“It would be for anyone,” Sloan agreed, shaking his head.
“That was why, when my enlistment was up, I got out. I loved doing what I did with my dog, finding IEDs and keeping everyone safe, but I had to deal with daily sexual harassment in the military. And now there’s a statistic from 2014 that shows twenty-six thousand military women were raped in the services. One out of every eight women who joins the military can expect to be raped. And those men are usually in the same company as the woman. Hell, I didn’t just have to be scared of the enemy hurting me. I had to be afraid of the men in my own company raping me. That’s not acceptable. I got out.”
“It’s completely unacceptable,” Sloan growled.
“If I were a mother, I’d never allow my daughter to serve in the military. Not with that kind of good-ole-boy system protecting the rapists and blaming the survivors.” Her mouth curved downward.
Sloan heard the steel in her lowered voice. Felt the outrage around her. And he was glad to see the anger rising because so many women had been brainwashed and taught that it wasn’t all right to show their anger. Or to act upon it in a healthy way when they did feel it. “Keep your anger out in front of you like a shield, Dev. You’ve a right to feel it. No man should use his power against you for any reason. You’re a human being. You deserve to be respected.”
“Can I clone a billion of you?” Dev asked, giving him a grateful look. “Replace other men with your kind?”
Sloan chuckled. “Oh, I have my warts, gal, that’s for sure. I’m far from perfect.”
“That’s okay. I like you just the way you are.”
Sloan smiled. “And I like you just the way you are, too.” His heart warmed and he ached to draw Dev into his arms, give her the sense of support Sloan knew he could give her. But there were so many fine lines to tread with her. If he acted on his protective instincts too aggressively, Dev might lump him in with men like Gordon, or those who had sexually harassed her in the Marine Corps. The stress and hurt in Dev’s face tore at him. What the hell was wrong with men thinking they could do this to any woman? He kept his anger to himself. It would do no good to show it.
“Would Bella protect you if Gordon found you?”
“I’m sure she would. At the time of the attack, she was in my truck, not with me. When I got away from Gordon, she was barking, trying to get out of the truck, sensing something was wrong. Bella bit that Marine sergeant that tried to corner me in a deserted Afghan home. She didn’t wait. She lunged and grabbed his lower left arm and left four huge puncture holes in it.”
“That’s good to hear,” Sloan said. “Because she’s your first line of defense. Bella may well sense Gordon before you do. Better hearing. Better sense of smell.”
“You’re right,” Dev admitted. “But I can’t take her into the grocery store or restaurants or the other places I have to go to do my business in town, Sloan.”
“I know.” And Sloan didn’t like the idea of Dev being without her brave dog who would give her life for her if she needed to. Damn, he’d like some confirmation that someone, somewhere, had seen Gordon. His hands tightened on the wheel as they drove into the southern end of town, heading back to their apartment complex. “Look,” he said, catching her gaze for a moment, “I’m right across the hall from you. If you feel scared or you feel Gordon around, you need to come over and tell me. Will you do that for me?”
“What? And wake you up in the middle of the night, Sloan? You need your sleep. I don’t get that much sleep since I’ve felt Gordon around. Why wake you up? There are times I have nightmares and I’m so caught up in them, I don’t know what is real and what is a dream.”
“Bella will know,” Sloan told her patiently, frowning. “If Gordon really is stalking the halls of this place, Bella will take off barking at the door.”
“That’s true and I know that. When I get jerked out of sleep by one of my nightmares, Bella comes into the bedroom. She licks my hand, whines and tries to comfort me.” Her voice softened. “Usually, Bella sleeps right by my bedroom door. And you’re right, she’d be the first to hear someone moving in the hall outside my apartment and sound the alarm.”
Sloan nodded. “Mouse would hear him, too, believe me. And when he barks, he shakes the rafters. There’s nothing meek about my dog’s bark. He can sense if someone is out in the hall and up to no good. He’s been trained to know an enemy by sensing alone and he’s good at it, Dev.”
