He’s claiming redemption—and the woman he wants

A riveting Coltons of Red Ridge romance

A sudden attack and a dognapping leave K-9 trainer Danica Gage shaken to her core. Even more surprising is her rescuer: P.I. Shane Colton. Years ago her family stole Shane’s freedom, but now Danica needs him to catch a criminal. And she must fight the urge to run into his arms...because wanting him could be a deadly mistake.

REGAN BLACK, a USA TODAY bestselling author, writes award-winning, action-packed novels featuring kick-butt heroines and the sexy heroes who fall in love with them. Raised in the Midwest and California, she and her family, along with their adopted greyhound, two arrogant cats and a quirky finch, reside in the South Carolina Lowcountry, where the rich blend of legend, romance and history fuels her imagination.

Also by Regan Black

Killer Colton Christmas“Special Agent Cowboy”Safe in His SightA Stranger She Can TrustProtecting Her Secret SonGunning for the GroomHeavy Artillery HusbandThe Hunk Next DoorHeart of a HeroTo Honor and To Protect

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Colton P.I. Protector

Regan Black

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07890-0

COLTON P.I. PROTECTOR

© 2018 Harlequin Books S.A.

Published in Great Britain 2018

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

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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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Version: 2020-03-02

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For Alexis, dog lover extraordinaire and daughter of my heart, with a big thank-you for your service with the police department.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

In her office at the Red Ridge K9 Training Center, Danica Gage finished the reports for the day and shut down her computer. From the kennels, she heard the faint whining of the newest arrivals, two Belgian Malinois puppies. At three months old, they were beginning their journey to become working dogs. Danica loved this first stage when the goal was to teach a dog basic obedience and uncover the inherent strengths.

Whenever new dogs arrived, they were often lonely from leaving their mother and littermates, and uncertain about the new surroundings. This pair was no exception. The staff always scheduled an overnight trainer to supervise and ease the transition. Working these shifts, just her and the dogs and the expansive quiet of the South Dakota nights, gave Danica a deep sense of peace and purpose.

The puppies had been snuggled together when she’d been in the kennels half an hour ago to give a fully trained protection dog named Nico one last walk for the night. Also a Malinois, he was solid black and all the more intimidating for it. At this stage of his precise training, he was allowed only limited contact with a few members of the staff while he waited for the assignment of a permanent handler. Danica hoped it didn’t take long. Nico was one of the smartest dogs she’d had the privilege to support and he needed to get to work. With his inherent pride and defensive drive, the dog would be an asset to any handler or security team.

She opened the door between the offices and the kennels and the whining turned to a keening plea. She smiled as the puppies scrambled to the front gate. Other dogs nearby woke to the noise, but only one or two gave any verbal reaction when they saw Danica. The puppies, however, were wide awake and ready to go. Typical of their breed, this pair was bright and eager, their intelligent eyes gleaming from dark-masked faces. The tan fur still had plenty of puppy-fluff in it and on the rare occasions when they were still, she indulged in petting the soft coats.

She gave the command to sit, something dogs were expected to do whenever a trainer came to their kennel. Both puppies hesitated, but were too excited to completely comply. At this point, seeing them hesitate at the command was a sign of progress. They wriggled through the first available space as the gate opened and she let them rush out at her. After slipping a lead over each fuzzy head, she ushered them past the row of other dogs in various states of curiosity and out into the backyard.

Outside, she let the puppies off their leads and gave the command to relieve themselves. Not a difficult command for them to obey and she praised them repeatedly. The positive reinforcement paved the way for successful training. She let them romp and wrestle, burning off a little energy so they’d sleep well until morning. Once the puppies were tucked in after this outing, Danica had a mystery novel waiting for her in the office that she was eager to dive into.

The night was clear and cool, and stars dotted the midnight-velvet sky above the dense trees that backed the training center. Born and raised in Red Ridge, she never tired of the quiet, removed atmosphere. The modest city had every convenience and Danica felt safe here, and apart from the troubles of more populated areas.

More than a few of her friends had raced out of Red Ridge almost as soon as high school graduation was over. She didn’t understand it. Danica’s roots were inexorably tied to this northwestern corner of the state. She’d known at an early age that her affection for and loyalty to the area would weather any storm, be it a flood of the typical minutiae of life in a small city, a winter blizzard or the current drama of a murder spree that had started with her brother.

Grief wasn’t anything new to Danica or her family. As Grandpa Gage often said, the key to living was being courageous enough to find and pursue the joyful moments. In the case of losing her brother, she found joy in the memories and by moving forward in the K9 work they both enjoyed. Finding her life’s work right here at the training center, a source of city pride, had given her a new dream when her first goal to join the police force had been crushed. As a Gage working on the periphery of law enforcement, she had more freedom and less of an uphill battle against the lingering skeletons rattling around in her family’s closet.

She softly called the puppies back to her. For the next year, she would train these two on the basic tasks every dog should know and all working dogs were required to master. Additional training would follow, according to the type of service or task the dog would provide. Danica knew many of the Malinois wound up as security and protection dogs like Nico, capitalizing on their natural strengths and instincts.

Despite the late hour, the puppies were making the most of the outing. At this age, they could be indulged a bit. She had to smother her laughter at their antics. After slipping the leads back on them, she urged them toward the kennel door and heard the snap of a twig somewhere close. Turning toward the woods that backed up to the training center, she called out. “Hello?”

A heavy silence from the deep shadows answered her, interrupted by a sudden flurry of barking from the puppies. They tugged at the ends of the leads, trying to get to the fence. Someone was out there, though it wasn’t the right time of day or the right season for a hunter. Probably kids on a dare, she thought, willing herself to remain calm. “Who’s there?”

She was safe in the yard, behind the five-foot privacy fence and the locked gate. Trying to get the puppies to the kennels became more of a challenge as they were convinced there was something to see. Her nerves getting the better of her, Danica reined in the puppies and hurried toward the open door of the kennel.

She’d taken only a step or two when someone grabbed her from behind. One heavy hand clamped over her mouth. She struggled, pushing and pulling up on the forearm, ducking her chin so she could shout for help or even bite. It was no use. A moment later, she felt a sting at her neck and her legs went limp immediately. She fell to the ground in a boneless puddle and watched the stars overhead wink out as blackness swamped her vision. She heard the whimper of the puppies, felt them head-butting her arms, but she couldn’t move.

* * *

Shane Colton and his K9 partner Stumps, a talented Pembroke Welsh corgi, were taking a long late-night walk. Shane needed the clear night air to think, and walking worked out the kinks after the long drive. They’d just returned to Red Ridge after spending several days on the road, running down a potential lead in an ongoing illegal firearms case for his cousin Finn Colton, chief of the Red Ridge Police Department K9 Unit.

Shane wished he could say the trip had been productive. On the department payroll as a private investigator/informant rather than a police officer, he had a little more leeway with how he collected information for a case. Everyone in local law enforcement had noticed an increase in criminal activity and nearly everyone suspected two brothers, lifelong residents of Red Ridge, were at the heart of the trouble.

Noel and Evan Larson, identical twins, had been a year ahead of him in school and had been raised by their grandmother, Mae Rose, after their parents were tragically killed in a car accident. No matter what the RRPD did, they couldn’t connect the recent criminal activity with the Larson twins. Despite suspicions, no one they’d arrested so far would name the twins and no one in law enforcement dared to embarrass Mae Rose. The softhearted and generous widow was a beloved and respected fixture in town.

Despite their best effort, neither he nor Stumps had found any indication that the Larson brothers had been present at the site where the guns had been delivered. Though Shane had never cared much for the twins, he refused to express a public opinion on a case based on suspicion alone. There was either solid evidence to bring in a suspect or there was more work to do. That black-and-white philosophy had served him well since day one of his career as an investigator.

Shane handled his own investigations in addition to working cases for the RRPD that could take them anywhere in the region if he and Stumps were called to search or support. When he was on a police assignment, he considered it a top priority to make sure evidence was gathered properly and no corners were cut in the quest to close cases.

Off duty now, Stumps led the way at the end of his lead, his white backside waving like a flag as he trotted along, taking in every scent. When he was working, the short and stocky red-and-white corgi was a genius at pinpointing evidence. The finds he and his dog made frequently helped identify the right culprit in their various cases.

From the rear pocket of his jeans, Shane’s cell phone chimed and vibrated with an incoming text message. The display showed the number as unknown, but it was the text message itself that froze Shane in his tracks.

I’m innocent. D

At the other end of the lead, Stumps glanced back, his ears cocked as he waited for a signal from Shane. Shane was floored. The message had to be from his half sister, Demi. It was the first he’d heard of her making contact with anyone since she’d disappeared under the shadow of a murder charge earlier in the year.

He quickly sent a text message back. I know. You okay?

No reply. He waited, willing her to answer. As nothing came through, he sent another text, hoping to prod her into a response. The baby okay?

Still nothing. What was he supposed to do now? More than likely, Demi was texting from a burner phone that couldn’t even be traced. She was tough and capable and if anyone could survive her current ordeal as a pregnant murder suspect on the run, she could. Still, he worried.

Growing up, Shane hadn’t been particularly close to Demi or his other half siblings. Rusty Colton wasn’t an exemplary father, and his four children had four different mothers who didn’t always get along. Lately, though, it seemed as if the four of them were looking to redefine family ties. Shane hadn’t quite decided how he felt about that yet.

