“Take this.” She pulled open the drawer of her nightstand, then handed me a snub-nosed revolver. The moonlight filtering in from the window caught the pink glittery handle.
“We need to talk about your choice of firearms when this is over.” I pulled back the hammer as I crept out of her bedroom and down the hall. A set of bright headlights shone through the front window. I rushed to the front door to try to catch the license plate of the vehicle. Before I could get a good look, it backed over a flower bed and took off down the drive.
“Who was it, and what did they want?” Destiny bumped into me from behind.
I turned around to see her wearing my t-shirt and holding a long wooden baseball bat in one hand.
“I’m not sure, but they’re gone now. Where’s the light switch?”
She flipped on the overhead light. The main glass pane in her big picture window had been destroyed. Shards of glass covered the hardwood floor.
I rushed back to the bedroom to pull on my boots so I could wade through the destruction. A gray cinderblock sat underneath the coffee table.
“Looks like I found what they tossed through your window.” I picked up the heavy block and carried it over to Destiny. “There’s something tucked inside. We should call the police so they can check for fingerpri?—”
Destiny had already ripped open the plastic bag. She held up a blue collar with a set of tags dangling from the front.
“Gonzo. They’ve got him. What am I going to do?” Her fingers gripped the collar so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
The evidence had been compromised, but all that mattered was Destiny. I set down the brick and pulled her into my arms.
“I’ll find him, baby. I promise.” And when I did, I’d make sure whoever had him felt the wrath of my years of military training.
“He would have barked at a stranger. It doesn’t make sense. I didn’t hear him at all, did you?” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
I swept them away with the pads of my thumbs. “I’m not sure I would have heard a helicopter landing on the roof. I was dead to the world. We need to get the local authorities involved. Do you have a personal relationship with anyone on the force?”
She sniffled and pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes. “My dad was best friends with the sheriff for years. He retired, but his son got elected last year. I guess we could call him, but what’s he going to do about a missing dog?”
“Let’s get the number.” I walked back to the bedroom with her. If Dartman was involved in doing something to Gonzo, he was going to go down.
She handed me the collar while she pulled up the sheriff’s number on her phone. A piece of paper wrapped around the buckle. She probably hadn’t noticed it.
“Hold on a sec.” I unrolled it, my gut twisting tighter and tighter with every letter I revealed.
NO COPS.IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR UGLY OLD DOG AGAIN, SIGN THE FUCKING PAPERWORK. YOU’VE GOT UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
The note lookedlike it could have been featured in an old television cop show. Each letter had been cut out of a magazine and glued to the narrow strip of paper. I doubted the lawyer in the custom-tailored suit had gotten his hands dirty by flipping through the pages of a Better Homes and Gardens and playing with a glue stick.
“Let’s not call your sheriff friend just yet.” I didn’t want to make her more upset by showing her the note, but she pulled it out of my hand.
Her eyes went wide as she digested the threat. “They’re going to kill him? Oh my god. What kind of monsters am I dealing with?”
“Nothing’s going to happen to Gonzo. I’ll make sure of it.” I rubbed small circles on her back as she clung to my shoulders. I was used to fighting battles on the other side of the world. I’d never had to use my training to defend a target so close to home.
“How?”
“I’m not sure yet, but give me an hour or two and I’ll have a plan.” Working under pressure was one of my strengths. That’s what made me so good at my job. Well, usually. I sure as hell hadn’t been good at my job the day Bridger died. There was no time to dwell on the ghosts from my past. Not when a woman worthy of building my future around stood in front of me with tears in her eyes.
“I can’t lose him. He’s been with me through everything. When my mom died, then when my dad passed, and Mike had to move away. To some people, he’s just a dog, but to me…” She bit down on her bottom lip and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. “I just can’t lose him, okay?”
“You won’t. Let’s get this mess cleaned up, and I’ll make a few calls.” I pulled on my pants but left my shirt right where it was. It looked better on her than it would ever look on me.
“No cops though, right? Word travels fast around here. I can’t take a chance.”
“No cops,” I assured her. “Now show me where you keep the broom and dustpan.”
8
