she struggled to subdue her tremors enough to properly pull up his number and prayed that the strong stomach on which she prided herself wouldn’t fail her. An unexpected vibration almost caused her to drop the phone before she could dial. She was receiving an incoming call. From Linc!
All self-control fled the moment she heard his voice. Before he could finish his good-morning greeting, she was shrieking unintelligibly. It was the closest she could come to shouting, “Help me!”
* * *
Linc had been standing in the street observing her apartment window when he’d called. There was no way to tell what Zoe was trying to say, but he didn’t need words. Her shrillness and sobbing were plenty.
“I’m coming!” Phone pressed to his ear, he straight-armed the outer door and raced up the stairway. Star was way ahead of him. He noted a fleeing figure dressed in black at the far end of the hallway and made the split-second decision to drop the leash, point and command, “Get ’em!”
Training dictated he must follow his K-9. And he would have. If Zoe had not appeared in her doorway with both feet covered in blood.
Linc’s heart and gut clenched simultaneously. Sliding to a halt he shouted, “How bad?” as he eyed her from head to toe, expecting to see injuries. Would his skills be sufficient to save her life if she was bleeding out?
“It’s—it’s not mine,” she stuttered. Arms extended, palms up, she simply stood there as if in shock.
“What do you mean it’s not yours?” Linc’s already-taut muscles knotted more. He could barely get “Freddy?” out or believe Zoe when she shook her head.
“No. Not him either.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. I just checked. I don’t know where this awful stuff came from. There’s a big puddle of it in my bedroom.”
Linc saw her start to waver as if she might faint. He reached out, ready to steady her if need be, yet failing to fully grasp her explanation. She was panting as though she’d just finished a marathon and her eyes weren’t focusing well. They were wide and glassy.
He reached for her. She started to pull away and staggered. Linc caught her by the arm. “You need to sit down.” Truth to tell, so did he.
“I—I—I woke up and...”
“This happened while you were asleep?”
Another nod.
“Did you see anything, anybody?”
“No. I’m a sound sleeper except for sometimes when Freddy makes a noise at night. I never heard a thing.”
“Okay.” He guided her all the way inside, preparing to close the door behind them.
She started to fight him. “Let go. I need to wash. I have to get this off me!”
There was panic in her tone. Little wonder. Though Linc commiserated, he stopped her. “No. You can’t wash until the crime scene techs get here. We’ll need pictures of everything in situ. I mean, where it is now.”
In the background, he heard Star barking ferociously. She had someone cornered. “I need to go help my dog. Will you be okay?”
Zoe nodded and leaned against the doorjamb. “Yes. Go. Catch whoever did this and bring him back so I can take a good swing at him.”
“Atta girl. I mean, affirmative, Sergeant.”
Star’s barking reached a crescendo. Linc knew that as soon as it stopped she’d capture her prey with a painful bite and be holding fast until given the command to release.
His boots hit the floor hard, the sound echoing along the empty hallway, reminding him of a beating heart. His own was pounding, more from seeing what had been done to Zoe than from actual exertion.
Star gave one last intense growl before a human screamed. She had him! Good girl, Linc thought. Hold.
The screams turned to curses. Almost to the corner where he’d last seen his K-9 partner, Linc heard a scrambling sound followed by Star’s yip. Then all was silent.
He whipped around the corner so fast he almost lost his footing.
For the second time in minutes his heart stopped. There lay his dog, alone and prostrate. It took several more seconds before Linc was close enough to tell she was still breathing. Falling to his knees beside her, he gently touched her quivering side.
“I should have stayed with you,” he whispered haltingly. “I’m so sorry, Star.”
Mayhem reigned in and around Zoe’s apartment. When Linc didn’t return quickly, she’d put in a call to Security Forces and reported all she knew, including the sounds of human and dog doing battle. That would certainly explain why Linc and Star had not come back yet.
Further proof was the arrival of other K-9 teams. Among them was Master Sergeant Westley James, handling an all-black German shepherd, another man with Watson on his name tag and what looked like a Belgian Malinois, and a stern-looking guy in a dark windbreaker displaying FBI in large white letters across the back.
Zoe stayed out of their way while being examined by ambulance personnel. She’d kept her head enough to insist on photos before allowing the first responders to check her from head to toe. While a young female airman kept Freddy occupied and isolated, crime scene investigators had taken samples from Zoe’s bedroom and had bagged everything before allowing her to shower in private.
Getting clean had never felt so wonderful. If she hadn’t been so worried about Linc and his dog, she would have felt total relief. No one was telling her a thing. After having got used to the way Linc had begun treating her, she was taken aback by the cold shoulder she got from both his team and other investigators.
Emerging in clean, dry PT clothing and with a towel around her wet hair, Zoe recognized Captain Blackwood from the warehouse investigation. When her eyes met his, she was not soothed in the least.
Nevertheless, she approached him and saluted. “Captain.”
His blue steel glance was almost enough to give her the shivers. “Sergeant Sullivan. I’m told you can’t explain what took place here this morning.”
“Only that I woke up and stepped in—” Zoe swallowed hard “—blood. I have no idea when it was put there or who did it. I didn’t see a soul.” She watched a shepherd dog leaving with its handler. “Did the dogs turn up any clues?”
“Some. Whoever supposedly attacked you is most likely the same person Star apprehended. A scent trail led from here to the spot where the dog was injured.”
Zoe’s heart skipped a beat. “She’s going to be all right, isn’t she? Nobody will tell me a thing except that she’s alive.”
“I don’t have the veterinary report yet, but she was conscious when she was transported.”
