Page 12 of Run to Ground
“S-s-sorry!” Sam ran up to the still-open passenger door, his eyes huge from the scare. Jules imagined hers were pretty wide, too.
“No problem,” she said, sucking in air and forcing her hundredth fake smile of the day. With a shaking hand, she reached to pop the trunk. “You got it here, and that’s the important thing. We can work on your parking skills later.”
Sam dropped into the passenger seat, as if his legs refused to support him, and Ty climbed into the back.
“Whoa,” was all Ty said. Jules knew he had to have been terrified for him to be robbed of words. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she saw Tio adding Dee’s backpack to the three already in the trunk. He slammed it closed, and the two of them hustled into the backseat. Jules did a quick head count before backing away from the hybrid. Her whole body was still shaking, and she tightened her hands on the steering wheel in an attempt to hide it.
She turned out of the school parking lot, glanced at Sam, and checked the rearview mirror again. Giddiness rose in her, sweeping away the vestiges of her earlier fear.
“Y’all?” All four of her siblings looked at her. “We did it.” Her laugh was half-hysterical, and she quickly sucked it back in before she scared the kids. “You have officially been kidnapped.”
Ty’s cheer was joined by Dee and even Tio. Grinning—and possibly hyperventilating a bit—Jules looked at Sam. His head was tipped down, but his mouth curled the tiniest bit at the corners. That hint of a smile was the happiest she’d seen Sam in years. It made everything worth it.
Jules was a full-fledged criminal now, and it felt good.
Chapter 5
Present Day
The call came through just as Theo was about to wrap up his shift. He pivoted away from the locker room door, turning up his portable radio as a surge of relief spread through him. This meant he could delay going home for a few hours. Since his K9 partner, Goose, had died of cancer a year ago, Theo’s small house seemed echoing and empty. And now, after Don…
His head jerked back as the reminder took him unaware, and he immediately shoved the thought from his mind, forcing himself to concentrate on the dispatcher’s words.
“…repeat, officer requesting assistance at 4278 Green Willow Lane.”
Booted feet behind him made Theo turn just as Hugh passed him, thumping Theo on the shoulder as he went.
“What’s up?” Theo asked, increasing his pace to keep up with the other officer.
“Wilson spotted a vehicle parked outside the Schwartz compound. Said it looks a lot like the van used by the Golden Sun Restaurant robbery suspect. He wants some backup before ringing the doorbell.”
Theo snorted as they descended the stairs to the underground garage where the squad cars were parked. “Don’t blame him.”
“Grab Vig before you head to the call. You know how Gordon Schwartz likes to stockpile things that goboom.”
Resisting a wince, Theo turned toward the kennel on the opposite side of the garage. He took in Viggy’s flattened ears and sighed. This wasn’t going to go well.
As Theo put on the dog’s protective vest and harness, Viggy stood listlessly, his tail tucked. A memory hit Theo like a punch to the belly, a flash of Don prepping Viggy the same way six months ago, laughing at something Theo had said. For that call, Viggy had been vibrating with excitement, ready to work, so confident and eager and just so fuckinghappy. The passive, dull-eyed dog standing in front of Theo now was just a shadow of that K9 officer. That was Theo, too—a shadow of the person he’d been a few months ago.
Theo gave a rough, humorless laugh. “We’re a pair, aren’t we, Vig?”
The dog didn’t react, didn’t even glance at him, and Theo swallowed a bitter surge of grief, gathering the numbness around him like a security blanket.
“C’mon, Viggy.” The weary resignation in his voice would’ve worried him if he’d managed to care. “Let’s get this over with.”
With a reluctant Viggy in the back of his squad car, Theo pressed the accelerator, flying past vehicles that had pulled over in response to his overhead lights and siren. That low burn of anticipation he usually got when heading to a call wasn’t happening, though. There was no surge of adrenaline, no bouncing nerves. He didn’t feel anything.
Viggy shifted, drawing his attention for a split second before Theo returned his gaze to the road. It was strange having a dog in the back of his squad car again. After Goose died, Theo had successfully managed to put off getting a new dog for more than ten months. He didn’t think he’d have the same connection with another K9 that he’d had with Goose, not ever again. Ever since Theo had picked up Goose from the training facility, the two of them had clicked. Goose had been an amazing partner—a once-in-a-lifetime K9 officer.
His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror again as guilt burned in his chest. Viggy had been a good dog, too—wasa good dog. They just weren’t right for each other. Vig wasDon’spartner. At least, he had been.
A dull pain throbbed in his stomach, and Theo tightened his grip on the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened.
As they left quaint downtown Monroe and headed toward the west edge of town, Theo slowed. The twists and turns of the narrow mountain road were treacherous even at normal speeds, and Theo didn’t want to plow into one of the vertical rock faces that bracketed the pavement. Monroe was just west enough of the Front Range to be officially in the mountains, rather than in the foothills. Nestled in a valley, the town could be accessed by only two roads—one to the east and one to the west.
As he approached the turnoff to Blank Hill Road, the squirrelly waitress popped into his head…again. For some reason, he was thinking of Jules with unsettling frequency. Theo pictured her smile after he’d told Norman Rounds to back off. It had transformed her face, turning her from pretty to flat-out beautiful.
He realized he’d been slowing down, as if he were going to turn toward Jules’s house, and he made an annoyed sound as he pressed harder on the accelerator. This preoccupation with Jules had to stop. Despite his resolution, he couldn’t help but glance in the side-view mirror to catch a last glimpse of the Blank Hill Road sign.
