Ranger Trent (Shifter Nation: Werebears Of Acadia Book 2) Read online

  Well…the case was potentially wrapping up soon…

  I shook my head. It’s not like you have time for that! Focus!

  “Good morning, Agent Gianni. I hope you slept well.” Trent was walking up to me with a bright, genuine smile and I immediately went on guard. Why was he being so friendly suddenly?

  I cleared my throat. “Good morning, Mr. Bailey. Are you waiting for someone?” I asked, a bit more coldly than I wanted.

  “Yes, I was waiting for you, actually. I thought you might like a ride up to Acadia. The taxis in Bar Harbor can be pretty expensive.” He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. When he laughed like that, his eyes almost closed completely.

  God, he is so hot…

  “Ms. Gianni?”

  “Huh?” I blinked and realized I had been staring at him again. “Sorry! Just spaced out for a moment. I had some trouble sleeping last night.”

  “Yeah, me too. It was a rough night,” he responded. When I said it, I was lying, but I could tell he was serious.

  “Bad dreams?” I asked, trying to soften the conversation.

  “Nah, just other stuff…Anyhow, can I give you a lift to the park? My Jeep’s just outside.” Trent’s smile was back, but I could tell there was something hidden behind it. He was being secretive, and I didn’t like that; I told myself I’d be nice to him to him, though, so I let it slide for the time being.

  “Sure, lead the way!” I returned his smile and followed him out to his Jeep.

  When we stepped outside, Trent’s two-passenger army-green vehicle was parked right out front. Its tires were covered in dirt, as was much of the rest of the vehicle.

  Just as we stepped up to his Jeep, Trent paused and turned to face me. “Hey,” he started, nervously running his hand through his hair again, “so…I realize I haven’t been the most…cooperative, Agent Gianni, and I wanted to apologize. After thinking about it, the bottom line is we both want the same thing: for this case to be solved and justice to be served. I know I’ve been a jerk, and I’m sorry…so…” He cocked an eyebrow and gave me a half smile. “Truce?”

  I certainly wasn’t expecting that, but I had to admit, it was always a pleasant surprise when a man could admit to his faults. I extended my hand out to his for a shake, “Alright, then. Truce.”

  Trent nodded and opened the door for me, offering his hand to help me up.

  “My lady…”

  “Why thank you, kind sir.” I made a bowing gesture towards him and laughed as I got in. Something was definitely different about Trent today—a and whatever it was, I liked it.

  He got into the driver’s side and started the Jeep, steering us toward Acadia.

  “Any particular reason you decided to come pick me up this morning? Wanted to celebrate me leaving today?” I asked after a few moments of silence.

  “Well, I was actually supposed to deliver the blood results to you before you left, but I decided to pick you up after our resource manager, Ramon, told me he couldn’t confirm the blood was from the victims. He said he was having a difficult time separating the properties of four different people.”

  “Four different people?” I was confused. There had only been three victims. Was there a fourth that we didn’t know about?

  “He was able to identify the suspect’s DNA among the others’. His victims must have injured him in some way.”

  “Oh, I see.” I thought about it for a bit. It changed things for me, to not have the blood results confirm we had our killer. I had been counting on them to ease my conscious. What if we had the wrong guy? “How long do you think it will take for Ramon to decipher the blood samples?”

  Trent shrugged. “He didn’t give me a time frame; he just said it was taking him longer than he thought, and he wasn’t sure when he’d have the results ready.” It was hard to read him because he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were firmly planted on the road.

  Must be a ranger thing.

  Either way, I decided he must be telling the truth. What reason would he have to lie? That complicated things, though. I didn’t want to bring the suspect to headquarters without knowing for sure he was at fault. That would be completely unjust.

  “Mr. Bailey, would you mind pulling over somewhere? I need to make a phone call.” I was all business again. I believed only in the facts, and the agency would just have to accept that.