“Well,” she said wryly, “between our two dogs, if Gordon thinks he can come up to my apartment and break in, he’ll get the surprise of the century.”
“Mouse would tear that door of mine apart trying to get out to reach you,” Sloan said. “He likes you. And he’d know if someone was coming to harm you.”
“Mouse has already made me part of his pack,” she agreed.
“He has. But he’s a big alpha male and he’s the head of the pack.” Sloan saw a little bit of hope come to her eyes. The more he could rally the resources they had around her, the easier it would be to keep her safe. And there was nothing like a dog as a first alarm. “And you have me, you know.”
“Believe me, I wouldn’t be feeling very strong right now if you weren’t in the mix, Sloan. And I appreciate you so much. I’m just so torn up by all of this. I thought by moving out here I was leaving it all behind me.”
“Until Gordon is caught,” Sloan told her, “you need to surround yourself with people who care about you, Dev. You don’t have to fight this alone, this time. You have Iris Mason and her family. And you have Miss Gus and the Holt and McPherson families. They all love you like a daughter or a sister.” His eyes twinkled as he saw her rally. “And you have me and my big bad guard dog, Mouse.” A faint smile pulled tentatively at her lips. As much as Sloan wanted to tell her to come and live with him, he couldn’t go there. Dev wouldn’t do it because she had battled all her life, alone and without support, starting with the family she grew up in. And it would take Dev time to adjust to the idea that others would not only be there for her, but damn well protect her if that’s what it came down to.
“They’re all the family I wished I’d grown up with,” Dev admitted. “I so look forward to Sundays now, Sloan, with you.”
“It’s a great time out.” He wanted to talk more about precautions but saw Dev was pretty much overwhelmed at this point. As a ranger, she carried a pistol on her at all times. And Sloan was positive it was in her apartment. He wanted to speak to her about getting a concealed weapons permit so that she could keep it in her truck, or on herself, depending upon where she had to go. Sloan was positive that with what had happened to her already, and the possibility Gordon was here stalking her again, that law enforcement would allow her such a permit. She was well trained in the Marine Corps and knew how to handle any number of weapons besides just a pistol.
Those conversations could wait for a bit, but Sloan felt pushed to speak sooner, not later about them. And did he want Dev going into town by herself when she wasn’t working? Not really. Not right now. How would she feel about being constantly shadowed by him or other rangers who would have to be with her if she did tracking in the Tetons? Would Gordon go so far as to try to kidnap her out there in the forest? He was, after all, an ex-ranger. And he knew how to hunt and use weapons, as well. Worse, the man was mentally unstable and couldn’t be counted on to do the logical thing and stay away from Dev.
Fear ate at his heart. Sloan tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t. He pulled into the apartment complex and automatically looked for a silver Dodge Ram truck as he slowly drove through the area. Dev was alert, looking at people going in or coming out of the buildings with far more intensity than before. It was a helluva strain on her to have to live like that. Damn, but he wanted to protect her. He could keep her safer if she’d only think about moving in with him. Right now, Sloan knew the idea wouldn’t fly. But he sure as hell wanted it to for a basket of reasons, some unselfish and some completely selfish. Dev was a decent person caught in the snare of a man w
ho not only hated her but wanted to destroy her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
WHEN DEV ENTERED her apartment, she instantly had a bad feeling. Bella also came in and walked casually into the living room. Maybe she was just being ridiculous? Perhaps the interview with Deputy Sheriff Garner had shaken her up, made her imagination take off. Turning, Dev made sure the door was shut. The noontime sunlight was indirect because her apartment sat on the west side of the complex. She had a beautiful picture window where she could see the Tetons rising off to her right. The sky was a pale blue and the July temperature was in the mideighties. Placing her purse on the foyer desk, she felt her neck hairs rise. That was her first line of defense when in Afghanistan. If her neck hairs stood up, it meant danger. Immediate danger.
Looking around, she saw Bella lie down on her doggy bed in the corner of the living room. If someone were in here, a stranger, her dog would have heard him and gone after him, barking loudly. Instead, Bella was lying down to go to sleep.