So, in the good news category, Demi was well enough to text, but the bad news was that the Groom Killer case was spiraling out of control. To date, four would-be grooms had been shot through the heart right before saying their vows. Demi was the prime suspect after being dumped by the first victim, Bo Gage, who’d been killed in the parking lot of the bar where his bachelor party was about to take place. He was set to be married to Hayley Patton, his new fiancée, when it happened. Based on the scene, it appeared he had died in the act of spelling out her name with his blood. A piece of her jewelry had been found near the crime scene. A witness claimed to see her running in the shadows of the parking lot soon after the murder. Worse—another witness claimed to see her shoot another Groom Killer victim, same MO: groom-to-be, shot in the chest, black cummerbund stuffed in his mouth. The FBI had sightings of Demi far away from Red Ridge at the time of the last murder. But no one knew what to think.

It didn’t help to have the media hyping up every assault and accidental gun discharge as a potentially linked crime. Media aside, public opinion remained divided between Demi as the prime suspect and someone successfully framing her. Shane couldn’t help clear her name if she wouldn’t communicate.

He glanced at his patiently waiting dog and sighed as he pocketed his phone. “Let’s go.” Clearly delighted, Stumps trotted forward once more.

Shane’s thoughts moved away from the gun deal case to Demi’s situation. He supposed the best first step would be sharing this text with his half brother Brayden. Like Shane, he would be relieved to have some news from her. Brayden was also a K9 officer in the RRPD unit and more importantly, he’d never had a moment’s doubt about Demi’s innocence.

They were on one of Stumps’s favorite routes this evening, following a walking path that wound away from the street and circled the K9 training center, where he’d met and trained with the dog to become an evidence team.

Smart as a whip on the job, Stumps knew how to have fun when he and Shane weren’t working. They were strolling along, Stumps sniffing out every detail of what he’d missed in recent days, while Shane continued to ponder the Groom Killer case. Suddenly, Stumps halted, ears perked. He sat down, his nose pointed at the training center fence.

“I know,” Shane said absently. “We have more classes next month.” He spent working time with Stumps every day, regardless of their caseload. A few times a year, they returned to the training center for various classes to keep them both sharp on the job and current with techniques.

Distracted with two cases playing bumper cars in his head, Shane took another step or two before he realized that Stumps was at alert. Giving the area his full attention, he paused and listened, hearing the unmistakable whine of young puppies on the other side of the fence. Underneath the whimpers, he heard an occasional spate of barking from the kennels. That didn’t make any sense. He shouldn’t be able to hear those sounds so clearly unless a door was open. Something had the dogs riled up. How had puppies wound up in this part of the yard alone?

The training center staff didn’t make mistakes like this with their dogs. Concerned, Shane put a hand on his gun and signaled Stumps to lead the way. Casual walk or not, with a killer roaming around Red Ridge, he didn’t go out unarmed anymore.

Silently, they approached the fence, the sounds of the distressed puppies growing louder. Stumps abruptly sat again, back straight, and nose aimed at the gate as if he could see right through it. Something out of place had grabbed his attention again. Shane peered over the fence and swore.

Sprawled on the ground, her head lolled to one side and one leg bent awkwardly beneath her, was Danica Gage. Two fuzzy puppies, obviously training center newbies, were doing their best to rouse her. The shadows of the woods behind him swallowed the light, and the glow of the security light over the open back door wasn’t enough for him to tell if she was alive or dead.

“Danica?” he called in a hoarse whisper.

Why did it have to be her? Since his return to Red Ridge nearly ten years ago, he did his best to avoid anyone named Gage. Not an easy task in a town originally founded by the Colton and Gage families. Although the dark bitterness lurking inside him urged him to believe the worst of her, that she’d landed in that pose due to her own errors, he knew better.

Danica was a top-notch professional. She’d been their lead trainer when he and Stumps first began working together three years ago. With enough fiery energy packed into her petite body to power the sun, she was dedicated to her career and the dogs entrusted to her. And though he hated to dwell on it, by pairing him with Stumps she’d breathed new hope into his life when he’d been on the verge of giving up.

He glanced at Stumps. “Good boy.” Gage or not, they couldn’t just call this in and walk away. In a perfect world, he’d give his dog a treat and let the police take over. This scene had too many unknowns to wait.

“Danica?” he tried again. The lack of any sounds other than the dogs made him nervous. If her attacker was still lurking around he—or she—was being damn quiet about it.

He thought she was breathing, but it was hard to tell in the lousy light, with the puppies crying and climbing all over her, leads trailing in their wake. They were stepping on her hair and hands, tripping over her legs, and she gave no visible reaction. “Please don’t be dead,” he muttered as he pulled out his phone and dialed the police station for backup.

With the promise of assistance on the way, Shane pocketed his phone again and let Stumps know they were back in working mode as they moved toward the back gate. He was pleased the gate was closed, but it was unlocked. Shane had spent enough time at the training center to know the policy was to keep the gate locked for the protection of the dogs, the staff and the community.

Drawing his gun, he flicked off the safety and let Stumps take the lead as they walked into the yard. One of the hinges squeaked as he closed the gate behind them for the safety of the puppies that were loose. He knew he was potentially contaminating the scene, but he wasn’t about to leave her there until it could be cleared.

Stumps didn’t alert Shane to any further trouble as they crossed the yard and approached Danica’s unmoving form. The worried puppies cranked it up another octave, bracing at the sight of Stumps, while staying close to her.

Shane hoped their behavior meant she was alive, but he didn’t lower his guard. “Stay,” he said to Stumps, before he released the lead. His dog sat, ears perked, eyes on Shane.

Curious, the puppies lurched forward and then tumbled back to Danica, over and over. “Easy now,” Shane crooned to the puppies as he knelt down. Malinois, he saw now, recognizing the distinct black faces, fawn coats, huge ears and long tails. “Have you been keeping an eye on her?” They were so obviously untrained that he didn’t think the puppies posed any threat, but he wasn’t in the mood to wrestle or deal with needle-sharp puppy teeth.

“All right, you two. Move over and let me have a look.”

Shane pressed his fingers to the pale skin of her throat, relieved to find a pulse. Slow and steady, it seemed much stronger than her shallow breathing. Fortunately, an ambulance would be here soon. “Danica?” He smoothed her red-gold hair back from her face, trying to ignore the silky texture against his fingertips. “Can you hear me?”

One of the puppies whined, his tail sweeping across Danica’s face as he strived for Shane’s attention, and the other shoved his head under Shane’s elbow, seeking comfort. “She’ll be fine.” He wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince the puppies or himself.

Glancing back, he saw Stumps watching as if such raucous displays were beneath him. When his corgi was working, that was true enough, yet Shane made sure he got plenty of time each day just to be a dog and give his innate silliness an outlet.

Drawing the puppies aside, he continued to look Danica over. She was slightly built, but her confidence in the training classes gave her such a big presence he always forgot that she was short. Lying at such an awkward angle, her hair tangled, she looked almost breakable. His temper flared at the idea of anyone assaulting her.

There was no sign of blood and he struggled against the urge to straighten out that bent leg. He wouldn’t risk moving her, in case there were injuries from the fall that he couldn’t see. Nearby, a siren wailed and flashing lights darted into the night sky. The police department was nearby but an ambulance dispatched from the hospital on the other side of town might take a bit longer.

“She’ll be fine,” he said again, gathering the leads on the puppies. He should take them back into a kennel, yet he didn’t want to leave her out here alone.

Needing a distraction, Shane picked up the puppies. “Stumps, come.” The corgi hustled into action, stopping at Shane’s foot. “Seek.”

He didn’t have any better direction to give the dog. If there was something that didn’t belong in the area, Stumps would find it. The stocky legs carried him all around Danica, and he snuffled where the puppies had rubbed against Shane’s running shoes and jeans.

As he systematically explored the rest of the yard, Shane soothed the puppies and tried to sort out what had happened that Danica landed just like this.

She moaned, her limbs shifting slowly as if she was moving through thick sand. The puppies squirmed in his arms, eager to reach her. Shane was surprised how much he shared the sentiment. He kept a firm hold on the puppies as her eyelids fluttered open. Eyes he knew to be the pale green of springtime stared up at the sky before darting about, finally landing on him.

“Relax, Danica,” he said. “You’re safe now.”

Chapter 2

Danica knew that voice. Shane. Through the fog in her mind, she wondered why she wouldn’t be safe. This was Red Ridge. She’d always been safe here. She blinked, or tried to. Her eyelids were so heavy they just wanted to stay closed. Maybe she should give in. Sleep sounded like a good plan. Her arms and legs felt as if they were weighted or buried. As she rolled her head from side to side, her neck ached and the scent of grass tickled her nose. How had she wound up out here on the ground?

“What happened?” The words were hard to get past her parched lips. And why was he here?

“Stay still,” that deep voice rumbled, dark as the night sky overhead. “Help is almost here.”

“Help?” It didn’t sound like the worst idea to wait, but her pride was taking a beating as she lay here while he stood over her. She heard the yip of puppies and recalled the new Malinois. “Are you holding the new puppies?”

