Darke Heat (2 page)

“Come on, Paige. I’ve got a blanket for Sheba set up in the truck.”

She really didn’t want to give in but this time she would. Her mama always said to pick her battles wisely. And it was a long drive to Michigan. After her lack of sleep the night before, she wasn’t sure she was up to it. “Fine, you drive. I’m using this as a test for Samson, so he’s coming too. Come, Samson.” The big German Shepherd trotted over. She opened the rear door of Bryce’s SUV and signaled for Samson to get in. The dog obediently jumped in and settled down. Paige grabbed the toys and his leash from her van and put them in with Samson. Then she closed the door and climbed into the passenger seat.

She knew she was being childish, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was so uncomfortable with their situation. Bryce seemed to feel like nothing was amiss. He slid in behind the wheel and started the car, backing out of her driveway and onto the road. She turned in her seat to check on Samson, who was chewing on his rawhide knot. At least he was content.

She thought about just giving Bryce the silent treatment, but it seemed way too childish. “How did the drug bust go?” she finally asked.

“We rounded up some of the gang members, but the leader got away. We did recover a large stash of crack and methamphetamine though.”

“So how did you get shot?”

“One of the punks sprayed the area with a semi-automatic. He was so high, he was out of his mind. A stray bullet got me in the thigh,” he answered tersely.

She had a feeling there was a lot more behind the story than he was telling, but she wasn’t going to dig for information. “How did Sheba do?”

“Sheba was the professional she was trained to be. If it hadn’t been for her, the incident could have gone farther south than it did. She gave just enough warning before the shooting spree for us to get to relative safety. She was unharmed, but I was down. One of my men knew to take her to my neighbor. He’d been watching her when she wasn’t on duty with me.”

Paige wondered if his wounds had healed. He seemed all right, but she had noticed a slight limp this morning. “You could have answered my calls, my texts. Maybe not when you were laid up in the hospital, but the rest of the time.”

“You’re right, Paige, and I’m sorry.” He even sounded remorseful.

“Your note said you would have her for one week. It’s been three months. If I hadn’t had to do that training at Fort Bragg, I’d have sent the police after you. As it was, Sheriff Markham wouldn’t hear of putting out a warrant for your arrest.”

“Well, you can’t expect him to arrest me for taking the dog you were going to give me, that is, until you fell in love with her.”

“I was looking for a replacement for you,” she said.

“No you weren’t. You just don’t like your dogs going on drug busts. It’s okay if they go with bomb squads, just not drug busts.”

This conversation was getting them nowhere. She decided not to answer and go back to ignoring him. What she couldn’t ignore, was her deep attraction to the man. His dark hair and eyes just did it for her. She’d had a long-standing crush on him since she was a kid hanging out with her brothers. Not that she’d ever let him know. She’d teased and picked on him as if he was one of her siblings, but she always knew he wasn’t. He meant more to her than any man she’d ever met.

If anything, the attraction had grown stronger since that night. Added to the attraction was an awkward, restless feeling. What was she supposed to say to him about that night? All the different magazines and books she’d read on this man/woman stuff, implied there should be some pillow talk. They’d spent the tonight together, and now the only thing she could find to talk to him about, was the theft of her dog.

Real mature, Paige. I’m acting like an offended maiden aunt.

She was lost in thoughts of how to retract everything. She wasn’t that upset about the dog. It was the hurt of him not wanting to talk to her. Not willing to tell her what she’d done wrong. How could she fix something when she didn’t know what was broken? Of course, her lack of experience hadn’t seemed to bother him at the time. Maybe now he was having second thoughts about getting involved with someone so inexperienced. She’d made herself crazy trying to figure him out. It was safer to hide behind her anger over his taking Sheba.

“I need to stop and stretch my legs,” he remarked. They’d passed a sign for a rest stop coming up.

Paige grabbed Sampson’s leash. As soon as the vehicle stopped, she got out and opened the side door for Samson. He got excited when he saw the leash. She let him out, and he obediently sat down at her feet to get his leash on. She walked over to the dog-walking path, and put him through a jog just to keep her mind off Bryce and the ride to his home. She started wondering if he had a lady friend she was going to run into? How awkward, but she wanted to get to Sheba. She needed to see her safe.

Sheba would be a great mother. The puppies would be beautiful, even if they were going to be a mixed breed. She could still train them to be excellent bomb sniffing dogs. She glanced over at the SUV and saw that Bryce was back from working the stiffness out of his leg. She turned Samson around and headed back. She still wasn’t sure if there was anything left to talk to Bryce about. Their lack of communication about the night they shared seemed to tell her it wasn’t worth mentioning. It also confirmed in her mind that it had been just a one-night stand to him, and nothing more.

She put Samson in the back and climbed onto the front passenger seat. If he wasn’t going to bring it up, then neither was she. That night was the thing that had stopped her from running after him to get Sheba. She just hadn’t wanted to acknowledge the truth. He’d used her to get her dog.

“How much longer to your place?” she asked.

“About another twenty minutes.”

Good. She’d hire a rental, and take her dogs home with her. Then maybe she could begin to get over this man.

They made the turn off into a small suburb, and then a few other turns, before Bryce pulled into the driveway of a blue and white house at the end of the street. There were several other homes built around the same time, as they all seemed to be of similar design. The house had an attached garage with a fenced in back yard, just like its neighbors on either side. She’d barely let him stop the car before she jumped out, grabbed the leash, and got Samson.

Bryce went to the front door and unlocked it. There was very little in the way of furniture. Just the bare essentials for any man cave.

“I’m only renting this place since I still own the farm,” he said.

