A killer in the shadows watches...and waits

The thrilling True Blue K-9 Unit continues

A deadly stalker has rookie K-9 officer Lani Branson in his crosshairs, and he won’t stop until she’s dead. Her boss, K-9 police chief Noah Jameson, won’t let that happen on his watch, especially since there’s a chance this is the same person who killed his brother. Can they unmask the murderer who’s been terrorizing the unit before he strikes again?

Ever since she found the Nancy Drew books with the pink covers in her country school library, SHARON DUNN has loved mystery and suspense. Most of her books take place in Montana, where she lives with three nearly grown children and a hyper border collie. She lost her beloved husband of twenty-seven years to cancer in 2014. When she isn’t writing, she loves to hike surrounded by God’s beauty.

Also By Sharon Dunn

True Blue K-9 Unit

Courage Under Fire

Dead Ringer

Night Prey

Her Guardian

Broken Trust

Zero Visibility

Montana Standoff

Top Secret Identity

Wilderness Target

Cold Case Justice

Mistaken Target

Fatal Vendetta

Big Sky Showdown

Hidden Away

In Too Deep

Wilderness Secrets

Texas Ranger Holidays

Thanksgiving Protector

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Courage Under Fire

Sharon Dunn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09756-7

COURAGE UNDER FIRE

© 2019 Harlequin Books S.A.

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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She wasn’t about to let him get away...

Before Lani could get her bearings, her assailant punched her and pushed her back off the side of the boat. She splashed into the water, plunging beneath the surface as the boat sped out into open water.

Feeling defeated, she turned and swam back toward the beach. Noah rushed out into the water up to his knees. She gasped for air.

“You all right?” He wrapped his arm around her and helped her to the beach.

The suspect had gotten away.

She stared out where the flashing light of the assailant’s boat merged with other flashing lights.

If a training exercise could go so far off the rails, what would happen when she worked the field?

TRUE BLUE K-9 UNIT:

These police officers fight for justice with the help of their brave canine partners.

Justice Mission by Lynette Eason, April 2019

Act of Valor by Dana Mentink, May 2019

Blind Trust by Laura Scott, June 2019

Deep Undercover by Lenora Worth, July 2019

Seeking the Truth by Terri Reed, August 2019

Trail of Danger by Valerie Hansen, September 2019

Courage Under Fire by Sharon Dunn, October 2019

Sworn to Protect by Shirlee McCoy, November 2019

True Blue K-9 Unit Christmas by Laura Scott and Maggie K. Black, December 2019

Dear Reader,

I hoped you enjoyed going on an adventure with Lani and Noah and, of course, Scotty. I love watching the way a romance unfolds between two very different people, but the best part of this book to me is writing about the police dogs. I used to think I was a cat person. I still love cats, but since Bart the border collie came into my life eight years ago, I have a deeper appreciation and love for dogs. We got Bart at the shelter when he was eight weeks old. He and his mom were found in an empty house, left behind by his owner. He gives me so much joy. He’s so tuned in to my moods and always happy to see me when I come home. The reason I say in the dedication that he is the dog who saved my life is that after my husband died, the only thing that got me out of bed in the morning was him being at the side of the bed, looking at me with bulging eyes and whining that he had to go potty. It was enough to motivate me to face the day ahead. I like to think that we will be greeted and welcomed in heaven the same way our dogs greet us when we step into our homes, rejoicing over our presence, offering unconditional love and infinite affection.

Sharon Dunn

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

—Psalm 31:24

For the dog who saved my life and is my writing companion, Bart the hyper border collie.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

Rookie K-9 officer Lani Branson took in a deep breath as she pedaled her bike along the trail in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. She could hear birds chattering. Water rushed and receded from the shore just over the dunes. The high-rises of New York City, made hazy from the dusky twilight, were visible across the expanse of water.

She sped up even more.

Tonight was important. This training exercise was an opportunity to prove herself to the other K-9 officers who waited back at the visitors’ center with the tracking dogs for her to give the go-ahead. Playing the part of a child lost in the refuge so the dogs could practice tracking her was probably a less than desirable duty for the senior officers. As a new recruit to the NYC K-9 Command Unit, she understood the pecking order. If she did a good job tonight, she’d be given more responsibility.

Though she was in solid shape, her leg muscles strained as she willed herself to pedal even faster. The trail ended. She pushed her bike into a hiding place in the brush and headed toward the tall grass that surrounded the shore. A flock of birds took to the air. Their squawking and flapping of wings filled the gray sky. Her heart beat a little faster. God’s creation never ceased to amaze her.

She stuttered in her step, squinting to make out details in the early evening light. She wondered what had alarmed the birds. Though people might be around the surrounding area, the rangers had secured this part of the refuge for the training exercise. That didn’t mean someone curious about what the NYPD was up to hadn’t snuck into the area. Could be anything or nothing at all, sometimes birds just decided to fly away.

She ran through the tall grass that bordered the salt marsh and then toward the open area of the dunes. She needed to get far enough away for it to be a challenge for the dogs to find her.

As a sense of unease invaded her awareness, she stopped. She had felt on edge for the last few days. A car had tailed her through traffic just this morning and more than once she’d felt the press of a gaze on her only to turn and see no one.

Reaching up to her shoulder, Lani pressed the button on the radio. “I’m in place.”

The smooth tenor voice of her supervisor, Chief Noah Jameson, came over the line. “Good, you made it out there in record time.”

As she hurried steadily toward the tall brush, Lani had an extra bounce in her step. Since her training as a K-9 officer had begun, that was the first compliment Noah had given her. Noah had been appointed the interim chief of the NYC K-9 Command Unit after the untimely death of his brother Jordan—the former chief. A permanent replacement was yet to be named.

Noah’s voice floated over the radio. “Remember, move like a five-year-old would.”

“Ten-four.” In fact, Noah always seemed to be quite tight-lipped whenever she was around. He had a great deal on his mind. Jordan had been murdered months ago and the investigation had stalled. All the same, Noah seemed to be extra quiet around her. She took his silence to be disapproval. Maybe like some of the other officers, he didn’t think she was up to the job.

Lani was a natural athlete with a background as a self-defense instructor and a dancer. She’d graduated from the academy with flying colors and she had an older brother, Reed, who was also with the unit. It was her former profession as an actress that probably made them wonder if she would make the cut. All officers earned a nickname sooner or later. Hers was less than flattering. They called her Cover Girl. Never mind that she’d never worked as a model. She was stuck with the name...for now. Lani gritted her teeth. The rest of the team just didn’t know what she was made of.

She entered a grove of trees. The dry autumn leaves crackled as the breeze rushed over them. It could be up to an hour before the dogs found her. The refuge was thousands of acres. The places a child could get lost were infinite. She passed a wooden box on a stake. A barn owl peeked out of the round hole in the box. Jamaica Bay was home to hundreds of species of birds. This time of year, the raptors showed up.

Lani was New York City born and bred. One of her favorite memories was of her grandfather taking her to see the eagles.

Knowing that a child would not move in a logical way, she headed back toward the shore and ran along the beach for a while before zigzagging back into the brush. Her heart pounded in her chest. Though she still had her radio, her instructions were not to communicate with the rest of the team.

Up ahead she spotted an object shining in the setting sun. She jogged toward it. A bicycle, not hers, was propped against a tree.

A knot of tension formed at the back of her neck as she turned a half circle, taking in the area around her. It was possible someone had left the bike behind. Vagrants could have wandered into the area.

She studied the bike a little closer. State-of-the-art and in good condition. Not the kind of bike someone just dumped.