She would like a better look at the tough, inscrutable Shane holding a couple of energetic three-month-olds. Ignoring her aching muscles, she tried to make out his expression through the weak light and her blurry vision. She knew he lived nearby, but she was a Gage. It seemed more likely Shane would be here to gloat over a Gage in trouble than help her out of any crisis.

He didn’t like her or anyone in her family—with good reason.

Her gaze moved to the wriggling Malinois pups, one cradled on each of his forearms, his large hands supporting their chests. “Where is Stumps?” She tried to take a deep breath and sit up. Her body fought her on both actions.

“Stay put,” Shane said. “Stumps is working.”

This time when she looked up, she could see the hard line of his square jaw and the grim set of his lips. His blue eyes would be stern and cold. It was the expression she privately referred to as judge and jury. Since his return to Red Ridge several years ago, he seemed to look at the world through that singular mien. “Why are you here?” she asked. Of everyone in the RRPD, why did Shane have to be the first at her side? And who had called him in?

“I guess I’m that kind of lucky,” he replied.

Her thoughts were too muddled to make sense of any of this. Ignoring his suggestion to stay put, she sat up. “How did the puppies get out?”

“I assume you brought them out,” Shane replied, lowering himself to a knee as puppy feet pawed at air, scrambling to get close to her. “Do you remember anything?”

She took one puppy into her arms, soothing herself as much as the dog as she tried to think. “Not really.” Her eyesight cleared much faster than her mind. Logic said she was on the overnight shift for the new arrivals, but her memory was a blur. “Who called the RRPD?”

“I did.” His sandy eyebrows drew together. “Stumps and I were on a walk and he sensed something wrong here in the yard. RRPD and an ambulance should be here any minute.”

She glanced around for Stumps and found him sitting in an alert position, his gaze trained on the door to the kennels. “I’ll thank him later.” She tipped her head toward the building. “Looks like he’s still on the job.”

Shane’s expression tightened even more. “Is there another way inside?” he asked, his voice low at her ear.

“Only the front and back doors you know about.”

“Where is the ambulance?” he wondered aloud.

“You need to investigate,” she said.

“I don’t want to leave you out here alone.” He scowled. “Do you think you can stand?”

At her nod, he helped her to her feet, both of them dodging the antics of the excitable puppies. When she had the leads in hand and the puppies under control, they walked to the door where Stumps waited.

“Hang on.” He drew his gun. He and the dog went through the door first. He moved into the shadows, peering down each row. “Hit the lights,” he called.

She did. Several of the younger dogs were restless, whining, barking or up and pacing in their crates. The fully trained dogs sat quietly, or were stretched out, curious but patient. Somewhere out of sight, a beagle bayed pitifully. Danica recognized the voice of Stella, a sweet-natured two-year-old being trained for a tracking career.

Shane walked back into view, squinting against the bright glare of the fluorescent lights with Stumps trotting at his heel. “Best way to your office?”

She was a little surprised he didn’t know. “Straight ahead, through the door, second door on the right. Shouldn’t we kennel the puppies?”

“Not yet,” he replied, his voice flat. “Stay close.” His gun raised against any threat, he cleared the hallway and her office. Lowering his weapon, he held the door for her. “Lock yourself in and wait for backup,” he ordered. “I’m going to see what Stumps can find.”

She tried to protest but he pinned her with that unrelenting, chilly blue gaze. It wasn’t a look any argument would overcome. She sat down at her desk and soothed the puppies with soft words and warm caresses. She wanted to be out in the kennels, sorting out the situation. Helping. The dogs needed a familiar face and the quickest possible return to their routine. At this rate, tomorrow’s training plans would fall on deaf dog ears after the disruptions tonight.

Despite the sirens they’d heard outside, it seemed to be taking forever for anyone to actually arrive. She wondered what he’d told them when he made the call after Stumps had found her. What had they been doing walking out this way? She supposed it could have been a case. Knowing he worked private cases as well as assignments for the RRPD, that thought didn’t give her much comfort.

When Shane had been training to partner with Stumps, she’d tried time and again to reach out and bridge the abyss of resentment between him and the Gage family. Shane hadn’t been the least bit interested in her efforts. Stumps she remembered fondly from those days and enjoyed whenever he returned for a refresher.

His partner, Shane, not so much. Tall and ripped, with sandy blond hair and hard eyes, he’d given her shivers—not all of them good. He was wonderful to look at, but he carried a chip on his shoulder the size of the nearby mountains, though she could hardly blame him.

As she pulled a bag of dog treats from her lower desk drawer, she trembled at the memory of asking Shane about his choice to become a private investigator rather than going through the academy to become a police officer.

“Someone should keep cops honest,” he’d replied in that flat tone that unnerved her. “I nominated myself.”

The Colton and Gage families had been feuding since the first days of Red Ridge. But Shane harbored more resentment than all the generations before him. His words, dripping with well-aged hatred, were a clear warning to mind her own business. Danica considered herself a quick study and she’d lost her courage to share how his predicament had affected her own career choices.

“His predicament,” she muttered to the puppies. What a pathetic understatement for wrongful imprisonment. Weary and inexplicably sad, she managed to get the puppies to sit and rewarded them accordingly as she tried to purge the past she couldn’t change from her mind.

That exchange years ago had convinced her Shane would never find a way to forgive her grandfather for the dreadful mistakes that had cost Shane his freedom and so much more. She understood why he hated them all collectively, but she’d never quite been able to stop wishing she could fix it. She studied the bright eyes in the two attentive faces watching her. “Why can I remember the past just fine and have no idea what happened to us tonight?”

* * *

With Danica as safe as possible, Shane backtracked with Stumps. He heard vehicles out front and the flashing lights were bouncing off the side of the brick building, spilling into the yard. At the door between the yard and the kennel, he drew his gun once more and set Stumps to searching again. Stumps moved with purpose, Shane’s encouragement following him, as he confidently trotted into the kennel and searched the rows.

Shane noted the various dog breeds along the route. Had this been a visit for a refresher course, he would have appreciated the soft-eyed basset hound or given reassurances to the enormous Newfoundland who watched Stumps work with obvious concern. It was easy to judge the progress of each dog’s training by how they reacted to the disruption. The fully trained dogs were quietly observant. The dogs still in progress whined or barked as Stumps and Shane passed.

Stumps abruptly turned down an aisle that seemed deserted. He’d clearly caught the scent of something that didn’t belong. Stumps walked a bit further and then dropped into a perfect alert pose in front of an open kennel. Shane read the tag on the door and swore.

Nico. Belgian Malinois. Protection.

“Great.” If this dog had been released without authorization, the training center had a brand-new crisis on their hands. Shane took a picture of the tag with his phone and another picture of Stumps at alert. Then he released his dog and gave him a reward.

“Shane? It’s Carson. You in here? Where’s Danica?”

At the sound of Carson Gage’s voice, Shane called out, “I’m in the last row. Danica should be locked safely in her office.” He should have known the dispatcher would notify Danica’s oldest brother, a detective with the RRPD. Though Shane avoided the Gage family whenever possible, Carson was notoriously thorough on his cases and had earned Shane’s grudging respect through the years.

“Is she hurt?” Carson asked as he hurried forward through the rows of dogs.

Shane hesitated. He wasn’t a paramedic and yet he didn’t want to worry the other man. “She made it to her office under her own steam. I found her in the yard with two new puppies. I assume by the way she came around that she’d been drugged.”

“Found her?” Carson echoed with a scowl.

“Stumps sensed a problem during our walk. I looked over the fence and found her out cold on the ground.”

Carson put his hands on his hips, looking up and down the empty row. “Someone took her down to get in here?”

“That’s my guess.” Shane pointed to the sign on the empty kennel door.

Carson gave a low whistle. “That’s a problem.”

Both men knew a missing or stolen dog trained in protection could pose numerous threats to the thief as well as the community. The odds of this ending well for the dog or the people who’d taken him were slim.

“Maybe the tag is leftover and Nico was relocated earlier,” Carson said.

Shane shook his head. “Stumps would disagree.”

“I figured.” He glanced at Shane. “Can I tell him he did a good job?”

“Sure.” Shane knew that Stumps considered Carson an extension of his pack after they had collaborated with the detective and Justice, his K9 partner, on a few cases.

Carson dropped to a knee and rubbed Stumps between the ears, praising him lavishly. Shane nearly laughed. If Stumps had been a cat, he might have purred. He was definitely preening.

Standing again, Carson said, “Let’s go see if Danica can shed any light on this.”

Shane knew what Carson hoped to hear, but his money was on Stumps’s assessment of the situation. Leaving a tag on a kennel and the door open was sloppy work and no one at this facility would make that kind of error. There was too much time and money invested in each of the dogs trained here to let that casual approach stand. Especially not in the case of a protection dog.

As they all headed toward the offices, Shane had no doubt Danica had been attacked for the sole purpose of stealing the dog. Now his questions revolved around who would want to steal a dog with lethal potential, who knew such a dog was here, and how they’d known to strike tonight.

* * *

Danica barely managed to escape the care of two dedicated paramedics. Her office was too small for a medical team, their gear, the puppies and the thoughts racing through her mind. She knew the paramedics meant well. They might even be right about her needing a full exam, since no one had any idea what drug the attacker had used to incapacitate her. She promised to see her doctor tomorrow and sent them along.