  “Sure thing. Everything okay? We’re still about five minutes from the entrance of the park.” Trent’s voice sounded a bit concerned as he pulled off to the side of the road for me.

  “Of course, it should only take a moment.” I smiled at him as we made eye contact and got out of the car.

  I pressed the number one on my phone and tapped my foot, waiting for someone to respond.

  An apathetic voice finally answered, “FBI. Caulwell speaking.” The man had been with the FBI for a long time and you could tell he was ready to retire.

  “Good morning, Chief. This is Agent Gianni.”

  “Have you secured the suspect? Our pilots are a little busy right now, but they should be heading to you in less than two hours for sure.” Chief Caulwell sounded dismissive, as if he had more important things to do.

  “Well, that’s actually why I’m calling. I was supposed to secure evidence today confirming whether or not our suspect is the murderer, but the labs weren’t able to be obtained this morning.” I winced. I hated delivering bad news to the chief. He was just like me: he expected things to go according to plan.

  “What do you mean?” Caulwell’s tone shifted to what sounded almost like annoyance. Whether it was at me for delivering the news, or at the situation, I wasn’t sure.

  “There are three victims, and the park’s scientist found four different blood samples on the suspect. He was only able to positively identify the suspect’s blood, and not the other three because the samples were so mixed together. He says he can separate things out, but it will take him some time. I’m calling to ask if it’s possible to hold off on transport until those test results are secured, sir.” I recoiled at the last bit, hoping not to annoy the Chief any further.

  “Hmmm…okay. Go ahead and wait, but I’ll only give you an extension for one week. If the results are not in by then, you are to return with the suspect and the investigation will be continued here. Understood?”

  My jaw dropped. Caulwell was never this amicable; I was completely caught off-guard. I was so prepared to fight to stay in Maine, I hadn’t even thought of how I would respond if the Chief had agreed.

  “Uh—understood! Thank you, Chief. I won’t let you down and will do my best to expedite those results so we can move forward with the investigation.”

  Yes! One more week in that awesome hotel!

  “You get on that, Gianni.” The Chief hung up and it took every fiber of my being to not to jump up and down in excitement. I had wanted an excuse to stay in Maine and now I had one. I just had to make sure there was no rush on those blood samples.

  I composed myself, and as I headed back to Trent’s Jeep, I’m fairly certain I caught him checking me out. His eyes were moving slowly over my body and once our eyes met, he gave me a bright smile and my breath was stolen. He really was something to look at.

  Well, since I’m here for another week with not much else to do, maybe I can have some fun…

  I returned his smile and got back in the car.

  “You like what you see, Mr. Bailey?” I teased, testing out my best flirty laugh.

  “Caught me.” Trent’s voice was a little lower now; huskier. His expression looked hungry, but I couldn’t tell what for. He was looking me over again, and my skin was getting warm. “So, what now, Ms. Gianni?”

  “Well…um…my Chief has agreed to keep the suspect here until we have the test results, so I may be spending the rest of the week here.” I fiddled with my hands. His stare was so intense, I couldn’t look anymore. When he didn’t say anything, I glanced in his direction, catching his tongue gliding across his lips.

  Th
e things he could do with that…I felt a shudder jolt through me. I licked my own lips nervously and pressed my legs together tightly.

  “So, what can I do for you now?” Trent asked, tentatively placing a hand on my thigh. I could tell he was still testing the waters with me because his hand hovered for a couple for seconds before making contact, as if he was waiting for me to object. When I didn’t, he rested his hand there, his touch soft and light.

  I was surprised. I expected his hands to be firm and deliberate like he had been when we first met, but this touch showed that he was beginning to open up to me. The Trent I was seeing was the real deal. I had no idea what brought him out suddenly, but I was thankful I decided to wear a skirt.

  I closed my eyes as his thumb slid across my thigh and back with the same consistently light touch. It tickled something deep inside me and I flushed, biting my lip to hold back a moan that was dangerously close to escaping. His hand began to move slowly upward, carefully, only inch by agonizing inch. My skin was burning, reflecting the flames erupting within me.

