Page 56 of Scent of Fear

“I’m glad he has protection too.” She bent to stroke Bryce’s head.

“Yeah, although dogs have a higher chance of suffering serious internal bleeding if they’re struck by a bullet even with the vest on.” He frowned and knelt beside Bryce. “The good news is that you’re fast, right boy? A moving target is much harder to hit.”

The thought of Bryce suffering internal bleeding made her feel sick to her stomach. All this because of money? Money that she wasn’t even sure still existed! Was this a terrible mistake?

She couldn’t bear the thought of losing her grandfather, so she pushed the doubts aside. But as Shane went through the usual routine of offering Bryce water and then getting ready to search, she lifted her heart in prayer.

Please, Lord Jesus, keep us all safe in Your care!

* * *

“I needyou to stay close to the SUV while we’re gone,” Shane told Libby.

“Oh, but—” she began to protest.

“I’m not going to argue with you about this.” He tried to soften his tone. “If I’m not back in thirty minutes, I want you to drive out of here. Find my siblings and the police.” He held her gaze for a long moment. “Please, Libby. If something goes wrong, I need to know you’ll get help here as soon as possible.”

Her face paled, but she reluctantly nodded. “Okay, I’ll wait here for thirty minutes, and if you don’t come back, I’ll contact your siblings and the police.” She frowned. “I don’t have Alexis’s or Joel’s number.”

He took a moment to make sure she entered Alexis’s and Joel’s numbers into her phone. Satisfied, he turned to gaze down at his dog. He debated which search scent he should have Bryce focus upon. They knew there was more than one bad guy involved. On the off chance the one bad guy Bryce had gotten a piece of had never been to Ward Engler’s home, he decided to go with Marvin’s scent.

“Here, Bryce.” He offered the scent bag containing Marvin’s dirty socks and T-shirt to his K9. After all, their mission was to find Libby’s grandfather. Alerting on the bad guy without having Marvin nearby wasn’t helpful. “Search Marvin!”

Bryce sniffed the bag, then looked up at him with his dark eyes as if to sayYes, I remember.

“Good boy,” He tucked the bag back into the SUV, then lifted his finger to his mouth in ashhgesture. “Search Marvin,” he repeated in a hushed voice. He hadn’t done as much training with Bryce on doing quiet searches as that was typically not needed, but the way Bryce gazed up at him made him think the dog understood.

Yet he also knew that Bryce would only be silent as long as he didn’t sense a threat. Bryce’s protective instincts were such that the dog would absolutely bark and growl in warning if he caught Bad Guy’s scent. Still, he was hoping they could get to the house and back without running into anyone else.

Bryce wheeled away from him and lowered his nose to the ground. Shane shot one last look at Libby standing near the SUV, resisting the urge to draw her into his arms for a kiss. As if she’d read his mind, she crossed over and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close.

Heartened by her embrace, he couldn’t help but sigh. “Ah, Libby,” he whispered, before lowering his mouth to hers. She kissed him back, and it was tempting to blurt his growing feelings for her right then and there. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but she’d broken through the walls he’d built around his heart.

More like shattered them to smithereens.

Then she drew away, offering a somber smile. “Be safe, Shane.”

“I promise.” He forced himself to let her go, taking a step back before he gave in to the need to kiss her again. “Remember our agreement,” he added. “Thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes,” she repeated in agreement. “I’ll be here waiting for you.”

He nodded, knowing she would be. Turning away, he quickened his pace to follow Bryce into the foliage. Bryce lowered his nose to the ground and trotted alongside him. As the woods enveloped them, Shane did his best to step as quietly as possible.

From this point forward, he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. The last thing he wanted was to be forced into a situation where he needed to use lethal force.

Bryce moved through the woods in a side-to-side pattern that told Shane the dog had not yet caught Marvin’s scent. Not surprising as they weren’t even close to the property. Typically, he didn’t like to guide the dog in the right direction of where he needed the animal to search, but these circumstances were far from normal.

They needed to get close to the dark-green house belonging to Ward Engler. Hopefully, Bryce would alert well before they got to the house itself.

If Marvin was there. He knew full well that they were operating on little more than a weak theory based on a man who’d abandoned his meal. This trip to the Engler home may be nothing more than a wild-goose chase.

Shane pulled out his compass, making a note of the coordinates. Then he embarked on a path that was due west of his current location. Keeping an eye on the time, he subtly herded Bryce toward the property. The dark-green siding blended so well with the trees that Shane worried he’d walk right past it without ever seeing it.

He estimated they were about a hundred yards from the place when he finally caught a glimpse of a darker green between the trees. He bent and put a hand on Bryce’s head, bringing the dog to a stop.

Bryce stared up at him, clearly wanting to continue the search game. He dropped to one knee, bringing the dog in close. Then he made theshhmotion with his hand again. Bryce wagged his tail but didn’t bark.

Satisfied his K9 would listen, he rose and continued to approach the property. The woods ended about twenty yards from the side of the house. His compass had led him exactly where he’d wanted to be. At least, as far as getting close to the place without being seen.

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