She pulled the band from her hair and scrubbed at her scalp, combing her hands through her hair before pulling it into a ponytail again. Dragging the back of her hand across her mouth, she tried to erase the memory of that heavy palm smothering her mouth, strong fingertips pinching her jaw. A tremor slipped down her spine as she glanced out her office window to the darkened training yard. No one was out there—she knew that. No one was watching her talk to a couple of puppies. Still, she walked over and lowered the blinds, twisting the handle to block the view.

Right now, she had a job to do. It was past time to restore calm to the dogs in the kennels. After that, she could focus on restoring herself. Expediting the process, she scooped up the puppies to carry them back to their kennel for what remained of the night.

In the hallway she paused, listening and looking around for Shane and Stumps, relieved they didn’t seem to be in the building. Whenever she bumped into Shane, here or in town, she felt an awkward and uncomfortable secondhand guilt. Until tonight, she’d always managed to maintain her professional footing when he was nearby.

Her arms full of the puppies, and her head a bit woozy, she pushed through the door to the kennels backward. Turning, she found herself face-to-face with Shane—or rather her face to his chest. Did everyone have to be taller than her? When she glanced up, she caught a wisp of concern in his gaze before his eyes iced over with the familiar reserve and disdain.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“My job,” she replied calmly, in deference to the puppies and fussing dogs nearby.

“How are you doing?” Carson asked.

She hid her jolt of surprise behind the wriggling puppies. How had she overlooked her brother standing right behind Shane? She knew they occasionally teamed up for cases, but seeing them together was unexpected. Giving Carson a smile, she walked down the row and settled the puppies into their kennel. She closed the latch and made a note of the time on the clipboard attached to the door.

The instant she finished, Carson pulled her into a big, lingering hug. She eased out of the embrace to get a deep breath and to make sure she wasn’t caught wallowing in front of Shane. “I suppose when they got the call about trouble here, they dragged you out of bed, too?”

“You’re my little sister. I’m allowed to worry.” He looked her up and down, his gaze stopping at her neck. “That looks like a needle mark.”

She nodded, brushing at the sore spot with her fingertips and pulling her ponytail around to hide it.

“Why didn’t the paramedics transport you?” Carson demanded.

“Because I’m fine,” she said. Did they have to do this in front of Shane, of all people? If Carson kept up the big brother routine, she was likely to lose Stumps’s respect, as well. “And I’m an adult,” she reminded him.

“I’d feel better if—”

She held up her hand and cut him off. “Can we take this somewhere else? The dogs really need to get back to normal.”

“Not quite yet,” Carson said, clearly unhappy with the answer. He waved her over as he moved down toward another aisle of kennels.

Her stomach knotted as he tipped his head to the side and pointed. “What can you tell me about this dog, Nico?”

Danica rushed forward, her shoulder bumping Shane in the process. She ignored the sensation, consumed by more bad news tonight. Whatever she’d expected to find, it wasn’t the door to Nico’s kennel hanging open, the kennel empty. “You found it this way? He isn’t anywhere inside?”

“Stumps found the kennel,” Shane replied. He held out his phone to her. “The dog isn’t here.”

She glanced down at the picture of the corgi, frozen in the quiet alert stance in front of Nico’s kennel. “Oh, no.” She pressed her fingers to her lips. “This can’t be happening.”

“Talk to me, Danica,” Carson prompted, pulling out a notebook. “Has this dog been stolen?”

She nodded. “Must have been,” she said. Worry and misery swamped her in waves as she reached for the clipboard log they kept on Nico. “According to this, I took him out to the yard one last time before ten. That was a little earlier than usual because of the puppies.”

“You don’t remember taking him out?” Carson asked.

She closed her eyes tight, searching for the memory. “I remember opening the gate and clipping the lead to his collar.” That had to be today, she thought. She’d had the last two nights off. “I don’t really remember being outside with him.” Yet she must have done it or she wouldn’t have written it on the chart.

It occurred to her that if someone had attacked her to get to Nico, they could have stolen the dog more easily while she was in the yard with him. She mentioned it, but neither Carson nor Shane seemed as convinced.

“What’s his status?” Shane asked.

“Nico is fully trained attack/protection, but not yet assigned to a handler.” She turned to her brother. “Dogs with Nico’s training are kept separate and we limit their interactions. Other than his trainer, only the vet and I have had any contact with him.”

“So he bonds best with the handler,” Carson said.

“Right.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, willing away the tremors. This was a disaster.

As both Shane and Carson took notes, Danica watched Stumps. The adorable corgi was Shane’s partner and companion, but she had worked with him through his initial obedience training and she had written the recommendation for him to become an evidence dog. “You’ve had a long day,” she said to him in the same tone she’d use with her human colleagues. “Can we please take this elsewhere?” she asked again.

She rubbed her hands up and down her chilled arms. Her knees were like jelly and her mind kept fogging over. The whining from nearby dogs normally didn’t bother her but right now it was giving her a pounding headache and she wanted to shield her eyes from the lights overhead.

Carson nodded. “A crime scene unit will be here shortly, but you don’t have to guide them through.”

Great. More disruption for the dogs tonight. She couldn’t argue. Nico needed to be found and recovered immediately, and gathering evidence was the first step. Hopefully the RRPD would put a tracking team on the case.

The three of them, along with Stumps, returned to her office, and she was thankful for the quiet after the noisy kennel. Carson walked in and sat down in a guest chair while Shane leaned against the doorjamb, Stumps at his feet. On weak knees, she sank into the second guest chair rather than circling around to sit behind her desk. Shane’s tall, muscular form blocked the only way out. Inexplicably irritated, she bit back a request to have him move. She’d never been claustrophobic before, but tonight everything was different and it bothered her to think she couldn’t get up and walk out whenever she chose.

“What can you tell us about the attack?”

She hesitated, thinking her brother’s question should have ended with dog. “Oh. You mean what happened to me?”

He nodded, pointing over his shoulder to Shane. “They found you unconscious in the yard with the puppies. Do you remember anything about your attacker?”

“No. Not really.” She closed her eyes again. “I heard a noise. The gate maybe?” She scrubbed at her face. “No. A twig snapped near the gate—that was it.” She was sure that had been while the puppies were out.

“You need a hospital,” Shane stated.

He was studying her so intently, she pressed her hands between her knees to warm them up.

“When did you find her?” Carson twisted around to face Shane.

“About ten forty-five.” He consulted his phone again. “Log says I called dispatch at ten forty-seven.”

“Based on the log on Nico’s cage, she could have been out for up to an hour.”

“Hospital,” Shane murmured.

Restless, she pulled the tie from her hair once more and left it loose. “I just need to get home and sleep it off.”

Carson started to answer and stopped, interrupted by his cell phone. He checked the display and then looked from Danica to Shane and back again. “I need to meet with the crime scene unit. Shane will drive you to the hospital.”

Turning to go, he paused at the doorway, waiting for Shane to move. At first she thought Shane held his ground, simply being a jerk because Carson was a Gage. Then she realized they were talking. About her, she assumed, since Shane’s cool gaze rested on her and they kept their voices to a murmur. Too bad Stumps couldn’t share the details with her.

When Carson was gone, Shane’s judge and jury expression landed on her. “Let’s go.”

“I can’t leave,” she protested. “It’s my overnight.” She could handle it now that she didn’t have to go out in the yard again.

“Hayley is already here to fill in for you.”

Danica rolled her eyes. “That’s silly. I’ll be fine.”

“She’s here,” he repeated. “You need a hospital. Come on.”

When had her adult status been revoked? She didn’t want to owe Hayley Patton any favors. The woman was a great dog trainer and a nice person underneath her passion for gossip and her tendency toward the self-absorbed end of the scale.

Danica scolded herself for being petty. Hayley would be her sister-in-law by now if someone hadn’t murdered Danica’s brother Bo on the night before their wedding. She’d never quite understood what Bo had found so irresistible about Hayley, though they shared a love of animals, working dogs in particular. Maybe they really had fallen in love over the common ground of Bo’s German shepherd breeding business.

From her chair, she matched Shane’s cool gaze. After all, his half sister Demi Colton was the prime suspect in her brother’s murder. The situation was just one more point of strife in the latest generation of the Colton-Gage feud. The Gages were perpetually certain the Coltons put family ties above the law and yet the Gages had made plenty of mistakes through the years. Shane might be the most glaring of those mistakes.

Though she personally refused to put too much stock in the circumstantial evidence found to date, the facts weren’t lining up in Demi’s favor. It was a balancing act for Danica, caught between grieving and knowing the investigation needed time to run its course so the right person ended up in jail.

“Come on,” Shane said.

She didn’t like the way he watched her as she pushed out of the chair. “I’d rather go home. I’ve already told the paramedics I’m fine.”

“Great.” Shane extended a hand, urging her forward. “You can tell the doctors, too.”

She started to shake her head and thought better of it.

On a grumble, Shane closed the distance and seized her elbow. His grip was firm and gentle and sent a burst of tiny sparks up and down her arm. “Do you know what they injected me with?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “Stumps didn’t find anything in the yard, so the attacker must have kept the syringe he used.”

On the way out of the training center, they passed Hayley sitting at the front desk, looking as polished and composed as ever. Even when she dissolved into tears over Bo, Hayley always seemed to be the epitome of beauty and polished grace.

