I nodded back and gave him my cell in case they had any questions. I was grabbing some gear from my trunk when the sirens sounded behind me.
The ambulance had arrived, and the cavalry was not far behind, based on the three NPS standard-issued white SUVs pulling in right behind.
I knew I needed to meet with the other rangers to get a perimeter set and secure for when the ISB and coroner arrived, but there was also an overwhelming urge to go check on Iris.
I kept telling myself it was because I knew her—sort of.
Iris’s sister, Anna, was married to a man who’d worked at LVPD with my brother. Last year, I was working an undercover case when the man I was after began targeting Anna and her husband, Archer.
Iris first crossed my line of sight at the hotel where Anna was staying—the same hotel where I was on a stakeout. I had no idea she was Anna’s sister at the time. I only knew that she was gorgeous and that, if I hadn’t been working at the time, I would’ve asked for her number.
Once I realized who she was, I backed off, not needing that kind of complication in my life.
Fast forward a few days later when her sister and brother-in-law found themselves in a dangerous situation, I was fortunate enough to be able to assist.
This was me just assisting again—at least that was how I was justifying it in my head.
The EMT crew hopped out of the bus and headed my way.
“How many patients?” the male EMT asked me.
I pointed toward the water and began to explain. “Just one. Female. I’ll walk with you. She’s lucid, no issues with vitals. She fell in the water and tripped over part of a corpse. She may have injured her tailbone or lower back. Coworkers are with her and say she is mandated to get checked out since she was on the clock.”
“Got it,” the female EMT replied.
I took in Iris’s face as we got closer, and I was happy to see she had her full color back.
“Miss, do you mind walking us through how you landed and what areas are uncomfortable?” the female EMT asked her.
I wanted to stay—keep an eye on her—but I knew I needed to do my job. I walked back up to where the other NPS vehicles had parked. I gave the full story to the three rangers who’d shown up—Jennings, Lewis, and Diden. I told them we would need to secure the area so that we could preserve the scene for when the ISB and coroner—or medical examiner—showed up.
“She just fell and landed on the bones?” Diden asked me, the shock and confusion made clear in her voice.
“Yeah,” I confirmed, and she just shook her head in disbelief.
“Just a skull, though?” Jennings asked. “Seems weird. There were no other parts or identifying things like clothes?”
“I’m guessing there will likely be other bones nearby, but not sure,” I told him. “Coast Guard just pulled up and will block off water access so we can get our dive team in there for recovery once the medical examiner arrives.”
“Diden, I’ll have you get Iris’s statement, and Jennings, why don’t you get her colleagues’ statements,” I directed and then had Lewis go and secure the area.
Jennings was a hell of a good ranger, but he didn’t have the best bedside manner. Plus, I felt Iris would do better with a female.
The next hour was only one level slightly below chaos as an epic number of people descended upon the scene—both people who were supposed to be there and ones who were not.
Sure enough, the dive team had, in fact, found additional remains scattered within roughly a hundred feet of where the skull was found. It might not have been that far away from the original skull, but the bottom of the lake dropped off quite quickly, so I was glad we had the dive team to assist.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Heather Andrews was the agent assigned from the ISB on this case. I’d worked with her before when we had a car theft ring, but nothing this serious. She was intelligent, paid attention to small details, and didn’t beat around the bush, so I was happy she was the one leading this case.
She had just finished interviewing the weather service employees—Ben and Christine—and was now walking in Iris’s direction, which brought my thoughts back to Iris.
Despite my initial reaction upon seeing her today, I knew who she was. I’d been keeping an eye on her from a distance for nearly a year now.
When I’d first met Iris, she’d had a riot of curly hair on top of her head and was wearing glasses. She reminded me of old-school Mariah Carey with her tanned skin, brown hair, and natural curls. Her hair was on the longer side, and it looked soft as hell. And I couldn’t forget that body of hers. She was short, but that body was full of curves. She had more than a handful up top andbottom, and her hips were nice and full—my dream woman.
Yes, Iris was gorgeous. She was also sweet, kind, and insanely smart—all the things I wasn’t. I was morally gray at best, thanks to my stints in the Army and undercover work at the LVPD. I was also grumpy as hell and had the patience of a gnat.
I was all wrong for her, but that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy staring at her and checking up on her frequently. But it ultimately meant that was all I would ever be to her—someone who watched over her from afar.
