Page 21 of Fear for Her Life

Nodding, Raven sipped his coffee. “I’ve had this strange feeling I’ve met Dave before. It’s like we have a past connection. I could have known his brother maybe. He must have been an older brother, and his name was Junior. What do you know about him?”

“He has no living relatives, served in the military, then became a cop in Chicago, I believe. He was shot in the head on the job and came here to semi-retire. Ended up marrying the sheriff.” He chewed and swallowed. “He’s never mentioned a brother or anyone by the name of Junior. There’re no photographs in his home of anyone but him, Jenna, and Tauri. I noticed a few of all of us at cookouts, but then I haven’t worked alongside him. I’ve worked with Jenna, but funnily enough, I was interested in his background too. I guess it’s the cop in me.” He chuckled. “He screams military to me, takes the lead like it’s natural. He’s a good man. I’d follow him into battle. I like him.”

Nodding, Raven smiled. “Yeah. I never figured I’d say this, but I believe we’ll be close friends. He asked me to watch over his wife. He intends on assisting with the fire cleanup and then joining the hunt for the prisoners. He just doesn’t give up.”

“He’s trusting you with Jenna?” Styles’ eyebrows narrowed. “You be careful. Kane is the jealous kind. His family means everything to him.”

Laughing, Raven shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about me. I already have someone I’d like to know better, but I need to get on the good side of her dad before I risk asking her out, even though I believe she’s twenty-two.”

“Oh, Lord.” Styles ran a hand down his face and then looked up as if seeking divine intervention. “Emily Wolfe?” He snorted with laughter. “Good luck with that.”

TWENTY-FOUR

Carter, filthy and stinking of smoke, finally arrived in the Beast, and Jenna bombarded him with questions as Duke ran around her legs demanding attention. Of course, with Kane sending him away, the old dog couldn’t understand why he’d ended up in the Beast with Carter. She rested a hand on the dog’s head. He still wore his harness, and her hand came away dirty when she rubbed his ears. The fire must have terrified him. She bent to meet the dog’s eyes. “It’s okay, Dave’s gone for a ride. He’ll be back soon.”

Duke didn’t like the noise of the motorcycle and stopped fussing and leaned against Jenna’s leg, but a tremble went through him. She kept one hand on Duke’s head as she turned her attention back to Carter. “Was anyone hurt? I couldn’t get any details from Dave. He was anxious to get going.”

“We’re all fine.” Carter’s white teeth shone brilliant white in his soot-blackened face. “A bit singed around the edges. I was the lucky one. I went out first with the dogs. Dave was last with Raven, but they’re okay. The paramedics put us on oxygen for a time and then we were able to go.” He frowned. “Wolfe was on lookout and saw nothing. He heard a noise but no more than a creak when someone locked us inside. The place was all boarded up with metal railings on the windows. We figure they used a drone to drop an incendiary device on the roof. Luckily, we had our rifles and blasted our way out.”

Relieved, Jenna nodded. “That’s good to know. Jo brought your bags from the office. You’ll be staying with the guys in the cottage. Why don’t you wash up and come by for something to eat and then you’ll need to get some rest.”

“I’ll take a shower and eat, but I’m good. We slept from dark until the fire. Wolfe will be exhausted and yet he insisted on remaining behind with Dave.”

Thinking on her feet had become normal. “Yeah, well if they’re chasing down serial killers and putting out fires, they’re going to need an extra doctor. Wolfe would never turn his back on the people of Black Rock Falls.”

“Obviously not, but he didn’t ask Raven to remain behind.” Carter gave her a long considering stare before indicating to the dogs. “The dogs need a bath. I’m happy to wash both of them.”

Duke took off so fast his claws scratched the polished floor as he skidded down the passageway and ran into Jenna’s bedroom. Raising both eyebrows she stared after him. “Darn, you only have to mention the wordbathand Duke hides under the bed. We’ll have a terrible time getting him out of there. He turns into a solid statue, with hooks on his feet to stop anyone moving him. Dave usually has to lift him out. There’s a tub around the back of the house with running water. Dave had it specially installed so that Duke could have a hot bath.”

“Do you figure if he sees Zorro having a bath, it will help?” Carter rubbed his chin with his filthy hand, leaving streaks of soot behind. “I’ll wash Zorro first, or I’ll get my clean clothes wet.”

“I don’t believe it’s safe for you to go outside.” Jo stood in the middle of the family room with her hands balled on her hips. “There could be snipers out there just waiting to take you down.”

“They’d need to be mighty fine shots to get me around the back of the house. It’s enclosed by trees and they’d need to shoot through the fence.” Carter shrugged. “I’ll get Duke. You open the back door.”

Amazed as Carter maneuvered Duke out from under her bed and then carried him outside, Jenna went to the door to watch. After getting a nice warm flow of water going in the tub, Carter bent to rub Duke’s ears. The poor dog trembled, and Jenna leaned out of the door to hand Carter the dog shampoo. “It’s going to be okay, Duke.”

Attached to the fence, Duke wasn’t going anywhere.

“Wanna take a bath, Zorro?” Carter grinned as Zorro did a happy dance, his backside wiggling and stumpy tail making circles. Then the dog took off and bolted around the house. He came back, mouth stretched in a doggy grin, and put his front legs on the edge of the tub. “Good boy.” Carter shampooed Zorro and the dog stood still, his head held high as Carter rubbed the soap through his coat and then rinsed him.

Handing Carter a towel, Jenna looked at Duke. “See, it’s okay. Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”

She held her breath when Carter slipped off the harness and lifted Duke into the tub. Usually Duke gave a good impression of a bucking bronco at this stage, but he set his big sorrowful eyes on Jenna and whined. “Good boy.”

“Me or him?” Carter chuckled. “I don’t figure he wants to be shamed in front of his friend. You know they think just like us. People don’t believe they understand but they do.”

Watching in astonishment as Carter finished the chore and lifted Duke out of the tub, she passed him another towel. “Just be careful. I’ll get him inside or he’ll find something nasty to roll in. He only does that when he’s wet.”

Her phone rang and Jenna stared at the ID. “It’s Maggie. I hope everything is okay.”

“I’ve just taken the missing prison officer to the hospital. Her name is Amy Clark. She ran into a woman leaving the mountain with her horses and she brought her to the office.”

As Carter pushed Duke through the back door and into the mudroom, she waved him inside to listen to the call. “Has that poor woman been with the serial killers all this time or has she been lost in the forest?”

“They held her prisoner and used her to convince cabin owners to open their doors to her. From her account, they killed at least two of them, and she believes there is a girl alone in the forest. She found clothes belonging to a possible twelve-year-old at one of the cabins where an elderly man was murdered.”Maggie let out a long sigh.“She is not in good shape. From what I can see, she’s been beaten. I gave the hospital as much information as I’m able and asked the doctor to do a rape kit. They will be keeping her in the security wing until further notice. I’m just about to contact her parents. They’re in town waiting for news about her. Will they be allowed to see her or do you want to interview her first?”

Wishing she had Kane and Wolfe close by, Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. Conflicted by Kane’s insistence that she remain on the ranch and the overwhelming need to be there for this poor woman, she stared at Carter. “Hang on a minute, Maggie. Carter, will you be able to drive me to the hospital to interview this woman? We’ll take Jo and Beth with us as well. Tauri will be fine here with Nanny Raya.”

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