Page 46 of Phoenix Rising

“It’s more than I would wear at the beach.”

He lifted a shoulder, clearly unperturbed.

Well, she didn’t want the women who would arrive staring at his magnificently sculpted muscles, either. And they would. It was like his arms contained magnets that drew the eye. It was impossible to look away.

Audria lifted the shirt to check the wound. It was still oozing blood, but not as bad as before. The deep gash probably needed stitches. Thank goodness the shooter hadn’t been competent or a decent shot.

Noises sounded, and they glanced at the path to see a couple of all-terrain vehicles rolling to a stop. Detective Beaumont slid out. Her eyes stayed on Reese’s arms too long for Audria’s liking. She almost threw herself before him like a shield of armor.

The detective stopped in front of them with her hands on her hips. “Do you need an ambulance?”

“No. It barely grazed me.”

The detective turned to the uniformed officer beside her. “Get the first aid kit.” The man jogged back to the ATV. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Before Reese could speak, giving the detective a reason to keep staring at him, Audria took over. “We were running along the trail when someone shot at us. We took cover and returned fire. I don’t think he expected us to be armed because he dropped the weapon over the cliff.” She pointed to where it’d landed.

The officer returned with the kit and handed it to Detective Beaumont. “Take Sampson and check the ground over there for a rifle.”

“On it.” He motioned to another officer, and they took off jogging to the spot.

She instructed two others to canvas the area for the shooter and then motioned to Reese’s arm. “Let’s see the damage.”

Audria removed the shirt and came close to ripping the antiseptic wipe out of the detective’s hand as she cleaned the wound. She applied butterfly bandages and then covered them with a larger dressing.

“This is a temporary fix,” Detective Beaumont warned. “You’ll need to stop by the emergency room and have it looked at.”

Reese made a noncommittal sound that Audria recognized as hisI’ll think about it but won’t do itresponse. She’d see about that.

“Found it,” the officer looking for the rifle called out. After photographing it, he slid on a pair of gloves and carried it over.

“Bag it and tag it,” Detective Beaumont instructed before facing them again. “We’ll run it for prints. It’s time you tell me what’s going on, and don’t hold back.”

“We’ll clean up first and meet you at the station,” Reese said.

Detective Beaumont nodded. “We’ll give you a ride.”

Audria climbed into the backseat of the ATV and moved over for Reese to join her. They were at the resort in no time. The detective gave them directions, and they set up a meeting in an hour.

#

“Do you think this Guru Phoenix could really be The Lightkeeper?” Talia Cohen McGrath asked her husband, Hunter, as they flew on the company jet to Sedona. She was cuddled against his side, playing with the buttons on his shirt, wishing she could pop them open and slide her hand inside to caress his skin. She loved touching him. It didn’t matter that they’d made love in the shower before they left the compound. She couldn’t get enough of him. However, Christian Zamora was with them as an extra agent, and she didn’t want to scandalize the recent hire with their sexcapades.

Talia didn’t know Christian well, but like all her coworkers, he was strong, capable, and easy to look at, though he paled compared to her gorgeous husband. She trusted him to have their backs.

“It’s a possibility,” Hunter acknowledged. “Calling himself a guru sounds like something Elijah would do. Plus, he hasn’t shown up anywhere in the months since he fled Colorado.”

“We knew he would come back at some point. He was too narcissistic not to want the attention of devoted sycophants.”

“True,” Hunter agreed. “And a spiritual guru would be right up his alley.”

“If it is him, Audria said he was bald. Elijah was vain, so shaving his head had to be hard on him, but he would do whatever was necessary to continue to seek the glory of his adoring legions of fans.”

“Maybe he’s using one of those tight-fitting Lycra thingies to cover his hair and make it look like he’s bald,” Hunter mused.

“Oh, like one of Peyton Addison’s swim caps.” Talia nodded. “That would make sense.” Peyton, the most decorated Olympic swimmer in history, was now married to their coworker, Noah. She owned a line of swimwear.

When she and Hunter had been ensconced in Elijah’s cult, they had played the part of Tina and Henry McKay, heiress and bodyguard husband. They would keep those identities for this assignment. Their suitcases were filled with designer clothes, shoes, and accessories to keep the charade going. BeBe had secured them a sports car, while Christian would have an SUV to load the supplies they’d brought with them.

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