  I wanted him. He was feeling me out, and all I could do was hope he could read my signals loud and clear.

  And then his lips descended over mine. His lips were soft, full, and slightly wet, and my eyes opened wide, completely shocked. I didn’t know what I had expected, but it certainly wasn’t a kiss—not just yet, at least. His hands moved higher up my thigh, under my skirt and I sunk into the kiss, diving into the delicious feeling of him touching me. I cupped my hand against his cleanly shaven cheek, the other hand twisting into his hair as I threw myself into it. Our lips danced together, and he slid his tongue against mine, begging for entrance. I granted, parting my lips slightly, and as he slid inside, tasting me, and I couldn’t help but release the moan I’d been trying so desperately to hold back.

  That must have been the sound he was waiting for. He reached behind my head with his free hand, releasing my dark tresses from the tightly-wound bun I wore. His hands were intertwined in my thick waves the next moment, pulling my head closer to deepen the kiss.

  His hand moved from underneath my skirt and I almost let out a whimper until it found its new destination in seconds. He cupped his hand over my breast and pressed his thumb against my bra, pinpointing my nipple.

  Another moan escaped me, causing our lips to part and he used that opportunity to travel down my neck. He planted soft, wet kisses against the column of my throat and I could have just melted in his arms. He smelled of freshly-mowed grass and rain, his scent wrapping around me like a warm breeze. I pressed my chest into his palm, wishing our bodies could just fuse together.

  Knock, knock.

  My eyes snapped open and I gasped at what I saw. A man in a police uniform was looking through Trent’s window at us with a very serious expression. I tapped Trent, who seemed to have completely froze at the sound.

  “Uh…you might want to handle this…” I was instantly nervous. Was making out on the side of the road a crime? I mean sure, in a literal sense it was, but we were in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t like anybody was going to see.

  Well, except for the cop. Just my luck.

  Trent slowly untangled himself from me and looked at his window. I could see his smile reflected through his sideview mirror, and it was just as charming as one might expect.

  Huh? When the officer outside saw Trent’s face, he also smiled. Do they know each other?

  “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Trent said, kissing my cheek and exiting the vehicle, leaving me sitting there, stunned. I scanned the area to see if anyone else was around, but the road was clear. Leaning over into the driver’s seat to look out Trent’s window, I tried to see if I could snoop a little. What could I say? It was in my nature as a detective.

  Trent was talking to the officer with his back to me, obscuring the man from my view so that I couldn’t see either of their facial expressions to determine what was going on.

  I can’t be arrested for public indecency or something like that while I’m on the job! How will I explain this to the Chief? I started to panic a little as the reality of the situation sank in.

  I sat back in my seat, fiddling with my hands again—a nervous habit that I was trying to break. Under any other circumstance, I might have straightened myself, exited the Jeep and asked the officer what the problem might be. But I was supposed to be working and I didn’t need anything getting back to headquarters that might make it seem like I wasn’t doing my job.

  I mean, I wasn’t, but they didn’t need to know that.

  I heard the door handle and looked up to see Trent getting back into the car, laughing.

  “What happened? Were we doing something wrong? Did I get you in trouble? Am I in trouble?”

  “Calm down, Blanca!” Trent put a finger to my lips and smiled. “You know you do a lot of talking with that thing. I wonder what else it can do.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Can you just tell me what happened, please?” I folded my arms, hoping to give the impression that I meant business and I wasn’t playing anymore.

  “It’s fine, trust me. That’s Al, the sheriff of Bar Harbor. He was patrolling the road to Acadia and saw my Jeep on the side of the road and got worried. He thought we might have been out of gas or something. He even apologized for knocking! He didn’t realize what we were doing until he had already startled us.” Trent was laughing as he spoke, and when he finished, I couldn’t help but smile a little, too. I breathed a sigh of relief. “So, no, we’re not in trouble and he hardly saw anything.”

