Stepping out strong, she lifted her face to the wind, letting him smell her—if Toby was close enough for that to be possible. Surely he wouldn’t run from her, would he? No way to know.

  She could only trust in her firm belief that animals knew exactly who was on their side and who wasn’t. Toby would have come toward her if he could have. It was also a beautiful evening for traipsing around the fields near her place. Perfect. She opened the back gate, walking toward the hills around her. That gave her a little bit more of a view, not that it would help if the dog were lying down in this long grass.

  This time of the year was making a hell of a difference in terms of visibility. The grass should have been cut and baled weeks ago, but apparently the property owners were not so inclined. As far as she knew, nobody ever looked after it. It was more wild grasses than anything.

  It was great for any of the wildlife around, if that was their diet, but not so much for somebody trying to find something hidden in the grass. She kept on walking and then started to call out for him. “Hey, Toby! You around here?” In the distance, she thought she heard something.

  She stopped, tilted her head to the side, and then called again but heard nothing. Her heart sinking, she kept walking for another hour. She thought she heard something another time, but it just ended up being nothing. Finally she came around to the rise in the hill and sat down, where she surveyed all the land below her. It was a beautiful spot, though a bit of a walk to get here, but so worth it. It was absolutely stunning.

  She stared, watching carefully, looking for any sign of movement, any sign of something moving around down below. And yet again found a whole lot of nothing. With her heart sinking, she stayed where she was for a good twenty more minutes, sending up a silent prayer, hoping that Toby was safe, wherever he was.

  “Come back, Toby,” she whispered, her arms wrapped around her chest. “Dear God, please come back.”

  And with that final thought to the wind, she got to her feet and slowly started to walk toward home again. She hadn’t gone very far when, all of a sudden, she heard something, something like a bark, something sharp. She turned and spun, but she lost her footing and dropped. As she dropped, she thought she heard something else. She stayed where she was for a moment, wondering if she heard what she thought she had.

  At that, she bolted to her feet and looked around in the tall grass. She couldn’t see anything, so she raced back up a little bit of a hill, so that she could get a better perspective on the world down below, surveying what was going on down there. Then she pulled out her phone and quickly texted Bauer. Where are you? I thought I heard a shot.

  You did. Stay still.

  And then she realized there was a chance that Bauer had seen her. She didn’t see him, even if he had, or was that just her wishful thinking? I’m up on a hillside, she wrote back, a couple miles from the clinic.

  I know. You’re okay. I saw you.

  She swore at that. She hadn’t been trying to hide, but it never occurred to her that she would have been so visible that it would have caused a problem. She could only hope there wasn’t a problem, but absolutely no way to know. She waited and waited and waited. Finally her phone buzzed. She looked down to see a message from Bauer.

  I’m coming your way. Stay put.

  By now it was pitch-black, and she wouldn’t have an easy time walking anywhere. She was angry that it was taking this long. Surely Bauer could have left whatever was going on and gotten here faster. Rather than waiting for him, she quickly phoned him. “What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

  “I’m not sure,” he replied, “but I don’t want you roaming around out here in the dark, while somebody is shooting.”

  “Was somebody out here?”

  “There was, but that guy left earlier. I didn’t see anybody else arrive, so I’m not sure how many players we’ve got here right now.”

  “That’s just bullshit,” she muttered, then hesitated.

  “Unless he came back.”

  “It’s possible that if you saw me—”

  “He may have gone home, then come back with his gun,” Bauer suggested.

  “Do you think whoever it was shot Toby?”

  “No, I don’t think so, but I thought I had a line on Toby, and now I’ve lost him. I want to get you home, so I can come back out here again.”

  “No way. If you think Toby is out here, I want to be out here with him.”

  Bauer hesitated. “Look. I’m coming up to your spot. I’m probably about ten minutes out, so stay where you are, and we’ll talk about it then.”

  “Nothing to talk about,” she snapped. “I want to find Toby.” And, with that, she hung up. When her phone buzzed again, she ignored him. She stepped around, took another close look at what was going on around her, but couldn’t see anything, and decided that maybe it was safe enough to keep walking on her own. She took a step and then another, when one more shot rang out. She dropped to the ground and realized that whoever was out there had no intention of letting her take another step in any direction. She was effectively pinned in place.

  When her phone buzzed again, she looked down to see Bauer’s text.

  Are you okay?

  She responded, Yes, but whoever’s out there doesn’t want me to move.

  Yeah, remember that part I said about staying put? I’ll be there in a minute.

  She texted back. No, he’ll shoot you.

  At that, the phone rang. “Stay where you are and keep your head down,” he snapped. “This guy won’t shoot me, and I’ll be there in a minute but don’t fucking move. Stay in one place, damn it.” And, with that, he hung up.

  She sat here in place and waited with bated breath, her arms wrapped around her knees and her head dropped, listening hard. When she heard footsteps approaching, she felt a sense of relief breaking inside. At least that was Bauer now. As she went to stand up, it occurred to her that he hadn’t called out, texted, or did anything to identify himself. And based on the shooting, the other guy knew exactly where she was located.

