K-9 Recovery

by Danica Winters

  “So what?” She frowned. “There is nothing tying it to our case other than the fact it is a phone on the Clarks’ account. For all we know, they had given one of their other employees a work phone.”

  He couldn’t deny that she might be right. There were any number of reasons a senator and his wife would have needed a phone, but that didn’t squash the feeling in his stomach that they had just stumbled on something; whether it would prove to be helpful or hurtful was up to time to tell, but at least it brought them something they needed most—hope in the time of darkness.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Elle looked down at her phone, half hoping that Zoey would send her another text and tell her that she was sorry, but she knew that it would never come. Even if Zoey was wrong, she wasn’t the kind to apologize—ever.

  Unlike her, Zoey was unflappable. She could stare into the fire and let the world burn down around her without ever blinking, even if she wasn’t the one who threw the match.

  Though she was incredibly angry, she couldn’t hold a grudge against Zoey. Her boss had taken her on and allowed her to pursue her passion for K-9 work without even the tiniest of pressure to rush her dog’s training. If anything, Zoey had been incredibly understanding about the kind of work she did and the benefit it was for the team. The only real mistake Zoey had made was allowing her to be assigned to the care of a senator’s child.

  It was Elle’s failure that had brought them here; Zoey was right. And she had been justified, actually forced, into letting her go. If Elle had been thrust into Zoey’s position, she probably would have made the same choice.

  The road zipped by them as they drove down the interstate in the direction of the Blackfoot River, where Grant had gotten the ping on the phone. He kept looking over at the computer, checking to make sure that the phone’s location was relatively unchanging.

  She couldn’t believe his reaction to this minor piece of evidence. It was like he saw this as their saving grace, when there was no saving anyone here. Her career was over, her dog was hurt and they were on the rocks. And Lily was still missing. If this wasn’t a last-ditch effort on his part to save... Wait, what is he trying to save?

  She glanced over at him, and there were storm clouds in his green eyes. His brow was furrowed, and even without reading his mind, she could tell that he was on a mission. In a strange way, it lightened some of the heaviness in her heart. Her life had unraveled into one huge heaping mess, one she couldn’t bring another person into out of the knowledge she would never be able to give them everything they deserved, but to know he was trying to help her took some of the pain away.

  There was nothing he could do to make it all better, or take back what had happened to Daisy, but he was doing something. That said something about him. She had lost count of the people in her life who had made her promises only to find out they were as empty as the hearts of the people who had made them.

  He was different, she could give him that. And, if her heart would have been capable, she could have loved him for it—maybe in another life.

  Grant put his hand out, palm up, like he wanted her to reach over and take it. Though she wanted to, it would mean things she wasn’t sure she wanted to promise. She was hurt, angry and emotionally compromised right now. And hadn’t he been the one to tell her that was enough of a reason—being emotionally compromised, that was—not to get involved?

  She pretended not to notice his extended hand, like it wasn’t some kind of elephant in the pickup. Her fingers twitched like they wanted to come over and take his even without her mind agreeing to the plan. While she held no doubts about wanting him, he was just her type—hot, dominant, strong, and she’d be lying if she didn’t say she loved how he protected her.

  She liked to think she was tough, as she was more than capable of getting herself out of physically perilous situations, but when it came to the emotional ones, sometimes it was damn hard to be a woman.

  “Elle.” He said her name like it was a secret on his tongue, and the sound made her skin spark with yearning.

  “Hmm,” she said, trying to still seem the tiniest bit aloof.

  “It’s okay for you to hold my hand.”

  She looked over at him, and warmth rose into her face. Why did she always have that reaction when it came to him? She’d never thought of herself as much of a blusher, but when he talked to her like that and in that tone of voice, she melted.

  “I...” she started, but she didn’t know exactly how to express to him everything that she was feeling. “I...I don’t want to be hurt anymore, Grant.”

  “No matter what happens, with any of it, I will keep you as safe as I can. I won’t promise that you won’t get hurt in this life, but I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to make sure that I’m not the one doing the hurting.”

  He didn’t move his hand, and she stared down at his fingers. She wanted to believe him and give herself over to his beautiful words, but there was so much pain in her heart.

  She sighed, and her hands trembled in her lap. After a moment, she reached over and slipped her fingers between his. He couldn’t take away the pain and guilt she was feeling, but at least she could have one positive thing in her life. And maybe doing this wasn’t the smartest thing, getting involved when she wasn’t at her best, but if she waited for a right time—a time that she was completely ready and at ease—she damned well could have been waiting forever. Her emotions and her life were always in flux. That was what life was, one fight rolling in on the shirttails of the one before.

  She deserved something good in her life, and she would figure out how to do this love thing right—that was, if this was going to be a serious thing between them.

  Did she ask him? Did he ask her for monogamy? She hadn’t had a real boyfriend in so long that she couldn’t quite remember how things had been made official with her last. In fact, maybe they hadn’t been official—he’d been more than happy to step out of their relationship to sate some needs he later told her she hadn’t been filling.

