He shrugged. “Yeah, well, there is that.”

  “No kidding.” She pointed at his feet. “My problem is your ankle monitor. I can only get so far away from you before it sends an alarm to the sheriff and they pick you up again.”

  “Not the wisest plan, in my opinion.”

  “Nor in mine,” Selena said. “But for now, we’re stuck with it.”

  “Can’t you ask the sheriff to take it off me?”

  “I have. It’s there by court order. Those are in force until rescinded by a judge.”

  “So, you and I are electronic conjoined twins.”

  “In a manner of speaking, yes.”

  Her call went to Kyle’s voice mail, so she left a message. “This is Selena. We have a situation back at the house. Not in immediate danger, but do need backup. Return ASAP. Thanks.”

  Pocketing the phone, she concentrated on Finn. “Stay inside. I want to go check something.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “That’s not necessary. I just want to see if Sean’s bike is still here.”

  “You said we had to stay close together.”

  In spite of his worry over Sean, Finn was doing his best to follow the rules, and that impressed her. “Not that close.” She allowed herself a slight smile. “I think the maximum range is about the length of three football fields.”

  “I thought these gadgets were programmed for a certain area.”

  “They usually are.” Displaying a small pager that had been clipped to her belt, Selena explained. “In our case, this is your home base. Me. Otherwise, I’d be as tied to a geographic location as you are if I intended to keep track of you.”

  “Defend me, you mean.”

  “If necessary.” The smile grew. “In your case, however, you seem to be doing a fair job of that yourself.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I would ask, however, that you stop knocking me down when you do it. I’m starting to feel like the opposing team in a football game.”

  “Sorry. It’s just faster.”

  Rolling her eyes, she made a silly face. “Sure, as long as I don’t get a concussion or break a leg.” Eyeing him from head to toe, she added, “You’re a lot bigger than you used to be.”

  “Solid muscle.”

  “Oh yeah,” Selena drawled before stopping to censor her thoughts. “I noticed.”

  * * *

  Thankful that they hadn’t banished him from the room, Finn busied himself putting groceries away as Kyle, Selena and Meadow released their their K-9 partners into the fenced backyard, then gathered over coffee with Isla to discuss his brother—and the body they’d found earlier. It didn’t take him long to realize where their main priorities lay. Compared to the gravity of the RMK killings, Sean’s misbehavior seemed more like a troublesome gnat buzzing around their heads, especially since his bike was also gone. Finn hoped they were not overlooking the fact that the teen could be getting himself into big, big trouble.

  It took a great deal of self-control for Finn to keep quiet. Sean was loved. He was all Mary Donovan had, particularly if the conviction for Zeb’s murder was upheld. The notion that it might actually stand was enough to turn Finn’s stomach. He’d spent the last three years in prison. He didn’t want to have to go back, particularly since he, himself, was now the target of evil. It pained him to think of his uncle Edward or anyone else being guilty, but it hurt Finn even more to have people think he had done it.

  The future had looked bright for those few blissful days after he’d finally met his birth father. Zeb had not only acknowledged him as his son, as much for the family resemblance as for the DNA proof, and had said that he’d like to meet Mary again now that she was widowed.

  To Zeb’s credit, he had also refused to believe Edward’s lies about his character. For Finn, it was as if he and Zeb had always known each other. Their bond was formed at their first handshake and strengthened by every precious moment they’d spent together after that. He’d tried to explain those feelings to the jury at his trial, but the truth had apparently seemed far-fetched. In reality, Zeb had said he felt closer to the son he had just met than he did to his own brother, Edward.

  The death of Luke Randall had cast a dark cloud over Selena’s Mountain Country K-9 Task Force, as Kyle was explaining. “We know we’re on the right track. We just need to move faster.”

  Meadow nodded. “We almost made it in time.”

  When Finn saw both officers looking at Selena, it was impossible to miss the implication. She had been in Sagebrush before Randall’s death and might have been able to at least warn him that he might be another target of the Rocky Mountain Killer. The day that she could have made face-to-face contact with this latest victim, she’d been delayed by an assignment that was supposed to have taken an hour or less, yet had consumed the entire day. And beyond. Although that was not Finn’s fault, he still felt partly responsible.

  As he opened his mouth to offer an apology, he glanced at Selena and met her gaze. She silenced him with a slight hand movement before addressing the others. “Nobody knew anything for sure. We’re still not totally positive who killed Randall.”

  “Clues are pretty clear,” Kyle said.

  Meadow agreed with a nod.

  “They are,” Selena said. “However, if the man had paid attention to our warning in the first place and agreed to cooperate instead of denying everything, he might still be alive. If he’d listened to the local deputies we sent out when we couldn’t get ahold of him, we wouldn’t have had to send MCK9 officers to to convince him.”

  “Fair enough. And the killer is still around. At least we think so.” Kyle turned to Isla. “You have pictures?”

  She produced her phone and brought up the shots she’d taken at the market. “If I’d been an officer of the law, I could have captured him then and there.”

  Selena pointed at the clearest picture. “Is that the pink collar he had on her? It sure looks like it.”

