Page 51 of Forensics of a Fable

“I hope so,” she said as Cerberus looped behind her and shoved himself between them. His leash twisted around her legs, and she hopped over it to untangle herself. “What are you doing, baby beast?”

“I’ve never met your dog,” Abel said warily, fidgeting as the stocky black pitbull stared him down.

“He looks intimidating, but he’s nice.”

“I didn’t realize you brought him on police outings.” Abel stepped away from Cerberus, and Bel stifled a smirk. It amusedher when full-grown men were nervous around her pet. Eamon, her father, Griffin, and Garrett were among the few who never batted an eye at the muscular dog’s intensity, but those men were carved of a different breed of bravery.

“I don’t,” she answered. “Today was an exception. Plus, he’s a great hiking companion” She bent to pat his head, but Cerberus bristled, stepping away from her and closer to Abel. Bel stared at her dog in confusion. He never refused her affection. Why was he acting so weird?

“Listen to your dog. He’s an excellent judge of character.”Eamon’s voice drifted through her memory. Cerberus had hated her neighbor, Vera, his senses knowing she was a witch in disguise long before the truth came out. He also loved Eamon, knowing before she did her devil had goodness in his heart. The animal had a sixth sense about people, and wariness pricked her skin.

“That’s nice,” Abel said, hands hiding in his pockets, and Bel pulled the agitated pitbull closer as she picked up her pace.

“Yes, it is,” she said casually. “But he’s probably starving. I should really get him home for dinner.”

Both detective and dog sped up. If she could just catch up with the other volunteers, she would feel safer. Cerberus looked over his shoulder with a soft growl, and Bel leaned into her speed, readying to launch into a run when she felt a prick of pain. Fear raced through her as the world grew blurry, and she stumbled, collapsing to her knees with a garbled scream as she watched Cerberus collapse beside her.

Eamon rana hand through his dark blond hair in frustration. Bel had insisted he search for her partner alone, and because hewas helpless to say no to her, he’d raced into the woods. She was safe for now. She was with volunteers, other officers, and her dog, and it was important to her that Gold was found alive. He would do anything to give that to her, so he’d used his speed to race deep into the trees. He investigated parts of the estate he hadn’t known existed, and with each passing hour, he grew more convinced that Olivia Gold wasn’t in these woods. Perhaps that’s what the killer wanted. All of Bajka hunting an endless property for a woman who wasn’t there.

Eamon squinted at the setting sun. He could see in the dark, but he couldn’t abandon Bel to the night. He longed to capture her beautiful form and carry her to his house to lock her in his room, preferably with him inside this time. His sheets smelled like her after she’d spent the night, and the fragrance of her skin would drive him wild if he had to sleep alone. Having her next to him would be an even more brutal torture, but he would suffer that sweet agony just to hold her against his chest as she slept. He regretted leaving her for the day all over again. If Gold wasn’t in these woods, that meant the killer either wanted everyone distracted or he was planning something different for hisrightgirl.

Eamon pulled out his cell and dialed Bel. The idea that the killer might be playing them made him suddenly uneasy, and he needed to hear her tell him he was being ridiculous, that he was overprotective and obsessive, but her phone rang and rang and rang until her voicemail greeted him.

He was running before he even hung up. This deep into the forest, it would take him too long to return despite his enhanced speed, and he cursed himself for being so stupid. Gold had been taken from the station parking lot. Garrett had been killed while being held overnight in a cell. A few volunteers weren’t enough to keep his beauty safe, and he ran faster. His mind spiraled through every horrible scenario as he tried to convince himselfthat she was merely without cell reception. She was fine. She had to be. There was undoubtedly a reasonable explanation for why she ignored his call.

But then he saw it, and his body froze unnaturally still. The black object moved closer; its legs unsteady as it raced to find him, and an unholy fear electrocuted his thundering heart. For racing through the woods with panic in his eyes was Cerberus. He was alone and unstable in his movements. Bel was nowhere to be found, and as the dog leaped at Eamon with terror etched onto his face, he knew. The killer had Bel.

“He has her!”Eamon roared as he burst through the trees to the rendezvous point. Every police officer and volunteer flinched in surprise at the power in his voice, but he ignored their stares as he stormed for the sheriff. “Where was she?” he growled, and to his credit, Griffin didn’t cower at the violence. “Who was with her? Who was watching her?”

“What are you…?” Griffin paused, noticing the pitbull in the towering man’s arms. “Why do you have Emerson’s dog?”

“He found me.” Eamon’s voice was so low and deep that it struck fear in the hearts of everyone present. “He was drugged and alone when he found me. Isobel would never abandon him, which means you let that monster take her. Now what trail was her team assigned to?”

“I…” Griffin stared at Cerberus in shock, upset by the sight of the lethargic animal leaning against Eamon’s chest. “Emerson?” He shouted, spinning wildly to face those gathered. He’d ordered everyone back to the rendezvous for a headcount before the volunteers returned home, and with a horrified sinking in his gut, he realized he hadn’t noticed Bel in the throng. “Emerson? Has anyone seen Detective Emerson?” No one answered him, and he cursed, shoving anxiously through the crowd to find the deputies assigned to her team.

“Where is she?” he shouted at the surprised men. “Where’s Emerson?”

“She was behind us,” a deputy answered. “She wanted to check the ridge. We thought… we thought she was right behind us.”

“Thought?” Eamon lunged forward, and Griffin threw out an arm to prevent the giant man from seizing the deputy. “You knew the killer was targeting her, and you left her?”

“I… she had the dog.” The man’s voice shook as he took in the sight of Bel’s pitbull laying languidly in Eamon’s arms. “I assumed she was following us.”

Eamon surged against Griffin’s hold, but the sheriff stepped between him and the deputy.

“When did you last see her?” Griffin asked. “How long has she been missing?”

“I don’t know.”

“Think.”

“I guess when we turned back. Maybe an hour ago?”

“An hour?” both Griffin and Eamon shouted, and the deputy flinched in fear.

“Is everyone else on your team accounted for?” Griffin asked as Eamon’s tense body vibrated with rage.

“Yes.”

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