  Who was to say whether this was Bauer, the shooter, or somebody else entirely? Someone was heading her direction, but how could she know for sure? Swearing under her breath, she sat here, frozen, hoping beyond hope that it was Bauer.

  “There you are!”

  When the laughing voice rang out beside her, she realized it was a stranger, and that wasn’t good.

  Knowing this would most likely be the shooter, she didn’t know what to do but stay in place. When he spoke again, she realized he wasn’t exactly sure where she was.

  “Nice trick trying to hide out here in the darkness.”

  He was counting on her to say something or to react to his voice, giving away her position. And, with that, she knew that she didn’t dare move or speak.

  This guy would know who she was and would take her out. Yet there must be a reason he’d fired those warning shots. He either wanted to see her, talk to her, or something else, but the bottom line was that it wouldn’t go well for her. Just then she heard more rustling in the grass and the pulling back on a trigger.

  “Speak up, you stupid bitch, and at least let me know you’re here. The fact that you took off just pisses me off.” At that, she froze because it didn’t even sound like this guy knew she was here. How did that happen?

  Then her heart sank. Maybe he was looking for Toby. Was that possible? Had she even told him if the dog was male or female? He was acting like Toby was female, which didn’t give Mags any confidence in his ability to know the difference. But then a lot of people assumed dogs were female, but just as many assumed they were male. She didn’t know, but he was making her crazy.

  “Where are you?” he yelled. “Come on. Let me get you some help. I saw you go down hard.”

  At that, she frowned. Just then came another noise off to the side, and, all of a sudden, he started shooting. She gasped in shock, wanting to get up and run. But she also knew that would turn the gun her way for sure. With her hands clapped over her ears, she sat here, curled up, until the bullets finally stopped raining down all around her.

  “There,” called out the gunman, right beside her. “I don’t know who the hell you are and what the hell you’re doing following me, but that’ll stop you now,” he said, with a laugh. “Jeez, who would have thought a dog would be such a pain in the ass.”

  Then she realized this really was about the War Dog. She didn’t know how it all went together, but it was about Toby.

  Just then came a crack of thunder overhead, and a storm that she hadn’t even been aware of was building on the horizon, due to arrive at any moment. And the skies opened up, soaking them in a heavy rain. The gunman at her side started swearing, but his voice was muffled and getting fainter—as if he were running away.

  She cheered him on with a whisper. “Run, asshole, run.”

  She didn’t want to deal with him, certainly not in this situation, and she definitely didn’t want him out here, hunting down Toby. And along with that came the thought that all those bullets could have been directed at Bauer, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind, a hand clapped over her mouth.

  “It’s me. Stay quiet,” Bauer whispered against her ear.

  She shuddered, twisted against him, wrapped her arms tightly around him, and hung on for dear life. With a sense of relief, joy, and almost a feeling of homecoming, he closed his arms around her and held her tight.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “He’s almost gone.”

  And, with that, Mags just burrowed in deeper.

  As soon as Bauer couldn’t hear any more sounds from the gunman, he leaned back a little bit, tilted her head up, and asked, “Are you okay? Did he get you at all?”

  She shook her head. “No.” Her hands went to him again. “Were you hit?” she gasped.

  “No, but let’s get back up into the trees.” Then he moved her up the hill, but it was already slippery, and she struggled with her footing. By the time they got into the relative safety and dryness of the trees, he pointed downward to lights on a road below that were moving away.

  “That’s him, isn’t it? That bastard. He was talking so oddly, and I really didn’t quite understand if he knew I was here or not. I don’t get it. Yet he did talk about a dog.”

  “I know. I heard some of it. I’m not sure what that was about. Is he confused or off his rocker or trying to make us confused? It could have been any of the above,” he admitted. “The good news is that he’s gone right now.”

  “Do you think he shot Toby?”

  “I don’t know,” Bauer replied, looking at her in concern. “I did think that I may have had a line on Toby, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “Seriously?” She stared at him in delight.

  “I can’t guarantee it though, and now this weather will make it that much harder. Plus, with the bullets flying around Toby, if he was capable of moving, no telling where he is now.”

  “Maybe not though, he may have just hunkered down. He can’t possibly have any extra energy at this point.”

  “Hard to say.”

  She nodded. “The rain may continue for much longer. Although sometimes we get these heavy downpours, and then they’re gone in a flash.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping for,” he said.

  “It’s just too unbelievable though. Why on earth would he shoot Toby?”

  “I don’t know, but then we also don’t know what may have happened between the two of them already.”

  “But if he wanted him badly enough to steal him, why try to shoot him now?”

  Bauer asked, “So did it sound like the same guy who came to the clinic, asking about the War Dog?”

  She hesitated. “I, … I can’t be sure. With me, he had tried to act the part, you know? Until he heard the details on adopting a War Dog, and he dropped his facade and just got angry. Out here, he was probably his usual self, not what he shows the public.” Mags sighed. “I can’t confirm it was him.”

  Bauer didn’t respond. She groaned. “I hate this shit.”

