Stella turned in a slow circle, sniffing the air. She walked to the edge of the clearing, crouched, and moved a handful of dead leaves aside.
Nell’s phone was face down in the dirt at the base of a Douglas fir, fifteen feet from the log where she’d gone down. The case was scuffed. A faded sticker on the back showed a cartoon wren that Stella had given her for her last birthday.
Stella sat back on her heels in the leaves. Her hands were shaking. Blaze crouched beside her, close enough that she could feel the warmth coming off him. He took a photograph of the phone before he touched it. He then lifted it carefully in his gloved hands. The screen was shattered. The case had split along one edge. He slid the phone into a second Ziplock, sealed the bag, and marked it.
“Somebody drugged her on this trail. And then threw her phone hard enough to break it against a tree.”
“What do we do now?”
“We bring this back to Dom. Axel takes the phone tonight and pulls what he can.” He stood up. He held out a hand to her.
Stella looked at it for a second before she took it. His palm was warm and rough with calluses, and the moment her fingers closed around his, the bond hit her like a hot wire under her skin. Her bear surged. Stella pulled in a breath through her nose and let him lift her up out of the leaves. Her legs were less steady than before, and his grip stayed firm until she had her feet under her.
He let go. She felt the absence of him on her palm like cold air on a burn.
Chapter
Eleven
Blaze setthe two evidence bags down on the conference table and pushed them across to Dom. Stella knew all the members of Steel Protection from their Do Not Serve photo and the additional information she’d learned about them since. Hunter was leaning against the back wall with his arms crossed. Siren was at the far end with a laptop open and the blue glow on her face. Axel was two seats down from Dom, headphones pulled to his neck. Valeria stood in the doorway with Adrian on her hip.
Blaze started, “There was a chemical trace coming off the trail. We took an animal path through the underbrush. The handkerchief was in the leaves at the base of a log, ten feet in. I scented it as chloroform.”
Dom’s jaw set.
“Stella picked up Nell’s scent, and we found the phone under a tree nearby.”
Axel took the phone bag. “I’ll see if I can get something off this.”
“I’ll run her stats tonight,” Siren said.
“I’ll search the trail again at first light,” Hunter said.
After the meeting, Stella stood halfway between the conference room and the front door with the strap of her purse in her hand. Axel’s bank of monitors glowed blue in the corner. Siren was staring at something on her laptop.
“Are you hungry?” Blaze asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You should eat. Come upstairs. I’ll cook for you.”
She opened her mouth to say no out of habit, but her bear moaned in disagreement.
“Okay.”
His apartment smelled like chili oil, lemongrass, and exotic incense. Blaze pulled a wok off the hook in the kitchen, set a pot of water on the back burner, and pulled containers out of the fridge.
“Can I help?”
“Yeah. The cutting board is in the cabinet. Knife on the magnet. You can cut these.” He pointed to a handful of scallions.
She found the cutting board, pulled the chef’s knife off the magnet, and started slicing. Blaze pounded garlic and chilies in a stone mortar with quick controlled strokes. The kitchen filled with the smell. He dropped the noodles into the boiling water. The wok came up to temperature, oil shimmering, then smoking.
“What is this?”
“Drunken noodles. Pi Noi taught me in Chiang Mai.”
“Pi Noi?”