Still puzzled by her find, Lani hurried deeper into the trees and then sat down on the ground. A five-year-old would stop and rest, she reasoned, maybe even fall asleep. She stared at the sky.

The noisy chatter of the gulls and other birds feeding hummed in the background. Wind rustled the leaves, some of them already golden and red, others still green, creating a sort of song.

She listened, thinking she might hear the baying of the dogs as they picked up her scent and tracked her. No. It was too soon for that. Though it would have been a welcome sound.

A branch cracked. Her breath caught in her throat. To the best of her knowledge, there were no large animals on the refuge, only squirrels, rodents and raccoons. Fear caused her heartbeat to drum in her ears. She touched the radio on her shoulder.

More noise landed on her ears. Whatever was in the thick brush that surrounded her was on the move.

She took her hand off the radio, shaking her head. It would not go over big for her to push the panic button over some nocturnal creature looking for its dinner.

Lani rose to her feet and headed toward the tall grass where she would lie down as though she’d fallen asleep. The dogs and their handlers needed to read the signs she left behind. Her feet pounded the hard-packed ground as she turned back to the shore. The cacophony of the birds feeding by the water’s edge grew louder.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement, a bright color. Human? The rest of the team couldn’t have found her that fast.

“NYPD.” She hadn’t worn her gun for this exercise. Her eyes scanned all around her, searching for movement and color. “You need to show yourself.”

Seconds ticked by. Her heart pounded.

Someone else was out here.

Again, it was possible that a junkie or vagrant had found a way to avoid detection and was making the refuge his or her home.

The birds quieted as the sun slipped lower in the sky. All she heard was the sound of her own heartbeat. Her hand moved to the radio. She needed to at least inform Noah that someone else was lurking in the bushes. She clicked the radio on and turned her head to speak into it.

A hand slapped hers and yanked the radio off her shoulder. Automatically, she reacted with an elbow punch to her assailant’s stomach.

Her attacker groaned in pain but did not relent in his attack. He restrained her by locking her neck in the crook of his elbow while he pulled her arm behind her and pushed it up at a painful angle with his other hand.

The fear that invaded every cell of her body was overridden by her years of training in self-defense. She kicked him hard in the shin. His grip didn’t loosen at all. The man was strong and had a high tolerance for pain.

He held on tight, dragging her toward the tall grass and the water. Her arm burned from pain as he bent it behind her back and pushed it upward.

She planted her feet.

Her resistance seemed to fuel his anger. He squeezed her neck tighter.

She struggled for air. She kicked him several times even as dots formed in her field of vision. He jerked back and up with his crooked arm. She landed one more intense blow to his leg.

His grip loosened enough for her to twist free. She ran only a few steps before he grabbed her shirt and dragged her back toward him. She spun around landing a chop to his neck designed to cause pain by pinching nerves. The move disabled her attacker long enough for her to get a head start.

The ground was softer this close to the shore. The water of the bay shimmered in her peripheral vision as she sprinted. She needed to get back up to the trail to find her bike before he could grab her again.

The landscape darkened and shadows covered the trees and bushes as the last light of the sun faded. His footsteps pounded behind her. She willed herself to go faster. Air filled her lungs and her breathing intensified. She veered off, hoping to head back up toward the trail and her bike.

She attacker remained close at her heels. Just as she arrived at her bike, he grabbed her. She whirled around, getting in several solid blows. He grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around.

The attacker wrapped his arms around her, coming at her from behind. He seemed to want to restrain her rather than fight back. His arms suctioned around her like an anaconda. His mouth was very close to her ear.

“There now,” he said.

His warm breath and sickly sweet words sent a new wave of fear through her. When she tried to twist free, he tightened his grip on her waist.

Then she heard a most welcome sound, the dogs baying and barking. Still some distance away but clearly headed toward her.

The man let go of her and stepped back. He wore a hat and she could not see his face in the dim light. Clearly frightened by the approaching dogs, he turned to go. She wasn’t about to let him get away. She leaped through the air, seeking to knock him to the ground. The attacker did not fall, which left her hanging on to his back.

“NYPD,” she shouted.

He shook her off, ran a few paces and then bent over.

She caught up with him. He swung around. In the darkness, she had not seen him pick up the rock he now had in his hand. It hit the side of her head. Her knees buckled.

The ground drew ever closer as dots filled her field of vision.

Her attacker loomed above her. “Next time.”

She heard his retreating footsteps as her world went black.

Noah Jameson’s heartbeat ticked up a notch as he let his Rottweiler, Scotty, pick up the scent of Officer Lani Branson. Three dogs on their long leads sniffed, barked and circled back to spots before taking off on the trail. Officer Finn Gallagher’s K-9 partner, a yellow Lab trained in search and rescue, took the lead. Reed Branson, Lani’s brother, followed with bloodhound Jessie, a tracking K-9.

The dogs’ enthusiasm was infectious. This kind of excitement made him feel alive. This was what he loved about police work, the action. Being out in the field nourished him even if it was just a training exercise. It beat sitting behind a desk putting out administrative fires and keeping the upper brass happy.

Until his murder last spring, Noah’s older brother Jordan had been the chief of the NYC K-9 Command Unit. Though there had been some jockeying for the job, Noah had been the one appointed to fill his brother’s shoes, temporarily at least. He missed working the street with Scotty, chasing down leads and suspects. More than anything, he missed his older brother. That the NYPD, himself included, had been unable to track down Jordan’s killer only made the wound more raw and the grief harder to bear.

Scotty kept his nose to the ground as they worked their way along the path. Scotty was trained in emergency services which meant he could do a little of everything. The other dogs kept pace with Scotty.

So far the trail had been easy enough to follow, but they hadn’t found Lani’s bicycle yet. Once she got off the bike, she’d been instructed to move in the same erratic pattern a five-year-old might take. Though he had his concerns about Lani’s ability to be a K-9 officer, she had a good attitude about being the guinea pig.

A tightening in his chest indicated his doubts were getting the better of him. Once she was in place, Lani was to have no communication with him or anyone on the team. He thought he’d heard the radio turn on and then off suddenly. It was probably nothing. Lani was in great physical condition and had done well at the academy, it was just that her chattiness made her come across as lacking confidence. Anytime he had interacted with her, Lani tended to talk a mile a minute.

The sky darkened as they headed up the trail. Noah and the other officers jogged to keep up with the dogs. They worked their way on the path running for at least twenty minutes. The dogs stopped and split off the trail, each of them alerting and then sniffing in a circle. This must be where Lani had left the trail.

Noah followed Scotty through the tangled brush.

“Come on, boy, you can find her.”

Scotty raised his head, sniffed the air and then put his nose back on the ground. He picked up the scent again. They headed off the trail into the tall grass. Scotty lifted his head and sat on his back haunches. That was his hard alert. Noah stared into the brush. Metal shone in the waning light.

He’d found the bicycle.

Noah spoke into his radio. “Scotty’s picked up the trail.”

The two other dogs bayed and fell in behind Scotty. The dogs took them across the dunes back into the trees and down to the shore. Though he could still hear the barking, the dogs spread out as they moved through the trees.

Reed’s panic-filled voice came across the line. “We got a problem. You better come see this.”

Noah could see Reed and Jessie through the tangle of brush. Judging from the high-pitched baying, Jessie was excited. No sign of Lani. He shortened the lead on Scotty and hurried through the trees.

“What is it?”

Reed held up a police radio. Lani’s. Reed’s voice filled with concern. “She wouldn’t tear it off herself. Something’s gone wrong.”

There was only a small chance the radio had gotten hung up on something as she ran. Noah’s thoughts raced as he took in the scene around him. Both dogs indicated a high level of excitement. The grass was smashed down. Some sort of struggle had taken place.