She followed him as he walked through to the back of the house and into the yard. There was a doghouse set up in the next yard. Paige could see the Rottweiler. It was a big, black, mean-looking dog. He was huge and full of muscle and didn’t like the look of Samson one bit. He set up barking. Samson looked at him and then ignored him.

“You better keep Samson in the house when we go check on Sheba. She took up residence in my shed as she got closer to her delivery time. I set it up with an old blanket

“Samson will be fine.”

They hadn’t made it to the shed when Bryce’s neighbor came out on the back porch.

“Hush, Killer. Hey, Bryce. We had some company last night. They were checking out your place. Killer and Sheba put up quite a racket. They buzzed by. I called the police to let them know someone was casing the neighborhood.”

“Thanks, Jimmy. I’ll check into it.”

Bryce rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t like this at all. If the drug dealer had his address, things just got real risky.

Paige turned to take Samson toward the shed, but Samson was in total professional stance. She wasn’t able to move him. This was what she had trained him to do when he scented a bomb.

“Bryce! Don’t move.” He stopped in his tracks.

“What?” he said as he turned and saw Samson on alert mode.

“Jimmy!” Bryce yelled.

The neighbor came back out.

“I left my phone in the car. Call nine-one-one. Ask for Officer Jenkins and tell him I found explosives at this address. Okay?”

The older gentleman turned pale but nodded affirmative and went in to make the call.

“Paige, are you sure?”

“No, but are you willing to take a chance? This is what he is trained for, so either he is overreacting to all the stimuli, or you have some explosives in your yard. I may even be standing on them.”

After uttering those words, her whole world tilted off its axis. She just couldn’t fathom the depth of fear her words caused. Paige couldn’t think—could only stare at his face.
What if he was standing on a bomb?
She felt the life rush out of her, certain she’d turned pale beneath her summer tan. Gooseflesh stood up on her arms and she felt suddenly weak.
Concentrate. I need to really concentrate to keep from keeling over. I have to keep my legs straight and my feet still or I’ll be in danger of setting off the bomb.

Jimmy stuck his head out of his back door. “They’re coming. I don’t trust myself to step outside in case I set off the explosive.”

“Your yard should be okay, but Jimmy, listen. Go to all the neighbors and tell them there is a potential fire, a gas leak. Get them away from here. Don’t let them panic. Let them know help is coming, but get them to leave the area. Okay?”

“I’m on it, Bryce. Killer, come. We’re on the job.” Jimmy and the dog disappeared into the house, and the sound of them leaving by another door could be heard. Soon there were cars all around them driving away from the neighborhood. In the distance, sirens sounded and were coming closer.

Paige could feel her heart beating in her throat. Her palms were sweaty, but she didn’t dare wipe them on her shorts in case she moved in the wrong direction by accident. Just breathing and remaining upright was taking all her concentration.

She looked over at Bryce again. Deep lines bracketed his mouth and the corners of his eyes. Standing still for so long was putting a huge strain on his leg muscles, if his expression was anything to go by. The minutes ticked by while Paige looked at the beloved face of the man she thought she’d want forever.

“Bryce, where is Sheba? She would have been standing in the same position as Samson.” At the sound of his name, the dog looked up from where he was standing on point. Then he sat down with his nose still pointed at the spot next to Paige’s right foot.

“Good boy, Samson,” she said in lieu of petting him with approval. She couldn’t risk it.

“I told you she made a bed for herself in the shed. The concrete is cool in there. She should have come out by now. Normally my voice would have her trotting over,” Bryce said.

Now she had to worry about the dog. Where was she? This wasn’t like her. Was she hurt? Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of several officers.

“Tom, glad you made it. Paige, this is Tom Jenkins, our bomb squad leader.”

Jenkins was standing on the other side of the neighbor’s fence.

“Bryce, I see the dog. He’s a bomb detector right?”

“Yes, and Paige is his trainer.”

Tom turned toward her. “Paige, how accurate is he?”

“Spot on in a simulation.”

“This is his first real situation?” he asked.

She nodded in the affirmative.

“Okay, doesn’t matter if it’s his first or not, we still treat it the same. It’s a threat. I have a bomb squad in position. We will initiate an extraction.”

He spoke into his two-way radio for a few minutes and then turned to them again.

“I’ve a report that all the neighbors have been evacuated. We’ve got road blocks in place to keep out the reporters and the curious. We’re ready when you both are.”

Paige looked over at Bryce and saw his look of determination. He was ready. She nodded.

“We’re ready,” Bryce confirmed for both of them.

“Will the dog go to Bryce and show him a way out?” Jenkins asked.

“He should, but he isn’t fully trained yet, so his actions could be unpredictable,” Paige answered.

“Go ahead and give him the command,” Jenkins said.

“No! We can’t leave her here. Let her go first,” Bryce argued.

“Bryce, don’t argue. You know the drill: most likely to survive first.”

Jenkin’s words cut through Paige’s brain like a cold blade. The thought that she could die today sent a chill straight through to her soul. Bryce sent an imploring look her way. She understood. He didn’t have a choice, as he wasn’t the person in charge. She was just here to pick up her dog. But if anything happened to Bryce, she’d be devastated.

“What about women and children first?” he was stalling, hoping for some kind of reprieve from the situation.

“Quit arguing, Bryce, and let’s get this situation resolved.”

Bryce called Samson over to him. At the same time, Paige commanded him to go to Bryce. The dog stood up and went over to Bryce in a zigzag pattern. The pattern denoted several traps in the yard. Since the yard was bare dirt, there was no way of telling where they had buried the devices, or if they were buried, but the pattern was not something to ignore.

Bryce grabbed Samson’s collar and allowed the dog to lead him to the edge of the yard, to the neighbor’s fence, and to safety. Bryce hopped the fence.