guy’s hand.
But then he lifted his weapon and aimed it directly toward the fleeing woman without warning.
“Stop! Police! Drop your weapon!” Matt shouted, turning his attention to the armed man. “Duchess, Attack!”
The man wearing the cap glanced over in alarm, lowered his gun and quickly took off behind the store with Duchess in hot pursuit. With the gunman covered, he went after the woman.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” he said, grabbing a hold of her before she could get into her navy blue four-door. “What’s going on here? What happened inside the store?”
“Let me go! Didn’t you see that man back there?” she demanded. “He’s trying to kill me and the baby!”
Since he’d seen that much for himself, Matt couldn’t deny her statement held merit. Still, something about this entire scenario seemed off. “Who is he? What’s his name?”
Before she could respond, his K-9 partner let out a yelp of pain.
Instantly he spun on his heel, alarm skittering through him. “Duchess!”
The dog came running toward him, her coat glistening with something wet and shiny. Then he noticed the blood trail behind her.
“Oh, no, he hurt your dog!” The woman said in alarm.
Duchess came up to rest against his leg. He reached down and saw there was a long laceration in her side, most likely from a knife. Thankfully, it didn’t look too deep.
“Please don’t arrest me,” she said in a low voice. “My name is Lacy and I’m a schoolteacher on spring break. You need to understand that man is my brother-in-law, and he shot and killed my sister. Rory is my nephew and I heard him threaten to kill his son, the same way he murdered my sister. Please, you have to believe me!”
Oddly enough, Matt was leaning toward believing her. Not just because he’d watched that man point a gun at the woman, but also because he had lashed out at his partner. He glanced down at Duchess, who was still bleeding, and made a split-second decision. “Fine, but you’re coming with me.”
“No, wait...”
“Now!” Matt wasn’t in the mood to quibble. He needed to get his partner’s injury taken care of, and since this woman and the baby were also clearly in danger, he decided it was better to take them along.
He would figure out what to do with them later.
“Okay, but we need to hurry,” she said.
Lacy surprised him by gathering up her items—baby things, he belatedly realized, such as diapers and formula—then heading over to his SUV without waiting for him.
Once she made up her mind about something, clearly, she acted on it. It was a trait he couldn’t help but admire.
“Come on, Duchess.” He led his partner back to the SUV and lifted her inside. Opening the first-aid kit he kept on hand for just these types of emergencies, Matt quickly pressed several gauze pads over the gash in her coat to stop the bleeding, then wrapped gauze around her abdomen as an added precaution. Duchess was trained well enough to leave the field dressing alone.
Satisfied he’d done what he could for the moment, he leaned over and rested his face against the animal’s neck. “You’re going to be okay, hear me? I’ll get this taken care of right away.”
Duchess licked his face, making him smile. He stepped back and closed the tailgate.
Gunfire erupted from the far east corner of the store, the same place where the gunman had disappeared. A bullet shattered the plastic sign hanging just over his head.
Matt didn’t waste another moment. He jumped in behind the wheel and started the engine with a roar.
His tires screeched loudly as he drove away from the gas station. Once the lights from the store faded to nothing, he glanced in the rearview mirror at his passengers. He hated leaving the scene of the crime, but at the same time, Duchess’s needs came first.
While he thought it was odd Lacy had chosen to sit in the back seat, he’d barely gotten onto the interstate when he saw the electric sign over the freeway blinking with the news of an Amber Alert.
The description on the sign matched the woman and baby sitting behind him.
He ground his teeth together, knowing this case was getting more complicated by the minute.
Somehow, some way, he needed to keep this woman and baby safe while he figured out what in the world was going on.
He couldn’t bear the thought of losing another innocent child...
Lacy took a deep breath, desperately hoping she hadn’t made a mistake going along with this cop. The fact that he was a K-9 officer irrationally soothed her fears.
Which was crazy and completely illogical. Anyone could have bad blood running through their veins. Her brother-in-law, Officer David Williams, was proof of that. He’d been so nice, so charming in the beginning.
But it soon became apparent that his niceness had been nothing but a facade hiding his cold black heart.
“Dispatch, this is Unit Twenty-one reporting gunfire at the Gas and Go store located on Bradley and Markwell. Send units out to that location. The perp who was last seen there injured my K-9 partner. He’s roughly six feet tall wearing all black, including a dark cap over his head.”
“Ten-four, Unit Twenty-one. Will send units to respond. What’s your partner’s status? Aren’t you off duty?”
“I was off duty, but interrupted a crime in progress. I’m taking my partner in to be seen at the emergency vet. The perp tried to run, which is when my K-9 partner was injured.” He glanced at her in the rearview mirror, then continued, “I’ll write up my report as soon as my partner has been cared for.”
“Ten-four.”
Lacy let out her breath in a silent sigh. She’d wondered if the cop would mention her and Rory since David had clearly been after her, not the dog. And what about the Amber Alert? She knew this cop must have known about it. Or was it possible he’d missed the news since he was off duty?
The minute the thought entered her mind, she saw the Amber Alert flashing on the electric sign over the interstate.
Busted.
Rory was still crying, so she focused on caring for the baby. Since she was already breaking rules by not having him in a car seat, she decided to go ahead and get him changed. It was part of the reason she’d chosen the back seat. If she’d had water she would have made a bottle of formula for him, too. She should have thought of picking some up at the store.
So far, she was doing a lousy job of taking care of her young nephew. Not that she had much experience with babies. She taught fifth grade, not preschool.
“Shh, it’s okay, Rory. Auntie Lacy is here.