Though they were both twenty-five, Danica always felt like the awkward younger tomboy around Hayley. It never surprised her that Hayley’s long blond hair, blue eyes, sweet smile and generous curves drew so many admiring glances. Beside her, Danica’s figure would best be described as streamlined and easily overlooked. It didn’t bother her. Much.

Even now, she caught Shane’s appraisal of Hayley as they walked out. She couldn’t care, having no claim on where his eyes or interest wandered. The cool fresh air and velvet darkness of the South Dakota night refreshed her immensely.

“Where’s your car?”

“I walked to work today.”

“Can you walk down to the police station?” Shane asked. “If not, it looks like the ambulance is still here.”

A trick question, she decided, following his gaze. The paramedics were leaning against the rig, chatting with another RRPD officer who had responded to Shane’s call. One of them waved to Shane. “If I walk it, will you drive me home rather than take me to the hospital?”

“No,” he replied.

She’d rather not continue the conversation, and being outside was helping. For a time there was only the muted sound of the corgi’s toenails on the sidewalk as he trotted beside Shane. Neither her shoes nor his made any noise.

“You were drugged,” Shane pointed out. “We shouldn’t take any chances.”

His insistence on helping confused her. “Why do you even care?” She was a Gage. He was a Colton. On top of that, her grandfather, a decorated officer in the RRPD, had railroaded an investigation and sent Shane to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

His hand tensed on her arm. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “When I looked over that fence and saw you, I wanted to keep right on going.”

She appreciated the honesty, though it was hardly comforting. In Red Ridge, Shane was as well-known for his stark candor as he was for surviving the wrongful conviction and carving out a new career with his spunky K9 partner.

At last they reached his dove-gray SUV parked at the curb in front of the police station. The parking lights flashed as he pressed a button on the key fob and opened the passenger door for her.

“What were you doing out here anyway?” she asked when he had Stumps settled in the back seat.

“We were walking off a long drive from the other side of the county,” he said. He took advantage of the complete lack of traffic and pulled a U-turn to go to the hospital. “Stumps likes to walk out this way every chance he gets.”

“He probably still thinks of the training center as his territory,” she said, thinking out loud. “He wouldn’t be the first.” She couldn’t help wondering about Nico. How had a stranger gotten him out of the training center without incident?

“Could be,” Shane allowed.

The street seemed to do a slow spin around her head. She used the headrest as an anchor, distantly thinking a medical evaluation might not be a bad idea. “Whoever took Nico drugged him, too,” she said under her breath, her eyelids growing heavy. “No way he’d let a stranger lead him away.”

She was thinking about what that might mean for recovering him swiftly as a blanket of blissful black enveloped her once more.

Chapter 3

Her voice was so faint Shane leaned as far across the center console as he dared to hear her, hoping Danica was recalling something helpful. “What would they use to drug him?”

When she didn’t reply, he took his eyes off the road and discovered she was unconscious again. He reached over and gave her shoulder a shake. All that did was cause her head to loll forward, that heavy curtain of red-gold silk falling over her face.

He swore and, thankful for the complete lack of traffic at this hour, stomped on the gas pedal. Better a speeding ticket than another Gage falling into trouble at the hands of a Colton.

He didn’t for a moment believe Demi killed Bo, but the Red Ridge rumor mill loved to toss gasoline on the fire of the Colton-Gage feud. As if they couldn’t manage the mutual hatred without outside interference. Until the RRPD identified a better suspect, the going theory of the Groom Killer case was the only theory.

For the first time in his career, he understood the sense of pervasive helplessness that came with an inability to bring justice to a victim. It wasn’t a comfortable sensation and he refused to dwell on anything that gave him common ground with the decorated Sergeant Gage, the officer who’d inexplicably framed him.

He pulled up at the emergency room entrance and told Stumps to stay while he went around and lifted Danica from the passenger seat. He carried her inside and gave her name to the nurse at the information desk.

The nurse’s eyes went wide as she recognized Danica’s name and his face. Shane nearly snapped that he was the rescuer, not the perp. Similar claims had never helped him before so he didn’t bother now. He could feel the speculation from people in the waiting area close enough to overhear them, but he resisted the urge to glare at them.

“What happened?” the nurse asked, escorting him through the doors to an available treatment bay, and he situated Danica on the bed. A male nurse hurried in, asking for information.

“She was drugged earlier and found unconscious.” He pushed a hand through his short hair as he explained what he knew. “She came around on her own just before 11:00 p.m. and was doing fine. She refused to let the paramedics transport her. On the way over, we were talking and then she just blacked out.”

“All right. We’ll take it from here,” the nurse said, nudging him clear so he could do a blood draw.

“I’ll notify her brother that she’s here,” Shane said as he ducked out.

He’d done his part getting her here and he could leave with a clear conscience. So he had no logical explanation for why he parked the car and walked back into the hospital with Stumps at his side. In the waiting room, he sent Carson a text message that Danica was being evaluated.

Telling himself it was a simple courtesy and he’d leave as soon as someone from her family arrived, he found an out-of-the-way corner to wait. Stumps stretched out at his feet, resting his chin on his paws. Soon soft snores were coming from the tired corgi. Shane thought he had the right idea. He leaned back against the wall and tried to rest his eyes.

Instead, his mind tortured him with the images of Danica sprawled awkwardly on the grass and her disorientation when she’d come to. Contrary to public opinion, he didn’t actively wish her or any of her siblings harm. He was thankful the attacker had used a drug to clear a path to steal the prized Malinois rather than overpower her with brute force that might have been deadly. For all her skill as an expert dog trainer, she couldn’t change the fact that she was petite.

He sat forward and scrubbed at the stubble on his jaw. It was impossible to shut down his investigator’s mind-set. The attacker’s decision not to simply kill her had Shane thinking maybe the thief knew her. Probably even liked her. How did that shift the suspect pool? Although he avoided the Gages on principle whenever possible, he was in the minority. Danica had plenty of friends as well as plenty of sympathy for her recent loss.

Unlike him.

His connections were irrelevant. He didn’t want friends or sympathy anyway. Being selective about whom he spent time with was a survival tactic. When he’d been young and stupid, his casual acquaintances had landed him in a world of trouble. In prison, it had taken him less than a week to learn having the wrong friends was worse than having no friends.

He couldn’t stop the errant thought that even at eighteen his explanation of his presence a few blocks from a crime scene should have been enough to keep him out of jail. Unfortunately, Sergeant Gage decided otherwise and railroaded Shane for murder because of his last name and lousy-neighborhood address.

Growing up in the rougher neighborhoods in Red Ridge would have been challenge enough to outgrow and overcome. Being one of Rusty Colton’s kids made his childhood exponentially worse. The familiar frustration with all the things he couldn’t change gripped his shoulders and coursed down to his hands. Deliberately, he relaxed his clenched fists and smoothed his open palms over his knees. The past was gone. He was here because he’d rebuilt his life. He had a better address and a lucrative career with an excellent partner.

Right now, his intuition said this was definitely a case about a dog, but how the thief had chosen to take that dog made him curious. Had someone’s fondness and respect for Danica changed what should have been a more aggressive approach?

He rested his elbows on his knees and let his hands fall between them. Familiar with the gesture, Stumps took advantage, sitting up so Shane could pet his ears while he gave the situation more thought.

Why did he care? He’d stumbled onto a crime scene—that was all. “Come on,” he said to the dog. “The Gages can take care of their own.” He stood up, waiting for Stumps to stretch and yawn. They had other cases and a hefty to-do list waiting at home. Writing up the report from their week of tracking down the site of the gun deal topped the list. He’d be far more effective after a few hours of sleep. And he definitely wanted to go into the station fresh tomorrow when he had to share the text message from Demi. He kept hoping that the next time he checked his phone there would be another text from her. So far, only more silence. He was nearly out the door when a nurse called his name from the reception desk.

He turned. “Yes?”

“Follow me.” Her gaze dropped to the dog, her lips pursed in disapproval.

Shane lifted the hem of his shirt to show her the K9 badge clipped to his belt. “He won’t be any trouble.”

With a dubious sniff, the nurse led him back to the treatment area. “The patient has been asking for you,” she said over her shoulder as they neared the curtained bay where he’d handed Danica over to the medical staff.

Disbelief rendered him speechless. No matter that he’d been out of prison for nearly a decade—the hard lessons died harder. Shane knew it was always better to wait and see about a situation rather than start asking questions too soon. The person who spoke first lost the advantage.

As the nurse swept aside the curtain, he saw Danica sitting up a little. “Thank goodness. I knew you’d stay.” She looked to the doctor. “I signed the paper. You can inform him about anything.” Her eyes snapped back to him. “Tell them you’ll take me home.”

Before Shane could sort out how to respond, a doctor in blue scrubs stepped forward. “We’d like to keep her for observation overnight. I don’t have the blood work back to know what she was dosed with. Based on your statement, I’d rather she wasn’t alone.”

“Then she’ll stay overnight,” Shane stated.

“Don’t side with them,” Danica protested. “I need to get out there. You need to get out there and track down Nico.”

She was more agitated now than when she’d woken in the training center yard. What was going on? “I’m sure your brother is organizing those details.”

“Stumps already knows what to look for,” she insisted. “There’s no time to lose.” Her green eyes were wide and a little dazed in a face that was far too pale. The freckles dusting the bridge of her nose stood out more than ever.

