Page 115 of Mine to Protect

“Rose,” I said, mystified. “Such a pretty name for someone so manipulative. She manipulated Sadie this entire time. All the creepy things Sadie did were directed by Sarah, or Rose, whoever she was.”

Both men nodded.

“When Sadie came to, another FBI agent walked through her day and how she got ahold of the coffee. We put two and two together at that point. Poor girl, she was terrified. But I will say, as much as Rose manipulated Sadie, she still is a bit on the looney side. That note she found?” Chandler rolled his eyes. “She created it, all based on the information she pulled from John. Seems all she wanted was his attention.”

“Wow,” I said on a pushed breath. “Sarah, Sadie, Lance, Jerry—am I so naïve to think that’s a lot of unstable people associated with my life?” A small smile pulled at the corner of my lips. “Maybe I attract the crazies.”

Cas shook his head. “Lance was a victim of Rose’s. She manipulated him and molded him into the perfect little minion she needed. Even though what he did to you was terrible, at that point he was without the person who controlled his every thought, and he spiraled. And Sadie, like we said, she’s a little off anyway and was too easily manipulated by Rose’s mind games. That poor girl didn’t have a chance once Rose saw how susceptible she was. And Jerry”—he bit out the name in disgust—“had a long rap sheet of misdemeanors, ranging from voyeurism to spying. One charge had him spying in a women’s bathroom. Once Rose met him, she knew she’d found the perfect replacement for Lance.”

“How did they even meet? ‘onlybadguys.com’ dating site?”

The two chuckled. “She was a watcher. She probably watched him watch other women for a while and approached him. One thing was clear—on all Rose’s testing, she was off-the-charts brilliant. No one stood a chance against her once she locked in on them.”

“Is she…?” I didn’t want to know, but then again I needed to. Not because I was scared of her coming after me again, but because of all the additional lives she could manipulate and harm in the future if she were still alive.

“Dead.” Chandler smiled. “You can thank me later.”

“How about now?” I pushed off the bed with a smile, set to hug him, but I sucked in a tight breath at the agony radiating from my stomach. Relaxing back, I sealed my eyes shut and focused on slowing my breathing. “What the heck?”

“Your whole stomach and lower back were beat to hell. There was some damage to your kidneys, but nothing requiring surgery. The doctors want to see how they heal on their own. Their main concerns when you came in were the hypothermia and gunshot wound.”

“I broke his nose.” When the pain subsided, I peeled my lids back open. Both men stared down with pride in their eyes. “Then he kicked the crap out of me for it. That was when Sarah came in and shot him. I thought it was you. I thought you’d found me.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Cas’s forehead bunch and lips purse.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t me.”

Grabbing his hand, I tugged it to my heart. “You did when it mattered most. You and Chandler both. Thank you, thank you, thank you. If you two hadn’t come to Colorado to investigate….” I shook my head, trying not to think of my body in that grave they’d dug for me. “The other women, were they buried close?”

“Within a hundred yards. We found them all. The only difference was the woman who was taken from town looked to have sustained vaginal and anal tearing. The other two were like the others in the Smokies: malnourished, abrasions around the wrists, but no rape.”

My gaze swept to the dark window. That made sense, based on what Sarah said in the little shack right before she shot Jerry. For some reason, the knowledge of Sarah’s childhood, the line in the sand she had on assault, made my heart sad for her. Maybe even feel guilty for her death.

“Hey.” Chandler’s stern voice snapped me from my thoughts. “Stop whatever you’re thinking. You’re the victim. Not her, not him. You.”

I chewed on my thumb as his words processed. Ever so softly, Cas’s finger wrapped around my chin, dragging my gaze to meet his. The love and pride shining in his dark eyes brought on a new wave of happy tears.

“No, Peters, you’re wrong.” A slow smile spread across his cheeks. “She’s not a victim. She’s a fucking survivor.”

Epilogue

Iheld back a wince, knowing the other rangers were watching as I rotated my left shoulder. Everything healed perfectly, but it still turned stiff if I didn’t move it often. Like now, sitting here filling out an incident report for the past hour on the stupid campers who decided to lure and trap six chipmunks to take home.

Idiots.

For the tenth time since I sat down over an hour ago, I glanced to the phone screen, hoping to see a new text. For the past four months, Cas and I had been trying out the long-distance relationship thing. We texted each other every hour, more than that most days. But today I hadn’t heard from him. Worry built in my gut, telling me something was wrong.

Reaching down, I rubbed Benny’s soft head, hoping he had the magical power to calm my racing nerves. A wet tongue popped out and licked up the back of my hand, making me smile. He was fully recovered—as much as he could be, at least. The physical therapist wanted him to be more active, but I couldn’t pull him out of the little doggie depression he’d sunk into.

With another scratch behind his ears, I sighed and pressed the Home button again to make sure I didn’t miss a message.

I didn’t.

“Birdie.” John’s loud voice carried past his closed door. “Get in here.”

Everyone quieted and watched as I pushed back from the desk and straightened my uniform. Since I came back to work, he had given me a wide berth, not talking directly to me, always giving orders in a group setting. It was awkward to say the least. This was the first time he’d initiated a one-on-one conversation in three months.

Pushing the door open wide enough to pop my head through, I found him pacing behind his desk.

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