black ski mask, even though it was June in Southwest Texas. She could feel his sweat breaking through the lightweight material of his clothes, could smell a musky scent that probably came from the heat and high adrenaline. When she tried to squirm away, something cold and metal pressed against her backbone. A zipper, maybe? Determined to keep it together, Kaitlin didn’t move or try to speak. She had to stay calm so she wouldn’t be killed. So she could get away.
Across the K-9 training yard, Warrior barked and snarled from his vantage point inside his mesh kennel porch. Thankfully, she hadn’t put the young trainee inside for the night yet. Someone would hear the barking and come around the corner, wouldn’t they? Please, Lord, give me courage, she prayed, memories of her mother’s death playing through her head.
That’s what you get for working late all by yourself. You’re more like your mother than you realized. But it had never occurred to Kaitlin that someone would be hiding in the bushes right outside the doors of the Sagebrush K-9 Training Facility. Especially since the building and training yard were located inside a locked fence directly behind the Sagebrush Police Department.
The man holding her must have known the risks, but he’d somehow managed to get through that gate. He hurriedly shoved her toward a waiting van, the same dark van she’d only minutes before noticed parked underneath an old oak near the back parking lot.
“I need you to come with me,” he said, his whisper like a knife slicing through her nerve endings.
“Why?” She had a right to ask.
“I’ll explain that later, sweetheart.”
Kaitlin looked at the van, then tried to look back at her attacker. She caught a glimpse of strange, black eyes, another shock wave jolting through her system. Before she could see anything else, he jerked her back around and pushed the gun hard against her side. “Let’s go.”
Kaitlin didn’t think about being silent anymore. If she got in that van, the chances were very good that she’d be dead by nightfall. Just like Mom. But unlike her too-trusting mother, Kaitlin didn’t intend to become a victim. She screamed and started fighting for her life.
* * *
K-9 captain Slade McNeal was halfway to his vehicle when he heard barking. Excited barking. Whirling toward the kennels, he wondered which dog had been left inside them.
Warrior.
He’d just watched trainer Kaitlin Mathers putting the newbie, a strong Belgian Malinois that reminded him of his own missing German shepherd, Rio, through his paces. They’d spoken briefly, and he’d gone back to his office.
But where was Kaitlin now? It wasn’t like her to leave a dog unattended, even kenneled. Warrior was sure upset about something.
The dog kept on barking, the sounds growing more urgent. Something was up. Slade hurried toward the building, his weapon drawn. He passed the kennels but didn’t see anyone. Since Warrior would have a close bond with Kaitlin, it made sense that the dog was trying to warn her about something. Or alert someone else.
“Good job,” Slade said when he passed the pacing, snarling animal. He didn’t try to stop Warrior’s barking.
Then he heard a scream, followed by grunts and shouts.
Slade stood at the corner of the building, then pivoted around the side, his weapon still drawn. About twenty yards away, a man in a dark mask had Kaitlin by the arm, trying to drag her across the asphalt toward an open black van. And he had a gun pointed at her head.
Slade’s heart rushed ahead, pumping adrenaline right along with realization. He recognized this man. The Ski Mask Man, they’d labeled him around headquarters. Slade had been gunning for this guy for five long months. This criminal had some nerve, trying to kidnap a trainer right out of the training yard.
A multitude of angry memories raced through Slade’s head, followed by the taste of victory. Could this case finally get a break? He glanced back at Warrior, then turned his attention back to the scene in front of him. He’d never make it to the locked cage to let the dog out, and he didn’t have time to dig for his keys or call for backup. He could shoot the lock, but what if he hit the dog?
He’d have to do this on his own. “Drop the weapon!” Slade shouted. “Now!”
* * *
Kaitlin gulped a breath of relief. Slade was here. She kept telling herself that over and over. She also kept telling herself that she could handle this because she’d been trained as a police officer. She might be a little rusty since becoming a full-time trainer, but she’d find a way out of this. Somehow. She wouldn’t end up like her mother.
Surprised at Slade’s command, the man holding her pivoted toward Slade, his gun still aimed at Kaitlin. She pulled away, but he held her tight against him, his low whisper a warning. “Do you want to live?”
She did want to live, but Kaitlin wasn’t going without a fight. She’d rather take her chances right here in the training yard with Slade McNeal than go anywhere with this man. Captain McNeal knew his job, and he was good at that job. He’d get them both out of this, and she’d find a way to help him.
Slade advanced a few steps. “Drop the weapon and let her go.”
The man tightened his hold, but Kaitlin could feel the apprehension and indecision in his actions. Did he know the captain? She used the brief distraction to dig in her heels, kicking and hitting and screaming. Taking a chance, she elbowed the man in his side, then wrapped her leg behind his to trip him, causing him to lose the grip on his weapon. The gun slipped out of his grasp and hit the hot pavement. He cursed and grabbed Kaitlin again, holding her like a shield in front of him, his strong grip twisting her shoulders back so hard she cried out in pain.
“I’m taking her with me,” the man shouted.
Behind Slade, Warrior was going wild against the confines of his big wire-front cage, his barks frantic and snarling. Kaitlin watched, afraid for Slade. The K-9 captain held his gun on her attacker and kept advancing, inch by inch.
“Let her go,” Slade shouted again over the barking dog, his finger on the trigger of his Glock 22 service revolver. “Don’t make me shoot you!”
The man stopped tugging and glared at Slade. Holding Kaitlin with one hand, he tried to reach down and scoop up his gun with the other. He seemed to know Slade wouldn’t take the shot with her shielding him.
Kaitlin glanced at Slade, then using all of her strength, kicked the weapon out of her abductor’s reach and, with a grunt, yanked herself away. She fell, the concrete scraping through her khaki pants to tear at her knee. But she scrambled to her feet and did a quick run toward some shrubbery near the building. That left the culprit in full view and diving for his gun. Slade could take the shot and kill the man right where he stood. Kaitlin went on her knees behind the shrubbery, watching as Slade pulled off a round, hitting near where the gun lay, causing the perp to jump and roll.
“Don’t move,” Slade shouted as he starting walking. “I will hit the mark next time.”
Kaitlin held her breath, praying Slade wouldn’t get shot. She should have picked up the gun. But the attacker took his own chances. He grabbed for his weapon, then pivoted and rolled into a ragged hunched-over zigzag toward the van, firing behind himself as he ran.
Helpless, Kaitlin watched from the
