by Regan Black
“Not really.” She tried to think. “He came up behind me. I heard that twig. And then he was there, his hand over my mouth.” She used her hand to demonstrate. “A pinch.” She tapped her neck. “Then I couldn’t move.” Her palms started to sweat at the memory.
“Take it easy,” Carson soothed. “You’re safe and we’ll make sure it stays that way.”
How? “Have they started searching for Nico?”
“Yes. Based on where Shane found you, the attacker must have come through the back gate. Don’t you keep that locked?”
“Yes.” She heard the quiver in her voice and hated it. Bad stuff happened to good people all the time. She hadn’t even been hurt. Not really.
She would not cry, not with Carson watching and worrying. He’d lump her into the Victim column and coddle her. She couldn’t be sidelined during the search for Nico. He’d been taken on her watch. What she wouldn’t give for a long, hard run to purge all these feelings. It would have to wait. “Is there coffee or something?”
He arched one eyebrow, but he left the room to track down coffee for her. She took advantage of the moment and managed to get into the bathroom with her IV pole. When she finished, she splashed water on her face and tried to comb her hair into some semblance of order.
She was back in the bed when Carson returned with two tall cups of coffee. “Enjoy.” He set one in front of her. “Sugar and cream already added.”
“Thank you.”
Carson got right back to his interview. “Shane said the gate was unlocked when he came through to help you. That it squeaked.”
“The hinges need oiling,” Danica said. “I don’t recall hearing the squeak.” Did that mean the attacker was hidden inside the yard when she walked out with the puppies? Goose bumps chased over her skin.
“We’ll sort it out. Forensics is on it,” Carson assured her gently.
She set the coffee cup aside when her hand trembled. “Are you sticking around until they spring me? I’ll need a ride home.”
“Yes. I had Vincent bring over clean clothes for you. And he said he’ll feed your cat this morning.”
“Thanks.” Her cat, Oscar, wouldn’t be much happier with the change in routine than her little brother, but she would make it up to her cat after work tonight. Everyone should have a big brother like Carson in a crisis. He understood she would want to get straight back to work.
Suddenly, her stomach rumbled loud enough to make Carson chuckle. “Sounds like what would help most is breakfast.”
“That’s a good sign.” Carson grinned. “I’m on it.”
Alone again, she fended off the persistent vulnerability lurking at the edge of her mind by focusing on the details of the theft that didn’t fit together. Who had left the gate unlocked? What had the thief used to take Nico without a fight?
Nico wasn’t the type of dog just anyone could manage. She said a quick prayer that they wouldn’t find him after he’d caused someone serious harm. Restless, she checked the clock, willing the doctor to come by and release her.
The thief might have a few hours’ head start, but RRPD had the best K9 unit in the region and the resources to track down a valuable animal like Nico and the person dumb enough to steal him.
CHAPTER 4
Shane and Stumps entered the police station and walked straight back to his half brother’s desk. Echo, a yellow Lab that worked as Brayden’s search and rescue partner, was stretched out on the cool floor. Shane placed one of the two coffees he carried in front of Brayden.
Brayden’s dark eyebrows arched. “What’s the occasion?”
Other than sharing a last name, they were polar opposites. Brayden’s coloring was dark and Shane’s fair. Both men bore a strong resemblance to their respective mothers. Aside from their height and build, very little of their father showed in either man. Neither of them would ever complain about that happy genetic coincidence.
“I have a problem,” Shane said.
“No, you don’t.” Brayden removed the lid from the coffee and let the aroma waft up, inhaling deeply. “Detective Gage called in and said his sister is awake and feeling better.”
Shane buried the surge of relief and pressed on. “Not his sister.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Ours.” He pulled up the text message and handed over the cell phone.
Brayden paused in the act of sipping his coffee and carefully returned the to-go cup to the desktop. He stared at the phone display for far longer than required to read the brief message and swiped the screen to read the replies Shane had sent back.
“Still no word,” Shane pointed out unnecessarily. “What do you think?”
“We have to tell the chief.”
Shane pocketed the phone. “I figured you’d say that.”
Brayden took a big gulp of the coffee. “This isn’t a secret you can keep, Shane.”
“I know, I know.”
“You were hoping she’d give you a clue to follow so you can find her.”
“We’re all hoping that,” Shane replied, irritated at Brayden’s ability to see right through him. He might prefer the old distance after all.
“For different reasons,” Brayden added, glancing around the station.
The brothers drank coffee in silence, their K9 partners keeping an eye on the activity swirling around them. Putting the mounting questions and worry into words wouldn’t help Demi.
“She didn’t kill Bo or anyone else,” Shane muttered.
Brayden shot Shane a warning glance. “And yet we have to work the case. Anything else leaves us open to—”
Shane cut him off with a hard look. “I’m the last person here who needs that lecture.”
Brayden snorted. “I’m just saying even you could benefit from an open mind once in a while.”
“If your mind is too open your brains fall out.” Shane winked. “Might be the only useful bit of wisdom our father passed along.”
