“I couldn’t tell if she was dragging anything. The dogs were all moving too fast, jumping around and playing like a bunch of kids at recess.”

  “If it is Cowgirl, that does not sound good. Not good at all. We were expecting the thief to be taking good care of her, as he promised in his texts and showed in the pictures he took, not letting her run loose.”

  Frowning, Selena took off jogging down the alley with Scout at heel, the tech expert next and Finn bringing up the rear. His heart was pounding, his breathing ragged. Being the pursuer instead of the quarry was exciting in a different way, wasn’t it? He was beginning to better understand the appeal of being on the right side of the law and acting for the benefit of the public. It felt good.

  Halting at a back corner of the store, Selena rested the heel of one hand on the butt of her gun. She raised the other in a signal for everyone to stop.

  Good thing, Finn thought. If he’d been alone, he’d probably have whipped around the corner without even considering what or who might be waiting for him on the other side.

  Holding her weapon in both hands, Selena pivoted around the corner. He could see some of the tension leave her shoulders. “All clear.”

  Isla voiced his thoughts to a T. “Now what?”

  “Now we put Scout to work.”

  “Why didn’t you do that in the first place?” Finn asked.

  “Because he needs a strong starting point. There must be hundreds of different scents floating around out here, including those of the stray dogs you saw.” She looked to Isla. “I want you to take us back to the exact spot where you thought you spotted Cowgirl the first time.”

  In Finn’s opinion, their chances were zero and none, but he kept his conclusions to himself. Yes, the dog had proven useful for finding a way out of the cave and had almost retrieved Selena’s dropped phone, but other than that, he hadn’t seen a lot of action that had impressed him. Nevertheless, he joined the others and returned to the front of the store.

  Isla had taken Selena aside to speak to her. She led Scout around stacks of potting soil in plastic bags, then gave the command, “Seek.”

  Expecting him to be confused because he was out of his working harness, Finn was surprised to see the lithe Malinois circle several times, then take off in a direction opposite of where they had already been. Selena not only didn’t stop him; she praised his choice.

  “Humph,” was Finn’s only comment.

  Scout stopped at a sleek-looking black pickup truck with a crew cab, meaning it was built to haul more than just a driver and one passenger. Sitting, barking and panting, the K-9 looked very pleased with himself.

  Selena peered in the driver’s window, checked the door and found it locked. “Take a picture of the license plate,” she told Isla. “We’re going to see where the owner went from here.”

  As soon as Selena gave a new command, Scout was off like a shot, nose to the ground, tail held high. This time, the dog didn’t waste a second. He was clearly on a mission, one that led them back around the rectangular block building, past the dumpsters behind and returned to the front entrance.

  Finn assumed the man they were after had taken the missing dog inside until he saw Scout put on the brakes, whirl and head out again. When he got to the place where the black pickup had been parked, the space was empty.

  “Uh-oh,” slipped out before he could censor himself. Selena didn’t have to say a word to demonstrate agreement.

  Ignoring him, she was speaking on Isla’s phone. “I’m sending photos of the suspect vehicle and license number. We’ll stage here unless we spot Cowgirl or the truck again.”

  Spreading his hands wide, palms up, Finn spoke while she waited for an official ID. “Hey, nobody’s perfect.”

  An eyebrow arched. “Are you speaking for yourself?”

  “Maybe. I’ve made more than enough mistakes.” The last thing he’d have admitted, then or at any other time, was that he considered his purposeful parting from her to be one of his biggest ones. That and not seeking out his birth father sooner. If he had, maybe Zeb might still be alive.

  The futility of those thoughts hit him hard. Nothing could be changed no matter how sorry he was. Zeb was dead and so was Selena’s former affection for him. He hadn’t meant to harm his birth father, but he had done a great job killing Selena’s past fondness, perhaps even love.

  Had it ever been that serious between us? Finn asked himself. Maybe. Probably. Looking back, he was able to see that she had been struggling with the loss of her sister and estrangement from her parents at the time of their breakup, and he had failed to show enough empathy.

  Keeping himself at arm’s length back then may have been an error, he concluded. Doing so now, however, was absolutely crucial. For both their sakes.

  Ten

  Sighing, Selena shook her head and ended the call she had just received. “The license plate was stolen. It belonged on a passenger car. They’ve put out an APB, but chances are the driver will make another change as soon as possible.”

  “Sorry,” Finn said.

  She could tell he meant it, which should have helped but really didn’t. Going back over her decision to keep her ragtag team together, she saw no other sensible options. Isla was an unarmed tech who couldn’t have acted alone to stop the truck without risking injury. Finn was a worse choice, primed as a fall guy for trumped-up charges already. What she could have done was remain with the others at the suspect truck and call for backup. In retrospect, that might have been a wiser choice.

  “I’m sorry, too,” Selena admitted. “Chasing after Cowgirl may not have been for the best. I could have stayed to watch the truck.” Turning to Isla, she said, “Go ahead and keep my team SUV for carrying groceries. We’ll walk back. It’s only a block or so. Maybe we’ll spot Cowgirl and her friend on the way.”