“The dogs will find her. If someone else is out here too, we’ll find him as well.”

Noah radioed the other handler, Finn, to see if his Lab picked up on any new scent.

As they followed the dogs through the brush, Noah pushed away any negative thoughts. If he’d learned anything from his K-9 partner, it was to stay focused.

Reed and Jessie headed in a different direction, maybe toward whomever else was out here.

Scotty worked methodically. Jessie sniffed a different area, more toward the shore, trying to find the trail. A new level of panic invaded Noah’s awareness as Scotty worked his way through the brush and then sat down, head held high.

Noah saw Lani’s blond hair visible in the moonlight. Her motionless body twisted at an odd angle set off alarm bells as he hurried toward her.

He drew close and kneeled beside her. Scotty emitted a whine and then leaned to lick Lani’s face. Still, she did not move.

“I’m worried too,” said Noah. As he gazed at her motionless body, the grief over the loss of his brother hit him like a semitruck. Another officer wasn’t going to die, not on his watch. His fingers touched Lani’s neck. Her pulse pushed back on his fingertips. He breathed a sigh of relief. She was still alive. There was a bruise on the side of her head. Her hair had worked loose of the tight bun she kept it in when on duty. Signs that she’d been in a fight.

While Noah radioed for medical help, Reed rushed toward them through the tangle of brush.

He let out a groan as he knelt beside his sister.

Lani’s eyes fluttered open, and she lifted her head and shoulders. On impulse, he gathered her into his arms.

“She’s alive,” said Noah. His voice filled with elation. “We need to call for backup. Get some more searchers to the refuge. Someone attacked Lani and we need to find him before he escapes.”

TWO

Lani stared into Noah’s calm face. He’d wrapped his arm around her back holding her up as he kneeled and faced her.

In the waning light, she could just make out the tiniest of smiles. “Hey. Good to see you coming around.” His voice held a note of joy. Normally very stoic, it was the first time she had seen any emotion at all from Noah.

“Hey, sis.” Reed’s voice drew her attention as he kneeled off to the side. Jessie lay down beside him. The bloodhound’s big floppy ears touched the ground.

Scotty leaned in and licked her face.

The Rottweiler’s affectionate response stirred her into full consciousness. “Whoa, what a greeting.” She sat up rubbing Scotty’s barrel chest and nuzzling her face against his.

Both Reed and Noah laughed at Scotty.

Petting the dog behind the ears, Lani pulled away from Noah. Silence fell between the three of them. Her breath caught as the memory of the attack invaded her thoughts, breaking the moment of levity.

Reed spoke up. “You all right?”

“My head hurts,” she said. It was easier to think about her physical pain. She touched the sore spot where the rock had hit her.

Noah cleared his throat. “What happened?” He pulled back and squared his shoulders, returning to his old professional self. So much for the small sign that Noah Jameson was human.

Heat rose up in her cheeks. Now she would have to explain why the training exercise had gone sideways. She still didn’t know who the man was or why he had come after her. She hadn’t even gotten a good look at him. She leaned forward to get to her feet but sat back down. Pain shot through the side of her head. “Ouch.” Scotty edged in close to her, emitting a whine that suggested deep concern.

Reed leaned a little closer as well. “Take it easy.”

Noah repeated his question. “What happened? There was someone else out here. Who was he?”

The memory of that man talking into her ear, of not being able to subdue him, hit her full force. “Yes, I was attacked.” Her voice faltered, but she took in a breath and regained her composure. The last thing she wanted was for Noah to think she couldn’t handle herself.

Scotty licked her cheek. Reed put a hand on her shoulder.

Noah rose to his feet. “I thought that might be the case. We’ve got reinforcements coming in to search the area.”

“Did you see the guy?” Reed rose to his feet.

“No, it was dark. We struggled.” She glanced nervously at Noah. His expression gave nothing away. “I can give a full statement as to what happened. The guy was in good shape. I found a bike that might be his.” She gave them a summary of the attack but then kept talking. Lani bit her lip. She was rambling because Noah’s silence made her nervous. “We should try to locate that. It might be his means of escape. Certainly, it might have fingerprints or other evidence.” Why was she talking like it was going out of style?

“We’ll start searching before the others get here. Time is precious.” Noah had already signaled Scotty to stand beside him.

“I’ll help with the search. I can at least lead you to where I saw the bicycle.” She moved to get to her feet.

“You’ve had physical trauma. Maybe you should stay put,” said Reed.

Reed had shown considerable restraint. She could tell from his expression he was worried. He knew when they were out in the field, she wanted to be treated like a fellow officer not the little sister.

“I’ll be fine.” She stood up. Already she could feel the bruising and strained muscles from the fight she’d been in, but she wasn’t about to let Noah know that. “I can show where I found the bike, maybe the dogs can pick up a scent.”

Noah nodded. He pulled his flashlight off his belt and handed it to her. “If you are fine with that. Lead the way.”

Lani took the flashlight. Was that approval she heard in his voice? In all other settings, she was a confident person. She had a black belt and good instincts. Why did she always second-guess herself around Noah?

With Reed, Noah and the dogs following, Lani made her way back to where she remembered seeing the bicycle. She saw the tree where the bike had been propped. Of course, it was gone. The man must have taken off on it.

“Right here. It was right here.” She shone the light all around.

The dogs circled giving a soft alert to some sort of smell.

She saw the most likely path the bike could have gone on. The dogs picked up the scent and headed in that direction. The sky had become black with the city skyline glittering in the distance. Always a beautiful sight. She loved the city at night.

The brush grew denser as they got closer to the shore. She saw a flash of light up ahead. The dogs barked and bayed excitedly. That had to be her attacker.

Lani ran, following the light as it winked in and out of view and then disappeared close to the shore. The light must be on the attacker’s bicycle.

She ran faster despite the terrain becoming more treacherous and the pain from her injuries. With Reed and Noah right behind her, she made her way down the steep incline. The faint silhouette of a boat was visible in the moonlight. She heard a motor roar to life. The man had loaded his bike into the boat and was preparing to take off.

She wasn’t about to let him get away.

The boat had just eased away from the shore when she jumped into the water. In the distance, she could see the flashing lights of other boats.

This boat wouldn’t be able to get up speed until it was in open water out of the bay and the tangle of peninsulas and islands that made up the refuge.

Her arms cut through the surging waves. Her head bobbed above the surface. She was within feet of the boat. She willed herself to move faster. Her hand reached for the edge of the boat. She held on.

She could see the back of the man as he steered. The bike occupied two of the backseats. She pulled herself up. Water cascaded off her body. The noise was enough to alert her assailant. He shifted the boat into Neutral and whirled around.

Before she could get her bearings, he had punched her and pushed her back off the side of the boat. She splashed into the water, plunging beneath the surface like a weighted rag doll. She bobbed back up just in time to see the boat speeding out into open water.

She could hear the dogs on the shore going ballistic.

Feeling defeated, she turned and swam back toward the beach. Noah rushed out into the water up to his knees. She gasped for air.

“You all right?” He wrapped his arm around her and helped her to the beach.

The suspect had gotten away. Noah eased her down to the beach where Scotty waited to give her moral support and doggie kisses. The cold water had masked the pain of her attack. Now she could feel where there was probably going to be some soreness and bruising.

She stared out where the flashing light of the assailant’s boat merged with other flashing lights. Not many boats out at this hour. “Maybe the coast guard can catch up with him.” She didn’t hold out much hope for that happening.

Noah spoke on his radio, giving a description of the boat and the direction it was headed.

