Page 61 of Scent of Peril

Jess rolled to her left, using her right hand to dig into her pocket for the gun. Benton fired first, but his aim went high, the bullet striking the wall a few inches over her head.

Pulling her gun free, she aimed for Benton’s center mass and fired. He dropped like a rock, but she didn’t wait for his body to hit the ground. She turned to fire at the nasal guy, but he was gone.

It took a second for her to react. Jumping to her feet, she was about to head after him when she heard what sounded like a dog panting.

Whirling, she saw Teddy racing toward her. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around her K9, burying her face in his fur.

“Jess, are you okay?” Logan’s voice betrayed his concern. “Are you hit?”

“No, I’m fine.” Only by God’s grace, Benton’s shot had missed. She staggered upright. “We need to hurry. The other guy is getting away.”

Logan searched her gaze for a moment, stepped forward, and drew her in for a hug. “I was so worried,” he whispered.

She couldn’t help hugging him back. Considering she’d about given up any hope of surviving this, she was thrilled to be held inhis arms. “Thanks for coming.” She forced herself to pull away. “I’m glad you’re here, but we need to find that other guy before he gets away.”

Logan grimaced and nodded. “Okay. But first...” He turned and reached down to check the fallen man’s neck for a pulse. He glanced up at her, shook his head, and then reached over to yank the ski mask up to see his face.

She’d killed a man. Nausea churned in her stomach, and it was all she could do not to throw up.

“This is Benton, all right,” Logan said. “Or whoever he really is.”

She turned away, putting a hand to her roiling stomach. After a pause, she was able to speak. “I figured as much. Unfortunately, the other guy with a nasal voice was wearing a ski mask, so I have no idea who he is.”

Teddy sniffed the dead man, growled for a moment, then backed away, cocking his head to the side as if confused. Teddy wasn’t a cadaver K9 like Alexis’s dog, Denali, but he seemed to realize Benton was no longer a threat.

“Heel, Teddy.” Her dog immediately came over to stand beside her. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her weapon up, holding it with both hands, then moved forward, hugging the wall of the tunnel.

Logan mirrored her movements on the opposite side. When they reached the opening, she was surprised Logan abruptly jumped forward, sweeping his weapon across the room.

Somewhat annoyed, she quickly stepped up beside him. There was no need to be concerned, though. The room was empty.

There was another tunnel leading away from their location. She knew the nasal-voiced man must have taken it. She stared at the dark opening for a long moment.

The guy was probably long gone. Hiding somewhere deep in the labyrinth of the former mine. They could keep chasing him, but he had the advantage of knowing the place better than they did.

She wasn’t sure where to go from here.

As if reading her mind, Logan said, “I think we should wait for Doug and the others.” He tapped his earpiece, then shook his head. “No radio access down here.”

That explained why she hadn’t heard anything via the radio since being led away by Benton at gunpoint. She turned to scan the room. It appeared to be set up as a staging area, with several card tables and small kitchen scales, cementing her theory the boxes held components to make synthetic drugs.

As if to prove her point, Teddy sniffed at the closest open box. He sat, let out a sharp bark, and stared up at her.

“You found peppers,” she exclaimed. “Good boy.” She tossed him the stuffed moose. In her mind, the dog deserved a reward for escaping the bad guys and bringing Logan to the rescue more so than alerting on the drugs. But that was okay. Teddy caught the moose and shook his head from side to side as if playing some imaginary game of tug-of-war.

“Where do you think they’re doing the actual manufacturing?” Logan asked.

She waved a hand toward the tunnel. “Guess we’ll have to go in farther to find the answer to that.”

“Let’s turn around and head back,” Logan suggested. “Once we’re outside, we can come up with a new plan with Doug and the others.”

She didn’t like knowing the nasal guy had escaped, at least temporarily. But regrouping with the others was a good idea. “Okay. I’m not a fan of tight spaces anyway.”

He shot her a surprised look. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her again. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Me too.” She leaned against him, grateful for the moment.

“Jess, when this is over...” Logan’s voice trailed off. There was a pause before he said, “I’d like to talk.”

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