She knew Stumps wasn’t a tracking dog. “She wasn’t like this earlier.” Shane glared at the doctor. “What did you give her?”

“Nothing that should cause an adverse reaction.” The doctor shook his head. “Whatever is in her system is presenting almost like a rebound effect.”

Shane wasn’t particularly familiar with the term, but he assumed the drugs used on Danica were messing with her system. Danica started to swing her legs over the side of the bed. “Wait a minute,” he said, stepping forward to stop her. “Stay put,” he said.

“Nico could be anywhere,” she wailed.

“Is Nico her child?” the doctor asked quietly.

Good grief. The doc had to be from out of town if he didn’t know Danica. “No, he’s a working dog,” Shane explained, using as few details as possible. “We believe whoever drugged her stole the dog from the K9 training center this evening.”

The doctor arched his eyebrows. “I see.”

Danica was crying, her green eyes swimming with tears, her hands clutching the sheets. Shane moved closer to the bed and put Stumps in her lap, hoping the dog could calm her. The medical staff clearly wasn’t having any luck. Though Stumps was his dog, the corgi knew and trusted Danica. Stumps wedged his nose under her hand until she was stroking his head and ears. Within a minute, the crying slowed and the tension in her face evaporated.

“Thanks,” one of the nurses murmured as she passed behind him.

Someone brought him a chair. Resigned, he sat down. He wasn’t leaving without his dog which meant he wasn’t going home anytime soon. He watched the clock over Danica’s bed as she dozed restlessly. Another hour passed with no sign of her family.

Eventually, the doctor returned and a nurse added something to Danica’s IV bag, though they didn’t tell him what it was. It was nearly 2:00 a.m. when they moved her to a room and he and Stumps followed. He wanted to go home and yet he didn’t feel right leaving her here alone. When she finally came out from under the drugs, she’d have questions. Shane wondered what was keeping her family. With Stumps snuggled beside her, Danica fell asleep again and Shane tried to do the same.

It didn’t come easy. Hospitals and prisons had that same institutional atmosphere, every surface designed to withstand bleach cleaning with a pressure washer. The background noises were different and yet too similar. Shane could hear the faint undercurrent of machinery peppered with conversations and the occasional moan of pain or weeping. At least the hospital antiseptic smell was an improvement over the general stench of men oozing hate, fear and resignation with every breath and bead of sweat.

Shane jerked upright at the squeak of a shoe on the linoleum. Instantly awake and braced to defend himself, he glared at the shadow coming through the door.

“Easy,” Carson said, walking over to the other side of Danica’s bed. “I didn’t expect her to have to stay.” He scratched Stumps behind the ear. “I thought she was okay when you left.”

“She was.” Shane pushed at his hair and reached for a bottle of water the nurse had left for him. “She had some weird delayed reaction to the drug. She passed out in my car on the way here. Didn’t you get my text?”

“Had my hands full,” Carson replied.

Right. Carson had been working the crime scene where his sister had been attacked. “Well, when she woke up in the ER, she was in a frenzy to find Nico. They came and got me by default.” It was becoming a pattern in his life, getting stuck in situations with members of the Gage family by default.

“Weird.” Carson’s eyebrows furrowed. “And you stayed with her.”

Didn’t seem like he had much choice at the time. Shane shrugged. “Stumps gave her some peace.”

At the sound of his name, the dog snuggled closer to Danica and rested his chin on his paws. Shane knew that look. The dog wasn’t in any rush to leave his comfy spot.

“This is above and beyond for you, Colton,” Carson said. “Thanks. I guess it’s a good thing they kept her overnight.”

“Guess so.” Shane’s mind kept cycling through recent events. “Did you find anything promising in or around the kennel?”

“Nothing conveniently obvious. The crime scene unit did their thing and will report back. You know how it is. Everything is calm over there now.” He looked to his sister. “Here, too. You should go on home.”

Shane agreed. He was so tired he was tempted to mention the text message from Demi, just to get an opinion. As much as he respected Carson, Shane knew it was better to discuss that with his half brother, Brayden, before he mentioned it to anyone else, including their cousin, the chief. “You’ll be at the station in the morning?” He checked his watch. “Well, later this morning?”

At least Carson could see for himself that his sister would be okay. Not knowing what was really happening with Demi and her pregnancy was like a rain cloud following Shane, threatening to drench him at any moment.

He stood up and approached the bed. Her color was better and her breathing had evened out. The freckles on her nose were nearly invisible again. He’d always thought she was cute—from a distance. Up close, she always treated him with that guarded professionalism that set his teeth on edge. At least this encounter was over and he wouldn’t have to see her again until his next recertification with Stumps.

Careful not to wake her, he eased his dog away from Danica’s side. She curled into the space as if hugging the warmth left behind, and tucked her hand under her chin. In that pose, she appeared far younger and more innocent than any Gage could possibly be.

Clinging to his familiar and reliable ire, he walked out of the hospital with Stumps. His gut knotted with the misplaced attraction he had often experienced around Danica and the more appropriate suspicion of the methods of the dog thief.

When at last he was home, he let Stumps out into the backyard. While he waited, he sent a text message to Brayden that he needed to talk first thing in the morning. Then he and Stumps retreated to the bedroom for a few invaluable hours of uninterrupted sleep.

* * *

Danica woke, momentarily disoriented by her surroundings, jerking away from the woman holding her wrist.

“Good morning. I’m your nurse, Anna.” The woman said. “You’ve spent the night in the hospital.”

“Why?”

Anna only smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I think.” Pieces were coming back to her. What should have been a peaceful night had turned chaotic. She remembered walking to Shane’s car, being dreadfully upset and snuggling with Stumps. It didn’t make much sense but, curling her fingers into the blanket, she smiled at the red and white dog hairs scattered there.

“Any headache?”

Danica thought about it. “No.” She purposely looked toward the brighter light spilling through the door and didn’t feel the need to cringe or hide. “Definitely an improvement.”

“Wonderful news.”

“What time is it?” Danica asked.

“Nearly 7:00 a.m. The man who stayed overnight with you just went in to take a shower.”

Did the nurse mean Shane? Had he stayed all night? Feeling better didn’t mean she felt ready to deal with Shane. As she heard the water running in the bathroom, her imagination offered up a picture of Shane on the other side of that door and she felt her cheeks heat. Embarrassment flooded through her as details of last night flitted through her mind. Trying to regain her composure, she looked around the room for Stumps. “Where is the dog?”

Anna grinned. “He left before I got here. I heard he was a big help when you were upset.”

So that wasn’t Shane in the bathroom. The two were inseparable, as it should be with a K9 team. She tried to tell herself it was relief rather than disappointment trickling through her system.

“When can I go home?”

“The doctor will be around in another hour or so to explain everything.”

The nurse sailed out of the room, leaving Danica bristling over the vague reply. She felt fine—her thoughts were clear at last. The water in the bathroom stopped and a few minutes later an electric razor buzzed. When her brother Carson emerged wearing dark slacks and a crisp white button-down, he looked fresh and ready for another day.

“You’re awake.” He crossed over in a hurry, a big, warm smile on his face.

“And feeling normal,” she said, her mind drifting back to last night. “Finally.”

He studied her closely. “You’ve said that before.”

“I have?” She chewed on her thumbnail. “Did you bring Justice?” She hoped asking about his K9 partner would divert the conversation.

Carson didn’t take the bait. “Shane said something happened when he brought you into the hospital.” His brow furrowed. “And something worse in the ER.”

She was tempted to smother herself with a pillow as another wave of embarrassment crashed over her. “You remember how normal meds do the unexpected in my system.”

“Yeah.” He chucked her under the chin. “You’re too small for your own good.”

“Ha. Not funny.” Her small stature had always been a point of contention. It wasn’t her fault the tall genes in the family skipped her. Desperate to hold her own, she’d studied martial arts for several years and proved she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. As long as that fight was fair and came with a referee, apparently. It would take years to live down this attack. “Did you call Dad?”

“Only to let him know you’re all right,” Carson replied with a knowing wink.

The lack of her father stalking around the bed demanding the best treatment was proof Carson had sufficiently downplayed the whole incident. She owed him one. “Do they know what I was drugged with?”

He shrugged. “Something I can’t pronounce. It was a hefty dose, way too much for your system, obviously.”

“Obviously.” She swallowed. “Was the thief trying to kill me?”

“Doubtful. It wasn’t that type of drug. I know you’ve only been awake a few minutes, but anything could help. Do you remember new details?”

“Not really.” She tried to think. “He came up behind me. I heard that twig. And then he was there, his hand over my mouth.” She used her hand to demonstrate. “A pinch.” She tapped her neck. “Then I couldn’t move.” Her palms started to sweat at the memory.

“Take it easy,” Carson soothed. “You’re safe and we’ll make sure it stays that way.”

How? “Have they started searching for Nico?”

“Yes. Based on where Shane found you, the attacker must have come through the back gate. Don’t you keep that locked?”

“Yes.” She heard the quiver in her voice and hated it. Bad stuff happened to good people all the time. She hadn’t even been hurt. Not really.

She would not cry, not with Carson watching and worrying. He’d lump her into the Victim column and coddle her. She couldn’t be sidelined during the search for Nico. He’d been taken on her watch. What she wouldn’t give for a long, hard run to purge all these feelings. It would have to wait. “Is there coffee or something?”

