Worshiped By The Bear Kings - Complete (2 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

Back at the car, Dara was talking to
one of her friends on her cell, gossiping about Jasmine’s discovery as though
it happened to her. It was only after Jasmine had gotten in the passenger side
instead of the back, and Dennis had reversed them out to the main road, did she
allow her call to be interrupted.

“Excuse me –
where is Jake? Why are we driving away?”

“We’re going
to the forest ranger’s office to report the body,” Dennis explained. “Jake
wanted to stay behind.”

Dara leaned
forward. “Umm… Why?”

Dennis put
his arm over the seat, and turned to face her. “He just did. Don’t question
it.”

Dara rolled
her eyes. “Whatever.”

Jasmine was
relieved when she ended her call a minute later. Her gasbagging obnoxiousness
was starting to really get on her nerves.

“I hope this
isn’t going to take very long,” Dara then said. “Cause just sitting in the back
here is like so boring.”

“Blame your
brother,” Dennis said. “I would’ve just called the cops and been done with it.”

“I’ll keep
you company,” Jasmine offered, trying to placate her. “We haven’t had a proper
chance to talk yet anyway.”

“Mmm,” Dara
said with semi-sarcasm. “Sounds like fun.”

It was worth
a try.

Up ahead,
just before the road steeped up even higher, Jasmine could see the lodge Jake
had mentioned. It was quite a large area with three separate buildings – a
visitor’s centre, a steakhouse restaurant, and the ranger’s office. There were
a few scattered vehicles in the parking lot.

They pulled
in and Dennis immediately got out of the car. “You guys coming or…?”

“What for?”
Dara muttered.

Dennis
shrugged and slammed his door shut.

“I’m going to
stretch my legs,” Jasmine said after a moment.

“Have fun.”

Jasmine got
out and walked a few paces across the gravel. The sun’s bright rays caused her
to sigh a moment, and then she moved off into the edge of the lot, where some
large trees were giving shade. She watched Dennis enter the ranger’s office and
close the door behind him.

Jasmine wasn’t
exactly feeling good about this situation today, but she wanted to try and be
optimistic. This could be just a small hurdle for them to go over. She could
see already that she didn’t like Dara, at least not yet, but maybe that was
just Dara’s standoffish nature to people she didn’t know very well. In any
case, Jasmine was still willing to give it a try.

Though if
Jake tried anything with her romantically tonight, he would certainly be out of
luck.

“Hello
there.”

A voice.

Behind her.

Before she
turned, she heard the sound of heavy boots crunching along the gravel. He was
walking towards her. Slowly.

“Uh, hello…”
Jasmine said turning.

She saw that
it was one of the rangers – wearing dark green khakis, with a sleeveless jacket
and hat to match. His arms were broad, his chest decidedly muscular. He was
wearing a small pair of brown tinted sunglasses, which he took off, revealing
those gentle eyes.

It was the
man from the other side of the river.

CHAPTER SIX

“Thunder Brad.”

The man
extended one hand while his other tucked the sunglasses neatly into his jacket
pocket.

Before
Jasmine even realized it, she was shaking his hand.

“And your
name?”

Jasmine
muttered something inaudible.

Thunder Brad
let her dangling hand fall to her side.

“You saw me,
didn’t you?”

Jasmine
opened her mouth. “Waah  … What –?”

“Just before.
You remember, don’t you?”

Jasmine shot
her gaze back at the ranger’s office. The door was still closed.

“I wasn’t
doing anything wrong,” Thunder Brad continued. “But you’re not going to tell my
partner about it. Or anyone else for that matter.”

Jasmine’s
eyelids fluttered. “What makes you think I won’t tell anyone?”

“Because I
just asked you to.”

“Well, you’re
very full of yourself then.”

Immediately
after saying it, Jasmine felt like an idiot. But she wasn’t sure why.

