Reckless

by Teagan Kade

  “No,” he says bluntly.

  I sigh. Why do I have to have two of the most narrow-minded best friends on Earth? “Great, so you’re both going to be shitheads about this?” I stretch my neck from all the tension today. “Nothing is settled. I’m just exploring possibilities here, man. It’d be stupid not to.”

  “Nooo, what would be stupid would be me overextending myself any more than I already am when I’ve got a baby and a life outside this business. Not to mention, I have a family to think about. If this falls through and our business takes a dive, then what? All my savings from my pro days are wrapped up in the business. I can’t afford to risk that on some faceless investor group who could leave us out to dry if things go south. Sorry, but I’m with Dex.” He shrugs as if what we’re talking about is nothing more consequential than what’s for dinner.

  I look to Ava for help. “Yeaaaaah, sorry Deric, but I’m not exactly on board. I mean I’m not saying there isn’t possibility, but why mess with a good thing right now? Besides, I like having my husband home.” She goes over and leans against his side, looking up at him as he leans in and kisses her.

  “Gross, save it for when I leave.” I turn away. I’ll never get used to seeing my baby sister making out with my best friend. They ignore me, so I stand up and head for the door. “Fine, well, I’m not sticking around for the porno. Give Talisa a kiss for me and tell her good job when she wakes you up at 3am.”

  “Thanks, asshat,” Dean calls after me from the door. His raised voice triggers the sound of a crying baby.

  “Any time!” I gleefully answer, climbing into my truck.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  EDIE

  “All due respect, Ken, I really think there is something worth investigating on this case,” I argue into the phone as quietly as possible. Technically, my office is my truck, but it’s feeling more and more stifling, so I decided to decamp to Gracie’s and grab some lunch.

  “Due respect means you take the no when you hear it, Edie, got it?” Ken’s voice has the ring of finality to it. “Look, I know you’re used to all the buzz and bustle of a big city office, workin’ with Port Authority and what not, but out here things move a little slower and you’ll just need to get used to it.”

  I’m getting impatient with him and myself for bothering to get his go-ahead on this poaching case. That’s what I get for playing things by the book. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. But I’m not asking for permission to do something crazy here, Ken. All I want to do is look into something that is legitimately within our jurisdiction.”

  “It’s a State Park, for chrissakes! If the Rangers or the Staties want to look into it, let ’em, but that ain’t got nothin’ to do with you. Now, part of this job, part of workin’ out here is being a self-starter and finding your own cases; not just taking another agency’s sloppy seconds. This ain’t the city where we smash all over each other’s toes. We dig up our own stuff. Is that not somethin’ you can handle?”

  I grind my teeth, frustrated at the implication I’m somehow slacking. “If there is a wolverine population out here and it’s being threatened, that is our jurisdiction. The state agencies don’t have the resources to investigate—”

  He cuts me off. “Enough! I said no. Call me when you have a clean case to follow.”

  Click.

  Well, that went swell.

  I slam the phone onto the table a little harder than necessary and run my hands through my hair as I survey the maps and photos of some of the carcasses found all spread out in front of me. I’ve been trying to put together a history based on the approximate stages of decomposition and where they were found as well as the sightings that have been reported. It’s hard to say exactly, but it feels like I’m looking at a pattern I haven’t quite pinned down.

  All I was looking for was access to some decoys, maybe another agent to assist me on a sting operation. It wasn’t some major investment of resources, and if there is any merit to my suspicions, the minimal request I’m making is more than warranted.

  “Turkey bacon avocado wrap and sweet potato fries?” Julie, my waitress smiles down at me, plate of delicious food in hand.

  I hurry to make space for my meal, pushing the maps and pictures around and clearing a spot in the middle of the table. “Thanks, looks great. Oh, I’m sorry, I think you forgot the—” I look back up to remind her I asked for a side of ranch and I realize she’s not looking at me anymore.

  Her attention is riveted to the door, so I follow her gaze and turn in my seat.

