Page 50 of Dangerous Secrets
He sighed with pure malefrustration.
“Right.Do what you haveto do.I’ll catch up with you later.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Delaney sat up on the couch,disoriented.The screen on her e-reader had gone dark and hercellphone had slipped off the cushion and onto the floor.Shehadn’t intended to fall asleep.Clara had closed herself in herroom hours ago, and Delaney had curled in front of the fireplace toread.The old mantel clock read eleven fifteen.Callie, who’d beensprawled on the floor at her feet, had her head up, ears perked.Delaney listened, and then heard the sound that’d woken her: a dogin the distance, barking frantically.
Without giving herself time to think,she rose to her feet, grabbed her coat from the wall hooks, andshoved her feet into a pair of mud boots.“You’re staying here,”she told Callie firmly when the dog followed her to the door.Pleased to find a flashlight in her coat pocket, she grabbed herphone and went out the door.
She paused on the top step of theporch.
While the day had been warm, nighttimemountain temperatures dropped quickly and she zipped the front ofher puffer coat against the chill.The vast swath of the Milky Wayglittered overhead, but with no moon she’d need theflashlight.
After a fast internal debate, she senta quick text to Walker.See?Letting him know what she was doingwas proof she was being careful.Then she jammed the phone back inher pocket, all the while listening carefully.
Over the sound of a light breezerustling through the leaves of nearby trees, she again heard thepitiful crying of a dog, the sound coming from somewhere near MillCreek Road.Figuring she’d be faster on foot than if she detouredto the barn for the side-by-side, she started walking.
The farm road rounded the hill, thenskirted the fields planted in boysenberries.Using the flashlightto guide her way, she trotted along, the sound of the crying dogguiding her.She cut across the fields, using the walkways betweensections of berries.An owl glided overhead, a shadow against thedark night sky.
Mill Creek separated the fields fromthe road, the creek bed not nearly as deep at the farm as it wascloser to town.
In addition to the crossing at theturnoff to the farm from Mill Creek Road, there was a seldom-usedfootbridge spanning the creek.Following the sound of frightenedwhimpering, she reached the footbridge.She’d thought maybe the doghad been hit by a vehicle and was by the road, but now it soundedmore like it was coming from the creek itself.She scanned with theflashlight until she found the path that led down the embankment tothe water.
The trail was steep and she movedcarefully, watching her step to avoid tripping and reaching thebottom quicker than she’d intended.Maybe that was why she didn’tsee the dark figure standing at a turn in the path.
“What the hell are youdoing?”
Surprise had her stumbling, theflashlight spinning out of her grip as she was grabbed and hauledup against a hard chest.
“Jesus, Walker.Why don’tyou just shoot me and be done with it?You scared me half todeath.”She held on to his shoulders for balance, her hearthammering in her throat as he wrapped an arm around her waist tohold her snug against him.
“You shouldn’t be outhere.”His voice came from next to her right ear and soundedtightly controlled.
“I’m looking for a dog.Itexted you.”
“As I didn’t get the text,that’s not good enough.You should have called me, or better yet,stayed put.Regardless, you’re not to be wandering around atnight.”
She pulled back and he loosened hishold only marginally.“Look, I wasn’t wandering around like I wastaking an evening stroll.There’s a hurt dog and I couldn’t verywell leave it out here suffering.”As if on cue, the dog renewedits cries, close enough she was sure it was somewhere near thecreek.
It was too dark to see his expression,but Walker’s tone carried an undercurrent of urgency.“I’ll takecare of it.Go back to the house.”
“I won’t go back to thehouse until that dog is safe.”Bracing her hands on his biceps, shepushed back until he released her.“Let’s go find the poorthing.”
He seemed to give the situation aninordinate amount of consideration, until finally swearing softly.“Damn.”Her flashlight was still emitting light where it hadlanded.He retrieved it and clicked it off before handing it toher.“Okay, but hold on to me.I don’t want you sliding into thecreek.Put your flashlight away, mine’s got a strongerbeam.”
He grasped her hand and they scrambleddown the path with his light shining the way.“It’sBud.”
“What?How’d he get downhere?”
“Don’t know.I’d been atSawyer’s.Got home and he was gone.Someone’d been in my cabin.Broke through the window in my back door.My guess?They werelooking for the box from Mrs.Watkins and when they didn’t find it,took Bud.I was looking for him when I heard himbarking.”
“Oh no.Mrs.Watkins couldbe in danger if someone knows she gave you that box of papers.”Afeeling of dread formed an oily ball in the pit herstomach.
“Already on it.I calledSawyer immediately.He’s calling her daughter, and a unit will bestationed at her house until she’s safely away.”
Delaney felt marginally better, butthe increasingly frantic cries of the little dog worried her.Thepath took them to the edge of the churning water.The creek wasrunning fast as it did in early summer, fed by snowmelt higher inthe mountains.Walker swept the banks with his light.Whimperingsounded from beneath the footbridge.
“Shine the light overthere,” she urged.She pointed to the darkness under thebridge.