Shaking her head, Dev felt that same oily, sticky energy around the apartment. It happened every time Gordon was nearby. Was she making this up? Dev sighed and wandered into the kitchen, torn.
Something was out of place. She sensed it.
Her throat tightening with fear, Dev looked at the five cookbooks she had between two polished agate bookends sitting on the granite counter in the corner of the kitchen. She walked over to them and frowned. She had always placed them in a certain order.
Now, they were out of order. The dessert cookbook was first, not last.
Rubbing her brow, Dev hesitated, unsure. Had she done this herself? She gazed around her small kitchen. Nothing else was out of place. She walked into her dimly lit bedroom and turned on the light. Nothing was disturbed in there, either. Going next to the bathroom, she peered in and flipped on the light.
Nothing was amiss.
It had to be her.
Feeling depressed by all the pressure building within her, Dev figured she might have misfiled her cookbook herself and let it go at that. That oily, dreadful sensation that always enveloped her when Gordon was around was now just shock over the fact he was missing and no one knew where he was.
But she knew he was here, in Jackson Hole. Or was he?
Her imagination was working overtime.
How could she trust herself anymore? She hadn’t picked up on Gordon coming up into the barn and sneaking up behind her to attack her. Tears burned in Dev’s eyes as she turned off the light. She made a muffled sound and turned, going back to the kitchen. Even though it was around noon, her stomach was tight and she had no appetite. But she had to eat.
As she made herself some tuna for sandwiches at the counter, Dev’s heart turned to Sloan. If he wasn’t in her life right now, she didn’t know what she’d do. She wanted so much more from him, but there were so many other obstacles staring her in the face. Gordon was missing. He was somewhere. Was it fair to Sloan that she was leaning so heavily on him right now? He didn’t seem to mind, but Dev was afraid to say how much she was attracted to him. She refused to call it love. It was just too soon to know that. And even if it was love, meeting Sloan right now was bad timing, especially now that she was threatened by Gordon. Dev couldn’t focus on Sloan or what was building slowly between them. But whatever it was, it was good. Wonderful.
As she added pickle relish to the bowl of tuna, Dev stirred it with a fork. Feeling naked and vulnerable with Gordon on the loose and no one knowing where he was, she focused on making herself a tuna sandwich.
There was a quiet knock at the apartment door.
Bella barked and galloped to the door, hackles up, growling.
Dev’s heart jumped in her chest. She jerked in a breath, turning as Bella kept barking. At least she was a very good alarm system.
Peeking out the peephole in the door, she saw it was Sloan.
Confused, she opened the door. Bella leaped out, licked his offered hand and wagged her tail, thumping it against the jamb.
“Sorry to knock,” he said, gesturing to his open door. Mouse was sitting in the entrance, alertly watching them. Sloan had told him to sit and stay.
“What’s wrong?”
Sloan grimaced. “Well, something happened and you need to know about it. Do you have a moment to come over and I’ll show it to you?”
Bewildered, Dev wiped her hands on a small towel. “Sure.” Making a gesture to her dog, she said, “Sit, Bella. Stay.”
The yellow Lab whined and sat down in the entrance.
Mouse thumped his tail as she followed Sloan into his apartment. He gestured for her to walk down the hall. He gave Mouse an order, and the dog followed her.
“Turn around,” Sloan told her after shutting the door.
Dev’s eyes widened. The inside of his apartment door held deep claw scratches. “Oh, my God. What happened?” she whispered, pointing at it. She saw how grim Sloan had become.
“Mouse was leaping at the door, trying to get through it, is what happened.”
Blinking, Dev looked down at Mouse and then over at Sloan. “I don’t understand.”
Sloan came up to her. “Did you see anything in your apartment that was out of place? Is anything missing?”
Her heart dropped and she gasped, her hand flying to her chest. “Oh, God… Why do you ask?”
