Someone had beaten her so badly she was one big bloody bruise. He looked toward the timberline she’d stumbled from and listened, but he didn’t hear anything. As her words played back in his head, it was obvious to Braden that she was running from someone. She’d seen something—something that had put her in danger—and she’d said the cops were dirty. If he took her to the hospital, they’d call the sheriff’s office, but she was in need of medical help. He suspected her right wrist was broken, owing to the swelling and discoloration. It was obvious someone had hit her on her left cheek. Numerous cuts and scrapes, some of them deep, crisscrossed her body. Her clothing was torn and wet to the touch, which meant she’d walked in the river at some point. The highway was a couple of miles away and if she’d come from there, that meant she’d walked through wolf-infested woods the whole night. If she was in trouble… If she’d seen something like she’d indicated, then he couldn’t bring attention to her.