  Her companions’ incredulous looks were not a surprise. With a wave, Isla left them and headed into the store. Selena pointed for Finn. “Let’s go.”

  “Are you sure she’ll be okay?”

  “If I wasn’t, I’d stay with her,” Selena replied. “Right now, I think getting you back to the house is the best move.”

  “I suppose so.”

  It bothered her to detect reluctance in his voice and body language. She commiserated. Finn wasn’t the only one who wished they hadn’t been thrown together by circumstances. Trying to explain the drawbacks to Sheriff Unger or her K-9 unit boss had failed miserably. At times, it almost seemed as if they were conspiring against her, which she knew wasn’t true. Still...

  Scout walked along at heel, panting and staying near the outer edge of the concrete sidewalk so he could sniff as they passed vegetation.

  Noticing the cold, Selena shivered and looked at Finn. He seemed chilled, too. “You okay?”

  “Sure.” He crossed his arms. “Just enjoying spring in the high country of Idaho. At least it keeps the ski resorts in business.”

  “We did get record snows this year,” she commented, relieved to have something mundane to discuss. “Did you see the pictures? Some of it almost reached the lift chairs.”

  “Nope. My news was limited, remember?”

  “Sorry again. I keep forgetting.”

  Finn shrugged. “I wish I could.”

  “This won’t last forever,” she said. “Didn’t your attorney get depositions from witnesses to uphold your claim you weren’t there at the time of the shooting?”

  “Yes. Multiple people swore under oath that they heard Ned Plumber bragging about lying in court. Unfortunately, he never said who had paid him to blame me.”

  “You suspect Edward, right?”

  “Absolutely. Don’t you?”

  Nodding, Selena agreed. “Yes, I do.”

  A voice from a hedge they were passing, said, “Me too.”

  Selena reached for her weapon.

  Finn shouted, “Sean!” as the boy jumped in front of her.

  The instant she realized what had happened, she was livid. “Don’t ever do that again. Do you hear me? I could have shot you.”

  The youth’s cheeks reddened almost as much as the fabric of his jacket. He sidled past Finn to take full advantage of a physical barrier and looked surprised when his big brother turned and grabbed him by the shoulders. “What are you doing here? I thought the sheriff took you home.”

  “Hey, it’s not that far. I wanted to see you, so I rode my bike over.”

  Selena had holstered her weapon. Her hands remained on her hips. She looked at the younger brother, then glared at the older. “I’ll give you thirty seconds to talk some sense into this kid before I cuff him and have him hauled back to jail.”

  “That’s a little harsh.” Finn was frowning.

  Frustration overwhelmed her. “Look, Donovan—both of you—not only are you keeping me from aiding my team members in the search for a serial killer, every minute you stay on the street, you increase your chances of getting somebody else hurt, or worse.” She directed her next comment to Finn. “I’m walking a fine line too, in case you haven’t noticed. I’m supposed to watch you, find a valuable missing K-9, look after my own working dog, back up my partners if they need me and open my home to a half dozen people, not to mention their K-9s. When the sheriff got my boss to assign you to me, you more than doubled my problems.”

  Finn had slipped an arm of protection around Sean’s shoulder. “How? It’s not my fault the van was wrecked and we were shot at.”

  Seeing Sean’s head snap around to stare at Finn, she realized he might have just complicated matters. “All right,” Selena ordered, pointing. “March. Everybody, back to the house.”

  “Everybody?” Finn asked.

  “Yes, everybody. We’re sitting ducks standing here on the sidewalk in broad daylight. “We need to sit down in a safe, quiet place and talk things over.”

  “I want to help. I...” the teen began before Finn gave him a gentle shake and a warning glance.

  “There’s help and there’s interference,” Selena warned. “You need to learn the difference before you get somebody hurt.”

  “She’s right,” Finn said flatly. “As much as I hate to admit it, she usually is.”

  A flush of pride washed over Selena before she realized that Finn may have complimented her simply to placate his little brother. Nevertheless, the reason he said it didn’t negate the pleasure she got from hearing it. Being a law officer was a tough, often thankless, job and although she did it with pride and conscientiousness, it seldom brought praise from the general public. That was a fact of life, whether she happened to be partnered with a K-9 like Scout or on her own. Having the dog with her did, however, make her work stand out, and there were actually occasions when she could share kudos with her amazing K-9.

  “Walk in front of me,” Selena told the brothers. “I’ve got your six.”

  As Finn complied, hurrying his sibling ahead, Sean asked, “Our what?”

  “Six o’clock,” Selena said. “Think of a clockface and picture yourself in the middle with the number six at the bottom. That means I’ll watch your backs.”

  The teen seemed impressed. “Cool.”

  Smiling, Finn glanced back at her and echoed, “Yeah, cool,” then mouthed, Thanks.

  * * *

  Finn had no doubt that everything Selena had said about them was true, and then some. He and his brother were complicating her regular assignment. Even without Sean’s interference, she would have been distracted, and with it, there was no telling how much harder she’d have to work to concentrate, even at the risk of her own life.

