Chapter 7
Rising late in the morning, Millie took her time eating breakfast and drinking her coffee. After a long shower, she got dressed and sat in front of her computer. That’s when she remembered she’d agreed to help Brody find the car logo imprinted into Chris’s skin.
She had no idea where to start. Clicking on the internet, she did a quick search for car logos. She scrolled through the photos of logos she recognized as standard car brands. Nothing looked even remotely similar to the imprint on the photograph.
Maybe she needed a better impression of the logo. The photo only showed a small corner clearly. With so little to go on, it would be nice if she could see the impression more clearly.
She stood and grabbed her jacket. “Bye Bucky,” she said, giving her big golden retriever a scratch behind the ears.
Out in the sunshine, she wrapped her arms around herself. It was getting colder every day. She’d need a new coat soon. Having come up from San Francisco, she hadn’t needed more than a fleece jacket and a raincoat. The Montana winter would be far different.
Taking the narrow road into town from the lodge, she watched as she passed the tall pine trees outside her window. The world was so peaceful up here. Too bad the peace had been broken by the emergence of shifter hate groups.
Hatred of shifters seemed to pervade every level of society: rich and poor, old and young, and every race. Everyone was affected by the shifters coming out.
Rural towns like this one had a high shifter population because shifters enjoyed being close to the natural environment. That meant that small towns were experiencing more crime and murder than they ever had before.
Small sheriff’s departments and country doctors like Millie had been put in charge of crimes that usually happened in larger cities that had much more money and support.
Doing an autopsy in a murder investigation was not her usual job. As an accomplished surgeon and emergency room doctor, Millie spent most of her time moving quickly from one critical patient to the next.
But that was all over now. She had to leave the past behind her or she’d lose her mind. There was a new challenge now: catching the person who pushed Chris off the cliff.
Thinking about her old life just made her depressed. Her termination as lead surgeon at the biggest hospital in San Francisco had been unjust and wrong, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
She pulled into the hospital and made her way to the morgue, stopping briefly at the nurses’ station to say hello to the nurses on duty.
“I thought you had the day off,” Florence said. The plump white-haired grandmother rolled over in her office chair.
“I just came down to take another look at the body of Chris Whitney. The sheriff’s department suspects foul play.”
“Everyone loved Chris. Even if he was a shifter. He was a sweet kid. Played football with my grandson in high school.”
“This whole thing is making people irrational.”
“When they came out to the public, I thought it was a joke. But it turned out they weren’t. It took a few weeks to come to terms with it. I thought maybe they were dangerous. But then I found out a lot of my friends and neighbors had been shifters all along. I just had to accept it.”
“Too bad more people don’t have that attitude.”
“You know what people are like. They fear what they don’t understand.”
“I know. It’s sad. Well, I’ve got to get into the morgue and get a better picture of that imprint on Chris’s stomach.”
“I hope they find the killer soon. Wouldn’t want to lose another sweet young man like Chris.”
“Me too.”
Millie continued to the end of the hallway and took the stairs down into the hospital’s tiny morgue. There were only five refrigerator spaces. Millie doubted they’d ever all been used at once.
She went to the refrigerator where Chris’s body had been stored and pulled it open. Looking inside, her mouth dropped in confusion. It was empty.
Empty.
Then she checked the sign-in sheet again to make sure this was supposed to have Chris in it. Apparently, this was the one. She bent down and stared in there. Then she stood, putting her hand on her hip.
Was she losing her mind? A lot had changed in the last few months but she’d never been so confused as to lose a body. Turning around, she tried to make sense of what was happening.
There were no records of Chris Whitney being released. All the paperwork indicated he should still be there. After closing the refrigerator, she hurried back upstairs to Florence.
“Has Chris Whitney’s family claimed his body?” she asked the nurse.
“No. He was being held because of the crime investigation.”
“The body isn’t down there,” Millie said flatly.
“What?”
“It isn’t there. Did another doctor take it out for some reason?”
“No, no one.”
“Can you check the schedules? Because this doesn’t make any sense.”
Florence quickly opened the computer schedule and checked all the comings and goings into the morgue.
“It should be there,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “There is no record of the body being removed.”
“I’m calling the sheriff’s department,” Millie said, walking out to the waiting room to dial her cell phone.
She had Brody’s personal line. Her fingers shook as she dialed his number and she wasn’t sure if it was because she’d found the body of a possible murder victim missing or because she was excited about talking to the blue-eyed blond warden.
“This is Brody,” his deep voice said on the other side of the line.
“Hi. Millie Tanner. The doctor.”
“I remember you Millie,” he said in a sensual drawl. Millie almost lost track of what she’d been doing and melted at his words.
“I’m calling from the hospital,” she said, getting a handle on herself. “The body of Chris Whitney is missing. There is no record of the body being moved or claimed.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said, hanging up the phone.
Millie looked down at her cell, a flood of confusing emotions playing in her heart and mind. First things first. They had to deal with the missing body.