Noah sat down beside her. “That was something else, jumping in the water like that.”

That Noah was impressed with her was only a small victory. The suspect had gotten away. She was exhausted, beat and wondering if she had made the right choice following in her brother’s footsteps.

Her only consolation was that Scotty seemed to pick up on her despair. The Rottweiler rested his chin on her leg and made a sympathetic noise. Now she remembered why she wanted to be a K-9 cop. She rested a hand on Scotty’s head. Someday she would be assigned her own K-9 partner.

Tonight though, she felt defeated. If a training exercise could go so far off the rails, what would happen when she worked the field?

Noah sat beside Lani, catching his breath. “Maybe they’ll nab him when he comes to shore.”

The other dogs and officers were farther inland.

“Maybe.” Lani’s voice sounded weak. She stroked behind Scotty’s ears.

Noah’s Rottweiler usually didn’t warm up to people so fast, but the dog seemed to like Lani from the moment she’d become a part of the K-9 unit. His brother Jordan had always said that dogs were a good judge of character. If he closed his eyes, he could almost hear his brother’s voice. He rubbed his chest though the pain he felt was emotional, that deep chasm inside that would never be filled. His younger brothers Zach and Carter were probably the only two people who understood about the hole Jordan’s death had left for all of them. His parents were going through a whole different kind of grief.

“I appreciate your tenacity in going after the suspect,” he said. Noah remembered that only a month before, Lani had stopped an intruder in her and Reed’s house by shooting him. Though she had handled herself well, she had been put on administrative leave to help with her emotional recovery, which had stalled her training. Remembering that and seeing firsthand how she had done tonight made Noah think that maybe he had underestimated Lani.

Lani wrapped her arms around her body. “He got away though.”

Noah took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. His pants were wet up to the knees, but he wasn’t cold. “If medical hasn’t shown up yet at the visitors’ center, let’s get you checked out in the ER.”

She drew the coat around her. “I’m fine. I just need to change into some dry clothes and get some rest.”

“You took quite a blow to the head.” Though Lani seemed like a strong woman, he was concerned about the psychological fallout from having been attacked tonight in addition to her physical well-being. Sometimes there was an accumulative effect from dealing with violence and then an officer just cracked up.

“I know about the possibility of a concussion. Reed gets off duty in a bit, he can keep an eye on me through the night. As soon as that suspect is picked up, I want to be called. I don’t care what the hour is.”

“Sure, Lani.” Always at the back of his mind, the fear of something bad happening to another of the K-9 officers plagued him. He felt a strong responsibility to the team. “At least ride home with me in my patrol car.”

He rose to his feet and held out his hand to help her up. Her fingers felt silky soft in his calloused bear paws. They stood for a moment facing each other. The rhythm of water rushing the shore and the gulls feeding in the distance seemed to be the only sounds.

“Fine, I’ll ride back with you, but I will report for duty for my regular shift tomorrow. Don’t treat me with kid gloves.” Lani turned and headed up the sandy shore toward the tall grass. “I can handle myself just fine. I’ve had first aid training as part of being a martial arts instructor...”

Lani continued to talk as they moved through the grass.

He wasn’t sure if her talking was a sign of confidence or insecurity. His estimation of her had gone up a notch. It took guts to jump in the water after a suspect, especially one that had just attacked her.

Noah’s radio glitched and Reed’s voice came across the line. “I got Lani’s bike loaded up in my patrol car.”

“Ten-four. She’s riding home with me, but you need to keep an eye on her through the night.”

“She’s not going into the ER?” Reed’s voice filled with concern.

Lani grabbed the radio. Standing on her tiptoes, she spoke into it. “Reed, quit being a big brother. When we’re working, treat me like you would any other officer.”

“Copy that, sis.”

“Do you call all the other officers, sis?”

Noah chuckled at the banter between the siblings. His brothers razzed each other and him on and off the job.

“Yes, Officer Branson.” Reed’s voice held a note of amusement.

Lani addressed Noah. “We’ll swing by the ER, but I’m sure I’m fine,” Lani said.

They hiked back up to the trail and out to the visitors’ center. Several patrol cars were parked there. More had arrived once the alert about the suspect had gone out.

“Any news on the boat?” Lani stepped toward one of the other officers, who shook his head.

Noah loaded Scotty in the back of his Tahoe SUV. Lani got into the passenger seat. They pulled out of the visitors’ center. Noah veered toward Cross Bay Boulevard, Lani doing most of the talking sharing about the kids’ class she taught at the martial arts center.

They stopped in the ER where a doctor examined Lani and gave her the okay to go back to work after a day off, but cautioned her to watch for any pain or loss of focus for the next couple of days. They got back into the Tahoe and headed home. Lani continued to talk about working with dogs at the training center.

As they drove through Queens at night, her voice trailed off. She touched her hand to her shoulder.

He’d gotten so used to the sound of her voice, the silence felt awkward. He glanced over at her. “Everything okay, Lani?”

“My radio. He yanked it off of me. I don’t have a radio anymore.” Her voice, normally very animated, had become monotone.

Noah had been braced for the emotional shock to set in. “We’ll issue you a new one when you come on shift after your day of rest. Lani?”

He was only a few blocks from her house in Rego Park. Lani and Reed lived on a quiet street. At this hour, there was no one outside. He spoke again to get her attention. “Lani?”

“I’m all right.” She stared straight ahead.

He knew she wasn’t. “It’s pretty normal to feel off-kilter after what you’ve been through.” She hadn’t been an officer very long and already she’d seen a degree of violence. “It wouldn’t hurt to make an appointment with the police psychologist. I know it was required you meet with one after you shot that guy who came into your house. It wouldn’t hurt to make another appointment.”

She lifted her chin slightly. “I just need a good night’s sleep and run in the park in the morning. That’s my therapy.”

He had a feeling the bravado she showed was because she didn’t want to appear incapable in front of the chief. Sometimes he didn’t like his title. It put a barrier between him and his fellow officers.

After circling the block, he found a parking space not too far from her house. He appreciated how tough she was acting. He’d been a cop long enough to know that denial didn’t make the trauma go away. “At least let me stay with you until Reed gets off shift.”

She lowered her head and pushed open the car door. “Okay, but only if Scotty can come in too.”

Scotty let out a low-level woof of approval.

Both of them laughed.

“Scotty seems to like the idea,” said Lani.

He had to hand it to his square-jawed partner. He could be very entertaining. Noah walked Lani to the house which had a stone facade and pillars. The flower beds were covered in straw. Though he could picture them in full bloom. Lani struck him as a plant kind of person. Who was he kidding? Lani was a people person and a dog person—warm and connecting, vivacious about all aspects of life. That’s why it bothered him to see her so quiet.

With Scotty heeling beside him, they went up the steps and onto the porch. Lani unlocked the door.

Noah stared up at the second story. “This whole place is yours?”

“No, we have an upstairs tenant.” She pushed the door open.

Once inside, Lani invited Noah to sit on the couch while Scotty sniffed his new surroundings. She excused herself to change out of her wet clothes.

Family photos, many of Reed and Lani doing sports together, adorned the wall in the living room. There was a picture of them attending a Yankees game with an older couple. Judging from the resemblance, the older couple must be Reed and Lani’s parents. His eyes rested on a picture of a teenage Lani in a leotard with her arms around two other dancers. A more recent one showed Lani on stage in a Western costume with other actors.

Noah understood why Lani was referred to as Cover Girl by the rest of the team. Her vitality and positive attitude came across in the photos and she was beautiful enough to be a model.

Several photos featured Reed working with his K-9 partner, Jessie.

