“No.”
“You can trust me, Denise. Whatever itis.”
She squeezed her eyes closed and dropped her head against the door. “I do trust you. It isn’t aboutthat.”
“Then what isit?”
“It’s about you having a job to do and not being distracted. Get Kaden and Kimber and call me when you havethem.”
Disconnecting, she switched to the keypad and dialed Graham’snumber.
“Hello?”
“I need help with something,” shesaid.
“Fuck, Denise. I’m on it. We’re going through footage from around the school. We’ll findthem.”
“I already found out where theyare.”
“How did you dothat?”
“That’s what I need helpwith.”
“Does Noltonknow?”
She scratched Sprocket’s ear. “I told him where the kids are, not how Iknew.”
“Where areyou?”
“Therescue.”
“Give methirty.”
“Park in the back. The fire department is stillhere.”
* * *
The only thingkeeping her mind off Kaden and Kimber was caring for the dogs, which led to thoughts of how much they had lost, and how much it was going to cost to rebuild. Moving around prevented her from shaking with fury. Poor Sprocket finally lay down in front of the storage room door and watched her walk back andforth.
Needing to stay busy, Denise fed the dogs she’d managed to herd inside. Some of them she’d been able to double up in the larger kennels, but there were still several that had to be put into airline crates. At least they’d calmed down to the point that only a few whined every now andthen.
“Denise?”
She closed the kennel door and stood. “In the back,” shecalled.
Graham pushed through the swinging door, followed by a woman. There was something familiar about her and she scanned her from head to toe. The bracelet tattoo caught her attention and recognitionstruck.
“Paige?”
“Hey,” she said with awave.
“Holy shit. Where did you come from?” In three quick strides, Denise hugged the woman who’d been her trailer-mate at one time ondeployment.
She laughed softly and returned the hug. “Savannah for about the last threeyears.”
“How did you end up with Graham?” Denise glanced between the two ofthem.
Paige shrugged. “I was getting out. He said ‘come work for me.’ He offered me an obscene amount of money and I had nothing better to do at thetime.”
