“I’m not sure you’d know the flirting if you heard it, Donovan,” she answered and slid from the driver’s seat. “I’m going to go check this tag.”
Jake pulled his phone from his belt and slid off the rear deck of the cart. He gave Max a firm pat and a gentle command. “Stay.”
As he followed her around to the back of the bus, he said, “Did Bud ask them to send over the rental agreement?”
“I’m sure he did, but I don’t think we’ve seen it yet.”
“It should have the make, model and at least a VIN on it, if not a plate number.”
Cassidy pivoted in his direction and tapped her temple. “You’re getting smarter by the second, Donovan.”
“Does mean I’m getting prettier, too?”
Cassidy spotted an Arkansas plate as well as a bumper sticker with a rearing horse that read, “Hey! Ho! We’re Off to the Rodeo.”
She turned to return to the front of the vehicle and ran smack into Jake’s chest. “Oof!”
He caught her upper arms and held her steady, making sure her feet were planted beneath her before loosening his grip. “Okay there?”
“I’m fine. It’s hard to believe the earth is still spinning after being stuck on ride for so many hours. Hardly feels like it’s moving at all,” she said, attempting a weak smile.
“You’re going to have to get used to gravity again, and life without excessive g-forces. You might as well be an astronaut,” he added with a wry smile.
She took a quick step back. A chill raised over her arms the second the warmth of his hands was gone. Still feeling unsteady, she groped for better equilibrium. “Arkansas tags,” she blurted. “There’s also a rodeo bumper sticker. Looks like we have a bronc rider.”
He tipped his head in the direction at the door, “Should we give it a knock?”
“We evacuated most of the people staying on site.”
“Can’t hurt to try,” he said, striding too the door. He rapped on it sharply then stepped back, his hands coming to rest on his hips.
Standing behind him, Cassidy eyed the sidearm he wore and felt an instant flood of relief he’d decided to come along on this search. The lot felt abandoned. Away from the bustle of first responders, this corner of the sprawling fairgrounds felt desolate. Since the explosion, an eerie tension had settled over the area.
They got no answer, and the door was securely locked.
She glanced over both shoulders, then hooked a thumb toward the cart. “Let’s take a moment to regroup.” Without waiting for his reply, she strode back to the driver’s seat and slid onto it.
She gave Max a gentle pat. “How you doing, huh?”
For his part, the German shepherd seemed markedly improved. His ears were up, his eyes bright, and an enormous pink tongue lolled out the side of his mouth as he surveilled their surroundings.
“Doing better?”
“He looks better,” Jake said as he approached. He checked the dog’s bandage, ruffled his ears, then leaned down to look his partner square in the eyes. “You’re good, right? Wanna help us look for the bad guy?”
As if he understood every single word they said, Max let out a single, startlingly loud bark.
Jake gave the dog’s neck a reassuring stroke. “You’re one heck of a trooper, Trooper Max.”
“Yes, he is,” Cassidy agreed.
But rather than climbing up onto the deck with the dog, Jake gathered her abandoned mobile phones and moved to the passenger side. The whole cart dipped under his weight as he climbed aboard. She said nothing as she took both phones back from him. “Too bad you’re not a very good assistant.”
“I was too busy holding on to Max and trying not to fall off the back of this thing to look at either of them.”
“Fine.” She sounded petulant but had a hard time caring about her tone. When he let out a chuckle, she shot him an exasperated glare. “I have to tell you I wouldn’t mind if I never read another text message again,” she said, her tone edged with apprehension.
“I don’t blame you.” He reached over and pulled her personal phone from her hand. “Tell you what, I’ll check this one if you’ll see if there’s any good information on the other one.”
