Page 20 of Graveyard Dog

“How do you know all this?”

“I asked an FBI agent on the case.”

“You just asked nicely, and they complied?”

She crinkled one corner of her mouth as though chastising him, a tiny dimple appearing out of nowhere to shred his heart. “I ordered her to tell me and then forget me. At my stepfather’s behest, mind you. He tracked her down to a diner in Charlotte. I just walked up to her table and did my thing.”

He sat back, shaking his head. He’d seen all manner of abilities, but this was a first. Still, Michael had a serious problem with Emma’s allergic reaction. Something wasn’t right, and they needed to get to the bottom of it. “I would love to know more, but we need to focus on one thing at a time.”

“One thing?”

“You said strange things have been happening lately. How strange?”

“Just odd things that don’t mean much alone. But they keep happening.”

“Like?”

“Someone keyed my car the other day. I have no idea who. And two weeks ago, I was almost run down in a grocery store parking lot by an old rust bucket of a Jeep. The SUV kind. Not the sporty one.”

He took out his phone to take notes. “What color?”

“Rust, mostly.” When he raised his brows in question, she added, “Gray and very beat-up. It was at Smith’s. The one on Cerrillos.”

“Got it. What else?”

“Well, I keep losing tire pressure, but when I take it in, they swear I don’t have a leak. Just strange events that don’t mean much.”

“But taken as a whole…”

“Exactly.”

They had security cameras at the complex. He would check those first. “Do you think this Ross asshat has found you?”

She breathed out a sigh filled with frustration and concern. “I don’t know. Ross isn’t much of a thinker, you know? If he’d found me, I truly believe he would’ve come for me. He wouldn’t play games. He wouldn’t risk losing me again.”

Michael nodded. “I agree.”

“Wait.” She set the completed paperwork aside and narrowed her gaze on him.

He didn’t mind in the least.

“You’re taking all of this really well.”

“All of what?”

“Me. My ability. Even Emma’s gift. You act like it’s an everyday thing. You…you believe me.”

“I’ve seen stranger things than you, Killer. And much scarier.”

She smirked. “I don’t know. I can be pretty scary.”

“Not without a Taser in your hand. What was her name?”

“Whose name?”

“Your sister’s?”

She smiled despite the gravity of the situation. It was a glorious thing, her smile. Wide and genuine, with full lips and a row of perfect teeth. That, combined with the color of her eyes, once again brought back a sense of familiarity. A longing. Did he know her from somewhere? Had he seen her in a grocery store or at a restaurant before all of this happened?

---