  That conclusion kept him on edge as they walked. The streets of Sagebrush were peaceful. The month of May still held traces of the snowy, icy winter because of the higher elevation. A landscape that was so perfect for ski resorts was bound to be on the chilly side well into spring.

  At least his brother had had enough sense to dress warmly, Finn mused, shivering again. He and Selena had left her house so abruptly that neither of them had thought to grab a jacket. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  Sounds of passing traffic blended into a hum in the background. So did birdsong and an occasional snippet of conversation heard from a distance. Nearing Selena’s home, he slowed and looked back at her, choosing to make mundane conversation to break the silence. “This is it, right?”

  “Ask your brother,” she said, tongue in cheek. “He should recognize the windows.” She gestured at a spoked wheel sticking out from behind a rhododendron bush. “Besides, that’s probably his bicycle over there.”

  Finn gave Sean’s shoulders a squeeze. “See? I told you she was always right.”

  This time, Selena chuckled. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Donovan.” She was pointing. “Front door. Now.”

  Instead of a salute, he winked at her. “Yes, ma’am.”

  They mounted the porch steps. Selena placed Scout on a sit-stay and took out her keys.

  Finn gave her space by guiding Sean aside. That put the street on his right. Normal movement might not have caught his attention, but the slowing of a black pickup truck did. “Selena...”

  She turned the key. Opened the door slightly. Looked up at Finn. Frowned. “What?”

  Before he had a chance to speak a warning, one window of the truck rolled down, and the barrel of a rifle poked out.

  Finn shoved Sean ahead of him, taking Selena with them in a mighty lunge through the opening. The wooden door swung free to bang against an interior wall. Scout jumped the jumble of human arms and legs, landing beyond them on the living room floor and starting to bark.

  A high-pitched screech came from Sean, not Selena. She’d had the breath knocked out of her and was scrambling to extricate herself from the others. Finn’s main concern was putting something substantial between them and whoever was aiming at them from the truck. He groped for the edge of the door, shoved the others out of the way and slammed it closed.

  Selena had crawled to the nearest window and was pointing her sidearm at the street. “Get away from that door,” she shouted at Finn. “A rifle bullet can go right through it.”

  Taking charge of Sean, he pushed the boy ahead of him into the kitchen and down behind the breakfast bar.

  All Finn could hear was everyone’s rapid breathing, punctuated by an occasional sniffle from the teen. This might be a good time to remind Sean how much danger he’d put himself in by breaking the sheriff’s rules, he reasoned, quickly deciding to save chastisement for later. Sean was not likely to forget this moment anytime soon. Neither was he.

  As Finn watched Selena poised at the edge of the window, ready to take whatever action was necessary, he was very proud of her. She’d persevered through emotional and physical trials and was showing no sign of fear or indecision.

  He, on the other hand, would have felt a lot better about the whole scenario if she’d acted at least a little scared instead of being in full charge of the situation without seeming to need to call upon him for backup. That she didn’t was partially his fault. There had been times in the distant past when she’d come to him to talk over the puzzles of life, and he’d failed to be as open as he should have been, as he would be now. Yes, he chalked his failures up to immaturity and selfishness, but that wasn’t enough to repair the damage done to their relationship.

  Seeing her ease away from the window and holster her gun brought temporary relief. First she pulled the blinds, then locked the front door and started through the house, checking the security of each window.

  “Looks like having armed, trained houseguests isn’t going to be the disadvantage you thought it was,” Finn said.

  He was positive he saw a trace of a smile as she replied, “Well put, Donovan.”

  Together, they reentered the living room. Selena glanced through to the kitchen. “Where did you put your teenage clone?”

  “He’s right...” Finn peered, then strode toward the breakfast bar, expecting to find Sean sitting on the floor where he’d left him. His jaw gaped. He met Selena’s worried gaze. “He’s gone!”

  Eleven

  Multitasking as she searched her home, Selena called in to report the possible threat from the passing truck as well as the unexpected appearance, then disappearance, of Finn’s teenage brother.

  Sheriff Unger assured her that Mary Donovan was being moved to a safe house and that he’d arranged for Sean to travel with her, assuming somebody located him in a timely fashion.

  Clearly, Finn was in a state about the boy. Having lost her only sister, Angela, Selena understood. What she was beginning to see more clearly was the responsibility each person had for his or her own life. Yes, it was good to offer moral and physical support to others, but in the long run, people had to face the personal consequences of their mistakes. Being a cop was proof of that. Her job was not only to keep the peace; it was to enforce those consequences on those who tried to escape them.

  Returning to the kitchen, she saw Finn heading toward an exterior door. “Don’t even think of going outside.”

  “We have to. I have to. He’s obviously not in the house.”

  “If we do this, we do it right,” Selena insisted. She fisted her cell phone and started to swipe names. “I’ll get Kyle and Meadow over here, and we’ll think this through. No more running the streets like we did before. That was foolish and I know it.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up,” Finn said. “You know you’d do just about anything to protect Scout if he’d been stolen.”

  “Not at the risk of your life,” Selena said sadly. “I let myself be influenced by Isla’s excitement and acted like a novice. No good cop goes running around in public accompanied by a guy who’s already been a proven target for assassination.”