Rusty Colton’s reputation was less than stellar in the Red Ridge community. The people who patronized the Pour House, his bar anchoring the rough side of town, wanted stiff drinks to dull the pain life frequently dished out. No one looking for sound advice on anything asked Rusty for more than beer or whiskey.
The slacker, no-good reputation had posed several hurdles for Rusty’s offspring when they tried to improve themselves. Shane caught the gazes darting his way from various points around the bull pen and realized not all of those hurdles were out of the way, even after all this time. Though he sat here with Stumps in an official capacity on the right side of the law, he still didn’t fit in. He really should be used to it by now.
“Come on.” Brayden smacked Shane’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t put this off any longer.” Together with their K9 partners, they went over to the chief’s office.
Finn Colton, the chief of the K9 unit, listened intently to Shane’s explanation of the text message and the subsequent delay in reporting it. He wasn’t any more encouraged about a successful trace on the source than Shane. “She used a burner phone,” Finn said flatly. “Assuming that’s her and not someone messing with you.”
Shane bit back the insistence that it was his sister on the other end of those two words.
“If you get another text, report it immediately.”
“Of course,” Shane promised, tension thrumming in the obedient reply.
“I’ll just get back to my desk,” Brayden said, making a swift exit with Echo.
“Do you have anything else for me?” Finn said, stopping Shane’s attempt to follow.
“I was about to write it up.” At Finn’s obvious frustration, Shane relented. “We didn’t find anything at the site of the exchange to connect the gun deal to the Larson brothers.”
Finn swore. “I’m not surprised.” His gaze shifted to the window and the view of the street outside. “Thanks for trying.”
“Um, sure.” The gratitude was unexpected considering he’d basically failed, and Shane tried to leave again.
“Can you take on one more investigation?” Finn asked as Shane reached for the door.
He paused, unwilling to volunteer for what he feared was coming next.
“Everyone is working overtime on the Groom Killer,” Finn said. “I really need you and Stumps to take point on the missing Malinois.”
Shane smothered a groan and barely resisted rolling his eyes. “How is Danica this morning?” The question was out before he could stop it.
“Carson said she was good as new when he called in earlier.” Finn raised his chin toward the bull pen. “Looks like you can ask her yourself.”
Shane turned to see the redhead in question walking in with her brother and his K9 partner, Justice. She was dressed for work. Why wasn’t she at work?
“I know with your history this is the last case you want. I sympathize.”
Sympathy never fixed anything, Shane thought. Working the missing Malinois case inevitably meant more time with Danica, prime witness. “There has to be something else, another investigation we can help with.” Shane dropped to one knee and gave Stumps some affection, soothing both of them. He didn’t consider it hiding.
“You can’t hold her grandfather’s mistakes against her,” Finn said. “She had nothing to do with your incarceration.”
“I know.” She’d been a kid, fifteen or sixteen, maybe. At barely eighteen, he’d only been an adult in his mirror and in the eyes of the law. Still, the resentment was easier than forgiveness for so many reasons.
“Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t push it,” Finn was saying.
Shane stood up, folding his arms over his chest. “But?”
“Damn it, don’t make me beg.” He came around the desk and went toe-to-toe with Shane. “You know as well as I do we can’t have a trained protection dog out there.” His face clouded, the dark blond eyebrows casting deep shadows over his blue eyes. “Take Danica and start with the Larson twins.” It was clearly an order. “They were mad as hell when Darby wouldn’t sell them any puppies. They were specifically looking for protection dogs at the time.”
“Not good,” Shane muttered. Darby, Bo Gage’s ex-wife, had recently taken over the German shepherd breeding business.
“Not at all,” Finn agreed. He opened the office door and called Danica over to join them. After a brief exchange and assurance that she was well, Finn explained that Shane had been assigned to her case and they would be working together.
Though Danica’s lips lifted into a polite smile, Shane noticed the strain of the news in her eyes. Well, at least they found common ground with their mutual distaste for Finn’s orders. Maybe working closely with her—away from the training center—would help him purge the last of his lingering attraction to the one woman in town who would never want anything to do with him. The one woman in town he shouldn’t want at all. As she crouched to chat with Stumps, he supposed the dog gave them two common points to work from.
She looked up, her green gaze misty and warmer than usual. “Thank you,” she said.
He would have been less surprised if she’d punched him.
“Thank you, too,” she repeated to Stumps.
“What?” Behind him, Finn mumbled something that might have been advice, but Shane’s attention was locked on Danica as she stood up.
“For everything last night,” she said. “You let Stumps stay with me. I heard that you, um, stayed, too.” Her lips twisted to the side. “I appreciate it.”
“Okay.” The sincere gratitude threw him off. Struggling with it, he shoved the conversation back onto the proper track. “We’ll start with the Larsons,” Shane began, ignoring more muttering from Finn. “As long as we also pursue the theory that the attacker knew Danica personally.”
“Pardon me?”
