by Moxie North
He couldn’t blame the kid for scaring the lady. But he also didn’t need a human dying in his woods because of a shifter. Accidental or not. The reason the Rochons had been able to exist in the area for so long was that they never raised any suspicion. They kept quiet. Kept their animals secret. Now they had a human that had seen a bear in the woods.
That in and of itself wasn’t something new. They were in the woods with rainforests all around. But if someone decides a bear is a nuisance than they could send in the park rangers to try and trap and relocate it. Shifters were smart enough to not get caught, but some innocent bear could get mistaken and shipped away from its family. That would not be good.
As he picked up his pace again, he was almost to the fallen tree when his bear alerted him to a new scent. It was sweet but tangy, like lemon meringue pie. His bear wanted to lick his chops at the scent. He came to a halt and saw Lem and Max leaning over the body of a woman. Lem was pulling out a thin reflective blanket from his pack and shaking it out to cover her.
He could see that she was wet, her clothes soaked through. Her body was limp on the ground. As he got closer, he could see her dark brown hair clinging to her skin. Her eyes were closed, dark lashes lying against what would normally be light brown skin. Her complexion had a gray pallor now, clearly the cold and exposure to the elements had not done her any good. Her clothes were plastered to her body.
The jacket Gabriel had described was open, under it only a white shirt that covered ample breasts. Her jeans looked black, soaked with the water. But he could still see rounded hips, thick legs, and flat black slipper-like shoes that were totally impractical for hiking.
Tanner's bear couldn’t help but appreciate the curvy beauty, but the man was in crisis mode. He needed to get her out of the woods and to a hospital as soon as possible.
“She breathing still?” Tanner asked Lem as he came up next to him.
“Yeah, barely. She’s got a lump on the back of her head. Her color looks for shit,” Lem answered honestly.
“I can see that. I’m gonna pick her up and carry her out. It’s getting dark. Can you and Max take point and light the way?”
“You bet. Max, let’s move,” Lem said as he stood. His German Shepherd Max was happy to be moving again now that he’d received his reward chew for finding the woman.
Tanner bent down and did a cursory examination to make sure she didn’t have any broken bones or other injuries. As his hands moved around her head, he felt a large knot. Gently he scooped the woman into his arms, the blanket crinkling around her. His body heat would do her more good than the blanket. He started to walk towards the incoming help.
At six-foot-two and made of pure muscle, he was more than strong enough to carry her. The curvy woman fit in his arms perfectly. Not the thoughts he should be having, clearly. But he was still a man, and he wasn’t immune to a pretty woman.
The cold coming off her body was concerning. The size of the lump on her head had to be bad. He could feel her shallow breathing. He didn’t know if it was from the wound or low body temperature. Shit, he didn’t know shit about this stuff. Shifters were lucky; they rarely got sick and healed fast.
Lem sent Max ahead as he set a fast pace through the woods. They made good time, coming out of the trees within a half hour. The walk to the road seemed to take much longer. With the flares burning in the distance, Tanner could see medics running towards him.
He stopped as they reached them and let them give the woman a quick exam, but agreed time was of the essence. Tanner picked up the pace and jogged as fast as he could without jostling his precious cargo.
Why he thought of her like that, he wasn’t sure, but his bear was making it clear he needed to be careful with her. Tanner didn’t take his bear's input lightly. He was a brown bear that, to Tanner, had always seemed wise beyond his years. When his bear “talked”, Tanner listened.
He came to a halt by the stretcher the aid crew had pulled out when they arrived. He gently laid his charge down on it and looked down at her beautiful face again. She was pretty, her features strong, cheekbones cutting across her face. A soft plump mouth that he could imagine smiling and laughing.
Shit, he needed to focus.
“Lem found her partially submerged in the creek. Gabriel said he saw someone of her description running through the woods. She looked like she was running from something. He lost track of her and came to me around three o’clock.” They didn’t need to know that Gabe was the one she was running from.