“When Mouse feels a threat, he’s been trained to go through a window or whatever is in the way in order to reach the enemy. He apparently felt or heard a threat out in the hall sometime while we were gone. Maybe a stranger was in our hall? Maybe he or she turned or twisted the knob on my front door. Mouse wouldn’t have attacked the door like that if it was you or me. He knows the sound of our footsteps. He can smell us through a door because no door is fully leakproof.”
Dev’s mouth went dry. “I—I… Oh, God, Sloan. When I got home, I felt this oily, slimy feeling that I always associate with Gordon, inside my apartment.” Immediately, Sloan’s eyes narrowed and became intense. “I thought it was me. Bella went to lie down in the living room, like there was nothing wrong. I went into the other rooms looking for anything out of place, and I found nothing.” She gulped. “Then in the kitchen I saw my cookbooks were out of order. I always make sure I put them back in a certain order, where they belong. I thought it was me. I thought maybe I’d made a mistake and didn’t put them back in the same way after using them.” She touched her brow, her heart galloping in her chest. Gordon had been in her apartment. Terror shot through Dev as she looked pleadingly up at Sloan.
“C-could Gordon have been up here on our floor? Could he have by mistake twisted the doorknob on your door instead of mine?”
“I don’t know.” Sloan moved his hand across her shoulder, giving her a squeeze, hoping to make her feel a little safer than she looked right now. “What I am going to do is put Mouse in harness and I’m going to have him smell the doorknob and then see where he tracks the scent. Do you want to come with me? Put Bella on a leash?”
“Yes…” The fear ate away at her. “What if Gordon was here? What if he was in my apartment while we were gone? How did he get in?” Her voice thinned with terror. Sloan pulled her more tightly against him and she savored his closeness.
“Let’s take this a step at a time,” Sloan urged her, holding her anxious stare. “Go get Bella? What I want to do is use Mouse to track the scent. Let’s see if he tracks it from my door into your apartment or not. I’ll meet you out in the hall in a few minutes. I want to get my pistol and holster.”
That brought it all home for Dev. She had one, too, but hadn’t even thought of reaching for it. Reminding herself that Sloan had a combat-assault dog, that he was used to being in the fray of combat, unlike her, Dev gave a brief nod and slipped out from beneath his arm.
*
SLOAN TRIED NOT to relay his worry. He wore his pistol on his right hip and he had Mouse in his working harness. The Belgian Malinois knew what that harness meant and was all business as he walked expectantly out into the hall. Sloan al
lowed the apartment door to shut and then pointed to the knob.
Instantly, Mouse was sniffing it.
“Seek,” he told the dog, giving him plenty of room on the leash to go wherever the scent led him.
Mouse had his long black nose down on the carpet, following it to Dev’s closed door. He smelled it, sitting down in front of it.
“That means he’s linked the odor on my door to your door,” Sloan told Dev, glancing up toward her pale features. Bella sat at her side, alert. Fear leaped to Dev’s eyes. Sloan took a handkerchief, not wanting to disturb any prints that might be left on the knob. They were all probably destroyed earlier when Dev opened it with her bare hand. But the scent was still on it. Opening it, Sloan pushed the door open.
Instantly, Mouse was following the scent down the hall. He turned sharply into the bedroom.
Dev followed them.
Turning on the light in the bedroom, Sloan watched his dog work, following the scent around the bed, then to the dresser and then to the other side of the bed. Dev came and stood next to Sloan. Her hand was pressed against her throat, her eyes huge with fear.
“He was in here,” Sloan gritted out.
And then Mouse quickly whipped out of the bedroom, moving to the bathroom.
Sloan watched his dog working around the toilet, and then the bathtub. Then Mouse turned, thrusting his snout upward, sniffing strongly up above the lights over the basin counter. Mouse lifted his front legs, paws resting on the counter, whining and looking pointedly up at the light array.
“What is it?” Dev asked hoarsely.
Moving forward, Sloan, who was taller, craned his neck, carefully checking out the light fixtures all bound together. “Something…” He peered intently at it. He told Mouse to sit. Dropping the leash, Sloan eased his bulk up on the granite counter so he could get eyes fully on the fixture. “There appears to be a small camera assembly up here.”
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