He arched one eyebrow, but he left the room to track down coffee for her. She took advantage of the moment and managed to get into the bathroom with her IV pole. When she finished, she splashed water on her face and tried to comb her hair into some semblance of order.

She was back in the bed when Carson returned with two tall cups of coffee. “Enjoy.” He set one in front of her. “Sugar and cream already added.”

“Thank you.”

Carson got right back to his interview. “Shane said the gate was unlocked when he came through to help you. That it squeaked.”

“The hinges need oiling,” Danica said. “I don’t recall hearing the squeak.” Did that mean the attacker was hidden inside the yard when she walked out with the puppies? Goose bumps chased over her skin.

“We’ll sort it out. Forensics is on it,” Carson assured her gently.

She set the coffee cup aside when her hand trembled. “Are you sticking around until they spring me? I’ll need a ride home.”

“Yes. I had Vincent bring over clean clothes for you. And he said he’ll feed your cat this morning.”

“Thanks.” Her cat, Oscar, wouldn’t be much happier with the change in routine than her little brother, but she would make it up to her cat after work tonight. Everyone should have a big brother like Carson in a crisis. He understood she would want to get straight back to work.

Suddenly, her stomach rumbled loud enough to make Carson chuckle. “Sounds like what would help most is breakfast.”

“That’s a good sign.” Carson grinned. “I’m on it.”

Alone again, she fended off the persistent vulnerability lurking at the edge of her mind by focusing on the details of the theft that didn’t fit together. Who had left the gate unlocked? What had the thief used to take Nico without a fight?

Nico wasn’t the type of dog just anyone could manage. She said a quick prayer that they wouldn’t find him after he’d caused someone serious harm. Restless, she checked the clock, willing the doctor to come by and release her.

The thief might have a few hours’ head start, but RRPD had the best K9 unit in the region and the resources to track down a valuable animal like Nico and the person dumb enough to steal him.

Chapter 4

Shane and Stumps entered the police station and walked straight back to his half brother’s desk. Echo, a yellow Lab that worked as Brayden’s search and rescue partner, was stretched out on the cool floor. Shane placed one of the two coffees he carried in front of Brayden.

Brayden’s dark eyebrows arched. “What’s the occasion?”

Other than sharing a last name, they were polar opposites. Brayden’s coloring was dark and Shane’s fair. Both men bore a strong resemblance to their respective mothers. Aside from their height and build, very little of their father showed in either man. Neither of them would ever complain about that happy genetic coincidence.

“I have a problem,” Shane said.

“No, you don’t.” Brayden removed the lid from the coffee and let the aroma waft up, inhaling deeply. “Detective Gage called in and said his sister is awake and feeling better.”

Shane buried the surge of relief and pressed on. “Not his sister.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Ours.” He pulled up the text message and handed over the cell phone.

Brayden paused in the act of sipping his coffee and carefully returned the to-go cup to the desktop. He stared at the phone display for far longer than required to read the brief message and swiped the screen to read the replies Shane had sent back.

“Still no word,” Shane pointed out unnecessarily. “What do you think?”

“We have to tell the chief.”

Shane pocketed the phone. “I figured you’d say that.”

Brayden took a big gulp of the coffee. “This isn’t a secret you can keep, Shane.”

“I know, I know.”

“You were hoping she’d give you a clue to follow so you can find her.”

“We’re all hoping that,” Shane replied, irritated at Brayden’s ability to see right through him. He might prefer the old distance after all.

“For different reasons,” Brayden added, glancing around the station.

The brothers drank coffee in silence, their K9 partners keeping an eye on the activity swirling around them. Putting the mounting questions and worry into words wouldn’t help Demi.

“She didn’t kill Bo or anyone else,” Shane muttered.

Brayden shot Shane a warning glance. “And yet we have to work the case. Anything else leaves us open to—”

Shane cut him off with a hard look. “I’m the last person here who needs that lecture.”

Brayden snorted. “I’m just saying even you could benefit from an open mind once in a while.”

“If your mind is too open your brains fall out.” Shane winked. “Might be the only useful bit of wisdom our father passed along.”

Rusty Colton’s reputation was less than stellar in the Red Ridge community. The people who patronized the Pour House, his bar anchoring the rough side of town, wanted stiff drinks to dull the pain life frequently dished out. No one looking for sound advice on anything asked Rusty for more than beer or whiskey.

The slacker, no-good reputation had posed several hurdles for Rusty’s offspring when they tried to improve themselves. Shane caught the gazes darting his way from various points around the bull pen and realized not all of those hurdles were out of the way, even after all this time. Though he sat here with Stumps in an official capacity on the right side of the law, he still didn’t fit in. He really should be used to it by now.

“Come on.” Brayden smacked Shane’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t put this off any longer.” Together with their K9 partners, they went over to the chief’s office.

Finn Colton, the chief of the K9 unit, listened intently to Shane’s explanation of the text message and the subsequent delay in reporting it. He wasn’t any more encouraged about a successful trace on the source than Shane. “She used a burner phone,” Finn said flatly. “Assuming that’s her and not someone messing with you.”

Shane bit back the insistence that it was his sister on the other end of those two words.

“If you get another text, report it immediately.”

“Of course,” Shane promised, tension thrumming in the obedient reply.

“I’ll just get back to my desk,” Brayden said, making a swift exit with Echo.

“Do you have anything else for me?” Finn said, stopping Shane’s attempt to follow.

“I was about to write it up.” At Finn’s obvious frustration, Shane relented. “We didn’t find anything at the site of the exchange to connect the gun deal to the Larson brothers.”

Finn swore. “I’m not surprised.” His gaze shifted to the window and the view of the street outside. “Thanks for trying.”

“Um, sure.” The gratitude was unexpected considering he’d basically failed, and Shane tried to leave again.

“Can you take on one more investigation?” Finn asked as Shane reached for the door.

He paused, unwilling to volunteer for what he feared was coming next.

“Everyone is working overtime on the Groom Killer,” Finn said. “I really need you and Stumps to take point on the missing Malinois.”

Shane smothered a groan and barely resisted rolling his eyes. “How is Danica this morning?” The question was out before he could stop it.

“Carson said she was good as new when he called in earlier.” Finn raised his chin toward the bull pen. “Looks like you can ask her yourself.”

Shane turned to see the redhead in question walking in with her brother and his K9 partner, Justice. She was dressed for work. Why wasn’t she at work?

“I know with your history this is the last case you want. I sympathize.”

Sympathy never fixed anything, Shane thought. Working the missing Malinois case inevitably meant more time with Danica, prime witness. “There has to be something else, another investigation we can help with.” Shane dropped to one knee and gave Stumps some affection, soothing both of them. He didn’t consider it hiding.

“You can’t hold her grandfather’s mistakes against her,” Finn said. “She had nothing to do with your incarceration.”

“I know.” She’d been a kid, fifteen or sixteen, maybe. At barely eighteen, he’d only been an adult in his mirror and in the eyes of the law. Still, the resentment was easier than forgiveness for so many reasons.

“Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t push it,” Finn was saying.

Shane stood up, folding his arms over his chest. “But?”

“Damn it, don’t make me beg.” He came around the desk and went toe-to-toe with Shane. “You know as well as I do we can’t have a trained protection dog out there.” His face clouded, the dark blond eyebrows casting deep shadows over his blue eyes. “Take Danica and start with the Larson twins.” It was clearly an order. “They were mad as hell when Darby wouldn’t sell them any puppies. They were specifically looking for protection dogs at the time.”

“Not good,” Shane muttered. Darby, Bo Gage’s ex-wife, had recently taken over the German shepherd breeding business.

“Not at all,” Finn agreed. He opened the office door and called Danica over to join them. After a brief exchange and assurance that she was well, Finn explained that Shane had been assigned to her case and they would be working together.

Though Danica’s lips lifted into a polite smile, Shane noticed the strain of the news in her eyes. Well, at least they found common ground with their mutual distaste for Finn’s orders. Maybe working closely with her—away from the training center—would help him purge the last of his lingering attraction to the one woman in town who would never want anything to do with him. The one woman in town he shouldn’t want at all. As she crouched to chat with Stumps, he supposed the dog gave them two common points to work from.

She looked up, her green gaze misty and warmer than usual. “Thank you,” she said.

He would have been less surprised if she’d punched him.

“Thank you, too,” she repeated to Stumps.

“What?” Behind him, Finn mumbled something that might have been advice, but Shane’s attention was locked on Danica as she stood up.

“For everything last night,” she said. “You let Stumps stay with me. I heard that you, um, stayed, too.” Her lips twisted to the side. “I appreciate it.”

“Okay.” The sincere gratitude threw him off. Struggling with it, he shoved the conversation back onto the proper track. “We’ll start with the Larsons,” Shane began, ignoring more muttering from Finn. “As long as we also pursue the theory that the attacker knew Danica personally.”

“Pardon me?”

There—the familiar wariness was back in her eyes and the world settled under his feet once more. “You could easily have been severely injured,” he explained. “The attacker drugged you when he might as easily have bashed you over the head or just killed you.”

Her green eyes went wide and her face paled. Those freckles reappeared. A heartbeat later her eyes sparked and her cheeks flamed with temper. Good recovery. He pressed his point. “For that matter, why didn’t he kill you once you were down? It would have been a smarter move. No way to be sure what you might remember. A stranger probably wouldn’t care whether you lived or died, but someone who knows you might.”