Thunder Brad
seemed to pick up on her lack of togetherness. He boldly reached out and
touched her left cheek. “It will be our secret, dear,” he said in a soothing
voice.

“What happens
if I do tell?” Jasmine whispered.

“Nothing,”
Thunder Brad whispered back. “Absolutely nothing.”

Before
Jasmine could figure out what that meant, the door to the ranger’s office swung
open and Dennis stepped out with a second ranger. They started towards the car
a moment, before Thunder Brad put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

Jasmine
stepped away from him as the other approached.

“That’s
Brad,” the second ranger said Dennis. “He runs things.”

“Hi,” Dennis
said, taking Brad’s hand.

The second
ranger looked at Jasmine inquisitively.

“My sister,
Jasmine,” Dennis introduced her. “This is Scott.”

Scott grinned
at her but didn’t offer his hand. He was younger than they were, probably still
in his late teens.

“You tell
Brad about what’s going on?” Scott asked Jasmine.

“Uh…” Jasmine
mumbled.

Dennis
frowned. Then looked at Thunder Brad. “We found a body. A hunter. He was
attacked by an animal or something.”

“Hunting is
completely prohibited in this area,” Brad stated tonelessly.

“That’s what
I said to him, Brad,” Scott added.

“Well,
prohibited or not, he was hunting something,” Dennis continued. “And now he’s
been … beaten to death.”

“Beaten to
death?” Scott said skeptically.

“Well he –
our friend Jake reckons it was a bear.”

“Bit far for
one of those blackies to be out here. He must be mistaken.”

“Actually, he
thinks it was a grizzly bear.”

“We don’t
have bears out here,” Thunder Brad stated.

“Especially
not grizzlies,” Scott added.

Dennis
clapped his hands together. “Look, that’s just what Jake said. I don’t give a
fuck. So do you want to go out there now?”

“Where’s your
friend?” Brad asked.

“Who? Jake?”

“Yep.”

“He’s still
out there. He’s … well, he’s looking for some guy who was out there.”

“What guy?”
Scott asked.

“Tell them,”
Dennis urged Jasmine. “Tell them who you saw out there.”

Thunder
Brad’s eyes bore down at her.

After a
moment of silence, Jasmine said, “It doesn’t matter. It was nobody.”

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Back in the car, Jasmine wasn’t sure
why she didn’t just come out with that she’d seen Thunder Brad there. Obviously
he had been up to something, if he hadn’t been responsible for the hunter’s
death.

Yet … Jasmine
didn’t know that for sure. Her gut was telling her something else. At least,
she hoped it was her gut, and not just Brad’s hunky charm. The possibility
bugged her.

“What was
with you back there?” Dennis asked once they were in the car again. “You were
like in a daze or something.”

“Huh? Oh it
was nothing.”

“And you’re
still in it.”

Dara leant
forward from the backseat. “What are you guys talking about? Are we getting
this sorted?”

“Don’t worry
about it,” Dennis said to her. “The rangers are following us and then we’re
going to get Jake, and get the fuck out of here.”

“If you can
find him,” Jasmine muttered.

“He said he’d
be back with the body by the time we get back there,” Dennis reminded her. Then
sighed. Twisted the ignition.

Jasmine could
see Thunder Brad and Scott were in their jeep waiting for them.

“He better
fucking be there,” Dennis muttered.

And then they
were on the road.

Once Dennis
was silent again, the only sound in the car was Dara’s fingers tapping as she
texted someone. It wasn’t enough. Jasmine couldn’t escape thinking about
Thunder Brad again. A silly childish voice rose up within her –
You LIKE him
–
which left her more than a little frustrated. Of course she didn’t like
him. She didn’t know him. OK – sure. He was hot. And now they shared this
‘secret’ together. But Jasmine didn’t really know what the secret was or if she
should even keep it. The whole thing was really stressing her out.

When they
arrived at the clearing again, Dennis turned to her and asked, “You staying or
going this time?”