Lani entered the room dressed in an oversize orange sweatshirt and jeans. “Do you want some cocoa or something?” Her blue eyes did not have their usual sparkle. He detected the weariness in her voice. It was important that she not be alone after having gone through such an ordeal.

“Sure, that sounds good,” he said. “Let me help you.”

While Lani filled the kettle and put it on the stove, Noah rooted through cupboards for mugs.

Lani pulled a basket filled with tea bags and hot chocolate packets from a cupboard. “Pick whatever you like.”

The toll of the attack was evident in her movement and on her face. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you go sit down and I’ll bring you the drink?”

She nodded and stepped back into the living room. Again, he knew something was up because she didn’t argue with him.

He opened the packets of cocoa and sprinkled them into the mugs. The kettle whistled. He poured the water into the cups. He carried the steaming mugs into the living room where he found Lani standing, not sitting, staring at the wall of photographs. Scotty had finished sniffing his surroundings and now sat at attention. His ears perked up when Noah entered the room.

She pointed to a bare space on the wall. “Do you know what goes there?”

Noah shook his head.

“A picture of me with my dog when I’m assigned one.” Her face shone with a sort of inner glow.

The bare space was next to a photo of Reed with his Jessie. The bloodhound’s saggy-skinned expression seemed to contradict the dog’s tenacious personality.

He knew from Lani’s file that she was twenty-nine, old for a rookie. His estimation of her abilities had changed, but he still had his doubts. Her background was not the normal career route for a cop. “That will happen soon enough.” It had been months since Lani had been accepted to the K-9 unit and a suitable dog had still not become available. She’d tried out several. The dogs were either not compatible with her or they washed out of the program. Jordan’s death and Noah getting used to being chief had slowed everything down as well.

“Tonight didn’t go like I expected.” She stared at the floor.

He stepped toward her, touching her chin so she lifted her eyes. “But you handled the unexpected. That’s what a good cop does.”

A little light came into her blue eyes. That spark of energy that he liked about her returned.

“Thanks,” she said.

She let out a heavy breath and sat down on the couch. Noah sat down beside her sipping his beverage. Scotty lay down so his butt rested against Noah’s feet and his head rested close to Lani’s feet.

Noah pointed toward the photos. “So you did a lot of plays?” It was important to keep her mind off the attack.

“Mostly off Broadway, and I did a couple commercials and even some stunt work,” she said.

“I know I’ve lived here my whole life, but I think I made it to the theater twice in my life and one time it was with my school.”

Lani laughed, “I know. There are people born and raised here who have never been to the Statue of Liberty.”

He reached down to pat Scotty’s head. “My family goes to the Mets games quite a bit.”

“Sounds like fun.” Lani took a sip of her cocoa.

They talked awhile longer. When the door opened and Reed stepped in with Jessie, Noah glanced at the clock. An hour had passed without him realizing he’d been so caught up in his conversation with Lani.

Jessie loped over to Lani, who leaned so the dog could give her a sloppy kiss.

“Long night?”

“Something like that. Had a couple other calls after we got stuff wrapped up at the refuge.” Reed took his coat off and hung it up on a coatrack. “Sorry I’m late. I stopped in to talk with Abigail for a little bit.”

Abigail was Reed’s fiancée and an outreach coordinator for troubled teens.

“Can I talk to you for just a moment?” Noah gestured for Reed to enter the kitchen.

“What’s up?”

“Keep an eye on her through the night. Not just to make sure she doesn’t lose consciousness. Wake her up a couple of times. The ER doc said to look for dilated pupils. I’m more worried about her emotional health. Maybe she’s just acting tough in front of me. I don’t know.”

Reed nodded. “We got this handled. I know my sister.”

“She’ll push to come into work tomorrow, but she needs to take the day off,” said Noah.

Reed nodded. “Will do.”

When they returned to the living room, Lani had fallen asleep on the couch. Jessie curled against her belly. The bloodhound was so huge she hung halfway off the couch. Lani’s blond hair, loose from the tight bun, framed her face and fell across her neck.

Scotty lay at Lani’s feet. He stared up at Noah while his tail thudded on the floor.

Noah commanded Scotty to come and he fell in line. “I’ll see myself out.” He glanced once again at the sleeping Lani. She looked at peace. “Take care of her. Maybe you can talk her into making a counseling appointment.”

“You can’t talk my sister into anything once she’s made up her mind.”

“So true.” Noah stepped to the door, swung it open and headed up the block toward his SUV with the dog padding softly on the sidewalk beside him. He looked back. The curtains were drawn in the living room. Still, he could picture Reed placing a blanket over his sleeping sister. She was in good hands.

As he loaded Scotty into the patrol car, he felt that tightening in his chest.

He only hoped that what had happened to Lani tonight was an isolated incident. He didn’t want another cop harmed...or worse.

THREE

Lani clicked the leash onto the collar of the six-month-old yellow Lab and headed out of the training center to walk the pup. She was glad to be back to work after a required day off. Oscar was one of eight puppies born to Stella, a yellow Lab, who had been a gift to the unit from the Czech Republic. The dogs had all been put into foster homes. Oscar had been brought back to the training center to assess if he would be good K-9 material and maybe assigned to Lani. She tried not to get too hopeful about Oscar. Other dogs she’d trained with had initially seemed like a good fit. She pushed aside the frustration she felt over not getting her own K-9 partner after so many months.

As she stepped out into the early morning to walk the dog, the sun bathed her skin. She turned the corner.

The idea of taking the dogs out was not only for exercise but getting them used to staying focused with a million distractions around them. This street usually had fewer people and less traffic than Ninety-Fourth Street where the K-9 offices and training center were.

All the same, the streets already bustled with activity, visual and auditory. Oscar heeled with his head up, taking in the buzz of the city. Pedestrians brushed past them on the sidewalks. Car horns blared as traffic rolled by. In the distance, she detected the intense rhythm of a jackhammer.

This was her city. Walking the dogs was part of her routine while on duty. Still, a fearful hesitation made her a little less confident in her step. The boat her attacker had escaped in was never found. She’d gone for a run on her day off which usually cleared her head, but not this time. Her sleep had been fitful.

Oscar’s tail wagged when a group of children walked past him. She gave the leash a slight jerk to let him know that as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t interact with the children.

“We’re on duty,” she said.

The crowd thinned as they approached an abandoned building that used to be a multistoried department store. She could feel the soreness from the attack. She increased her pace. Oscar’s little legs kept up with hers. If she slowed, he responded. The dog was sharp. She loved all the K-9 recruits, but she liked how quickly Oscar picked up on her cues. They seemed to be dialed into each other, a quality that was essential in working with a partner, K-9 or human.

She’d requested that he be brought out of foster care to see if he’d be good K-9 material. Not all dogs had the temperament to be K-9s. In her first encounter with Oscar, when he was just weaned at eight weeks, he had sat back on his haunches and looked up at her, tilting his head to one side as if to say, At your service, ma’am.

Oscar seemed to have alerted on something across the street. She followed the line of his gaze. Noah Jameson stood beside a coffee cart waiting for his morning cup. He offered Lani a small wave before he turned back toward headquarters. He must be busy today if he was getting his coffee from a street cart. Most of the officers went to Griffin’s diner for coffee. Scotty wasn’t with him. He must be back at Noah’s office.

“He’s all right, isn’t he, Oscar?” Noah had always struck her as being emotionally closed down. She had seen a more caring side to him after the training exercise fell apart. Maybe he was human after all.

A scraping sound above her caused her to tilt her head. A large square object came right toward her at a rapid speed, filling her field of vision. She jumped to one side, falling against the brick exterior of the building. The few people on the sidewalk scattered as well. In her panic, Lani had let go of Oscar’s leash.