There—the familiar wariness was back in her eyes and the world settled under his feet once more. “You could easily have been severely injured,” he explained. “The attacker drugged you when he might as easily have bashed you over the head or just killed you.”
Her green eyes went wide and her face paled. Those freckles reappeared. A heartbeat later her eyes sparked and her cheeks flamed with temper. Good recovery. He pressed his point. “For that matter, why didn’t he kill you once you were down? It would have been a smarter move. No way to be sure what you might remember. A stranger probably wouldn’t care whether you lived or died, but someone who knows you might.”
“Might?” Her auburn brows challenged his choice of words and she folded her arms over her chest. “I only know of one person in town who’d like to bash me or mine over the head.” She gave him a pointed look, clearly accusing him of being that person.
She wasn’t exactly wrong, though he kept his Gage-bashing urges under wraps by simply avoiding them as much as possible.
“Moreover, anyone who knows me probably knows better than to steal a trained attack dog. Without a handler, Nico might as well be a loose cannon—”
“Enough,” Finn interjected. “Figure out a way to work this case together,” he ordered. “Shane is in charge,” he said to Danica. “And keep me in the loop on your progress.”
“Yes, sir,” Shane said.
Danica echoed him and when he opened the door, she passed him with her pert nose high in the air. Just like a Gage to be certain they knew everything about everyone before all the facts were in.
* * *
Danica fumed in silence over the shift in her circumstances. The only silver lining she could see was that proximity to Shane kept her mind well away from the bone-deep sense of violation haunting her. She’d argued that driving from the police station to the training center was a waste, but Shane had pointed out that every minute of walking was a minute they weren’t looking for Nico.
“Do you really think the Larson twins would stoop to this?” she asked as he parked the car.
“At the moment, I think they’re capable of most anything.”
They’d come over so Danica could pick up a microchip scanner before they questioned the Larsons. If the twins did have Nico, she wanted to be able to scan his chip and prove the dog belonged to the K9 training center. The sooner they got him back on his schedule, the safer everyone would be.
She felt a tremor in the air as she walked inside. Glancing at Shane and Stumps, she saw they didn’t seem to indicate anything was amiss. Maybe the tremor was inside her or apparent only to those who worked here every day. She knew this building as well as she knew her condo and until last night, she’d felt equally safe here and at home. Today the energy was off, as if no one wanted to speak too loudly and bring on more trouble.
A form of grief, she supposed, after the violence of last night. Though she’d been the only human victim, everyone here would be upset by the invasion and theft. And everyone here, understanding the great risk of having Nico out there without a certified handler, would be on edge, hoping for the best and braced for the worst.
As efficiently and graciously as possible, she accepted the concern from her colleagues. Although she was impatient to get out there with Shane, she was glad to hear the dogs were only slightly off today and new security guards had been hired to prevent another mishap.
Mishap. As if a missing attack dog was on the same level as a puppy’s bladder giving way indoors.
With the microchip scanner in hand, she was nearly out the door when she noticed Tyler Miller hanging back as if he didn’t want to intrude. A little shy, he was a smart kid willing to do any task and was good with the dogs. In her eyes, he was as valuable to the program as any of the trainers. Smiling, she walked over to speak with him. At fourteen, he was already taller than her. They’d met at the community youth center. It had taken a few months, but she’d finally convinced him to visit the training center. Now he spent
every available hour here. Through the course of working with him, she knew he didn’t have a great home life and his experiences at school, the youth center and the training center might be the only good examples he had.
“How are the puppies doing today, Tyler?”
He shrugged a bony shoulder, his long, dark hair falling over his brown eyes. He gave up studying his shoes to meet her gaze. “They seem a little bummed. What about you?”
“I’m just fine now.” If she said it enough it might feel true. Physically, it was true. She thought he could use a hug, but she kept her arms to herself. Tyler had told her early on he didn’t do hugs.
He shuffled his feet. “They said you were in the hospital.” His gaze slid away, then back, hot with temper. “Were you hurt bad?”
“No,” she replied. He seemed so angry on her behalf she tried to downplay it even more. “The overnight observation was only a precaution. I promise you, I’m fine. I had a weird reaction to whatever drug was used on me.”
“As long as you’re okay. I was worried when I heard about it.” His eyes drifted over her shoulder and he took a quick step backward. “I’ll get back to work. Take care.” He gave her a half smile as he turned and disappeared down the hallway to the kennels.
She only noticed Shane and Stumps had come up behind her once Tyler was gone. Knowing what she did of Shane’s background, she’d wanted to introduce them.
“You seem a little rattled,” Shane said as she walked out with him and Stumps.
“I’m fine.” In a perfect world, she would have broken into a run. She fought the urge to look back over her shoulder. Doing so would only reveal too much to an investigator as observant as Shane. “More security is a good first step,” she said, hoping to shift his attention to a safer topic.
“You’re pale again.”
Clearly, that tactic failed. “I’m fine,” she repeated.
“What happened last night—”
She cut him off with a look as he opened the passenger door for her.
“All I’m saying is that no one would blame you if you took the day off.”