  Ugggggh. It’s him. I twist back in my seat hoping to avoid Deric’s eye. It’s a small town and I’ve been narrowly escaping interacting with him. If the nearest grocery store wasn’t a forty-minute drive and there was more than one gas station, it’d sure be a lot easier. Not that he cares two wits about me, but I’m just as happy to avoid chauvinistic males who are determined to underestimate me. Besides, I don’t like the fluttery feeling he inspires in my stomach. Stupid hormones.

  But really, he walks around half naked in those flimsy tank tops and shorts that ride low on his hips and fit snug around his incredibly muscular, round… no! That’s obviously what he wants and expects and he’s not getting it from me. Narf, the way he was hitting on Lexi and the way he’s leaning over the bar, grinning at Julie, who swung behind it like a hungry little puppy, he is clearly far too accustomed to getting his share and more of female adoration.

  “Don’t we all need a bad decision now and then to prove we’re really alive?”

  I can’t believe lines like that even work. Clearly, it works for him, though, and he seems happy enough, casting his lot in the bad decision pile. I watch discreetly as Julie walks back into the kitchen. He hasn’t sat down. Maybe he’s picking her up for a little afternoon delight. Can’t even manage a proper date, can he. He’s just the sort who takes some kind of twisted pleasure in breaking the rules and still getting what he wants.

  It does get me thinking, though. I always play it by the book, and I always end up getting shoved to the sidelines by overbearing males who don’t trust me. I’m never going to get out of this assignment without a big case under my belt and this could easily be it, but I’m never going to find out if I listen to Ken.

  On the other hand, Ken doesn’t work this area and if I looked into things on my time off, which isn’t exactly in hot demand, nor has it ever been if I’m being painfully honest, then I wouldn’t technically be doing anything explicitly wrong. I mean, no one can tell me I can’t go for a few night hikes here and there… I might not have decoys to post, but I do have a couple trail cams in my truck and a tree stand.

  Really, what’s the harm in going out there and verifying that there isn’t something more to this? If I’m wrong it’s only my time that’s wasted. But, if I’m right… we’re talking Endangered Species Act poaching. That’s clout, especially if I do it on my own… and don’t get myself shot this time.

  Heck, even Pop would have to be impressed.

  I slap my hand on the table. Dammit, yes! “I am going after this!” I catch myself talking out loud before I can stop the words from flying out. I look around anxiously, hoping no one noticed.

  “Well, you sure seem chipper.” Cripes! Deric is walking over, eyes narrowed. My stomach sinks. So much for avoiding his notice.

  Dammit, Stomach! Get it together!

  I square my jaw and try to look entirely unaffected by the fact I can clearly see the hard cut of his pecs and… cripes! Yep, I can see his nipples. Nipples! They’re a pale dusky pink and I really wish I didn’t know that.

  I follow the line of his more than cut bicep up to the irritatingly perfectly proportioned features of his face and those bright blue eyes. “I’m just fine— not that it’s any of your business.”

  He puts his hands up in a show of surrender. “Look, I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. It’s just, ah, not much changes around here and you… you’re a definite change. But it’s a small town and we both work around the mountain, we’re b
ound to bump into each other plenty. Truce?” He extends his hand and I eye it narrowly, but eventually accept and shake. Man-paws for sure. His hand practically swallows mine whole.

  “Truce,” I agree, hoping my voice doesn’t crack.

  “For what it’s worth, I meant no insult to you. My business is tourism and I hadn’t seen you before, plus you have a… look to you. I just assumed…” He seems to catch himself and flashes a grin as an apology. “Anyway, I’m glad we’re getting more resources in the area.” He eyes my maps and the carcass photos. “Mmm, appetizing.”

  I laugh despite myself. “Hazard of the job when you work primarily with dead creatures. Not much gets to me anymore.”

  He nods. “Well, there you go undermining my assumptions again. Most chicks that look like you tend to upchuck at the sight of maggots.”

  That look like you?

  I furrow my brows and I want to ask him what that is supposed to mean, but Julie comes back with a brown to-go bag.

  “Here you go, Deric. I slipped a piece of apple pie in there for you too, on me…” She smiles sweetly at him before glancing at me with a suspicious look.

