“But—”
He made some sort of hand gesture then pointed to her feet. “Stay.” The dog turned and dropped to his haunches at the spot Jake indicated. “Listen, Max is highly trained. If he moves from this spot or give you any indication it’s time to bail, I want you out of that backpack and off this ride.” He jabbed a finger at her phone. “I don’t care what they say.”
“But shouldn’t he be—”
“There’s going to be plenty of time for Max to do his thing, trust me.” He paused then said, “Trust him. I wasn’t kidding about his training. He will sit like this until I get back, but if things start to go sideways, I want you to trust his instincts. Believe me, they’re sharper than yours or mine.”
Cassidy looked into the dog’s solemn eyes again, then nodded. “Okay. We’ll sit right here, won’t we, Trooper?”
She saw Jake’s shoulders lower slightly and would swear the dog leaned closer to her, but the latter might simply have been centrifugal force.
“I’ll be back.” He took two giant strides and leaped off the carousel.
“I’ve heard that line before.” Cassidy watched him jog away. When she turned her attention to her canine companion, she found Max watching her with his head tilted to the side. As if he was curious about their story.
Sighing, she reached out and gave the dog an awkward pat on his head. “Same old story. He went away, and I stayed here.” She leaned closer to Max and whispered into his enormous ear, “Spoiler alert. There was a time when he didn’t come back.”
Chapter Four
“So, what you’re saying is our own head of Security is likely the target of this…” Governor Beauford paused, his hands circling as he searched for the word. “Terrorist act.”
“Now, Governor—” the fair commission’s media person cut in.
The governor’s chief of staff piped up from the speaker on the phone the man held. “We need to choose our words carefully, Jim.”
“Well, that’s what we have here, isn’t it?”
“What we have here is an increasingly dangerous situation, sir,” Special Agent Hastings growled. “You need to leave. Now.”
Before the governor could protest any more, his chief of staff and Colonel Aronson joined the chorus.
“We will keep you apprised of every development, Governor,” Aronson assured him.
“You can’t take this risk, Jim,” his trusted advisor admonished.
“The story is already out there,” the media woman reported. “Of course this had to happen today of all days.”
The governor turned on her. “You think tomorrow would be better? When the gates are open and thousands of innocent people—families—are here trying to enjoy a day of wholesome fun?”
They devolved into a spirited debate over which scenario was worse, and Jake turned away. He peered through the glass doors of the arena, squinting in the direction of the midway, but he couldn’t see the carousel. And the longer he was away, the more fidgety he became.
When he turned back, the chief of staff was speaking again. “If you get yourself blown up, Polly will have my hide. And you know Morrisey is practically salivating at the thought of being sworn in.”
Jake bit the inside of his cheek. They didn’t have time for posturing and finger-pointing. The clock was ticking. He leaned into Furst, who’d stepped up beside him in the circle. “Is there an update on Trooper Rhodes?”
The firefighter nodded. “EMS treated multiple cuts and lacerations on site. Embedded foreign objects and debris. They suspect concussion. He’s suffering some hearing loss—hopefully temporary—and possibly some internal bleeding. They’ve got him at the trauma center now.”
A sober silence had descended as he gave the recitation. When Jake looked back at the small knot of people, he made eye contact with the governor, and the man gave a grim nod.
“Fine.” The governor turned to Colonel Aronson. “But I expect you to be in close contact. I want more than updates. I want details.”
“Yes, sir.”
Agent Hastings gestured to the concourse leading to the opposite side of the arena. “Right this way. The car is at the east gate.”
With a final nod, the governor swiveled and his security detail closed in around him. Jake and the other officers watched as Beauford strode away, spouting orders and threats of minor mayhem to his closest advisor.
The moment the bigwigs left, the assembled officers heaved a sigh. “Okay, let’s get going,” Colonel Aronson said, clapping his hands once to command their attention. “Donovan. Tell us what you have.”
