Page 14 of Ranger Devotion

With her throat slit, Kayla wouldn’t have been able to cry for help.

Then a fresh concern jolted Tate, and his muscles tightened. He scanned the woods, but other than Kayla, nothing seemed amiss. “We need to make sure Preston made it back to his cabin. Which one is he staying in?”

“Hold on.” Annie made a phone call, and from her side of the conversation, Tate deduced she was speaking to Dwayne. After a tense few minutes, she hung up. “Dwayne will check on the guys in Cabin 3 and get back to me ASAP.”

Hopefully Preston was in his cabin. The thought of a double homicide ratcheted up the complications and the danger. One murder was bad enough.

He planted his hands on his hips. “We need to document the scene as best we can, gather any pertinent evidence, and then figure out how to store the body.” He glanced up. Rain was coming. “We’ve got more bad weather headed this way, and there’s no way to know how long it’ll be before the bridge is fixed. The officer I spoke to said it’s a top priority, but it could still be a few days.”

Annie rubbed her forehead and grimaced. “We just put in a walk-in fridge for extra food storage at the mess hall. It’s not being used right now. Kayla can go in there, I suppose.” She dropped her hand. “We’ll have to transport her. I’ll bring my truck around.”

“We can use mine.” Tate had brought his personal vehicle to the reunion, but carried a crime scene processing kit with him at all times. As a Ranger, he never knew when he’d be called to a murder.

A shadow crossed Annie’s face. “He mistook me for her. Last night in the parking lot.”

Tate didn’t believe in sugarcoating things. “Looks that way.”

She lifted her gaze to his. “Kayla’s holding a Raven Hills High School pennant.”

“Yes.” Dread churned his stomach, turning the coffee he’d drunk earlier sour. “Is the garland from your Christmas decor?”

“No. We kept things traditional and decided against using the school colors for the reunion. He brought it with him. Just like the pennant.” She swallowed. “This wasn’t an outsider then.”

They couldn’t take anything off the table—the killer might’ve placed the pennant on her body as a misdirection—but Tate didn’t think it likely. “The killer is probably someone attending the reunion.”

“And with the bridge out…” Annie released a slow breath. “We’re all trapped here with him.”

Something crackled in the underbrush, breaking the silence of the morning. Tate’s head came up in time to see a shadow peel away though the trees. His hand dropped to his weapon as he took off in pursuit. “Stop! Police!”

SEVEN

Branches whipped Tate’s face as he tore through the dense thicket. The frigid air scraped his lungs raw. Whoever he was chasing was in decent shape, but the ground was slippery from last night’s storm. He’d traded his cowboy boots for hiking boots with better tread, and that gave him an advantage. Keeping his quarry in sight, Tate closed the gap.

The runner wore jeans and a wool cap. Tate snagged the hood of the man’s jacket and yanked, tipping him backward. The man crashed to the ground. Chest heaving, Tate leveled his gun. “Texas Ranger. Hands where I can see them.”

“Don’t shoot!” Hands flew into the air, and the man twisted to look at him. Preston Colson. His face was red and slick with sweat. “What the⁠—”

“On your feet and keep your hands where I can see them.”

Preston clambered up, anger flashing in his eyes even as his fingers shook. “This is crazy. You can’t just⁠—”

Crashing in the woods alerted Tate to new trouble. Somone was coming, fast. His gaze shot to the trees just as Annie burst into the small clearing. She carried her own handgun at the ready. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene, and her expression hardened. “What are you doing running through the woods, Preston?”

“Is that against the law now?” The smart-mouthed retort was typical of Preston, but the tremble in his voice betrayed his fear. His throat bobbed. “Look, I didn’t do anything. Everyone needs to calm down.”

“We are calm.” Tate glanced at Annie. His pulse kicked. She’d come after him. He shouldn’t think too much of it—she was former law enforcement—but somehow, it mattered. “Cover me.”

She gave a sharp nod, and Tate holstered his weapon. He grabbed Preston’s arm and spun him toward a tree, patting him down. No weapon. Tate took a step back. “Why were you running through the woods? And this time, curb the attitude and try telling the truth.”

Preston’s shoulders sagged. “I saw you guys out there…and Kayla…” He licked his lips. “Listen, I haven’t done anything wrong. I was cutting through the woods to get to Cabin 5. I left my cell phone there last night, and I really need to get it. When I saw…” He blinked hard, as if fighting tears. “I saw Kayla on the ground and I knew she was dead. I freaked out and ran. That’s it, man.”

“You were with Kayla last night.”

Tate didn’t pose it as a question, but Preston still nodded. “For a little while.” He shifted. “I really need my cell phone. My fiancée has probably called and texted a dozen times already. She’ll be worried if I don’t respond.”

“You have a fiancée and you slipped away from the party with Kayla?” The derision in Annie’s tone was unmistakable. Preston bristled.

“Nothing happened,” he snapped. “We were just talking.”