Page 18 of Scent of Death

“I think there’s one on the west side of town. Not that I’ve personally stayed there,” she hastily added. “So don’t blame me if it’s a dump.”

He didn’t want to take Alexis to a dump, but he suspected there weren’t many options. The town of Greybull was much smaller than Cody. Was his unknown subject here or in Cody? Or somewhere else entirely? For all he knew, the killer could be halfway to Sheridan or some other town by now.

The hotel wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, and Griff was able to get a small suite on the ground floor to accommodate Denali. He carried in the extra dog supplies, leaving her to bring her backpack.

“A suite?” Alexis shot him an amused look as she fed Denali. “Expensive.”

“Necessary.” He could feel the tips of his ears burning with embarrassment. “You and Denali can have the bedroom. I’ll make do with the sofa sleeper.”

“Okay.” She yawned, shrugged out of her backpack, and plopped onto the couch. “I’m too tired to argue with you.”

“Good, because that wouldn’t change my mind anyway.” He stifled a yawn, knowing he was tired enough to sleep anywhere. He set the dog supplies on the table and dropped beside her, rubbing his sore knee.

“Oh, that reminds me.” She pulled her pack over and rummaged inside. “I have ibuprofen for you.”

“Really?” He gratefully accepted the bottle. “Thanks.”

Denali finished eating and came over to stretch out on the floor at their feet. Alexis sighed. “I don’t know about you, but I think we’ll go to bed early.”

“I’m with you on that.” He downed the pills, hoping they would kick in fast.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. But then Denali went to the door, looking over her shoulder at Alexis. “Time to go out, huh, girl?”

Griff accompanied the pair outside. There were lots of people milling about, which wasn’t helpful as he tried to be on alert for danger. But they weren’t out there long. Denali got down to business, and Alexis quickly cleaned up after her. Less than five minutes later, they were back inside.

“Good night, Griff.” Alexis gave him a quick smile, then disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

He unfolded the sofa bed and took off his shoes and set his gun aside, before stretching out with a low groan. Why did he feel every one of his thirty-seven years? He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, sharp barking woke him.

Denali? Griff rolled off the sofa sleeper and reached for his gun. The last time Denali had growled and barked, the perp had been nearby and tried to shoot Alexis.

Could his suspect be outside now? He lunged for the door, quickly flipping the locks and heading down the hall. If this guy was out there, he was determined to get him into custody.

5

Denali’s barking pulled Alexis from a sound sleep, but her senses immediately went on high alert. She shoved her feet into her shoes and reached for the Glock she’d removed from her backpack and set on the bedside table. She would not hesitate to protect herself and Denali.

Wishing she hadn’t left the window open to allow the cool breeze to filter in, she whispered, “Come, Denali.” Her K9 trotted to her side. Keeping away from the window as much as possible in the small room, she edged toward the door.

She didn’t hear anything from the main room. Was it possible Griff hadn’t heard Denali? She opened the door, then quickly darted through the opening. Denali was her shadow at her side.

“Griff?” Sweeping her gaze over the room, her chest tightened when she realized it was empty. The main door was shut, but the chain lock and deadbolt had been disengaged.

He’d gone out after this guy!

Without thinking it through, she opened the door to follow. Squinting against the glare, she hurried down the hall to the side exit they’d used earlier to take Denali out to get busy.

The door was made of glass, giving her pause. With the bright overhead lights, she couldn’t see through the darkness beyond the door. She moved to the left side of the hallway, keeping the weapon down at her side.

Denali was on alert too. When she finally reached the door, she was grateful there was nobody lurking immediately outside the door. Beyond that? She swallowed hard and pushed the door open to step out.

“Stop! FBI!” Griff’s curt demand rang through the silence of the night.

Her pulse shot into triple digits. Bringing her weapon up and holding it in both hands, she inched along the side of the building, trying to see where Griff and the killer were located.

Pop! Pop!

No! Griff! Alexis was about to send Denali out to search for the bad guy as a distraction, when she spotted Griff crouching near a tree that appeared to be directly across from their room.

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