LITMIR.BIZ

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wouldn’t put it past the sadistic son of a bitch. When he’d been on the job, he’d dealt with quite a few serial killers. They got nearly as much enjoyment playing mind games with law enforcement as they did killing.

      He glanced down at the dead girl. At least one thing was for certain: Elliot hadn’t killed her. He wouldn’t have been able to manage that from beyond the grave. Unless...

      “You’re already on the case,” Jonah said with a slight smile. “I can see your wheels turning.”

      Forrest glared at his big brother, but he didn’t deny it. Too many thoughts flitted through his mind. Was she one of the people presumed missing because of Hurricane Brooke? Had someone taken advantage of the storm to murder her, thinking that law enforcement would assume she’d been lost in the flooding that had followed the storm?

      Chief Thompson had been moving around the crime scene, talking to the techs and officers guarding the perimeter. Ignoring the reporters who shouted questions at him from the other side of the police tape, Whisperwood PD’s top cop walked toward Forrest and his brothers. Thompson had been doing this job for a long time, and his experience showed in the lines in his face and the way his shoulders sagged when he looked down at the body. He shook his head and sighed, and his Stetson slipped lower over his face.

      Forrest had realized some years into his career that it would never get any easier to see someone dead, especially murdered, and the chief just proved that to him. He let his own hat slide down to shield his face.

      Thompson turned away from the body to focus on Forrest now, his blue eyes sharp with intelligence and determination. “So, you going to do it? You going to take the job?”

      His brothers stared at him, nodding and smiling to encourage his acceptance. They probably figured this would be good for him, would get him back doing the job he loved. But when he’d been shot, the job hadn’t been the only thing he’d lost that he loved.

      That experience had taught him never to risk his heart again. So the job was all he had—even if it was just a short-term assignment.

      He nodded. “Yes, I’ll take it.”

      Not for his sake, though, like his brothers obviously wanted. But for hers.

      He stared down at the dead woman, determined to make sure she got the justice she deserved and that the killer would not hurt anyone else.

      * * *

      “He’s so cute,” Bellamy cooed as she cradled the baby against her chest and kissed the top of his head. He’d been born with a full head of soft brown hair, the same chocolaty color as his mama’s. He also had her big brown eyes.

      Rae’s heart swelled with maternal pride. “Yes, he is,” she said just as a yawn slipped out. He’d also been keeping her up nights with a bout of colic, and Bellamy’s bed was so comfy, Rae was tempted to take a nap right there amid the pile of clothes and the suitcase.

      “Hey, you need to finish packing,” Maggie told her sister as she pried the baby from Bellamy’s arms. “You’re supposed to be leaving for your honeymoon.”

      “I will,” Bellamy said. “As soon as Donovan gets back from the crime scene.”

      Rae shuddered. “So another body’s been found?” Twelve people had died in the hurricane, but she’d thought all of the missing had been accounted for—thanks to the Cowboy Heroes’ rescue-and-recovery efforts.

      Maggie had been one of the missing. Fortunately she had been found alive. Jonah Colton hadn’t just rescued her, though; he’d also fallen in love with the former beauty queen. A pang of wistfulness tugged at Rae’s heart, not that she wanted anyone falling in love with her.

      She was too busy with her two-month-old son and her law-school classes and her new job as a paralegal to fit a man into her life right now. Or ever.

      Connor was the only man for her. She smiled as he clutched his fingers around a lock of Maggie’s pretty blond hair. Like every other male in Whisperwood, he was drawn to the former beauty queen.

      Rae might have been jealous if Maggie wasn’t as beautiful inside as she was on the outside. She twisted her pretty features into comical faces as she cooed at the fascinated baby. Then she glanced up at Rae and a frown pulled down the corners of her mouth. “From what the chief told Jonah, it sounds like the death had nothing to do with the hurricane.”

      Rae gasped. “Was it...like the body you and Jonah found?”

      Maggie shuddered. “I hope not.”

      That body had been mummified. Rae hadn’t seen it, but just the thought of it had given her nightmares. She couldn’t imagine what Maggie had gone through because of that and the threats to her life.

      All of the crime in Whisperwood was what had compelled Rae to take the LSAT to try to get into law school. Nobody had probably been as surprised as she’d been that she’d done so well that she’d had her pick of schools. Of course she’d chosen to stay in Whisperwood with her friends. With her mom gone, they were the only family she had now—except for Connor. She’d already been pregnant with him when she’d taken the exam.

      Bellamy nipped her bottom lip with her teeth. “Maybe Donovan and I shouldn’t go away right now.”

      “No!” Rae and Maggie both shouted.

      Connor, startled, began to cry. Rae jumped up from the bed and took him from Maggie. Holding him close, she rubbed her hand up and down his back and murmured, “It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re okay.”

      He settled down with a hiccupping sob. Then the tension drained from his tiny body and he began to drift off to sleep like Rae had longed to.

      “You’re so good with him,” Maggie said with a smile.

      “You are,” Bellamy agreed. She looked more like Rae, with dark hair and eyes, and with as long as they’d known each other, they were more like sisters than friends. “You’re amazing. I can’t believe how much you’re doing all on your own.”

      Rae smiled with pleasure and pride. But then she reminded her friend, “You’ve done the same.”

      Maggie’s mouth pulled down into another frown, and regret struck a pang in Rae’s heart. She hadn’t meant to cause any issues between the sisters. They’d already had too many.

      “I was never alone,” Bellamy said. “I had you, Rae.” She turned toward Maggie and smiled at her sister. “And you... I just didn’t realize what all you were doing for me.”

      “Rae’s right,” Maggie said. “You did all the heavy lifting on your own.” Taking care of their ailing parents. “You deserve this honeymoon. You deserve every happiness. Don’t let Donovan back out of going.”

      Bellamy smiled. “Not a chance. He’s determined to go. He and Jonah are going to work on convincing Forrest to step in and take over the murder investigations.”

      Maggie nodded. “Oh, that’s what big brother is up to.” She’d fallen for the oldest of the Colton brothers. “He said he was going to pick up Forrest.”

      Another little pang struck Rae’s heart at the mention of that particular Colton brother. It was probably just regret again. She shouldn’t have asked him to dance at Bellamy and Donovan’s wedding. But as one of two maids of honor, she’d wanted to make sure every guest enjoyed the celebration. That was the only reason she’d asked—not because he was ridiculously good-looking, with his chiseled features and his brooding intensity.

      He hadn’t had to be so curt with her, though. Sure, she’d known he had a limp from an injury in the line of duty. But he still worked with the Cowboy Heroes, so she hadn’t thought he was really disabled. He could have held her and just swayed from side to side. It wasn’t as if she’d asked him to two-step or line dance with her. But she shouldn’t have asked at all. The only reason she had was because of how alone he’d looked...even among all of his family.

      And

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