  “Good.” I nudged his shoulder.

  “Is that nudge for us to pick up where we left off?” Trent smiled, leaning over to me. I put a finger to his lips this time.

  “Actually, since we’re keeping the suspect here, I would like to get some kind of work done. Can you take me to the holding cell so I can ask him some questions?”

  “You really are a workaholic, huh? You’d rather interrogate that douchebag than spend your day making out with a stud like me?” Trent laughed and shook his head as he turned the ignition.

  “I never said I’d rather do one more than the other, but maybe a stud like you would like to pick this up later after a bit of dinner back at my hotel?” I asked, trying to sound confident and flirtatious. I wanted him to think I had control of the situation, but by the way my heart was beating, I knew I didn’t.

  “Oh, are you asking me out on a date, Ms. Gianni? That’s a first!” Trent seemed taken aback.

  “A girl has never asked you out before?” I was shocked. How could someone so hot never be approached by the opposite gender? It was completely impossible in my mind.

  “I tend to chase women. They don’t chase me.” Trent said confidently, his eyes back on the road again as we drove along.

  “Well, you’d better be ready to run, because I have the reputation of being quite the chaser,” I joked.

  “Alright, pretty lady. I’ll be sure to grab my running shoes.” He stole a glance and winked at me. A light blush spread across my cheeks and I was suddenly deep in thought.

  How did we get like this so quickly? One minute, we couldn’t stand each other and the next, we couldn’t keep from laughing and smiling. What happened? What changed? I just couldn’t put my finger on it, but if we were only going to be around each other for less than a week, I’d much rather have us like this than at each other’s throats.

  Besides, I would need someone to show me around Acadia this week, especially those places the pilot had mentioned on my helicopter ride. After this interrogation, I was going to make this my vacation after all.

  “We’re here.” Trent’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts; we were indeed at the entrance to Acadia National Park. I looked out my window and saw the sign warning people not to approach the animals. Knox was waiting by the gate, wearing a ranger uniform that closely resembled Trent’s.

  “I have to talk to Knox for a second, and then I’ll take you up to the holding lodge.”

&n
bsp; He’d gotten out of the Jeep without so much as a glance at me; did I say something wrong? Trent didn’t seem mad or upset, just not as playful as he had been moments before. Maybe coming back to the park put him back in business mode?

  I straightened myself, You should be doing the same. Just as I got into the proper mindset, Trent was hopping back into the Jeep.

  “Alright. Off we go,” he smiled at me as Knox opened the gate to let us in. I wondered what time the park opened.

  “Is the park usually gated off in the mornings?”

  “No, not usually. The park is open 24/7, but with the murders, Knox is taking extra precautions and monitoring each person that comes in today.”

  “That’s probably a good idea.” I nodded, glancing out the window again. Everywhere I looked, there was something. Trees, mountains, lakes and the shoreline; Acadia seemed to have everything you could want in nature all rolled into one.

  “Hey, would you be up for giving me a tour of the park sometime before I leave?” I asked, not bothering to turn my face to as I spoke. If he didn’t want to be all flirty and stuff at work, I respected that and agreed completely, so I tried to keep my tone casual.

  “Sure. I know plenty of places I could take you. People usually love Cadillac Mountain. It’s one of the first places you can see the sunrise in the morning.”

  “Really? I’d love to see that.” My face brightened as I looked at Trent.

  He glanced at me and smiled. “Two dates planned in one week already. You really are going to make me run, huh?” Trent chuckled.

  “Like the wind.” I joked. I could see a building coming up in front of us.

  “Alright, well, here’s the holding lodge.” Trent said, pulling up to the facility. “Let’s go check on your boys.”

  Chapter 9 - Blanca

  Trent and I walked into his office to find Alex sleeping while leaning against the wall, a magazine over his face. Gerard had his head down on Trent’s desk, and I could hear a light snore coming from his throat.