An air-conditioning unit shattered on the concrete. Some of the pieces still vibrated from the impact.

An older man rushed toward her. “Are you all right?”

Dazed and in shock, Lani got to her feet with the man’s help. She brushed the dust off her uniform.

“What a bizarre accident.” An older woman approached Lani. She tilted her head. “It must have been loose or something.” The woman patted Lani’s shoulder. “Are you all right, dear? That was quite the scare.”

Lani’s heart raced a mile a minute. She glanced around. Where was Oscar? “Did you see where my dog went?”

Both the old man and woman shook their heads. People had begun to move past her on the street, stepping around the pieces of the shattered air-conditioning unit. She stared through the forest of feet, not seeing the puppy as fear gripped her heart all over again. The poor thing had probably gotten frightened and run off.

A yelp came from inside the building. She pressed her face against the dusty window. She could just make out Oscar’s face by a pile of scrap wood. The poor dog had been so afraid he’d run for shelter.

“Hang on, Oscar. I’m coming to get you.”

She tried one of the double doors that were the main entrance to the building. Locked.

Oscar had gotten in somehow. She saw then a hole in the display window. Not big enough for her to slip through. She walked around to the side of the building and found a door that looked like it had been jimmied. Someone desperate for a place to sleep on a cold fall night had probably done that. Knowing that she might surprise someone, she pulled her gun.

She rushed in. She heard Oscar’s whimper before she saw him in the dark corner. Broken display counters and pieces of mannequins still remained in the dust and debris.

A sense of relief flooded through her as she ran over to the puppy. She holstered her weapon and gathered him in her arms. “It’s all right, buddy. That was scary for me too.” The pup licked her face.

Thudding sounds came from the floor above her. Footsteps. Her heart beat a little faster. Maybe the air conditioner had had a little help by being pushed. Maybe the lock was jimmied by someone up to no good, not just looking for a place to sleep.

“Tell you what, buddy. You’ve had enough excitement for one day.” She wrapped his leash around a door knob. She still hadn’t been issued a new radio. Protocol would be to call for backup. That wasn’t possible right now. She’d neglected to get another cell phone after hers was damaged by the water last night.

Chances were she was dealing with a vagrant, nothing more. He or she could have leaned against the air-conditioning unit...or the destruction might have been on purpose. Or just someone so high or drunk, they didn’t know what they were doing.

Oscar yipped as if to offer encouragement. More footsteps sounded above her. She pulled her weapon and headed up the wide staircase in the center of the floor. The second floor was an open area with broken glass and display counters largely dismantled and probably used for firewood. Mattresses and dusty clothing scattered throughout the floor indicated the homeless had taken up residence at one time. Maybe they were still here. None of the big front display windows on this floor contained air conditioners.

She scanned the open floor area one quadrant at a time. There were places someone could hide, behind the piles of busted furniture and boxes and the display counters. She detected no movement. She held her own breath and listened, sensing that someone was watching her. Her mouth went dry. “NYPD. Please show yourself.”

Turning quickly and aiming her weapon, she thought she saw someone in her peripheral vision. She let out a breath. Just a mannequin. She shook her head and dryly laughed.

There were smaller rooms on the south side of the building that might have been offices or storage spaces. Some had doors, some did not. With her heart drumming in her ears, she made her way toward the rooms.

Her own footsteps seemed to echo on the floorboards. The first room had no door, she peered inside seeing only empty shelving. She lifted her weapon and made her way to the second room. She held her gun in one hand while she opened the door with the other.

A hand went over her mouth and jerked her back. The attacker had come up from behind. “I got you.” He pinched the nerves on her wrist. “Drop the gun.”

Pain shot up her arm, but she held on to the gun. She angled her body side to side trying to escape his iron hold on her. In the struggle, she dropped her gun. She broke free, whirled around and slammed him hard in the stomach. The man, who was wearing a blue baseball cap, bent over. She scrambled to get her weapon.

The man recovered quickly and took off running just as she picked up her gun. Footsteps pounded behind her. Not another one. She whirled around aiming her weapon just in time to see Noah coming up the stairs.

On reflex, Noah pointed his gun at her. “Whoa.”

Unable to form the question, she shook her head as if to ask what he was doing.

“I saw movement on the third-floor window where that thing fell out. I was just getting ready to walk around the corner to headquarters, but there was a construction accident that blocked the sidewalk, so it took me a minute to run back over here.”

But he was here. That’s what mattered.

She pointed. “He went toward the stairwell leading up.”

They both raced across the floor. The culprit must have been trying to get out via the first floor when Lani had interrupted him on the second floor. Noah took the lead as they headed up the stairs.

The third floor consisted of a hallway and a series of rooms that were probably offices and storage. There was no obvious exit.

Lani pointed, signaling that they could work their way from either end toward the middle, clearing each room. She moved into the first room, cleared it and stepped back into the hallway just in time to see Noah disappear into a room on the opposite end of the hallway.

She stepped into the second room, which featured a large window that looked out on the street. A knocked-over file cabinet and pieces of a desk that must have been quite beautiful in its time cluttered the floor. This could have been the CEO’s or store manager’s office. There was no evidence a transient lived here, though she did see the hole that likely contained the air-conditioning unit that now lay in pieces on the street.

She shuddered. What was in the mind of someone who would push something out a window knowing there were people down below who could be hurt?

She heard the thunder of footsteps. Heart racing, weapon drawn, Lani stepped back out into the hallway just in time to see Noah sprinting toward the far end of the building.

Noah looked over his shoulder. “He’s headed up to the roof.”

Noah disappeared around a corner. Lani followed after him, praying they would catch their suspect.

Moments before, Noah had stepped out on a fire escape and spotted the suspect climbing out on a different fire escape and taking a ladder up toward the roof. He had raced back inside to see if there was an easier way to get to the roof. That’s when he’d seen Lani and told her the suspect was headed up to the roof.

He hurried out to the landing where the suspect had gone. The fire escape, which looked like it was hanging by maybe one bolt, was clearly not a safe route down. He peered up just in time to see the suspect’s feet disappear over the top of the building.

Noah holstered his weapon and leaped up the uneven brick facade that the suspect had used as a sort of climbing wall. His muscles strained as he pulled himself up. He glanced down only for a moment to see the throngs of people and metal of cars glinting in the early morning sun. He found another foothold as his hands wrapped around the protruding brick above him.

Lani came out on the balcony. She groaned. “Are you kidding me.”

Noah looked down at her. “Join the fun.” He scaled the rest of the wall and pulled himself up to the flat roof. The suspect raced from one corner of the roof to another. He was trapped.

Noah pushed himself to his feet. He pulled his weapon just in time to see the man leap to the adjoining building. As chief, Noah was not out in the field enough to warrant having a radio. There was no time to make a call on his cell. He had to rely on Lani for backup. The suspect did not appear to be armed or he would have pulled a weapon by now.

He raced across the roof. There was about a five-foot chasm between the two buildings. Without hesitation, Noah pushed off. He stretched his right leg out in front, watching the edge of the building looming toward him. He landed with a thud. His knees buckled screaming with pain from the impact. The suspect had reached the edge of the second building. He hesitated, glanced back at Noah and then disappeared over the side. The guy must have found a safer fire escape.

Noah’s heart pounded against his rib cage as his leg muscles strained. He sprinted toward where the suspect had gone. He peered down and saw only the top of his blue baseball cap. The guy had already made it to the top floor down the fire escape ladder. Noah swung down onto the ladder. He’d gone down only four rungs when Lani’s voice reached him. She’d made up the distance between them pretty easily. “I’m going to look for a faster way down. See if we can cut him off.”

