Page 28 of Wild Card
“Not anymore, she’s not,” I snarled, crouching down to catch Banshee as she barreled into my arms. She wasn’t a small dog, but I managed to heft her up.
“Rusty!” Candy yelled. “That junkyard dude is stealing the dog!”
Time for a quick exit.
I kicked the gate shut behind me and hurried to the driver’s door of the El Camino. I put Banshee down to open it, and she jumped right in, as eager to go home as me. Probably more.
Rusty came running out. “Stop, asshole! That dog ain’t yours!”
I ducked my head out the open window as I gunned the engine, taking off in a spray of gravel.
“Finders keepers, asshole!”
CHAPTER 8
Dalton
We headed backto Riverton after lunch. Halfway there, the radio crackled with the dispatcher’s voice: “Robbery at Clover Leaf Park.”
“We’re close,” I told Chloe. “Call us in.”
She radioed in. “Patrol to Dispatch, responding to Clover Leaf.”
Information began to flow onto the car’s computer. Chloe read it out while I drove.
“Report of robbery made by Rusty Waters at Lot 102 of the trailer park. Suspect took his dog and drove off in a green El Camino.”
Uh-oh. I knew that car.
“The dog is a white Samoyed.” She looked at me. “What the hell is a Samoyed?”
I shrugged. “No idea.”
“Report names the suspect as Axel Wilder.”
“Damn it,” I muttered.
“You know him, I take it?” Chloe said.
My jaw clenched, and I ground my molars, then blew out a harsh breath. “Just a little.”
This shit was exactly why I couldn’t get involved with him. He couldn’t stay out of trouble.
Clover Leaf Park came up on my left, and I hit the blinker and turned into the lot. There were only a handful of trailers out here, so it didn’t take long to find Lot 102.
Rusty and his girlfriend stood in the driveway, waiting for us. I pulled to a stop and turned to Chloe.
“I know,” she said. “You’re in the lead.”
“You’re learning,” I said with a grin. “Stay behind me. I know these people. They’re not usually dangerous, but they’re often strung out on meth.”
“Got it.”
I radioed in to let Dispatch know we’d arrived and threw open my car door.
Rusty rushed toward me. “You need to go get our damn dog and arrest that asshole. Make sure you charge him with a felony, too, because this dog is worth a lot of cash, man. I always fucking hated Axel.”
“He threatened me,” Candy added. “I was scared for my life!”
