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The man was handsome and muscular. Very fit. Had a bit of a boyish-charm look to him, while Holt wore that stern countenance a lot of the time. Still, she couldn’t help thinking this guy and Holt knew each other. “Who is that?”
“He’s with me.” Holt parked the car and turned off the engine. “And it’s very bad he’s here.”
That was the last thing she wanted to hear. She tried to form a question, but nothing came out. She used up all her energy opening the door and somehow getting out.
“What’s up?” Holt frowned and walked at the same time. “You’re supposed to be out with Cam conducting some forensics on that cabin.”
“Ma’am.” The guy nodded at her before returning his full attention to Holt. “We have a new problem.”
Holt swore in a voice just above a whisper. “Another one?”
“What is it?” Lindsey asked at the same time.
The guy looked at her then. “There’s a dead body on your property.”
Chapter Seven
So many questions bombarded Holt’s brain. He wanted to know more about this Roger person and how he’d got out of the camp. Holt also needed more insight into Lindsey. He wanted to sleep with her. Kiss her, touch her, hold her in bed and talk with her. His sudden need for that last one made him twitchy, but there was so much about her, her life and this situation he didn’t know.
Walking now between her and Shane struck Holt as strange. He’d introduced them and watched as they shook hands. Holt ignored the “nice job” man-to-man look Shane shot him.
They’d been friends for a long time. They’d known each other and served together for a short stint. Now they worked on the same team, spent a lot of their free time hanging out and had the same goals.
They also shared a similar sensibility about relationships. Neither wanted one. Cam had been with them right up until the point he’d met Julia and then lost his mind.
Holt had watched as the men of Corcoran—the toughest guys either of them knew—get ripped apart by their love for their women. Strong, intelligent men shredded and a mess as they ran around trying to get these amazing women back.
Holt and Shane joked about it. It was embarrassing and Holt didn’t want any part of it.
The idea of being vulnerable for a woman, of putting everything on the line, had him mentally throwing up a wall. He liked all the women his friends ended up with and understood why the guys loved them. The matches made sense.
It was the wall of fire they walked through to be together that made no sense to Holt. Why would anyone willingly take that on? He’d never met any woman who turned him around and had him thinking that would be a good idea.
But then he met Lindsey.
She counted as a wild card. He’d never known anyone like her. Even now, as they walked the line of the property and closed in on a section by the water, Holt’s mind rolled. He thought back to the things she’d said and the way she acted in danger. So in charge yet human. The combination had him dropping to his knees.
Not that he planned to let either of the people with him know. He’d rather welcome the silence.
“It’s Roger,” she whispered into the silence.
“We don’t know that.” Though Holt did think it had to be. A person didn’t lose that much blood and live to talk about it. He might have faked his death before, but this was another level.
Shane pushed the branches aside and kept walking. Didn’t say anything, as if leaving them to hold a private conversation even though he hovered right there.
She shook her head. “I should have checked in on him sooner.”
Without thinking, Holt reached over and took her hand. Slipped his fingers through hers and felt the coolness of her skin and the jumpiness of her raw nerves. She jerked at the contact but didn’t let go. No, she tightened her hand around his and held on.
Since he couldn’t think of anything smart to say and since he spent part of the time scanning the surroundings for signs of trouble, he figured silence was the best solution anyway. As they got closer to the lake’s small shore, Holt saw the body. Crumpled in a heap as the water lapped over his legs.
Definitely a male and not a small one. His face was turned away and the body appeared to be soaked through, either from the night’s rain or being in the lake. Too hard to tell without more tests. But Holt was looking at a large form wearing dark clothes, which described a lot of men in this part of Oregon.
Lindsey stopped. Holt didn’t notice until he almost yanked hard on her arm. He dropped her hand and turned to her. Shane wore an expression of concern and Holt guessed he had one of his own.