He glanced up to see her head and shoulders as she looked down. Her bright expression and blue-eyed gaze met his. “Go find it.”

She disappeared.

The suspect had only a short way to go down the ladder before he reached the street. Noah climbed faster narrowing the distance between them. When the suspect was halfway down the last part of the ladder, he jumped the remainder of the distance.

Lani emerged from the side of the building just as the man ran toward a crowded street market. She must have found an elevator in the building. Noah climbed two more rungs and then jumped, landing on his feet. He whirled around.

He could see Lani’s blond head. She was in uniform but had lost her hat somewhere. The tight little bun on top of her head was easy enough to track in a crowd. He didn’t see the suspect anywhere, but Lani ran like she still had sight of him.

He hurried past booths selling handbags and scarves. The aromatic scent of street vendor food swirled in the air, the mingling scent of salt, a heady sweetness and other spices. Noah kept his eyes on Lani. He didn’t see the suspect anywhere. Still running, Lani merged with a throng of people. She towered above them. She stopped, glancing side to side.

He surveyed the area. Then he saw a blue baseball hat on the ground beside a food cart that sold gyros. The guy had ditched the hat knowing it would be an easy way to track him.

Lani turned back to face Noah, shaking her head before pushing deeper into the crowd. She wasn’t one to give up easily even though he had a feeling the suspect had managed to give them the slip.

Taking slow steps, he ambled past the vendors, scanning the crowd one more time while he caught his breath. He didn’t see the suspect anywhere. He retraced his steps, searching for the baseball hat thinking it might have DNA on it, but it had either been picked up or kicked out of view. He worked his way back to the edge of the street market, asking several of the vendors if they had seen the man in a blue baseball cap or seen a man take the cap off and throw it on the ground. All of them shook their heads.

When he glanced over his shoulder, Lani was headed toward him. As she drew closer, he knew that wrinkled forehead indicated her frustration.

She stood beside him and crossed her arms. “I guess that is that. I don’t know what gets into people thinking it’s okay to endanger public safety by pushing an air-conditioning unit out a window.”

Concern niggled at the edges of Noah’s brain. Lani had been attacked twice in forty-eight hours. “You don’t think maybe that guy was aiming specifically for you?”

Her face went pale and she didn’t answer right away. “He was probably just someone with mental illness issues or a drug problem. Don’t you think? Besides, how would someone know that I would be walking by that building at that time?”

“You keep the same routine every day, don’t you?”

“Well I...why would someone want to hurt me?”

“Do you think it might be the same man from last night?”

Her face blanched. “I didn’t get a good look either time.” She turned away from him. “I left Oscar back in that building by himself.” She took off at a jog.

Lani clearly did not want to believe that the attacks were personal or connected. And he suspected she knew something she didn’t want to share. Noah followed her back to the open side door of the building. They stepped from the brightness of day into the dim gloom of the abandoned building. Even the big display windows were so covered in dust not much light got in.

Oscar wagged his tail and yipped when he saw Lani. After untying him, she gathered the pup into her arms. “There’s my little guy.”

“Little guy?” Noah kneeled beside her, so he could pet Oscar’s head and velvety ears. “Don’t go all mushy on him. We’re trying to turn him into a tough police dog.” The dog licked Noah’s face, melting his heart. So much for being tough.

“Oscar did all right. He did freak when that unit nearly fell on us, but he didn’t seem too bent out of shape for having been left here.” She let the dog kiss her face. “Next time you’ll be a part of the action, won’t you?”

Noah was concerned that Lani wasn’t being realistic about the attacks. But grilling her wouldn’t do any good. Right now, she was in denial. If he started slinging questions at her, she might become defensive.

He needed to get information out of her without making her feel pressured. “What do you say that after we get the crime scene people over here, I grab Scotty and we get Oscar used to working around people and staying focused?”

She put Oscar down on the floor and stood up. “That would be good for Oscar and for me. But do you have the time for that?”

The last thing he wanted to do anyway was sit in that office on this beautiful fall day. “I’ll make the time.” Maybe the attacks were random. He needed to make sure one of his officers was not in danger. That someone would not come after Lani a third time.

FOUR

Lani and Noah waited for the forensics team to show up at the abandoned building before heading back to headquarters. Lani loaded Oscar into the backseat of Noah’s patrol car where Scotty already waited. Scotty remained at attention while Oscar jumped and nipped excitedly.

She laughed and shook her head. “Talk about the senior officer putting up with the rookie’s misplaced enthusiasm.” She ruffled the top of Oscar’s head. Scotty let out a groan of protest. She reached across the seat past Oscar and stroked the Rottweiler’s ear. “I love you too.”

Scotty remained in position but licked his chops and leaned into her touch.

Lani climbed into the passenger seat. Noah already sat behind the wheel.

“The park is always a nice place to do training. Teach the dogs to deal with the distraction,” he said.

She buckled herself in. “Yeah, sure.” Her throat constricted. Noah was up to something. He wasn’t in the habit of dropping his desk duties to hang out with her or any other rookie. Any of the other officers could have trained with her today. He’d wanted to know if she thought her attacker from the refuge and the one they’d chased in the abandoned building had been the same guy. The question made her chest feel tight.

While it was true, she hadn’t got a good look at the attacker either time, there were similarities. Same height and build. But it was the assailant’s unusual strength both times that made her wonder if they were dealing with the same man. Though she was a black belt and more agile than her attacker, he was an equal match for her due to his level of fitness. He’d spoken to her both times. She couldn’t say for sure if the voice was the same. Why would anyone want to harm her though? That was what didn’t make sense.

Noah pulled out onto the street and into traffic just as a call came over the radio.

“Missing child at the GallopNYC stables, Forest Hills.”

“That’s right up Scotty’s alley.” Noah picked up the radio. “This is unit twelve. Depending on traffic, I can be over there shortly with a K-9.” Noah glanced over at Lani. “So much for a training exercise. This is the real thing.”

Lani’s heart beat a little faster. Though she was concerned about the missing child, the prospect of working a real case was exciting. She said a prayer of gratitude that she wouldn’t have to deal with Noah’s questions right away.

Maybe it was just the bliss of ignorance that she could be in denial a little longer. If the attacks were personal, would they let her continue in her K-9 training? She’d worked hard to get to this point. She didn’t want to lose all that or even have it be delayed.

Noah wove through traffic with a high level of skill by slipping into the pockets between moving cars and avoiding construction by taking side streets.

Noah checked his rearview mirror. “What’s with this guy?”

Lani craned her neck at the line of cars behind them. “I don’t see anything.”

“That black sedan two cars back has been doggin’ us since we left the station.”

Her muscles tensed at the sight of the car.

Sensing her unease, Oscar leaped up and licked Lani’s hand where she rested it on the back of the seat. She gave him a hand signal indicating he needed to sit. Oscar complied but shifted his weight from foot to foot as he sat back in the seat. He stretched his chin out indicating that he wanted affection from Lani.

Lani shook her head and waved her finger at the pup.

“He’s a little unfocused to be good K-9 material,” Noah said.

“He’s still young. The initial testing showed he had a strong defense drive.” She glanced one more time at the dark sedan. Encroaching fear made it hard to get a deep breath.

Noah hit his turn signal and slipped around a corner. After he’d driven several blocks, he checked the rearview mirror. She didn’t need to look over her shoulder at the traffic behind them. Noah’s expression, the tight lips and narrowed eyes, told her the sedan had turned as well.

The fenced dirt arena for the therapeutic horse stable came into view with the stables behind it. City apartment buildings and homes surrounded the little oasis for horses. She had volunteered here as a teenager. “I know the layout of this place.”