  “Yeah, you and me both.” After a few moments, he asked, “What are the chances I can get you to stay here? I have to go see if I’m correct.” She stared up at him in the darkness, not responding. He repeated, “It would be better if you did. I don’t want to overwhelm the dog if it’s him, but believe me. I will definitely call you.”

  Finally she let out a breath. “Fine, but you stay in contact the whole way.”

  He smiled. “With that guy gone, we don’t have to be so quiet. I just want to confirm that we have a good idea where the shooter is and what the War Dog is up to.”

  She watched anxiously as he stepped back and started to move out into the darkness. “I can’t even see where you are,” she said.

  “I know, and that’s okay too,” he murmured. “I won’t be far, and we can continue to talk.” And he kept talking to her the whole way. He needed her to keep calm, but, at the same time, he had his GPS on to have a good idea of where they were. With any luck, he could get to the spot where he had been before and could make up some of that time they had lost with all the shooting and chaos. Then he would have a good place to start the search later.

  “I’m still here,” he told her.

  He walked quietly and then brought out the flashlight that he had packed, using it to search through the area. It didn’t help that now there was a good chance the dog may have bolted because of the storm, the lightning, the thunder, the rain, plus the bullets flying—or worse, he could have been hit. It was hard enough walking in the darkness, but the slippery footing just added to the problems.

  Bauer started his whistles again, knowing that Mags could hear them as well and could keep track of where Bauer was. Then, hearing a rustling beside him, he stepped out to the left and waited.

  Then he heard it again.

  “Toby?” Bauer asked quietly. “Is that you, buddy?” Almost immediately he heard another noise. As he waited, he checked the area with a flashlight. There was an ever-so-quiet noise off to the side. This time it was more like an odd whine, so Bauer slowly headed in that direction.

  He caught sight of the War Dog’s dark fur. He carefully moved to the animal’s side, his hand going to his neck.

  “It’s okay, Toby. It’s okay,” he murmured gently, his good hand rubbing the dog at the neck. But, when he pulled back his hand, and it came away with blood, he swore, as he held the flashlight up into the sky and called out to Mags.

  “Can you come to me?” he cried out. “I think I found Toby.”

  Chapter 4

  Mags raced over in record time, stumbling in the dark, trying to get to the flashlight beacon as quickly as possible. Her heart raced and her palms turned sweaty as she got closer. “Is he okay?” she cried out.

  “Nope, he sure isn’t,” Bauer replied, “but I think he will be.”

  Mags heard the lightness in his voice, relief washing over her. As she skidded down the last bit of the hillside, Toby struggled ahead of her to get away.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Toby, Toby, it’s okay. Calm down.” The dog, as if hearing her voice, dropped back down again. She reached out a hand, placed it on his neck, and whispered, “Oh my.” She looked up at Bauer. “We need to get him into surgery quickly.”

  He nodded. “I agree with you there. Take my flashlight. You light the way and let me pick him up.”

  “No!” Then she stopped because there weren’t too many choices.

  He looked over at her. “There’s really no option.”

  She sighed. “You’re right. It would be too hard to get any kind of a carrier up here, wouldn’t it?”

  “It would just take too long, and Toby needs help as soon as we can get it for him,” Bauer noted. “Just grab the flashlight and let’s go.” He bent down and, in one smooth movement, picked up the dog, who growled and snapped at him.

  She placed a hand on Toby’s neck. “It’s okay, buddy. It’s okay.” But she knew he didn’t understand and that he was in pain, yet at the same time she couldn’t do anything for him, not until they got down to the clinic.

  “I should have brought a muzzle,” Bauer said.

  “I just hope he doesn’t bite you.”

  “He’s growling at me, but it’s not connecting, so I don’t guess he’s trying too hard,” Bauer noted, taking no mind of the continued snapping and growling. “Come on. Let’s just go.”

  She stood here, staring at them both, instead of moving out. Then she dropped the flashlight beam to the ground and slowly picked out the smoothest and easiest path to the clinic. It would be a long trip in bad conditions, but thankfully it was mostly downhill. Knowing it was best that they just keep going, no matter what, they both focused on the task at hand.

  When they finally got to the building, she quickly raced ahead, unlocked the door, and turned off the alarm. She pulled the door wider, so Bauer could make it through without bumping Toby.

  She saw the strain in his arms, but he was still moving smoothly, not showing any signs of distress. She raced ahead of him again and opened up the door into one of the big surgery rooms, motioning at a big steel table.

  “Put Toby down there.” She pointed, then moved over to the sink and turned on the lights. Immediately she shoved up her sleeves and started washing up.

  He looked at her and asked, “I guess I should be prepared to help too, huh?”

  “Yes, please, I definitely may need it.”

  And, with that, she moved over to the dog to get a look at him. He wasn’t being terribly cooperative, but then she understood. As she quickly checked on him, she saw the IV port was still in place, even though the tubes had been ripped away when he had been taken. Normally she would consider that unsterile and start over, but, in this case, time was of the essence. She quickly flushed the area, then connected an IV and started dripping in fluids, knowing Toby was bound to be dehydrated.