  “Thanks Jules,” he winks, and grins back at her. She all but swoons. It’s so cartoonish it hardly feels real.

  “Good lord, don’t you ever get tired?” I can’t help but ask, marveling at the natural ease with which he charms poor, adoring Julie.

  “Of what?” He looks back at me in confusion.

  “Seriously? This whole ‘ladies man’ aesthetic you’re working. I heard you hitting on Lexi and I’ve seen you here at the bar—”

  “Been watching me, have you?” He grins and his teeth, damn him, are perfectly white and straight.

  I give him a dry expression. “Hard not to notice when you’re so obvious. But for real, it’s got to be exhausting at some point to be a walking flirtation, isn’t it?” I pop a fry in my mouth, but it’s too hot and I have to wave my hand in front of my mouth to cool it down like an idiot.

  He chuckles and sits down across from me, grabbing a fry off my plate. I resist the urge to swat his hand. Growing up with four brothers, sharing is not caring, but not with food. That is starvation. You give a mouse a cookie or a brother a bite, you’ll have nothing left.

  “Maybe it comes easier to some of us than others,” Deric says, watching my expression.

  My cheeks flush, but I smile despite myself. “Touché.”

  He looks at a legal pad I’ve been scribbling my timeline on and grabs another fry, forcing me to grit my teeth at the invasion of both my space and my food. “Jasper told me you’re looking into the bear sightings. I’m glad. I don’t need it affecting my business.”

  “Isn’t experiencing wildlife part of outdoor touring?” I inch the plate closer to myself.

  He grins and crunches on one of my dill spears. “Yeah, but there is such a thing as too much of something good. Are you getting anywhere on it?”

  “Well, I can’t exactly comment on an open case now, can I? Small town or not.” He looks at me with a dubious expression. I finally relent, tired of having no one to talk to about it. Sighing, I confess, “However, it’s not exactly an open case since my boss shut down the idea of me investigating it.”

  He doesn’t look pleased. “What? Isn’t this like… what you guys do?”

  “Yeah, I thought so too, but apparently I have a lot to learn about life in the backwaters… Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean…”

  He shrugs. “No worries, I don’t get offended easily. So great, what happens? The case just goes back to Jasper to sit in some messy pile in his office?”

  I glance around. No one is anywhere near and, though it’s lunchtime, this isn’t exactly what I’d call a crowd. I lean in and lower my voice, “Not… necessarily. I live here now, right? No harm in me exploring the woods after dark, off duty…” I lift an eyebrow, feeling rather smug about my plan.

  He doesn’t look as impressed as I thought he’d be. “That’s a terrible idea.”

  “Uh. Okay, well, I didn’t ask for your opinion,” I shoot back, annoyed.

  “Going alone, I mean.” He studies me for a second then, with an expression like he’s doing me some kind of favor, adds, “I’ll go with you.”

  I laugh. “Yeah, no thanks. I think I already turned this offer down once.”

  He levels me with an impatient stare. “And it was a terrible idea then too. Look, people go missing all the time out here, or did you miss the flyers up at the Ranger station? My own sister who has lived here all her life has gotten lost out there. You need someone who knows their way around. I mean, this isn’t exactly a small area,” he gestures to the maps before him.

  I want to argue but his points aren’t completely off-base. I’ve been driving these woods and backroads, and with all the logging roads and unmarked off-road trails, it’s a bit of a maze.

  He grins then, sensing my hesitation. “Besides, your boss told you to drop it right?”

  I nod. “He thinks it’s outside of our jurisdiction.”

  “Well then, if you go with me and we find something, it’ll give you an alibi.” His lips curve into a smile that makes my stomach do that weird thing again.

  “An alibi?” I echo, confused.

  The way his eyelids droop so subtly sends little flutters all across my skin, butterfly wings beating down on it. “You can say we were on a date and I was showing you around.”

  If he had a mic, this is where he would drop it. But he doesn’t.

  Instead, he reaches forward and grabs half my wrap and bites into it—and anything fluttery happening in my stomach dies a sudden death at the sight of my food in his mouth.