Chapter 8
Brody arrived at the hospital as quickly as he could. Someone took Chris’s body and he was raving mad. That was until he saw Millie standing in the window in a cute pink raincoat not warm enough for the weather.
He went through the sliding glass doors and met her in the waiting room.
“This is just terrible,” she said, walking up to him. Her scent hit him all at once. Sweet and creamy. Like honey butter and lemon drops. His inner bear grumbled and growled. Under normal circumstances, Brody would have given her a warm hug in greeting. Knowing she was his mate meant there was no use in beating around the bush.
Brody was an affectionate guy, and unusually good-natured for a man his size. But Chris’s death had darkened his bubbly lightness. Storm clouds crowded out his blue skies.
“These sick bastards are going to pay,” he said, clenching his fist.
“There’s no security footage. I already asked.”
“I wouldn’t expect security cameras in a hospital this small. How many patients do you treat a day, anyway?”
“Maybe up to thirty. Usually around ten. Not really the pace I’m used to.”
“What pace are you used to?” he asked, thinking of the pace he’d like to keep with her. The vision of pulling her into his embrace dominated his mind. He frowned and shook his head to clear it.
She giggled. The sound was light and invigorating. “I was the head surgeon at San Francisco General. So, quite hectic.”
“What the heck are you doing here?” he asked her, bewildered.
“I had some issues and was laid off. But I’m here now. It’s growing on me.”
“Hmm. I hope so.”
“Thanks. Do you want to take
fingerprints or something?”
“Right. I’m not a police officer. I’m not even really a sheriff. But Montana game wardens are in charge of shifter-related crimes now. Like we need more workload. I had to confiscate a female mountain lion today.”
“That’s sad. Want to go see the morgue?”
He followed her down the hall, her curvy behind swaying all the way. He wanted to wrap his hands around her slender waist and feel her shallow his shaft. Grrr…
They entered the morgue and he was struck by the scent of death. It overcame him so abruptly and so hard, he had to bend over to catch his breath.
“It reeks of death in here,” he muttered.
“It smells like cleaning supplies to me,” she said, sniffing.
“I can smell the bodies. Shifter senses are much stronger than a human’s. Where was he stored?”
“Right here,” she said, showing him the refrigerator.
“And there are no records of who took the body out?”
“No, nothing. Highly unusual.”
“I’m going to call this into the sheriff’s department.”
Brody walked into a quiet corner of the morgue and plucked his walkie-talkie from his shoulder, calling in the crime to the dispatcher Janet. When he was done, he walked back over to Millie, who seemed nervous. She worried her lower lip and crossed her arms over her white physician’s coat.
“Did you get anywhere with that car logo?” he asked her. It wasn’t her responsibility to find this kind of thing. She’d already been wrapped up in the crime more than any civilian should be. But he liked having an excuse to be near her. Maybe it was unprofessional, but Millie was his mate for better or worse. Until the crime was solved and he had the closure he needed to move on from Chris’s death, he had to find a way to keep close without the pressure of dating or mating.
“I haven’t been able to find anything. I came back to the hospital to see if I could get a better look at the impression on Chris’s body. That’s when I found it was gone.”
“Maybe we can take a look together,” he suggested.
“I still have all my research up on my computer back at the hotel if you want to go back there and take a look.”
“That sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you there.”
Brody followed Millie out of the hospital and into the parking lot. His truck was parked near her car and they got in at the same time. Driving across town to where her hotel was, Brody’s mind reeled with the implications of the missing body.
He pulled into the lodge behind Millie and followed her into her room. The fact that he was in his mate’s bedroom was completely lost on him because he was so wrapped up in his anger and hatred for whoever had murdered his friend. Millie sat down in front of her computer and patted the empty chair beside her. Brody slid into the chair and waited as she woke up her computer screen.
“So I found a few different websites with car logos. A few of them are similar to what was imprinted in Chris’s stomach, but I can’t make out for sure which one it is.”
“Let me see,” Brody said, gently taking the mouse from her hand. He clicked through a few screens, examining the logos. The photographs of the impression on Chris’s body were strewn across the desk. He picked them up to examine the impression. Millie was right, none of the car logos looked as if they were the right one.
“I feel like we’re missing something,” he said, feeling defeated.
“I was feeling the same thing,” Millie said. “See how this curves here,” she said pointing at one of the logos on the screen and then down at the photograph. “But it doesn’t have this cross marking. Part of it matches but the rest of it doesn’t.”
“Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong. Maybe it wasn’t a car. Maybe it was something else. Like a super-powerful ATV or a tractor.”
“Hmm… that could be. Maybe that’s why we’re unable to find a match. Let me look up ATV symbols.” Millie took back the mouse and typed a few words into the search engine bar. A moment later, she was on an ATV website searching through the logos.
“Wait. Look at this. Do you think that could be it?” Brody examined the logo she had stopped on. The shape matched the impression on Chris’s chest almost exactly.