Jasmine shook
her head. “Coming I guess.”

“You know
what, it’s fucking hot in here,” Dara said. “I’m coming too.”

“Alright,
everyone’s coming,” Dennis muttered.

He got out of
the car.

When Jasmine
and Dara joined him, he was standing around the trunk, his focus on his rifle
sitting there.

Thunder Brad
and Scott walked over.

“You’re not
taking that with you,” Thunder Brad said.

“For
protection,” Dennis said defensively.

Thunder Brad
waved his hand away. “You’re lucky we don’t confiscate it.”

“Confiscate
it?” Dennis exclaimed.

“Do you have
a permit for it?”

“Uh…”

“Leave it in
the trunk.”

Dennis
sighed. “Okay. Fine.” He closed the lid. “Are you happy now?”

Jasmine
noticed Thunder Brad and Scott weren’t carrying firearms. “Where are your
weapons?”

“We don’t
need weapons,” Thunder Brad said sternly. “The wildlife are our friends.”

“Tell that to
the hunter,” Dennis muttered.

“Let’s take a
look at him,” Thunder Brad said and started moving in the direction of the
river. “Was it this way?” he asked, turning to Jasmine.

“Yes.”

Dennis caught
the moment they had. He frowned at Jasmine.

She looked
away.

“So you’re
absolutely sure that he’s dead?” Scott asked as they walked.

Jasmine
looked around to see who the question was directed at. “Uh. Yes.”

“Jake
examined him,” Dennis said.

“Did he check
for a pulse?”

“Look we know
a dead body when we see one, okay?”

“Do you?”
Thunder Brad’s mouth clicked.

“Well, I
don’t mean it that way,” Dennis said. “Just. You just take a look for yourself
and make your own mind up.”

“I don’t have
to look,” Jasmine heard Dara say.

“No, you
don’t have to look,” Dennis said pulling her underneath his arm.

What a
wonderful relationship that must be, Jasmine thought to herself, rolling her
eyes. Then she gritted her teeth together. She shouldn’t be so cynical.

They reached
the slope leading down to the river’s edge. The body was still there but there
was no sign of Jake.

Dennis
immediately pulled out his cell phone.

Thunder Brad
and Scott squatted to inspect the body.

Jasmine
looked to Dara who was facing the other direction, texting.

“You don’t
have a smoke I could pinch off you?”

Dara didn’t
look up. “Where are yours?”

“Back in the
car.”

She reached
into her pocket and gave Jasmine the cigarette.

“Lighter,”
Jasmine said holding her hand out.

The lighter
hit her hand just a bit too hard.

“I can
reimburse you when we get back,” Jasmine mumbled.

“It’s okay,”
Dara smiled, still not looking away from her phone. “My treat.”

Now Jasmine
wished she hadn’t asked. It was just one of those days.

“He’s not
answering,” Dennis said, agitated. “It’s ringing out but he’s not picking up.”

“So what
killed him?” Jasmine called out to the rangers. “Was it an animal? Or a
person?”

Thunder Brad
stood up. Although she was a distance away, Brad moved round the body and up
the slope a little until he was staring at her directly. He had his sunglasses
back on now.

“Can I have
that cigarette please?”

“What? Why?”

Brad took it
from her fingers. He cast it into the river.

“Hey,”
Jasmine gushed. “What the fuck?”

“Fire hazard.
We have to take precautions.”

Jasmine
scrunched her face up. Not impressed.

“I’d say he
was definitely attacked by an animal,” Scott piped up. “Must be one of the
blackies after all.”

“Is that what
happened?” Jasmine asked Thunder Brad.

She could see
his eyes behind the glasses.

Looking right
into hers.

“Hold up,”
Dennis sang out. “It’s Jake. He’s okay after all.”

Thunder Brad
turned and Jasmine followed his gaze to see Jake approaching from the other
side of the river.

“About
fucking time,” Dara muttered without looking up.