  I crack my knuckles and give him a tight grin. “You may be right that having someone who knows their way around would be helpful, but let’s get one thing straight: my case, my rules. If you come, it’s to supply insight on the area. Nothing else. I carry a handgun and a rifle at all times and I expect you to keep your hands off…” I stand up and lean over the table towards him, “my food.” I swipe what’s left of the turkey wrap out of his hand.

  He flashes a dimple at me, but I’m not sure why. When it comes to my food, I’m not screwing around.

  “Deal,” he smiles.

  CHAPTER SIX

  DERIC

  “Can you take a picture of us for our Insta?” One of the perky sorority sisters comes over to me, extending her iPhone with its Playboy Bunny case.

  “Yeah, no problem,” I take it from her but she doesn’t let go, letting her hands brush against mine.

  “Mmm… so rough,” she says, in a tone that would normally get my blood flowing. Oddly, I’m not impressed by the overt pass. “Just tell me where you want me…”

  I nod back to the group of six other girls I took out bouldering. In their matching Greek-letter screen-printed pink tank tops and varying shades of bleached blonde, they look like they’re perma-ready for a synchronized photo op. “Why don’t you go over to the stream. I can get the mountain peak in the background.”

  She does, tossing her hair over her shoulder and swaying her hips as she gives me a heated glance.

  Not subtle at all.

  The group of girls giggle when she gets back to them. I have a feeling if I wasn’t already otherwise engaged for the evening, a handful of them might be happy to have a private party afterwards. Wouldn’t be the first time. That used to be one of the highlights of this line of work, but, I don’t know, lately it’s starting to lose a little luster.

  I line up the shot and snap a handful as the girls alternate leaping in the air and flashing some sorority-specific hand-sign that looks more like they’re having some weird kind of seizure.

  “Nice, ladies, I think you’ve got some good ones there.” I wave them back towards the gravel parking lot where their mini Kias and Honda Civics are parked.

  The Playboy phone’s owner comes back over to me, skipping a little on the way. “Thanks for everything. You were so great out there today.” She smiles up
at me and grabs her elbow with one arm in what I’m fairly certain is an attempt to push her boobs up. Not gonna lie, it’s a nice view. Still, it’s no hardship for me to turn her down when she grabs the phone back and says, “I hope those pictures aren’t the only thing you put in my phone… or would you rather I give you my number? We’re only here until tomorrow night, but you don’t strike me as the type to mind.” She bites her lip and drags her fingernails down from my shoulder and along my bicep.

  “Afraid you caught me at a bad time. I already have plans tonight. But you head on down to Gracie’s and I’m sure you’ll find someone else that ‘won’t mind,’” I say, and wonder if I shouldn’t throw Dex a bone here. It might cut some of the tension between us.

  “Boo,” she faux-pouts, leaning in and whispering in my ear as she does. “Well, if you change your mind, I’m in the Juniper Room over at the Mountain Cottage B&B.”

  I nod my head, knowing I won’t be accepting the invitation. “I’ll keep that in mind. Drive safe now.”

  She smiles and walks backwards, blowing me a kiss as she does. “Mmm, I do like a boy who plays hard to get. Bye… for now.”

  I watch as the group makes their way to their cars. Dex is stacking kayaks on the side of the building and comes over. “Damn, looks like your night is all set.”

  I glance over at him. “It is, but not with one of them.”

  He looks at me in surprise. “What the fuck is wrong with you you’re turning down sorority girls?”

  I laugh. “Meh, easy come, easy go. A man wants a challenge now and then. Makes the spoils all the tastier.” I lick my lips for effect.

  “That sounds like bullshit to me. A lay is a lay is a lay.” He crosses his arms.

  “Says the guy who could go do Lexi six ways to Sunday whenever he wants and yet hasn’t. But I’m not arguing for celibacy here. Do I look like a fuckin’ monk to you? I’m just saying sometimes the low hanging fruit isn’t the sweetest. Gotta set your sights higher.”

  He smirks. “Yeah, well, have fun starving.”