“What kind of scent thing do you need?”
“I need something that belonged to your partner in crime, something that was close to his skin.”
Don grinned. “So you know who I am?”
“I know what you are.”
His grin disappeared behind a scowl. “For a prisoner, you sure are a mouthy bitch. Mypartnertook off in the middle of the night with the money. You’re going to help me find him so I can get my share back—and make him pay.”
“I won’t help you if you’re planning to kill…”
The gun was out before she had finished speaking. “You’ll help me, or I’ll put you down right now and take your fucking dog to find him myself.”
Staring down the barrel of that gun, her pulse thrumming in her ears, Kenzie fought to find her courage. Like an aggressive dog, this asshole would become more dangerous if he sensed her fear. But,damn, shewasscared.
She made herself laugh. “You know nothing about search dogs. You wouldn’t succeed without me. Lower that damned gun, or fuck off.”
Slowly, he lowered the weapon. “You better be worth all this trouble.”
Kenzie would find a way out of this. She had no choice. But for now, she had to play along. “Do you have a scent article or not?”
Chapter 22
Conrad stood with Megs,Hawke, Herrera, Belcourt, and Acharya, looking from Kenzie’s Find My Phone app on her computer to the big topographical map of the Indian Peaks Wilderness that hung on the wall. “It looks like they’re headed toward the old Hastings mine.”
Hawke tapped the site of the old mine with his finger. “That’s the only thing up there. If this asshole is forcing her to track someone, it could be that the person she’s tracking is hiding there.”
A knot of dread formed in Conrad’s chest, dropping like a rock into his stomach.
Son of a bitch.
“That’s a long damned climb for someone who isn’t used to it.” Conrad pointed to a dark line on the map. “There’s an exposed ridge here—a knife’s edge with a thousand-foot drop on either side. When it’s windy, it’s hard for me at six-five and two-ten to make it across. Kenzie is one-ten at the most. If he forces her to cross, she could get blown off the mountain—and Gizmo with her.”
When it was icy, it was a full-on technical climb. No inexperienced person could possibly make it across.
“The miner’s cabin is still there, isn’t it?” Herrera asked.
Conrad nodded. “Last time I was up there, it was still standing, but they’re going to have to cross that razor’s edge to reach it.”
Megs relayed this information to Dispatch, describing the Hastings mine and giving them its GPS coordinates, so they could pass it on to Incident Command.
Sheriff’s deputies had called in SWAT to help them apprehend this fucker. They had located her vehicle and were moving up the mountain after her, but not fast enough for Conrad. He had planned to beat them there, but Taylor had stopped him with a palm to the sternum.
“When is the last time you got into a firefight with outlaws?”
Well, the last time was … “Never. But I grew up hunting. I can shoot.”
“I know you can, but you don’t want to force this guy into using Kenzie as a hostage—or get shot and killed when you find them. That won’t help her.”
“I can’t just sit here!”
“I’m off duty, but I’ll volunteer to be part of the search and go up with them to be your eyes and ears,” Taylor had offered.
The Hastings mine was located on county land, and Taylor, a ranger, was county law enforcement. He had a right to be there, while Conrad did not.
Conrad hated feeling helpless. “You would do that?”
“If it keeps your ass out of trouble, hell, yes, I’ll do it. I care about Kenzie, too, you know. We all do.”