“So we have an unknown time frame for her being unconscious. I’m going to say good call on the med vac,” the first paramedic said.
Tanner didn’t want to step away, but he knew he needed to give them room to work.
“Any ID?” the second man asked. He was putting a needle into her arm. It made Tanner flinch. He wasn’t a wimp, but it bothered him that she didn’t even twitch.
“Didn’t see any. I’ll start asking around, making calls. Hopefully someone is looking for her. That will help us out,” Tanner replied.
The EMTs gave him a nod as they finished securing her to the backboard. The sound of helicopter blades could be heard in the distance. Tanner ran up to the landing area to clear out some of the lookie-loos. Brian was managing the traffic back up. Gabe looked a little green around the edges. Tanner was going to have to have a long talk with him.
As the chopper landed and the air swirled around Tanner, he held onto his baseball cap. He wore it most of the time, not liking to work in his formal cover headgear unless it was necessary. Hard to miss the white lettering spelling out Sheriff on the front, easier for drunks and misfits to see.
Tanner helped the EMTs load the woman inside. He had a quick twist in his gut as he realized he wanted to go with them. There was no logical reason, so he held back.
Once she was loaded, Tanner ran back to a safe area and watched the helicopter take off. He promised himself he would check in on her and see how she was doing. First, he had to find out who she was.
Chapter 3
The next morning Tanner waited until he figured everyone had settled into their day. His first call was to the hospital to check in on the patient. He was given a brief update that the woman hadn’t woken and that they would really appreciate it if Tanner could give them a name. This was relayed by the overly sarcastic ER clerk who just happened to be a relative. Tanner promised he would figure that out and get back to them.
His next call was to Rochon Lumber and Cage Rochon.
“Hey, Cage, it’s Tanner. Can you ask around and see if anyone knows of a woman new in town? She got startled by Gabe in the woods and ran off. Found her with a head wound, half submerged in the creek. She had no ID on her, and I need to figure out who she is and who could be missing her.”
Calling his Alpha was always first on his list. Cage Rochon had taken over Alpha duties in their clan a while ago. Even with so many available strong shifter men in their family, there was only one clear option. Cage had the Alpha in him. It wasn’t something you chose; it was something that picked you. Or as some of the elders would say, the Alpha bear picked you.
Whatever the case, Cage managed the Rochon clan with a quiet confidence that ensured everyone knew they could come to him when they needed to.
“Of course. I’ll get Conner and Wyatt on it too. Ask around to the human staff. Have you checked the motel? If Gabe didn’t recognize her, maybe she’s just passing through,” Cage suggested.
“That’s my next call. Wanted to check in with you first. Just so you know I’m going to have a chat with Gabe. He’s pretty torn up about this. I know he didn’t mean to scare her, but he’s still so reckless. He was way too close to the trails to be shifting in the daylight.”
“Agreed, let me know if I need to growl at him,” Cage said with a laugh.
“Will do, thanks,” Tanner said and hung up the phone.
Tanner resisted the urge to call the hospital again. He was sure she was fine. Her injuries were probably not l
ife threatening. But then Tanner had seen people who looked seemingly fine after car accidents, walking and talking, suddenly drop dead.
The thought of the pretty woman being dead made the gorge rise in his throat.
Shaking it off, he dialed the local motel. It rang four times before someone picked up. A sleepy or disinterested voice, he wasn’t sure which, finally answered, “Yah?”
“Lowell, do you think that’s how your parents want you answering the phone to their business?” he shot off.
Punk kid was human, so he had to play Sheriff instead of clan member with him. Lowell wasn’t bad; he just wasn’t anything worthwhile. He usually smelled like pot, but Tanner never bothered busting him. Though it was legal in Washington, he was still underage.
“Who is this? Brad?” the slightly more awake voice asked.
“No, this is Sheriff Rochon. Are you the only one on duty this morning, Lowell?” Tanner really didn’t want to deal with the kid. His parents were good people. Ran a clean, safe motel that kept busy during the summer catering to hikers and motorcyclists cruising the 101 highway.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry, Sherriff Rochon. I’m covering while mom is making breakfast.” The kid finally clued in.
