Page 59 of So Dark

“But not too attached.”

Faith’s smile faded. Her heart began to pound.

“The reason is that, like you, the handlers have difficulty letting go of their K9 units when the time comes. They all believe that their particular unit is capable of performing at an acceptable level in spite of age, and they all insist that they won’t be as capable themselves without that particular dog. Frankly, Miss Bold, when we perform objective tests of the older K9s ability, they always fall short. Invariably.”

Faith pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling. Over the past week, Turk had undergone a battery of teststo determine his ability to continue working. They hadn’t yet shared the details of those tests with Faith. She had a feeling she was about to learn those results now.

“However,” Lasseter continued. “Turk has scored exceptionally well.”

Faith’s heart leaped. “He has?”

“He has. Off the charts in mental aptitude. In the ninety-sixty percentile when it comes to physical strength, agility, durability and stamina. In the ninety-fifth percentile when it comes to empathy and once more off the charts when it comes to obedience and training. In fact, he scored higher in every category than the entire complement of available K9 units. It seems, at least based on these results, that no other K9 really could measure up to him.”

Faith was grinning now. “He’s the best damned dog in the Bureau, ma’am.”

“He is. And in recognition of his and your success, we will allow him to continue working with you. He will be subject to retest every six months, and we reserve the right to enforce his retirement at any time. However, for now, he will remain on active duty and assigned to you.”

Faith couldn’t hold herself back anymore. She pumped her fist and cheered, much to the chagrin of the Boss and the amusement of Director Smythe. “Thank you so much, ma’am. You don’t know what this means to me.”

Lasseter smiled. “One day, Special Agent, I’ll tell you about Rooster, and you’ll believe that I know exactly what this means to you. For now, I will only congratulate you and tell you to continue taking excellent care of your dog.”

“I will, ma’am. You have my word.” She grinned at the Boss. “Looks like you’re stuck with both of us for a while longer, sir.”

Smythe and Lasseter both found that hilarious.

EPILOGUE

Faith’s good mood lasted until she arrived home. She walked through the door and David shouted, “Surprise!”

She blinked and looked at the table to see a birthday cake with a candle lit on top of it. Turk barked happily and ran around her like a puppy.

David grinned. “We’re going to do a bigger celebration on Sunday. I invited Michael and Ellie to come to dinner with us. But for tonight, I thought we could do something a little special ourselves.”

Faith stared at the cake, her expression blank. She’d completely forgotten that today was her thirty-fifth birthday.

“Boy,” David said. “I have to say, your enthusiasm is just overwhelming. I’m truly humbled by your gratitude.”

“Yes,” she said tonelessly. Then she managed to smile. “Yes! Thank you. I’m sorry, I just had a long meeting.”

“A good one, I hope?”

“Yes, very good.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Turk and I get to keep our jobs.”

His eyes popped open. “That’s wonderful! I’m so proud of you.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. When they separated, he caressed her cheek and said. “I love you so much. I must be the luckiest man on Earth. God, I can’t wait until you move in with me.”

She fought back the lump forming in her throat. “If you say so.”

“I do say so,” he said. “Come on. Blow out the candle. Make a wish.”

I wish I didn’t have to break your heart.

She blew out the candle, and Turk barked, excited. He looked pleadingly up at David and whined.

David laughed and said, “Dinner first, Turk. Then cake.”

Turk groaned and tried the same pleading look with Faith.

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