A cluster of maybe ten people with two uniformed police officers stood on the edge of the arena. A rider—a young girl—with three adults, one on each side and one by the horse’s head, trotted alongside the horse skirting the edge of the fence on the other side of the arena.

Noah pulled onto the grass beside the other patrol car where there was no fence. “I’m glad you know the layout. Let’s go get the details from the uniforms.” He got out, opened the back door and gave Scotty the command to hit the ground. Noah hooked the Rottweiler into his leash and headed toward the crowd. Lani glanced at the forlorn-looking Oscar. “You gotta stay in the car, buddy. Be good. We’re both being tested.” She shut the door just as the pup’s tail thumped on the seat.

One of the officers noticed Noah and Lani. He broke away from the crowd. Lani recognized him from the academy. He’d graduated the same time she had.

She stepped forward. “Officer Langston.”

Scotty sat at attention at Noah’s feet.

Officer Langston was short and maybe twenty pounds overweight. His physical stature was deceiving. He’d played football in high school and was strong and quick on his feet. He smiled. “Officer Branson, good to see you.” He tipped his hat toward Noah. “Chief Jameson. Just want you to know all the street patrol units have kept their ears to the ground for any news about your brother’s killer.”

A shadow seemed to fall across Noah’s face at the mention of his brother’s name. “Thank you, Officer.” The change in mood was momentary. Lani wondered if she was the only one tuned into it. “Time is of the essence in finding this kid. What is the story here?”

“More tracking dogs and search-and-rescue dogs are on the way.” Officer Langston held up a child’s red coat. “Brendan is five, he’s autistic and deaf. He comes here for lessons. The usual thing. His mom was distracted for just a second. She turned back around and her son was gone. They searched the grounds for twenty minutes before calling us.”

Lani didn’t have to have Brendan’s mom pointed out to her. It was clear the woman who gripped her purse to her chest with glazed eyes and an expression that looked like it was chiseled from stone was the distraught mom. They didn’t need to make her more upset by peppering her with questions she had probably already answered. Officer Langston would give them all they needed to know.

Lani said a quick prayer for the mother and son.

“The mom says the son might think he’s in trouble, so he’ll hide,” Officer Langston said.

And if the child was deaf, he wouldn’t hear people calling for him.

Noah grabbed the coat and let Scotty sniff it. “Let’s head up there and see what he can find.”

“Two more dogs are on their way. I’m just glad you were able to get here so fast.”

They made their way across the grounds toward the stables. Lani stared out into the streets that surrounded the little oasis of peace. Her throat tightened with fear. A five-year-old could wander out into the street pretty quickly.

“We’ve got a unit circling the block and officers on foot as well.” Officer Langston explained before breaking away and heading back to where the cluster of concerned people huddled together.

Eager to work, Scotty lurched forward, causing the long leash to go taut. They headed into the stables where the boy had last been seen. A teenager stabbed hay with a pitchfork and tossed it into a stall.

Scotty sniffed the ground. And hurried through the building.

Lani lagged behind.

“You’re here to find the kid?” said the teenager.

“Yes,” she planted her feet. “Did you see anything?”

“No, I was in another building. All I know is that kid loves animals. I can’t help but think he was chasing after a barn cat or became fascinated by a squirrel outside.”

But where was he now? She didn’t even want to think about what could have happened to Brendan if he had wandered off the grounds.

Noah exited the stables and headed toward another building with Scotty sniffing the ground.

An idea flashed through Lani’s brain. She called to Noah that she would return quickly. She headed down the hill toward the patrol car. She swung open the back door and put a leash on Oscar. He ruffled his ears while he licked her face. “Time for some on-the-job training. Let’s use your cuteness to draw out a little boy.”

Oscar leaped down to the ground. They headed back toward the stables. Her theory could be totally off base. Something sinister could have happened to Brendan. He could be miles from here by now. If he’d wandered out into the street, someone in a car could have picked him up.

She shuddered at the thought. Brendan was the age of some of the kids in one of the martial arts classes she taught.

Oh God, let there be a happy ending to all this.

She hurried across the arena just as another patrol car with another search dog pulled up. She waved at the officer as he unloaded his dog. She caught up with Noah and Scotty inside a different barn that was filled with hay.

“Scotty loses the scent inside here.” The barn appeared to be used mostly for storage of farm-type equipment, hay and other bags of feed.

“You think he’s still on the grounds somewhere?” she asked.

“Yeah, but there are a thousand places where he could be. What if he’s fallen and hurt himself.” Noah’s jaw tensed. “I hate when bad things happen to kids.”

“Let’s pray this isn’t one of those cases.”

Noah pointed at Oscar who tugged on his leash.

“The teenager feeding the horses said that Brendan loves animals. If he’s hiding because he thinks he’s in trouble, maybe a puppy will be enough to lure him out.”

Scotty gave a soft alert to a smell by the door. They hurried outside and back around the grounds before returning to the storage barn. The barking and baying of the other search dog reached her ears. That dog wasn’t headed in this direction. Either the other dog or Scotty had picked up on a false scent.

Scotty circled again, nose to the ground. Oscar nipped at the twirling dust in the sunbeams. Maybe the pup was too big of a goofball to be K-9 material. She suppressed a smile at the puppy’s antics.

Lani studied the barn, which had a loft on one end where bales of hay and bags of feed were stored. Scotty kept coming back to this barn for a reason.

“I checked up there. I didn’t see anything,” Noah said.

She handed Noah Oscar’s leash. “Hand him up to me when I get up there.” Even though the responding officer had said a search had been done, there were a thousand cubbyholes a kid could hide. And Brendan wouldn’t be able to hear people calling for him.

“I’m going to search that loft.” She climbed up the ladder. The platform was so stuffed with supplies she had to maneuver over the tops of the bags of feed to get to the corner. Lani sat down on a hay bale.

“Anything?” Noah’s voice came from below along with Oscar’s yipping and barking.

Lani sat very still as her eyes scanned every inch of the dark space. Gradually, her eyes adjusted to the light. Again, she studied the shadows until her gaze landed about a foot from the far corner of the loft where what looked like tarps were tossed in a pile. Beneath the tarps she was able to discern the tips of a child’s fingers. Though she could not see a face or eyes she sensed that she was being watched.

Lani spoke. “Noah, can you get Oscar up here? And then run and get Brendan’s mom. I found him.”

“Sure.”

Shuffling sounds came from down below while Lani remained very still. To move toward the child might terrify him even more. She listened to her own heartbeat drumming in her ears. Oscar’s yipping grew louder. She turned to see Noah’s head as he placed the puppy on a pile of feed bags.

Oscar made his way across the treacherous landscape while Noah remained at the top of the ladder. Oscar wagged his tail as he drew closer to Lani. She gathered the pup in her arms before setting him down, and Noah left to fetch the anxious mother. Judging from the position of the fingers, Brendan was lying on his belly peeking out from beneath the tarp.

Oscar sniffed around, stepped over a pile of hoes and rakes and headed toward the tarps.

The puppy sat down then looked over at Lani. Lani gave him the hand signal to lie down. Oscar complied.

The seconds ticked by.

Slowly, little fingers came out from underneath the tarp and touched Oscar’s belly. Dragging his belly, Oscar moved closer toward the tarps and stuck his head in.

A giggle came out from beneath the tarp.

Tension left Lani’s body like a hundred birds taking flight. Though Oscar had broken the ice, she doubted that Brendan would trust her, a stranger. And she didn’t know sign language. Hopefully, Noah would be back with Brendan’s mom soon.

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