilliant orange and pink sunrise over them.
I can’t help her if I lose my shit out here.
Slowly, her control returned, and her breathing slowed. When she opened her eyes, Derek’s green gaze pierced right through her. She shook her head to indicate she was fine. He pressed his lips together and spun back to his trail.
He returned to his silent treatment, moving deeper into the woods. Thirty minutes later, only Derek’s occasional call of “hey bear” as they approached a blind corner on the trail had broken their uncomfortable silence. Even being pissed at her couldn’t trump his need to follow every freaking safety rule. His desire to do the right thing didn’t jibe with his refusal to join her team. It puzzled her and damned if she ever let puzzles get the best of her.
Emerging from the trees, she found herself on a game trail. Skirting the edge of an enormous pile of rocks, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Ahead of her, Derek shortened his stride. Had he sensed her unease or did he feel something too?
He was studying the rocks above them intently.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I could have sworn we were being watched, but I don’t see anything.”
“Same.”
Derek walked beside her now as the trail opened up. The rocky shelf wrapped around to their right, and Derek kept a sharp eye above them. To their left, the trail dropped away steeply, tumbling down hundreds of feet toward the valley below. Kenzie glimpsed blazing yellow punctuating a sea of dark green below them, lit by the late afternoon sun. It would be dark soon.
Derek’s hand captured her wrist.
Kenzie gasped. Ahead stood a woman with long, dark hair. Her back was to them, her green rain jacket out of place in the dry woods. Kenzie’s pulse raced. Tori?
Flanking the woman were two young boys, neither coming higher than her waist. The woman wasn’t much taller than Kenzie’s five foot five. Kenzie sucked in a breath as she saw what had caught Derek’s attention. A mountain lion crouched twenty feet in front of the trio.
“Shit,” Kenzie breathed.
“Don’t move, ma’am. Park ranger, coming up behind you,” Derek called in a confident voice.
The woman jumped, but to her credit, never looked back. Her hands tightened on each little boy’s shoulder.
Kenzie and Derek walked cautiously toward them. “I don’t suppose bear spray doubles as kitty spray?” Kenzie whispered.
“If you can hit a moving target.”
“Will a handgun kill it?”
“Probably, but they’re fast. I’d rather avoid that though.” Derek never took his gaze off the cat. “Ma’am, I’m Ranger Reese and this is Agent Harper. I need you to do exactly as I say.”
“Si,” she said, nodding to show her understanding.
The cat crouched deeper as Kenzie and Derek flanked the trio, golden eyes watching closely. She tried to remember what Derek had told her about dealing with mountain lions, certain he’d given her a lecture at some point. Don’t run. It’ll trigger a chase response.
The big cat took an inching step toward them, eyes fixed on the small boy next to Kenzie.
“Pick up a kid and try to look big,” Derek said sharply. He stepped between them and the cat.
Kenzie glanced at the woman beside her, and her heart sank. Not Tori.
Kenzie swept the small boy up onto her hip. He must have been four or five and wiggled in her arms. She squeezed tighter and whispered, “I’m a friend. Stay still.”
The woman picked up the older boy and murmured something. With his legs clamped around her waist, the boy in Kenzie’s arms became motionless. The cat crouched lower.
Kenzie nearly jumped out of her skin when Derek suddenly called loudly, “Hey cat, go on now. Go on.” He clapped his hands above his head several times. The cat cringed at each sound.
Kenzie gripped the boy hard on her left side, keeping her right free to go for her gun. She stepped slightly to the right to give herself a line of fire past Derek. She lifted her right arm high to make herself look bigger. The woman instantly copied her, as did the boy in her arms. Kenzie’s child clung to her like a tick.
“Go on now, get out of here!” Derek shouted again, stomping his foot.
The cat shook its head, and Derek shouted again. The mountain lion stared at them with hungry eyes, fixated on the small boy in Kenzie’s arms. Her heart beat faster and she stood on her toes to make herself even bigger.
Derek took a threatening step toward the cat, and it didn’t flinch. He pulled his bear spray from his belt. “Everyone yell!” he shouted back at them, clearly worried the mountain lion hadn’t retreated.
Kenzie and the woman shouted for the cat to go away. The boy in her arms stayed silent, but the other boy shouted in Spanish at the cat. The cat ducked its head against the noise, finally twisting its long golden body and bounding away into the woods.
Kenzie took a moment to let her pulse slow, then looked down at the boy she carried. “Good job, buddy.”
The woman beside her released a shuddering breath as she set down the older boy. “Thank you,” she said in accented English.
Derek monitored the forest as he called back to them. “Everyone okay?”
“We’re okay,” Kenzie said.
The boy in Kenzie’s arms reached for his mother and she handed him over. She’d carried around boxes of case reports that weighed more than the boy. The kids could use a haircut and the jeans on the older one hovered around his ankles, like he had outgrown them. The family smelled like woodsmoke and stale sweat, making her wonder where their backcountry campsite was. Maybe the woman had seen Tori.
“What’s your name?” Kenzie asked.
The woman’s eyes lowered to the ground, and she murmured, “Maria.”
“I’m Kenzie, that’s Derek. Are you staying near here?”
“Si.”
“We’re looking for a missing woman. Have you seen anyone traveling alone or maybe with others?”
Maria’s brown eyes widened, and she glanced nervously at the kids. “No one but you.”
The boys kept silent. Kenzie had never seen young boys be so quiet. In her family, boys their age would be playing and shouting. The cat had likely scared them as much as her. Her heart still galloped.
Derek appeared beside them. “Looks like he took off.”
“Who?” Kenzie asked.
“The cat,” he said, giving her an odd look.
Maria frowned. “I have not seen one here before. Thank you.”
Derek smiled. “I’m glad we were here.”
“You are looking for someone?” Maria asked, hesitantly.
Kenzie sharpened her gaze, but kept quiet. Derek was the people person.
He nodded. “A missing federal agent. We think she might be lost near here.”
Or kidnapped.
“Federale?” She murmured, then straightened. “I am sorry, but no.” She looked toward the forest. “We may go?”
Derek must be losing his touch. Usually, people opened up to him, but Maria seemed anxious to be on her way.
“Where are you camping?” Kenzie asked, infusing casualness into the question.
“Not far. We should go before dark.”
No details.
Derek turned a serious gaze on Maria. “Keep the kids close to you. Mountain lions will go after children, but not usually adults. Look big, be loud. If you come across one again, have the kids unzip their jackets and lift them up and above their heads, it’ll make them look bigger.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“Bye guys,” Derek said, waving at the kids. Both ducked their heads and pressed close to their mother.
Kenzie and Derek stood in silence as the little family disappeared into the trees.
Derek’s brow furrowed in concern. “Something was off about that situation.”
“Agreed. Those kids looked scared to death of you. Domestic abuse, maybe? I should have given her my card.” Kenzie kicked the ground.
“I meant the mountain lion. It was pretty bold to hold its ground like that with so many people here.”
The wind moaned through the trees, and cold air washed through her fleece jacket. Shadows stretched long as the sun approached the horizon. She had no interest in being out here after dark, especially after their run in with the not so scared mountain lion. Kenzie was going to dream about those watchful golden eyes tonight.
Kenzie met Derek’s gaze and said softly, “What if you hadn’t been here? This team needs you.”
His lips pressed together, but worry flickered across his handsome face.
Kenzie pivoted back the way they’d come. “I’m calling Lucas when we get back.”
“Why?” He trailed behind. She knew he was watching for the cat.
She strode faster, eager to get away from the area in case the cat returned. “So my little brother and his search and rescue dog can come put on a live display of their skills, and help us find Tori.”
If they weren’t already too late.