“Yes.” She heard the quiver in her voice and hated it. Bad stuff happened to good people all the time. She hadn’t even been hurt. Not really.
She would not cry, not with Carson watching and worrying. He’d lump her into the Victim column and coddle her. She couldn’t be sidelined during the search for Nico. He’d been taken on her watch. What she wouldn’t give for a long, hard run to purge all these feelings. It would have to wait. “Is there coffee or something?”
He arched one eyebrow, but he left the room to track down coffee for her. She took advantage of the moment and managed to get into the bathroom with her IV pole. When she finished, she splashed water on her face and tried to comb her hair into some semblance of order.
She was back in the bed when Carson returned with two tall cups of coffee. “Enjoy.” He set one in front of her. “Sugar and cream already added.”
“Thank you.”
Carson got right back to his interview. “Shane said the gate was unlocked when he came through to help you. That it squeaked.”
“The hinges need oiling,” Danica said. “I don’t recall hearing the squeak.” Did that mean the attacker was hidden inside the yard when she walked out with the puppies? Goose bumps chased over her skin.
“We’ll sort it out. Forensics is on it,” Carson assured her gently.
She set the coffee cup aside when her hand trembled. “Are you sticking around until they spring me? I’ll need a ride home.”
“Yes. I had Vincent bring over clean clothes for you. And he said he’ll feed your cat this morning.”
“Thanks.” Her cat, Oscar, wouldn’t be much happier with the change in routine than her little brother, but she would make it up to her cat after work tonight. Everyone should have a big brother like Carson in a crisis. He understood she would want to get straight back to work.
Suddenly, her stomach rumbled loud enough to make Carson chuckle. “Sounds like what would help most is breakfast.”
“That’s a good sign.” Carson grinned. “I’m on it.”
Alone again, she fended off the persistent vulnerability lurking at the edge of her mind by focusing on the details of the theft that didn’t fit together. Who had left the gate unlocked? What had the thief used to take Nico without a fight?
Nico wasn’t the type of dog just anyone could manage. She said a quick prayer that they wouldn’t find him after he’d caused someone serious harm. Restless, she checked the clock, willing the doctor to come by and release her.
The thief might have a few hours’ head start, but RRPD had the best K9 unit in the region and the resources to track down a valuable animal like Nico and the person dumb enough to steal him.
Shane and Stumps entered the police station and walked straight back to his half brother’s desk. Echo, a yellow Lab that worked as Brayden’s search and rescue partner, was stretched out on the cool floor. Shane placed one of the two coffees he carried in front of Brayden.
Brayden’s dark eyebrows arched. “What’s the occasion?”
Other than sharing a last name, they were polar opposites. Brayden’s coloring was dark and Shane’s fair. Both men bore a strong resemblance to their respective mothers. Aside from their height and build, very little of their father showed in either man. Neither of them would ever complain about that happy genetic coincidence.
“I have a problem,” Shane said.
“No, you don’t.” Brayden removed the lid from the coffee and let the aroma waft up, inhaling deeply. “Detective Gage called in and said his sister is awake and feeling better.”
Shane buried the surge of relief and pressed on. “Not his sister.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Ours.” He pulled up the text message and handed over the cell phone.
Brayden paused in the act of sipping his coffee and carefully returned the to-go cup to the desktop. He stared at the phone display for far longer than required to read the brief message and swiped the screen to read the replies Shane had sent back.
“Still no word,” Shane pointed out unnecessarily. “What do you think?”
“We have to tell the chief.”
Shane pocketed the phone. “I figured you’d say that.”
Brayden took a big gulp of the coffee. “This isn’t a secret you can keep, Shane.”
“I know, I know.”
“You were hoping she’d give you a clue to follow so you can find her.”
“We’re all hoping that,” Shane replied, irritated at Brayden’s ability to see right through him. He might prefer the old distance after all.
“For different reasons,” Brayden added, glancing around the station.
The brothers drank coffee in silence, their K9 partners keeping an eye on the activity swirling around them. Putting the mounting questions and worry into words wouldn’t help Demi.
“She didn’t kill Bo or anyone else,” Shane muttered.
Brayden shot Shane a warning glance. “And yet we have to work the case. Anything else leaves us open to—”
Shane cut him off with a hard look. “I’m the last person here who needs that lecture.”
Brayden snorted. “I’m just saying even you could benefit from an open mind once in a while.”
“If your mind is too open your brains fall out.” Shane winked. “Might be the only useful bit of wisdom our father passed along.”
Rusty Colton’s reputation was less than stellar in the Red Ridge community. The people who patronized the Pour House, his bar anchoring the rough side of town, wanted stiff drinks to dull the pain life frequently dished out. No one looking for sound advice on anything asked Rusty for more than beer or whiskey.
The slacker, no-good reputation had posed several hurdles for Rusty’s offspring when they tried to improve themselves. Shane caught the gazes darting his way from various points around the bull pen and realized not all of those hurdles were out of the way, even after all this time. Though he sat here with Stumps in an official capacity on the right side of the law, he still didn’t fit in. He really should be used to it by now.
“Come on.” Brayden smacked Shane’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t put this off any longer.” Together with their K9 partners, they went over to the chief’s office.
Finn Colton, the chief of the K9 unit, listened intently to Shane’s explanation of the text message and the subsequent delay in reporting it. He wasn’t any more encouraged about a successful trace on the source than Shane. “She used a burner phone,” Finn said flatly. “Assuming that’s her and not someone messing with you.”
Shane