  Why did she have to think about that right now? When things were starting to turn and go right? She needed to focus on Grant. Only on Grant. And just like earlier, she needed to be here with him. Beautiful, sexy things happened when she gave herself to him.

  The thought of him between her legs made her shift in her seat. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the last place his mouth had been on her. If only she could keep that feeling forever. But maybe that was just the afterglow speaking, all of this...the confusion and the weird feeling that was entirely too close to love. Love was perilous, at best.

  But damn it if she didn’t think she loved him. There was just something about being close to him. She loved to watch his mouth form words and the way his green eyes brightened when he spoke about things he enjoyed or memories from his past.

  His thumb fluttered over her skin, and she closed her eyes for a moment, just taking in the full sensation that was his touch. Even her hand fit perfectly in his; how was that possible?

  They got off the interstate and took a frontage road in the direction of the last ping off the phone. According to the tracking program, the phone was stationary and hadn’t moved for the last thirty minutes.

  “What are we going to do after this? Do you think we can pull anything else from the flight records? Maybe we should go see Steve again.” She tried to swallow back the anxiety that was rising within her.

  He squeezed her hand, the simple action more effective to control her anxiety than anything she could have done. “If this doesn’t pan out to be anything, don’t worry. We will get Lily back. And, I told you...as for your job...you have plenty of options. If you can’t stay at the ranch, I will help you find an apartment or whatever. You don’t have to leave Montana.”

  She hadn’t even thought about all the ramifications of losing her job with STEALTH yet. Of course, she couldn’t stay at the
ranch—that was headquarters for a group she no longer worked with. Zoey hadn’t mentioned anything, but she had been trying to let her down gently—which was somewhat out of character for her. Zoey was far more the kind to have a spreadsheet and an exit survey to give people upon their firing.

  She had been fired.

  Her breath stuck in her chest, and her hands started shaking. She had no job, her dog was possibly going to have long-term damage regardless of what the vet said and now she couldn’t breathe.

  Grant glanced over at her and frowned as he looked at her complexion. “Babe, take a breath. In. Out. In and out.” He breathed a few times like the problem was that she had forgotten how, not that her body was trembling on the precipice of a full anxiety attack.

  “Don’t freak out.” He paused his breathing exercise. “What can I do to help you?” He started to pull the truck over, but she waved him off.

  “No,” she said, trying to mimic the Lamaze-style breathing. “Don’t stop.”

  He smiled at her like he was deciding whether or not to say what was just on the tip of his tongue.

  “What?” She inhaled.

  “The last time you said don’t stop was at your cabin,” he said, giggling as he blushed. It was crazy to see him act in a way she had been chastising herself for, and him looking absolutely sexy while doing it.

  A giggle escaped her as she exhaled. It felt strange, like with the giggle she was finding her center again.

  He laughed harder, but she didn’t know if it was at her or the situation or what, and she began laughing harder, too. She laughed until tears started to form at the corners of her eyes. It didn’t make sense and maybe this was some kind of mania or magic, but she could feel the craziness that had overwhelmed her seep out with every laugh. Her heart lightened as her tears fell. Maybe this laughter was the catharsis her soul needed, especially since it was brought on by and hand in hand with Grant.

  He was changing her life. He was willing to pick her up when she was at her lowest. He hadn’t said he cared, but he had to have cared for her. Maybe he couldn’t make all of her problems disappear, but he could damned well make things lighter.

  The computer flashed, and Grant pulled his hand away so he could navigate the screen while also driving. “The phone is here,” he said, looking around like there would be some kind of sign pointing directly to the device.

  She let her giggles go dry and ran her hands over her face, wiping away the remnants of stress. Her life would be okay. She had a friend, even more than a friend, in Grant. She could see things lasting for a long time if they would make whatever it was they were doing official, but even if they remained only between-the-sheets friends, then she would have to be satisfied.

  Until the future came, all she had to do was help the little girl who needed her the most. She wouldn’t give up on her, no matter what.

  Grant pulled the pickup onto the side road where the program had dropped the last ping for the phone’s location. The road was a fishing access point, and there were several brown-and-white signs marking the spot, one with a drawing of a fish on a line, another with the image of a boat. She’d driven by many of these signs while in Montana, but she couldn’t say that she had ever actually driven into one before. They came to a stop at a large roundabout parking area with a boat launch.

  The river was flowing, but ice pocked the edges and a white mini-berg floated past them. It was odd to think anything the senator owned would be at a place like this.

  Elle picked up her phone. “I need to know if Zoey managed to get the phone records for the number. And check to see if she found anything on Philip.” She tapped the message and hit Send, not listening to the voices in her head that told her she had no business reaching out to her ex-boss. Zoey would help them if she could; they were friends.

  As she waited for a reply, Elle gazed around the parking area. There were a few trucks parked tailgate into the spot in true Montana man style. What was it about men here that made them all want to prove to the world how good they were at driving a truck? Her smile returned.