“Do you have a young woman staying with you? I’d say late twenties, African American and possibly Asian, short curly hair?”
“Uh, lemme check. I don’t see people usually. Mom does most of the check-ins. Mom!” Lowell screamed with his voice too close to the receiver.
Tanner winced and held back his growl. “Lowell, don’t scream into the phone,” Tanner said with a sigh.
“Sorry, Sheriff,” he mumbled.
Tanner could hear him repeating the question of the woman’s identity to his mom. There was some more discussion and finally rustling, and the phone switched hands to Lowell’s Mom, Betty.
“Sheriff, we have a woman fitting that description. Is there a problem? I just saw her yesterday afternoon after she hit the diner. She asked if the woods were safe for a walk. ”
“Yeah, she had an accident. Gabe ran across her on the trail.” Tanner didn’t have to explain who Gabe was. The town was small.
“Oh, the poor dear. She’s been with us for a few days. Checked in on Monday and paid in advance. Let me see here. Yes, Brooklyn Nishi. She didn’t put down a home address, just her name when she checked in,” Betty explained.
“Would you mind waiting for me and letting me into her room to collect any ID she may have? I want to see if she has emergency contact info. She’s unconscious, and I’m sure someone has to be worried about her,” he explained.
Tanner’s bear was reminding him that they didn’t spot a ring on her finger. But nowadays that wasn’t always a clear sign of anything. She also didn’t smell like anyone else. Just that sweet lemony scent. No male cologne or scent of a man that would tip him off to her having a steady.
“Sure, Sheriff. I’ll be here,” Betty told him.
“Thanks, give me about fifteen,” Tanner said.
Tanner never liked going through people's belongings but this time he was intrigued to learn who this woman was. Maybe all the answers were in her hotel room.
Turns out, they weren’t.
Tanner stared into the small room that Betty had just opened for him. Betty kept her place clean. The bed was made with fresh linens. The furniture was older, but she polished the wood surfaces until they shone. Paintings for sale from a local artist graced the walls. Pretty scenes of the mountains and trees. Occasionally a deer was thrown in.
Looking around, there was a no sign of a suitcase or dirty clothes. Not even a scrap of paper. It didn’t even look like anyone was living there.
“You sure this is her room?” Tanner asked Betty, who was hovering behind him.
“Of course. Like I’d lose track of my guests,” she sniffed but was still trying to see if there was anything juicy to see.
“Give me a minute, will ya?” Tanner asked without turning around.
“Sure, I’ll just water the plants,” Betty said, not very convincingly.
Tanner heard her walk away and stepped into the space. He could smell her here, under the cleaning products. Walking to the dresser, he opened a drawer and found undergarments. Tempting frilly things in a variety of colors. His hands itched to slide over the deep purple, lemon yellow, and baby blue panties. They looked like they were soft cotton with lace trim. He had some pride, so he closed the drawer.
The next two had clothes all neatly folded. There was a clear organizational process involved. The bottom drawer contained a laptop, a purse, and a cloth bag that looked to be full of yarn.
Grabbing the purse, he set it on the bed and opened it. The contents were as organized as the dresser drawers. Ignoring the other items, he pulled out a black wallet. Inside was a driver’s license from California. Brooklyn Nishi, born May second, she was twenty-eight. Older than she looked.
She had three credit cards in alphabetical order. A blood donor card – she was A positive - and a number of store loyalty cards. One to a store that he knew was mostly makeup and hair products. There was a grocery store card and a punch card to a juice stand. She had about a hundred dollars cash in her wallet, but Tanner spied a bank envelope in the purse and found almost five thousand dollars inside. There was also a stash of business cards. Pulling one out, Tanner saw she was a hospital administrator at St. Luke’s in San Francisco.
Why she would be carrying so much cash was another mystery. She clearly was someone who liked nice things, but the Apex Motel was not the kind of place you went and had spa treatments. Someone must be looking for her then. He would call St. Luke’s and see if she had an emergency contact listed.