  “Too much fur to tell,” Isla said. “I think so, though. The tall blond man in the ski hat looks right, too.”

  Finn watched everyone agree. None of that mattered to him with Sean still missing. “What about my brother?”

  “Local authorities will look for him. This dog was taken right under our noses,” Kyle said. “We’ve received pictures of her wearing a collar that has the name Killer spelled out in rhinestones and texts that claim to be from our serial murderer. Those are the only solid leads we have so far, other than a list of victims and possible targets. We have to pursue it.”

  “Okay. I get it,” Finn said soberly. “It’s not so much the dog you’re chasing, it’s the person who took her. That’s different.”

  “We care about Sean, too,” Selena assured him, resting a hand over his. “It’s just that he chose to leave, and he knows his way around Sagebrush. He could be anywhere. Even home with your mother, except...”

  “Except what?”

  “Sheriff Unger told me they’re moving her to a safe house very soon, if she’s not already gone. He said they plan to take Sean, too, but if he’s not around, your mom will go alone.”

  “Stupid kid.” Finn’s fist hit his opposite palm with an audible whack. “As if things weren’t already messed up.”

  “We’ll find him. Or he’ll find us the way he did today,” Selena said. “Let’s concentrate on the lethal stuff first. My primary task at the moment is keeping you alive for your retrial.”

  “Too bad my brother left, then. You could watch me while I watch him. Two for the price of one.”

  “The price of one Donovan brother is already too high to suit me,” Selena said flatly. “Believe me, I don’t need a second one to look after.”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault somebody is trying to get rid of me.” He spread his upraised palms wide. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Not lately.” Finn noticed a slight smile lifting one corner of her mouth before she went on. “What you told your brother was true. Your past mistakes helped convict you. I don’t happen to think you’re a stone-cold killer, but I really can’t blame the jury for treating you the way you used to deserve.”

  “That’s cold,” Finn said. He got it. Really he did. And it served to highlight his initial reasons for distancing himself from her. The problem was, now that they’d been reunited and might have a second chance under more favorable circumstances, his past was still standing in the way.

  “But very true,” she said. “Reputations can be hard to live down, particularly if you stay in the same town all your life.”

  “I had to stay. Mom was here and she needed my help.” Glancing around the table, Finn made sure they were all listening. “She lost everything on account of me. I’ll never be able to repay her for all she sacrificed, first to raise me alone, then trying to rescue me after I was charged with Zeb’s death, but I intend to make the attempt. It’s not enough for me to be exonerated. I need to prove who really did kill my birth father. And while I’m at it, I’d like to keep my baby brother out of trouble.”

  Snorting a chuckle, Kyle was shaking his head. “Don’t ask for much, do you?”

  “Don’t ask, don’t get. I’ve been praying for the truth to come out for years. I’d begun to think I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison. Being this close to getting the answer I need is enough to give a guy an ulcer.”

  “Not if you really believe prayers are answered,” Kyle said with a tinge of sarcasm.

  “My problem,” Finn said, “is allowing the Lord to do things His way instead of mine. And within my time frame.” Finn chanced a sidelong glance at Selena. “Most of the time, I don’t see answers until after I’ve tried to help Him and have already ruined things.”

  “Welcome to the human race,” Kyle said. He pushed away from the table and got to his feet. “Isla, I’m going back to the crime scene at Randall’s. You can ride with Meadow and me. We’ll put the dogs in the rear compartment.”

  “Again, what about my brother?”

  “You and Selena can keep looking for him. Scout isn’t primarily trained as a tracker, but he’ll do a good job. Put him on the kid’s trail and see where it takes you. My guess is he went home to Mama.”

  “We can hope,” Selena said to Finn. “There is one other place he might have gone.”

  “Yeah.” Finn grabbed the jacket he’d brought from the cabin and put it on. “The ranch. I thought of that.”

  Twelve

  Selena took the time to prepare portable rations for Scout as well as packing snacks for her and Finn.

  “We’re not going on a picnic,” he observed without humor. “It’s not that far to the ranch and back.”

  “In a car it isn’t. Your brother is on a bicycle, so there’s no telling how long it will take to track him down. Besides, we’ll be letting Scout take the lead, at least in the beginning.”

  “What if he can’t find Sean’s trail? Will you take me to the ranch then?”

  “If I decide it’s a logical move to make.” She noticed Finn’s tenseness and commiserated. “Okay. Yes. We’ll check out the Double Y if nobody locates him here in Sagebrush.”

  “We should go there first.”

  “Sorry, no.” The crestfallen expression on Finn’s handsome face touched her heart, and she fought to mask tender feelings. Of course he was worried about his little brother. Who wouldn’t be, especially given the teen’s history for taking matters into his own hands? Losing her only sibling gave her the kind of empathy that only a fellow sufferer would have.

  Although she didn’t owe Finn an explanation, she offered one. “I have the training and the K-9 that you need in this instance, and it’s about time you admitted it. If you listen to your gut feelings without being sensible, you’re no better off than your kid brother.” She paused for a breath and assessed him. “I will suggest that the sheriff send men to check the ranch, but I’m in charge here and now.”

