Page 27 of Scent of Fear

“Bryce! Come!” Fear lanced through him as he swept his gaze over the area. Then Bryce was bounding back toward him. Relief made his knees go weak, and he dropped to the ground to hug his dog. “Good boy. Are you okay? Are you?” He ran his fingers over the shepherd’s pelt, breathing a sigh gratitude when he didn’t find any injuries.

Then Bryce dropped something into his palm. Shane stared down in surprise, realizing it was a strip of denim from what looked like the bottom of a pant leg.

From the intruder? “Good boy,” he repeated. It wasn’t much, but the scrap of clothing would be enough to use as a scent source.

Maybe heading back out into the woods come morning was a good idea. Searching for the guy who’d tried to break into the cabin might lead them to Marvin.

7

Bryce’s barking dragged Libby from her nightmare. Or maybe the dog was part of her dream, she wasn’t sure. Stumbling from the room, she came to an abrupt stop when she noticed the patio doors were open.

“Shane?” Her voice sounded like a croak. She tried again. “Shane!”

“We’re coming.” There was a slight pause, then she heard, “Good boy, Bryce. Good boy!”

Her heart settled into a normal rhythm as Shane and Bryce approached the patio. Bryce appeared satisfied with a job well done as he trotted into the cabin. Shane stepped over the threshold, sliding the patio door closed behind him.

“Was someone out there?” She frowned as she noticed he had a gun in one hand and something dark blue in the other.

“Yeah, and Bryce managed to bring a piece of his jeans back.” Shane held it up for her to see. “Do you have a plastic bag I can use?”

“Um, sure.” She turned into the small kitchen and opened drawers until she found some freezer bags. She held it open so he could drop the scrap of denim inside. It appeared to be the lower hem of a pant leg. She imagined it had been frayed already, and when Bryce chomped down on it, the fabric had pulled free.

“Thanks.” He took the bag and glanced at his dog. “Bryce heard the intruder outside before I did. I sent Bryce after him, but I heard the rumble of an engine. Bryce only got a small piece of him.”

“I can’t believe the poacher came back.” She dragged her fingers through her hair. “I don’t understand what he hoped to find.”

“I’m not sure either, but there must be a reason he risked showing up here.” Shane bent to stroke his dog. “I’m glad we stayed. I’ll see if Bryce can follow the scent trail in the morning. Maybe we’ll learn something new.”

“I’m glad you stayed too.” She shivered, wondering what might have happened if Shane and Bryce hadn’t been there. Especially the dog who’d alerted them to the danger. “It would be good to learn something new. None of this makes any sense.”

“Agree.” Shane pinned her with a look. “Could this guy be looking for the DNA file folder?”

The possibility hadn’t occurred to her. “I don’t see why that would be of interest.”

“I don’t either, but there’s something more going on here than we realize.” Shane dropped down onto the sofa. “I just can’t shake the feeling that these guys have targeted your grandfather for a specific reason. And not because they were poaching on his land.”

“Okay, but if that’s true, I’m as much in the dark as you are.” She crossed over to sit beside him. Bryce nudged her knee, and she cautiously stretched out her hand to pet him. His soft fur belied his scary teeth. The fact that Bryce had gotten close enough to rip some fabric from the intruder’s jeans was amazing. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt, boy,” she murmured.

“Me too. It’s always a risk to send a K9 out to take down a fugitive,” Shane said somberly. “If the guy hadn’t jumped on a four-wheeler, I’m sure Bryce would have been able to hang on to him.”

“I can’t imagine driving a four-wheeler through the woods in the middle of the night.” She frowned. “How can he see where he’s going?”

Shane’s blue eyes widened. “Good point, Libby. He must be wearing night-vision goggles of some kind to avoid running into trees and brush. Maybe we should be looking at someone with military connections.”

“I don’t know how that helps us.” She tried not to feel dejected. “We’d need to know his name before we can ask the police to dig into his military history.”

“Every little bit of information counts. We know more today than we did yesterday, right?” Was it her imagination, or was Shane trying to pump up her spirits? That he bothered to make an effort to put a positive spin on things touched her heart. He picked up the bag containing the strip of denim. “I was planning to use this as a scent source for Bryce. Now I’m wondering if we should try to have it tested for DNA.”

“That will take too long.” She wanted to find her grandfather in the next few hours, or a day at the most. Not in a few weeks or even a month. “I’d rather we use it as a source for Bryce to track first.” If that didn’t work? The image of Denali, Alexis’s K9, flashed in her mind.

No, she wasn’t going there. She needed to believe her grandfather was still alive.

Shane nodded slowly. “I’m inclined to agree with that approach. I just don’t want to miss anything obvious.”

Nothing about her grandfather’s disappearance was obvious. A wave of despair hit hard. Not only had her grandfather been taken away, but twice now, the same men who’d abducted him had returned to the cabin.

To find what? A DNA report? That made no sense.

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