“You okay?” Ryder asked.
“Fine.” Her voice had a catch in it the first time so she repeated, “Fine.”
“Do you want me to drop you back at the training center or take you home?”
“Home, please,” Sophie said. “I want Phoenix to get used to living with his handler again. We may as well start right away.”
“You won’t take any unnecessary chances? Promise?”
“Cross my heart.” She made the motion.
“Okay. I’ll go in ahead of you and check your house.”
Her “No,” came easily.
“No?”
Sophie was nodding. “Thanks, but no thanks. That won’t be necessary. If there’s anything wrong at my place the dog will alert.”
“How? By ducking and shaking the way he did at the depot?” The chief sounded cynical.
Reminded of the shooting incident and the way her own hands had trembled in its aftermath, Sophie covered her emotions by shrugging and saying, “Whatever.”
To herself, she added, That will make two of us feeling fearful. All her previous efforts to escape the rigors and threats of active law enforcement had been rendered ineffectual the moment those shots had been fired. If she had not been going home with a dog, traumatized or not, she might have welcomed human intervention.
Ryder was adamant. “Look. Until we know whether or not the attack on you was random, I’m going to pull rank. I’m inspecting your house when we get there. Is that understood?”
Sophie was so relieved she nearly sighed aloud. Instead, she purposely pouted, scooted lower in the seat and folded her arms, making sure her courageous image remained unspoiled. “Yeah, I get it.”
In truth, she was thankful. The house she’d been renting for several years sat on a double lot on East Second Street and backed up to undeveloped land, a quiet location that had seemed ideal until she’d started feeling vulnerable.
Right now, she’d have gladly settled for high stone walls instead of wire fencing, and maybe a turret with an armed guard or two, preferably one like Ryder Hayes.
If he turned up anybody hiding in her house, waiting to hurt her, she didn’t know what she’d do. But she was pretty sure she knew what Ryder would do—whatever it took to see that she was taken care of.
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
ISBN-13: 9781488008696
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Copyright © 2016 by Heather Humrichouse
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