  “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  “When you realize that it’s better than sitting in a jail cell and accept my rules, let me know, all right?”

  “I can know something is right and still not be happy about it,” Finn told her.

  Boy, talk about insight, Selena mused. Did he suspect how conflicted she was? Probably not. Why should he? She was doing a job she’d been assigned to and keeping her personal feelings at bay. Well, mostly. Just because her heart was softening toward Finn didn’t mean she was demonstrating it. There were a few times when she had reached out and touched him to offer comfort or get his attention, but she’d also jumped away when he’d patted her hand while she was driving, so chances were he hadn’t noticed any change in her behavior.

  Putting Scout’s working harness on him helped distract her, for which she was extremely grateful. As long as she concentrated on work and on her K-9, she’d be able to control errant thoughts of Finn. She hoped. That was what she still wanted to do, wasn’t it? Well, wasn’t it?

  To her surprise and chagrin, Selena wasn’t sure anymore. Being around Finn was really starting to get to her, to break through the wall she’d built around her wounded heart and make her start to doubt prior conclusions. Logic argued against softening her stance. Remaining aloof was the most sensible choice. Knowing that, however, didn’t make it easy to do, and the more time she spent in the company of her old friend, the more she doubted the future course her life should take. She couldn’t not see what was happening to her, to him. Tenuous connections she had assumed were broken beyond repair were beginning to knit their lives back together the way a skilled craftsman repaired a torn garment. Or the way she’d heard it said that God’s tapestry is woven from random loose threads on the back to create a beautiful finished product when seen from His view of the front.

  One of the things that had helped keep her single was the belief that nobody would ever be able to accept her as the guarded person she had become to protect her broken heart. Few people had been privy to that side of her personality for years, yet with Finn, she was beginning to feel almost normal. Whole, the way she had when she’d surrendered herself, the rest of her life, to Jesus while in the depths of despair. Faith in her Savior had rescued her in more ways than one. It was continuing to fully trust and to follow that was proving difficult.

  Finn was waiting at the door while Selena donned her working gear. She handed him the pack to carry, reminding herself of their close call in the cave. “Ready?”

  “I have been for ages,” Finn said. He stood aside for her to pass. “Where do we start?”

  “We don’t. Scout does.” She gestured for the K-9 to move forward to the hedge where the bicycle had been, then said, “Find him. Seek.”

  Eager as always, the Malinois put his nose to the ground as if checking each speck of dust, then raised his head and sniffed the air.

  “It hasn’t been too long?” Finn asked.

  “Not for a good tracker.” Proud of her K-9 partner, Selena smiled down at him. His ears were perked, his tail waving slightly. Almost, she thought. Come on, boy. You can do it.

  Wheeling, panting and choosing a deliberate path, Scout tugged on the leash. He had a trail. Praise the Lord, she thought with abject relief. Thank you, Jesus.

  On the heels of the excited dog, she took off jogging. Nobody had to tell her that Finn was keeping pace, she could sense his presence. Hear the cadence of his boots on the sidewalk. “Keep your eyes open for that black pickup or anything else that looks odd. I’d rather you were safe inside my car, but there’s no way to let Scout trail Sean from the SUV.”

  “I’m more than willing to take a chance,” Finn said, “unless you want to give me your keys and let me drive to follow you.”

  Selena halted, frustrating Scout. Could she? Should she? The sheriff would have a hissy fit and so would Rawlston, but letting Finn bring her SUV did make sense in the overall picture. Eyeballing the distance they had already come, she fisted her keys and tossed them to him. “I think we’re still close enough to keep your ankle monitor from going off. Make it quick. Scout needs to keep moving so he doesn’t lose interest. He’s had some search and rescue training, but he’s not normally a tracker.”

  Without hesitation, Finn whirled and headed back at a run as Selena watched. There was hope in his actions, joy in his gait. How she knew that just by looking was beyond her, yet she was positive she was witnessing a lifting of the emotional burdens she’d sensed when they’d first been reunited. The difference was good to see, good to know.

  Her initial conclusion contained an image of herself as the catalyst. That was ridiculous if she held to her previous notions, of course. Picturing the help the task force and sheriff’s deputies were providing in finding Finn’s naughty brother made a lot more sense. Of course he was feeling upbeat. He was being included enough to feel he was helping.

  As Finn reached the SUV and climbed in, Selena made good use of the time to phone Sheriff Unger, tell him what they were doing and promise to keep him in the loop. She did, however, refrain from mentioning that she had given her prisoner permission to drive while she and Scout traveled on foot.

  Amused in spite of the possible seriousness of the situation involving Sean, Selena smiled and gave her K-9 the order to proceed. She didn’t have to ask twice. Scout put his head down, nose twitching, and took off again.

  Because the trail stuck to sidewalks and streets, she assumed the teen was riding his bike, as they’d originally suspected. That was good. It would make it easier for Finn to keep up while staying pretty much out of sight. If the boy started cross-country where there were no roads, that would complicate everything.

  Up one block, over two, then into a gas station mini-mart. Scout paused, circling as if confused.

  Finn pulled into the station, stopped next to Selena, engine idling, and rolled down the driver’s window. “Did he lose the trail?”