“Might?” Her auburn brows challenged his choice of words and she folded her arms over her chest. “I only know of one person in town who’d like to bash me or mine over the head.” She gave him a pointed look, clearly accusing him of being that person.

She wasn’t exactly wrong, though he kept his Gage-bashing urges under wraps by simply avoiding them as much as possible.

“Moreover, anyone who knows me probably knows better than to steal a trained attack dog. Without a handler, Nico might as well be a loose cannon—”

“Enough,” Finn interjected. “Figure out a way to work this case together,” he ordered. “Shane is in charge,” he said to Danica. “And keep me in the loop on your progress.”

“Yes, sir,” Shane said.

Danica echoed him and when he opened the door, she passed him with her pert nose high in the air. Just like a Gage to be certain they knew everything about everyone before all the facts were in.

* * *

Danica fumed in silence over the shift in her circumstances. The only silver lining she could see was that proximity to Shane kept her mind well away from the bone-deep sense of violation haunting her. She’d argued that driving from the police station to the training center was a waste, but Shane had pointed out that every minute of walking was a minute they weren’t looking for Nico.

“Do you really think the Larson twins would stoop to this?” she asked as he parked the car.

“At the moment, I think they’re capable of most anything.”

They’d come over so Danica could pick up a microchip scanner before they questioned the Larsons. If the twins did have Nico, she wanted to be able to scan his chip and prove the dog belonged to the K9 training center. The sooner they got him back on his schedule, the safer everyone would be.

She felt a tremor in the air as she walked inside. Glancing at Shane and Stumps, she saw they didn’t seem to indicate anything was amiss. Maybe the tremor was inside her or apparent only to those who worked here every day. She knew this building as well as she knew her condo and until last night, she’d felt equally safe here and at home. Today the energy was off, as if no one wanted to speak too loudly and bring on more trouble.

A form of grief, she supposed, after the violence of last night. Though she’d been the only human victim, everyone here would be upset by the invasion and theft. And everyone here, understanding the great risk of having Nico out there without a certified handler, would be on edge, hoping for the best and braced for the worst.

As efficiently and graciously as possible, she accepted the concern from her colleagues. Although she was impatient to get out there with Shane, she was glad to hear the dogs were only slightly off today and new security guards had been hired to prevent another mishap.

Mishap. As if a missing attack dog was on the same level as a puppy’s bladder giving way indoors.

With the microchip scanner in hand, she was nearly out the door when she noticed Tyler Miller hanging back as if he didn’t want to intrude. A little shy, he was a smart kid willing to do any task and was good with the dogs. In her eyes, he was as valuable to the program as any of the trainers. Smiling, she walked over to speak with him. At fourteen, he was already taller than her. They’d met at the community youth center. It had taken a few months, but she’d finally convinced him to visit the training center. Now he spent every available hour here. Through the course of working with him, she knew he didn’t have a great home life and his experiences at school, the youth center and the training center might be the only good examples he had.

“How are the puppies doing today, Tyler?”

He shrugged a bony shoulder, his long, dark hair falling over his brown eyes. He gave up studying his shoes to meet her gaze. “They seem a little bummed. What about you?”

“I’m just fine now.” If she said it enough it might feel true. Physically, it was true. She thought he could use a hug, but she kept her arms to herself. Tyler had told her early on he didn’t do hugs.

He shuffled his feet. “They said you were in the hospital.” His gaze slid away, then back, hot with temper. “Were you hurt bad?”

“No,” she replied. He seemed so angry on her behalf she tried to downplay it even more. “The overnight observation was only a precaution. I promise you, I’m fine. I had a weird reaction to whatever drug was used on me.”

“As long as you’re okay. I was worried when I heard about it.” His eyes drifted over her shoulder and he took a quick step backward. “I’ll get back to work. Take care.” He gave her a half smile as he turned and disappeared down the hallway to the kennels.

She only noticed Shane and Stumps had come up behind her once Tyler was gone. Knowing what she did of Shane’s background, she’d wanted to introduce them.

“You seem a little rattled,” Shane said as she walked out with him and Stumps.

“I’m fine.” In a perfect world, she would have broken into a run. She fought the urge to look back over her shoulder. Doing so would only reveal too much to an investigator as observant as Shane. “More security is a good first step,” she said, hoping to shift his attention to a safer topic.

“You’re pale again.”

Clearly, that tactic failed. “I’m fine,” she repeated.

“What happened last night—”

She cut him off with a look as he opened the passenger door for her.

“All I’m saying is that no one would blame you if you took the day off.”

“We need to find the dog.” Her eyes didn’t hurt anymore, but she donned her sunglasses anyway and closed the door herself. Staying home wouldn’t help Nico. Right now, she wasn’t even sure she could stay home alone and stay sane.

“Let me do the talking when we question the Larsons,” he said, pulling away from the curb.

It was a reasonable request. He was trained in investigation. She was trained in dogs. “As long as you let me give the commands if Nico is there.”

“Deal.”

That might be the first agreement between a Gage and a Colton in a long while. Well, if she didn’t count her little brother Vincent’s lovesick vow to marry Shane’s cousin Valeria Colton. At nineteen, they just couldn’t seem to accept they were too young for that kind of pledge. “What do the Coltons think of Valeria and Vincent?”

“How should I know?” Shane muttered. “We’re not a hive mind.”

Did the man have to be so aggravating? “What do you think of their relationship?”

“I think nineteen is too young to make any lifelong commitment,” he replied. “And despite their claims to the contrary, I’m sure they’re still dating.”

She shouldn’t have been surprised they agreed on that point, too. It was common sense. Both families had voiced worry for Vincent’s safety, with the Groom Killer on the loose.

“He’s your brother,” Shane said. “Can’t you reason with him?”

“He’s nineteen,” she laughed. “No one can tell him anything he doesn’t already know. We’ve all tried.”

She remembered the challenges of being a teenager, when every choice felt like it carried life-and-death consequences, and her childhood had been nearly perfect. Just one reason she invested her time at the youth center, mentoring teens like Tyler. “Do you ever volunteer at the youth center?” she asked.

Shane snorted. “I’m hardly role model material.”

“I disagree,” she blurted without thinking.

He parked the car on the street, across from the Larson offices. “Care to elaborate?”

“Not really.” Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? She looked over at the modern-style glass building. It wasn’t exactly out of place, yet something about it felt too shiny to be real.

“Nice building,” she murmured, refusing to turn and risk meeting Shane’s hard blue gaze. The sign stated the Larson brothers owned a real estate company. If that was true, they’d made some smart or lucky deals to come into their fortune so suddenly.

“Ready?” She reached for the door handle.

“Tell me why you think I could be a role model,” Shane demanded.

“That can wait.”

“Call me an in-the-moment kind of guy.” The words were full of a bitterness that made her feel terrible.

She was sure that was exactly what he wanted by the not-so-subtle reference to his eighteen months in prison. A year and a half stolen from Shane when her grandfather manipulated the case to pin a murder on him.

“You haven’t let circumstances define you.” She hoped that would be enough. They had a dog to find. His choked laughter told her otherwise. Pushing her sunglasses up to the top of her head, she faced him at last. “People admire you for what you’ve accomplished.”

“People?” His eyebrows lifted. “Evidence and confessions aside, people have been waiting nearly a decade for me to do something that proves I should be locked up.”

“That isn’t true.”

“Isn’t it?” He barreled on. “We both know my sister is the prime suspect in your brother’s murder because our father is Rusty Colton and we were raised on the rough side of town. Blood tells.”

“When the victim spells out her name with his own blood it sure does.” She regretted the words immediately. She held up her hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. I don’t really believe Demi killed Bo.” She was surprised she didn’t get frostbite from his brittle, cold glare. “I do believe you could be a benefit to those kids.”

He leaned across the console. “Being exonerated by a good DNA test and a witness who found God doesn’t make me role model material.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed, refusing to let him intimidate her further. “What you’ve done since as a business owner and a K9 officer does. Your perseverance and determination to build a life and reputation against steep odds would be a big inspiration to kids struggling to find a way out of their own challenging situations.”

He eased back in his seat, studying her with that hard blue gaze.

“Have I grown a second head?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then let’s go get Nico.” She reached for the door handle again.

He hit the power lock button. “Hang on. What hardships make you qualified to mentor at the youth center?” he demanded.

“Oh, no hardships at all.” She sweetened the words with a sugary smile. “My life’s been utterly perfect.” She dropped her sunglasses back into place. “I volunteer out of the goodness of my heart, wearing rose-colored glasses on my quest to change the world.”

She flipped the lock button manually and exited the car. Clinging to the last of her dignity and composure, she managed not to slam the door. Whatever had possessed her to speak to him that way, she wasn’t going to apologize. Someone should have knocked that chip off his shoulder years ago. He had no right to assume he knew anything about her.

Of course, prison must have been dreadful, but life didn’t hand out free passes to anyone. Frustrated with herself as much as with him, she stalked across the street and waited in front of the building.

Gripping the microchip scanner, she reminded herself Nico was the top priority. Going in riled up and anxious would only put them all at risk, especially if Nico was inside. She took deep, slow breaths and pulled herself together for the task ahead.

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