Page 23 of K-9 Confidential

“Like hell they do.” Henry Acker fisted the driver’s shirt and hauled the soldier up, slamming him against the car. “I’m going to give you three seconds to tell us where my daughter is, amigo, or you won’t live to see the sunrise. Got it?”

“I’m willing to die for my cause,” the cartel soldier said. “If you’d kept your end of our deal, you daughter wouldn’t have to die for yours.”

“What deal?” Granger closed the distance between them, both Socorro operatives and their K9s doing the same. The pieces were starting to fit together. Slower than he wanted, but sure all the same. “What the hell is he talking about, Acker?”

“Nothing.” Contained anger slipped into Acker’s eyes. “There is no deal. He’s lying to stall us from getting to Charlie. That’s his job. To slow us down.”

“I don’t have time for this. Scarlett, watch them.” Granger shoved Acker away from the cartel soldier and confiscated the old man’s weapon. He whistled for Zeus, and the dog targeted Henry Acker. The bull terrier latched onto the man’s pants and dragged the patriarch to the ground. Zeus ripped and pulled back and forth.

“Get your damn dog off me!” Acker tried escaping the K9’s hold, but it was no use. He kicked at the ground with both feet. Nothing but Granger’s command would set the dog to release.

Scarlett and her Dobermans stood guard on the three drivers meant to distract them.

Granger stood over Acker as fear laced every aged line in the man’s face. Zeus could kill him if Granger deemed it appropriate, but right now, all he wanted was the truth. “Tell me about the deal you made with the cartel.”

“There is no deal!” Acker struggled for freedom, but Granger wasn’t finished with him yet. “I’ll kill you for this, Morais. Every single one of you.”

“And our little dogs too. I’ve heard it all before,” he said. “Zeus, want to play your favorite game?”

The bull terrier’s mouth curled into an excited smile as his tail started whipping back and forth. Zeus followed direct orders, launching his entire weight across Acker’s torso. The old man’s resulting groan for breath was enough to trigger an automatic inhale in Granger.

“Let’s try that again, Acker.” Granger crouched beside Charlie’s father. “What deal did Acker’s Army make withSangre por Sangre?”

“Support. I agreed to supply them with manpower and weapons,” Acker said.

“To do what?” The answer was already there, waiting for him to come to the realization himself. “You were going to attack the state capital building, weren’t you? That’s what was on those blueprints Charlie stole. All the notes you’d made. You and the cartel were going to raid the biggest government building in the state in an attempt to reestablishSangre por Sangre’s cartel. That’s what this is about. It’s a power grab.”

“No.” Acker fought to breathe, but Zeus’s massive weight wasn’t going anywhere. “It’s not the capital building they’re interested in. That was just the first step.”

“You put your daughter’s life at risk for your own greed, Acker.” The accusation burned hotter than the fire they’d just escaped. He pointed a hard finger into the man’s chest. “Whatever happens to her, that’s on you, and I hope you live with that guilt for the rest of your life.”

“Granger.” Scarlett penetrated his peripheral vision.

“Not now.” They were so close to answers. He and the rest of Socorro had runSangre por Sangreinto the ground. This was the final piece they needed to eradicate the cartel’s influence for good.

“Granger, look.” Scarlett’s insistence was enough to break his focus on Acker.

He shoved to his feet. And caught sight of a fire in the distance. Instinct kicked him into action. What were the chances of two fires set in the middle of nowhere? His gut said whatever was going on had something to do with Charlie. That she was out there. That she was still alive. “Zeus, car.”

The bull terrier released his prisoner and raced for the car. The K9’s back feet slipped on the frame of the SUV, but he managed to get himself inside. Granger hauled Henry Acker to his feet and practically shoved him into the back of Scarlett’s SUV. “You’re staying here. I might’ve used Charlie in order to do my job all those years ago, same as you, but there’s a difference between us. I’m the one who’s trying to protect her now.”

A flood of grief and shame replaced the anger that’d flared in the patriarch’s expression, but Granger wasn’t the person to offer anything comforting. This entire night had led to one goal: bringing Charlie home safe. “I’m going out there.”

“You have no idea what you’re going up against,” Cash said.

“I’ll be fine. There aren’t enough of us to detain these drivers and keep Acker from doing something stupid.” He dropped the magazine from his weapon with the touch of a button and counted the rounds left inside. Slamming the mag back into place, he holstered the sidearm on his hip. “Get what you can out of Acker. Tie him up if you have to. StoppingSangre por Sangrefrom whatever they’re planning is all that matters.”

“Be careful out there.” Scarlett stepped back, hugging her rifle to her vest. “We’ve got things covered. Just go do what you have to do.”

Granger nodded goodbye and climbed into the driver’s seat of his SUV. In seconds, he and Zeus were charging toward the glow of the fire. Because that worked out so well the first time.

The K9 whined from the front seat as Granger hyper focused on the fire less than a mile out.

He scrubbed his hand between Zeus’s ears, but there was nothing he could do or say to neutralize the acidic worry in his stomach. “I know. We’re going to find her. I promise. We’re all she has left.”

The thought of Charlie suffering alone had him bringing the SUV to its top speed. There was nothing but scrub brush, Joshua trees and dirt out here, but something had happened. Smoke filtered through his SUV’s vents the closer he came to the fire. Only there was no visual sign of a source.

He carved the headlights along the rock formations guarding a drop on the other side. Chunks of metal and glass reflected back. Holy hell. Granger slammed his foot against the brake, nearly tipping Zeus into the front console. He shoved the vehicle into Park as dread pooled at the base of his spine. “No, no, no, no, no.”

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