Mountain Ranger Recon

“I’m sure Matt’s already looked him up, probably even called his hotel. I know his name was Hans, at least that’s what he told me.” She placed her palms flat on the table, as if to still their worried motion. “Do you think he’s involved?”

“There’s only one way to find out. We need to locate him and ask him a few pointed questions.”

“We can at least help with that.” Jensen drummed his fingers on the table in a staccato beat. “We’ll search his hotel room and put a call out for his rental car, if he has one.”

Ian nodded. “I appreciate that, Deputy Jensen.”

The door burst open and Cahill huffed and puffed at the entrance to the office. “That Colonel Scripps is as closed-mouth as you are Dempsey, but you both check out. I mean, as far as I could check you out. Your background is a black hole.”

Ian pushed back from the table. At least Cahill had removed the sneer from his voice when he’d mentioned his name. That had to be an improvement. “If you boys are finished here, I have to make some arrangements for Kayla, and I’m sure Meg has pressing business elsewhere.”

God, he couldn’t even bring himself to mention her son. Every thought of the boy punched him in the gut. They couldn’t leave the subject hanging between them. She knew that he knew. He couldn’t pretend otherwise…even if he wanted to. She’d deem him a coward if he avoided the topic.

Cahill held out the card with the colonel’s number. “You can have this back, Dempsey. Just don’t cause trouble in my town. I don’t want any more unexplained dead bodies turning up, including yours.”

“That’s decent of you, Sheriff.”

“Hell, that’s not decent. Your corpse can turn up anywhere else, just not in Crestville.”

Ian stuck out his hand. “I’ll try my best to die outside of your jurisdiction.”

Cahill squeezed his hand hard. “Appreciate it. Meg, do you need a ride to the emergency room, or is Travis home now?”

“Travis is still in the emergency room and I want to pick him up, but my car’s at the office at the bottom of the mountain. Gabe can take me down in the van.”

Cahill sliced a hand through the air. “By the time Gabe gets you down there, Travis will be home. I’ll take you.”

“I’ll take her. I left my car up here and took the van down earlier, since we were skipping the train.”

Two pairs of eyes, one dark the other bright blue, studied him. Heat suffused Ian’s chest and he battled to keep it out of his face. A minute ago he couldn’t stomach the thought of Meg with a child, someone else’s child. Now he had a burning need to see him. He’d escaped torture by the enemy several times, and now he was prepared to inflict it on himself.

He held his breath, waiting for Meg’s refusal. She had every right to keep him out of this part of her life, out of every part of her life. He’d let her go without a fight, and he’d regretted it every day of his sorry existence after he’d left. He had to pay some kind of penance now, a glimpse into what might have been between them. Hell on earth.

“Okay.” Meg inclined her head, dropping her lashes. “You can give me a ride, Ian.”

Ian swallowed. She seemed almost conciliatory, as if she owed him something. Would she tell him about the boy’s father? Was he still in the picture? Did she want to rub his face in it?

Cahill tugged on Meg’s ponytail. “We’ll talk later. In the meantime, we’ll keep our eye out for the missing hiker, although I’m sure Matt’s already headed back to search for him.”

Meg reached for the door and turned, pinning Ian with her gaze. “Don’t you have to make arrangements for Kayla?”

“I’m sure Colonel Scripps has already started the wheels turning, since the good sheriff here informed him of the circumstances.” Ian tapped his phone in his pocket. “I’ll give him a call and we can work out the details on the way to the hospital.”

Wrinkling her nose, Meg cocked her head. “Are you okay?”

No. He had a sour knot of regret gnawing at his insides for Kayla, and now this child that Meg shared with someone else. Someone worthy of fatherhood.

“It makes me sick to think about Kayla’s family on the other end of this tragedy, but I’m determined to see this through.” He bent his head to whisper in her ear. “For Kayla and Jack.”

“If you need anything else, Pete, you know where to find me. And I’m leading another hike tomorrow.”

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.