Page 33 of Texas Scandal

With any luck—not something Tiernan could rely on considering he’d gotten where he was today by hard work andnotrelying on chance—Loki had stepped on something and that was the cause for the distress call. There were wild boars in these parts along with other animals, predators.

Chest pounding, pulse jacked up to the sky, Tiernan tried to breathe through a burst of adrenaline. In another minute, his sensory overload would settle, and his thoughts would be crystal clear until the boost wore off.

Another yelp from Loki didn’t help matters. Tiernan muttered a curse and shifted direction a little more east. He knew this property like the back of his hand, which should provide some advantage.

Loki started rapid-fire barking now, making it easier to home in on his location. Had he freed himself from something or someone? An animal?

Nearing the sound, Tiernan slowed his pace. The moon provided enough light to see now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness—darkness that came early in the winter. The scratch on his forehead was bleeding, not exactly a sieve but not a dribble. Foreheads were bleeders. He could assess the damage once he got back to the house.

The barking stopped, and then a moment later Tiernan heard heavy breathing. The black Lab burst from behind a tree in full-on get-the-hell-out-of-Dodge mode.

“Loki, sit,” Tiernan said with authority. The dog was too wound up to listen, but something might register.

Loki blasted past and then seemed to have a second thought when he looked left to right and slowed his pace.

“Loki,” Tiernan repeated.

The dog made an about-face so fast he was almost a blur. Tiernan kept an eye out in the direction from which Loki came just in case something or someone followed.

Rather than wait for Loki to double back, Tiernan turned toward home and ran while urging his buddy to follow. Sticking around out here wouldn’t do either one of them any good. The sheriff and his deputies could search the property in case the arsonist tried to escape this way.

At this point, Tiernan had half a mind to nominate Loki for search and rescue. It might be a good way to put his highly sensitive sense of smell to use. Then again, working dogs had high stress and Loki deserved pampering.

Tiernan turned an ear toward the trail behind them, on alert to see if they were being followed. So far, so good. But he wouldn’t take anything for granted.

MELODYPACEDTHElength of the cabin as she waited for the sheriff to input his report into the laptop mounted on his dashboard. She’d gone over the details of what had happened despite wishing she was out there, searching for Loki beside Tiernan. She second-guessed agreeing to stay back and deal with the law. The sheriff had taken notes. He’d nodded at all the appropriate times. So, why was she convinced that he didn’t believe her?

Tiernan would corroborate her story when he returned with Loki, which was the only scenario she could allow herself to consider. Her brain couldn’t accept any other outcome. Hope was all she had at this point, and she intended to hold on to it like a child’s hand as she crossed a busy street.

The deputy walked around, gathering evidence and taking pictures from various angles. The evidence would fall in line with her statement. No question there. Then, it occurred to her that she should have called Prescott before giving her statement.

Melody palmed her cell, figuring better late than never. He picked up on the first ring.

“There’s been an incident at the house.” She went right into it. “A fire in Tiernan’s workshop while we were inside. Someone barricaded us in.”

“Is the sheriff there?” Prescott immediately asked.

“Yes. I’ve just given a statement,” she said. “I could be wrong but it didn’t seem like he believed me.”

“If he asks you any more questions, refer him to me,” Prescott said. “Where’s Tiernan?”

“He went to follow Loki after he ran off,” she said, hearing the shakiness in her own voice. The thought of anything happening to either one of them gutted her.

“Has he spoken to the sheriff?” Prescott asked.

“Not yet,” she said, then hesitated before asking the question that was simmering in the back of her mind. “Would it be possible for me to be placed somewhere safe while we sort all this out? I can’t go home and there’s no one else that I trust.”

Prescott seemed like he needed a minute to process her request and all the implications that came along with it. “May I ask why?”

“Yes,” she said. “I’d like to leave Tiernan out of this.”

“I understand,” Prescott said. “Could I offer a few thoughts?”

“Okay,” she said but doubted there was anything he could say to change her mind. She needed to spend a couple of days in a safe house so she could gather her thoughts and figure out her next move. Involving Tiernan further only put him in more danger.

“Tiernan Hayes is a big boy,” Prescott started. “He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t want to be.”

“Understood,” she said. Before she could come up with an argument, the lawyer continued.

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