“What kind of ATV is that?” He asked.
“It looks like it’s a European brand,” she said. “I imagine it’s pretty rare in Montana.
“You’re right. I’ve never seen this brand before.”
Millie clicked over to the company website to investigate the closest place to purchase them and the sales price. The ATVs were extremely pricey and were only sold by special mail order in the US.
“Who do you think would order one of these?”
“There’s only one person in town I would suspect has such an expensive ATV. Steve Mathews.”
Anger surged in his chest. Confusion and lust battled in his gut. There he was, sitting beside his mate and he could do nothing about it.
Chapter 9
Brody stood from the desk with an angry expression on his face. Millie twisted her head to look up at him, worried at his reaction.
She rose from her chair and approached him as he went to the door. Grasping the knob, he stopped, his face a mask of unreadable emotions.
“Millie,” he said, his eyes heavily hooded. “I’m sorry we met like this.”
She reached for him. “Why?”
“There’s something you should know,” he said. Her curiosity widened her eyes.
“What?”
“I can’t tell you now. I just can’t.”
He took her outstretched hand and brought it to his lips, brushing them over her knuckles. A tingle surged down her spine and coiled in her belly. She gasped as he turned her palm over and kissed the pulse point on her wrist.
All at once, he had her in his arms. “Millie,” he whispered in her ear. She wrapped her arms around his slim waist, feeling him harden against her.
“Brody,” she murmured. Millie had had her share of boyfriends in her life, but casual sex wasn’t really her thing. In that moment, she didn’t care.
He crushed his lips against hers, growling deep in his throat. His tongue darted wetly into her willing mouth and he lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He walked across the room and set her on the bed.
Panting, she watched him as he stood over her, pulling his shirt off. His taut muscular abs and trail of hair that ran from his bellybutton to his waistband begged to be traced with her fingers.
She bit her lip, quivering as he pulled her shirt off over her head. He climbed on the bed over her, his belt halfway open.
“You ready for this, Millie?” he asked.
She nodded, not sure what was happening, but she wanted it. She’d wanted it from the first moment she’d laid eyes on the big blond game warden.
She nodded her head. “Yes,” she said, reaching for his belt. She unfastened the buckle and pulled the leather strap free.
He growled again and kissed down her neck, squeezing her breast in his big hand. Millie’s body responded with a surge of moisture, wet and ready for him to take her in a million different ways.
Brody grabbed her pants and pulled them down, hard, yanking off her shoes and panties all at the same time. She was naked from the waist down and he tore her bra open, revealing her breasts.
She quivered, naked, exposed, with a man she barely knew. His chest glistened with a light sheen of sweat. His eyes gleamed with desire as he licked down her belly, circling her navel.
He growled as he sucked a deep breath through his mouth, taking in the scent of her sex. “Millie. You smell so good. I need to taste you.”
He opened his mouth wide and enveloped her pussy, taking her in completely. His tongue darted over her clit and sank into her channel. Millie groaned, arching her back. She ran her fingers through his shaggy blond hair, her legs shaking with excitement.
Brody sucked and licked at her wetness, soaking her, teasing her. Her mind sang with pleasure a
nd she grasped her own breasts, drowning in a sea of intensity.
He held her legs wide, taking her wider. She could feel herself so close to coming. The blinding light of her orgasm flashed before her eyes, dazing her as her body contracted with a pulse of pleasure.
Brody rose over her, his lips glistening with her moisture. The light in his eyes glinted with desire. He stood, opening his pants. “Do you have a condom?” he asked, slowly pulling himself free of his clothes.
Millie’s eyes widened at the sight of his manhood. She bit her lip and nodded. “In my purse.” She pointed across the room. He pulled himself free of his pants and shoes as he crossed the room, picked up her purse, and set it beside her on the bed.
She dug through it. Damn. She knew she had one in there somewhere. Whimpering as he stood over her, she finally found one.
“Here it is,” she said, holding it up triumphantly.
He took it, swiftly opening it and unraveling it over his length. He grasped her hip and sank over her. She looked him in the eyes as the head of his cock pressed against her wet opening.
Millie grabbed his hips and pulled him closer to him, pushing him inside her. With a dangerous thrust, he sank deep into her core. Her mouth dropped open and a strangled cry stopped in her mouth. “Oh God!” she managed.
He growled in her neck as he pulled back and thrust again. His body pressed her into the bed and all she could do was hold on for the ride.
“Millie, baby,” he growled as he kissed her neck and mouth. She could taste her body on his lips. The tang of it heightened her desire.
He pumped into her, taking her like a wild animal in a thrall. Millie’s body broke free and reeled with pleasure, coming repeatedly.
Brody gripped her neck with his teeth, not breaking the surface, but holding her still as he claimed her. Her nails scratched down his back as he grew wide and rigid inside her.
All at once, he exploded, groaning and quivering. “Fuck, baby, yes,” he said, spilling the last of his seed. “God you feel good.”