a few blocks from a crime scene should have been enough to keep him out of jail. Unfortunately, Sergeant Gage decided otherwise and railroaded Shane for murder because of his last name and lousy-neighborhood address.
Growing up in the rougher neighborhoods in Red Ridge would have been challenge enough to outgrow and overcome. Being one of Rusty Colton’s kids made his childhood exponentially worse. The familiar frustration with all the things he couldn’t change gripped his shoulders and coursed down to his hands. Deliberately, he relaxed his clenched fists and smoothed his open palms over his knees. The past was gone. He was here because he’d rebuilt his life. He had a better address and a lucrative career with an excellent partner.
Right now, his intuition said this was definitely a case about a dog, but how the thief had chosen to take that dog made him curious. Had someone’s fondness and respect for Danica changed what should have been a more aggressive approach?
He rested his elbows on his knees and let his hands fall between them. Familiar with the gesture, Stumps took advantage, sitting up so Shane could pet his ears while he gave the situation more thought.
Why did he care? He’d stumbled onto a crime scene—that was all. “Come on,” he said to the dog. “The Gages can take care of their own.” He stood up, waiting for Stumps to stretch and yawn. They had other cases and a hefty to-do list waiting at home. Writing up the report from their week of tracking down the site of the gun deal topped the list. He’d be far more effective after a few hours of sleep. And he definitely wanted to go into the station fresh tomorrow when he had to share the text message from Demi. He kept hoping that the next time he checked his phone there would be another text from her. So far, only more silence. He was nearly out the door when a nurse called his name from the reception desk.
He turned. “Yes?”
“Follow me.” Her gaze dropped to the dog, her lips pursed in disapproval.
Shane lifted the hem of his shirt to show her the K9 badge clipped to his belt. “He won’t be any trouble.”
With a dubious sniff, the nurse led him back to the treatment area. “The patient has been asking for you,” she said over her shoulder as they neared the curtained bay where he’d handed Danica over to the medical staff.
Disbelief rendered him speechless. No matter that he’d been out of prison for nearly a decade—the hard lessons died harder. Shane knew it was always better to wait and see about a situation rather than start asking questions too soon. The person who spoke first lost the advantage.
As the nurse swept aside the curtain, he saw Danica sitting up a little. “Thank goodness. I knew you’d stay.” She looked to the doctor. “I signed the paper. You can inform him about anything.” Her eyes snapped back to him. “Tell them you’ll take me home.”
Before Shane could sort out how to respond, a doctor in blue scrubs stepped forward. “We’d like to keep her for observation overnight. I don’t have the blood work back to know what she was dosed with. Based on your statement, I’d rather she wasn’t alone.”
“Then she’ll stay overnight,” Shane stated.
“Don’t side with them,” Danica protested. “I need to get out there. You need to get out there and track down Nico.”
She was more agitated now than when she’d woken in the training center yard. What was going on? “I’m sure your brother is organizing those details.”
“Stumps already knows what to look for,” she insisted. “There’s no time to lose.” Her green eyes were wide and a little dazed in a face that was far too pale. The freckles dusting the bridge of her nose stood out more than ever.
She knew Stumps wasn’t a tracking dog. “She wasn’t like this earlier.” Shane glared at the doctor. “What did you give her?”
“Nothing that should cause an adverse reaction.” The doctor shook his head. “Whatever is in her system is presenting almost like a rebound effect.”
Shane wasn’t particularly familiar with the term, but he assumed the drugs used on Danica were messing with her system. Danica started to swing her legs over the side of the bed. “Wait a minute,” he said, stepping forward to stop her. “Stay put,” he said.
“Nico could be anywhere,” she wailed.
“Is Nico her child?” the doctor asked quietly.
Good grief. The doc had to be from out of town if he didn’t know Danica. “No, he’s a working dog,” Shane explained, using as few details as possible. “We believe whoever drugged her stole the dog from the K9 training center this evening.”
The doctor arched his eyebrows. “I see.”
Danica was crying, her green eyes swimming with tears, her hands clutching the sheets. Shane moved closer to the bed and put Stumps in her lap, hoping the dog could calm her. The medical staff clearly wasn’t having any luck. Though Stumps was his dog, the corgi knew and trusted Danica. Stumps wedged his nose under her hand until she was stroking his head and ears. Within a minute, the crying slowed and the tension in her face evaporated.
“Thanks,” one of the nurses murmured as she passed behind him.
Someone brought him a chair. Resigned, he sat down. He wasn’t leaving without his dog which meant he wasn’t going home anytime soon. He watched the clock over Danica’s bed as she dozed restlessly. Another hour passed with no sign of her family.
Eventually, the doctor returned and a nurse added something to Danica’s IV bag, though they didn’t tell him what it was. It was nearly 2:00 a.m. when they moved her to a room and he and Stumps followed. He wanted to go home and yet he didn’t feel right leaving her here alone. When she finally came out from under the drugs, she’d have questions. Shane wondered what was keeping her family. With Stumps snuggled beside her, Danica fell asleep again and Shane tried to do the same.
It didn’t come easy. Hospitals and prisons had that same institutional atmosphere, every surface designed to withstand bleach cleaning with a pressure washer. The background noises were different and yet too similar. Shane could hear the faint undercurrent of machinery peppered with conversations and the occasional moan of pain or weeping. At least the hospital antiseptic smell was an improvement over the general stench of men oozing hate, fear and resignation with every breath and bead of sweat.
Shane jerked upright at the squeak of a shoe on the linoleum. Instantly awake and braced to defend himself, he glared at the shadow coming through the door.
“Easy,” Carson said, walking over to the other side of Danica’s bed. “I didn’t expect her to have to stay.” He scratched Stumps behind the ear. “I thought she was okay when you left.”
“She was.” Shane pushed at his hair and reached for a bottle of water the nurse had left for him. “She had some weird delayed reaction to the drug. She passed out in my car on the way here. Didn’t you get my text?”
“Had my hands full,” Carson replied.
Right. Carson had been working the crime scene where his sister had been attacked. “Well, when she woke up in the ER, she was in a frenzy to find Nico. They came and got me by default.” It was becoming a pattern in his life, getting stuck in situations with members of the Gage family by default.
“Weird.” Carson’s eyebrows furrowed. “And