  In the farthest corner of the lot, away from all the trucks, was a crossover. It was muddy, and its wheel wells were caked in the muddy brown ice brought on after hours of interstate driving in winter conditions.

  “There,” she said, pointing at the car.

  “Good a place to start looking as any,” he said, smiling over at her. “Good eye.”

  He parked next to the red Subaru, and she got out and walked over beside the car. There was no one inside, and from the lack of ice over the engine on the hood, it was clear it had been recently driven. Inside the car was a collection of fast-food wrappers, one from Sonic—a chain that didn’t have restaurants anywhere close. Either the driver had been all over the west and had just gotten back, or they were terrible at cleaning up their mess.

  She glanced at the car’s license plates; it was from Montana and started with a four—the number for Missoula County. Snapping a picture, she texted the plate to Zoey, as well.

  Grant turned away and started to type the license plate number into his computer in the truck.

  She stepped around the back of the car. In the back seat was a small booster seat. Her heart jumped. Had Lily been in this seat?

  She bit back the thought. There was nothing to indicate that this search for the phone actually had anything to do with Lily. If anything, it was just one more possible lead they had to work through only to be left empty-handed. Her hopes were running away with her reality.

  “You’re not going to believe this,” Grant said. “That car is registered to one Philip Rubbick.”

  Her phone vibrated with a message from Zoey almost at the same time as Grant spoke. Looking at the message, Elle’s mouth dropped open. “Zoey says Philip ‘Ace’ Crenshaw is the owner of NightGens LLC. He hid his ownership under a bunch of other names of businesses, so it was hard to find.”

  “The company that owned the helicopter?”

  “One and the same.” She lifted the phone in her hand so he could see the text Zoey had sent them.

  He smiled, his eyes filled with hope and excitement. “That means that it’s likely Philip ‘Ace’ Crenshaw and Philip Rubbick are one and the same—Steve’s brother.”

  “Holy crap.” Had they finally pieced the puzzle edges together? She put her arms on the windowsill of the truck as she tried to pull together and make sense of everything she and Grant had just learned. “If Steve was working for this other crew, why would he have said he worked with STEALTH?”

  “Smart move on his part, really. He sent us on a dead lead. In the meantime, while we were chasing our tails, he got to talk to his brother and tell him that we were getting closer.” Grant scratched at the stubble on his chin. “I can’t believe I screwed it up. I even noticed the marks on Steve’s hands.”

  “What?” she asked, frowning.

  “When someone stabs another person, especially when enraged, they often cut and damage their own hands. And Steve...well, his hands were mangled. But, to be honest, they matched the rest of him. Like I said, he threw me off my game. I should have paid more attention,” he grumbled.

  “That’s not your fault. Now that we have some answers, we will just get your people to go pick him up.”

  He wasn’t done whipping himself. “I can’t believe I never asked Steve if he knew Philip. It didn’t even cross my mind that they would be related. I didn’t go deep enough. Maybe if I had, we wouldn’t have gone on a wild goose chase and Daisy wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

  “None of that was your doing.” She put her hand on his arm, trying to return some of the comfort that he had brought her. “Besides, we did have some fun while we were waiting. I have to believe that everything happens for a reason. And we could have looked into a million things deeper and not found answers. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

  He put his hand o
n hers and intertwined their fingers. He leaned down and kissed her knuckles ever so gently. “First, I have a feeling that regardless of what would have happened, we would have had some fun together. It just wouldn’t have been the same.”

  “Does that mean you still regret it?” She lifted a brow in warning that he should take a minute to think long and hard before answering.

  He chuckled. “I regret nothing when it comes to you, and us.” He turned her hand over and kissed her open palm. “From the ugliest moments, we can build beautiful futures.”

  She didn’t move. Futures? Did that mean he thought this was going somewhere? They were going to be fly-by-night, or fly-by-the-case, lovers? She loved the thought.

  “We...” She pulled her hand back and patted the windowsill. “We probably need to focus.”

  He looked slightly crestfallen, and she immediately felt guilty for her response.

  “I mean, I’m glad you don’t regret anything,” she said, tilting her head and sending him a gentle smile. “I most certainly don’t, because there is something between us. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something I’ve never felt before. It’s like you and I fit.”

  The look of hurt left his eyes, and his smile returned. “I hope that’s not just the kiss talking.”

  “What kiss?”

  “This one,” he said. Taking her face in both of his hands, he pulled them together.

  She leaned into the cold steel of the dirty truck, not caring about the mud that would be all over her clothes or the way the cold, wet road grime was threatening to pull all the heat from her body. All she cared about was the way his tongue worked over the edge of her lip and flicked at the tip of her own. She pulled his lower lip into her mouth and gently sucked on it. She could never kiss this man enough. His lips were like sugar, addictive in all their sweetness.

  He ran his thumbs over her face, gently caressing her skin as their kiss slowed. He leaned back, searching her eyes, and the look in his gaze made her heart shift in her chest—almost as if the entire beast had moved locations in her chest, forward and closer to him.