Chapter 4
Picking up his cell phone, he made a call to the hospital. He waited on hold as they put him through to Human Resources.
“This is Tammy, how can I help you?” the prim voice answered.
“Hi Tammy, I’m Sheriff Tanner Rochon of the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department. We believe one of your employees has been in an accident. I’m looking for emergency contact information.”
“Sure, which employee?”
“Brooklyn Nishi,” he said.
“Brooklyn! We haven’t heard from her all week! She disappeared. We’ve all been so worried about her. After what happened, we were thinking the worst,” Tammy said.
“After what happened?” Tanner asked, his bear rearing up in worry.
“Well, the last anyone saw of her was the night we had a shooting outside our ER. A gang member was brought in with a gunshot wound in the leg. While he was being treated, two more members of the same gang were executed in the ambulance bay. Bang, right in the head! We didn’t think Brooklyn was involved, but we wondered if she just got freaked. Everyone will be so glad that she’s okay,” Tammy said.
“Tammy, what gang?” Tanner asked.
“Oh uh, it was one of those motorcycle clubs. Sick Devils, I think? The ambulance bay was a mess,” Tammy said with a gagging noise.
“And that was the night she disappeared?”
“Yeah, she was on shift and then poof!” Tammy said dramatically.
Tanner didn’t like where any of this was headed. An important hospital administrator did not just pack up and disappear from her job without telling anyone where they were going. Only people that were worried or scared did that.
“Tammy, I need you to do me a favor,” Tanner said, lowering his voice. He found he could get people’s attention when he dropped his tone.
“Oh, yeah sure, what do you need?” she asked breathily.
“I’m worried that Brooklyn might be in trouble. If you can give me her emergency contact info then keep the fact she is in my town secret, I would be forever grateful.”
There was silence for a moment, and then he heard her sigh, “Of course, Sheriff Rochon. I can do that. Anything you need, I’m happy to help.”
Tanner shook his head. Sometimes he didn’t understand people. “That would be great, Tammy.
I just want to keep Brooklyn safe. I’ll let her know you were worried about her. But keep the fact that she has been found to yourself. Can you do that?”
“I’m your girl, Sheriff,” Tammy said, sounding excited she was in on the caper.
“Excellent. I’ll take the contact information. And Tammy…I’ll keep you in the loop, yeah?” Tanner knew this HR rep was thinking she was in on the secret squirrel action. He’d let her keep thinking that until he figured out the extent of the mystery.
Tammy was happy to give him Brooklyn’s contact information. It was for her parents who also lived in San Francisco.
Thanking her, he hung up and grabbed the purse. Knowing there may be a bigger reason for this woman to be hiding out in their town made Tanner anxious. He needed to get to the hospital and see if she was awake.
He thanked Betty and watched as she locked the room back up. Tanner wanted Brooklyn to know her room hadn’t been violated. He figured she’d already had a worse day than him; she didn’t need to feel like someone rifled through her panties.
Shit, he needed to not think about the panties.
He headed to his black SUV that had blacked out windows and black rims. It said Apex Sheriff on the side, but the overall appearance of the vehicle made it blend in. Gave him the opportunity to stay out of sight when he needed to. He jumped in and hit his Bluetooth to call her parents while he drove.
The phone only rang once, and a woman with a frantic voice picked up. “Brooklyn, is that you baby?”
Clearing his throat, Tanner introduced himself. “No, ma’am. I’m Sheriff Rochon. I got your contact information from Brooklyn’s work.”
“Oh, no lord, tell me she’s not dead,” the woman cried.
“No, ma’am. She is not dead,” he said, then realized he didn’t know because he hadn’t checked in on her.
“Your daughter was hiking in the woods and fell. She’s at our local hospital. I’m on my way there now to check in on her,” Tanner explained.
“What hospital? I’ll drag my husband away from his model trains, and we’ll be there,” the woman said.