Page 43 of Anchor Point

Our gazes met and held.

Knowing that it couldn’t be good that we were both getting a call at the same time, and also knowing that we didn’t need to appear to be together, I swiped mine off the counter and headed out the door.

“Go for Mac,” I said into the phone without checking the caller ID. I sank onto the front porch rocker, watching Rosie and Buster.

“Captain, are you at the lake?” Thoren asked, worry seeping into his tone.

“Yeah, why? What’s up?”

In the yard, Rosie giggled as Buster made a flying leap and nearly tackled her to get the ball from her hand.

“He’s back, sir.”

I stilled.

Thoren’s brother. The guy who’d set fire to numerous structures and almost cost me a couple of my personnel.

“Talk to me,” I demanded.

“I got another calling card, similar to the ones he’d left before.”

Loren had left several clues behind in his rampage against his brother.

“But, Captain… this time he left it in the station.”

My beer bottle thunked to the chair arm.

“How the fuck did he get in?”

“I don’t know, sir. But he also left a note. Bastard basically threatened the entire department. And…” His voice dropped a notch as if he didn’t want to be heard. “He threatened the new chief.”

Fear crawled along my spine.

“What?”

“I know, it’s weird. But he called her a c?—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” I growled. Olivia was mine. I’d be damned if anyone threatened her.

On the line, Thoren cleared his throat. “Sorry, sir. Anyway. We did a drive-by, and she wasn’t home. But PD is going to keep watch throughout the night.”

“Why is he targeting her? What does she have to do with anything? She wasn’t even here when all that went down.” I couldn’t make it make sense in my head.

“He states, ‘Tell the …c-word, to back off’ in his note. I guess she’s making some waves with the investigator’s office and he’s aware?” He ended on a questioning note.

I needed to warn Olivia.

“Okay, I know she had a conference thing to go to,” I hedged. “So she’s probably still out of town. I’ve got her number. I’ll make sure she’s aware. But PD still needs to continue with the drive-bys just in case.”

“Okay, Captain.”

I hung up, assuring him I’d talk to Olivia immediately. For a split second, I sat frozen, watching Rosie play with Buster. Then I whistled and motioned for her to come inside.

Her long hair bounced around her as she raced Buster to the house.

I didn’t know who Olivia had pissed off, but somehow, she’d landed squarely in the crosshairs of a very bad guy. He probably assumed, like most people did, that it was just her and Rosie. That she was an easy target.

But what he didn’t know was that Olivia was as stubborn as the day was long and as hard-nosed as any person he’d ever met. If she was making waves, it was because someone, somewhere had fucked up and was trying to hide it.

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