Page 12 of Through the Fire
If only the air wasn’t quite so thin. The deer trail that Justice was following was narrow and winding, and dodging around trees and jumping over downed branches were good distractions from Kit’s overworked lungs. The lead kept getting tangled in the brush, and she struggled to free it before Justice had to stop. The dog was easily distracted, and she wanted him to keep his mind focused on the trail.
Kit had half expected the scent to lead Justice a short way through the trees to another road, where the suspect would’ve parked a car and driven away after setting the fire. However, they’d been jogging through the woods for a good twenty minutes, and the dog didn’t seem to be slowing down.
“Are you familiar with this area?” she asked over her shoulder, trying not to sound like she was gasping for air—even though she was. “Any idea where we are?”
“Yes.” Theo’s voice sounded annoyingly even, as if he were sitting in a chair with his feet up. There was no gasping on his part. “We’re circling around the south side of town. Steve—the fireman—lives about a half mile to the right.”
“Any guess where we’re headed?” Kit gave up trying to make her words sound effortless and just sucked in air.
There was a pause that made Kit want to turn around and see the guys’ expressions, but she was afraid that she’d fall on her face if she did.
“Possibly,” Theo finally said. He’d loosened up slightly since their first meeting, but it sounded as if all his guards had slammed back into place.
“Possibly?” Maybe it was the lack of oxygen to her brain, but Kit was extraordinarily annoyed by his vague answer. “Want to share what you think we’re running into?”
From his grunt, she assumed Theo’s answer was no.
She didn’t bother asking any more questions. Obviously, he wasn’t going to tell her, and she had a better use for the air she was dragging into her lungs. Her earlier hope slipped away. Maybe Monroe would end up being a better place than her last job, but it wasn’t going to be all sunshine and happy times. She had a feeling she’d have to work for every step forward.
With a grimace, she pushed herself faster, and Justice happily surged ahead. She was so busy watching to make sure she didn’t trip or run into any trees that it surprised her when the evergreens thinned and then disappeared as they ran into an open yard.
She slowed, blinking to get her bearings as Justice towed her straight for a dilapidated back porch. The entire house looked as if it would fall over in a stiff breeze, and Kit swiveled her head, trying to take in all the possible spots someone could ambush them from. There were too many. The evergreens that crowded around the property provided all sorts of hiding spots and darkened the yard to an eerie green. The windows facing them reflected the light, masking whatever—or whoever—was inside looking out.
“Whose home is this, do you know?” she asked, keeping her voice low. For all she knew, this place had been abandoned for years. It certainly looked like it should be vacant. When neither man answered, she risked a glance over her shoulder to see Theo and Hugh sharing a meaningful glance.
Trying to keep her face expressionless—and probably failing—Kit turned her head away from them, stewing. She didn’t expect to be in on every inside joke in the department on her first day, of course, but she didn’t expect them to withhold important information either. Her gaze locked on Justice. It appeared that the only ally she had at the moment was her K9 partner. Although he’d taken a while to catch on to things, he’d never intentionally let her down. Dogs didn’t care about station politics. That was one reason they were so great.
As soon as it was obvious that Justice was headed toward the back porch, Theo skirted around them, pulling a key out of his pocket and quickly opening the door. He disappeared inside, leaving Kit to stare after him, confused.
“This is his house?” she asked Hugh.
“Not really.” He quickly followed Theo into the house, the storm door automatically swinging shut behind him.
Running up the rickety-looking back steps, Justice reached the door and sat, his signal that he’d found the scent. As she joined him, still not sure what was going on, she absently pulled his favorite toy out of her pocket—a raggedy sock monkey. She found sock monkeys to be creepy as hell, with their empty eyes and evil red mouths, but the stuffed animal was Justice’s favorite, no matter how hard Kit had tried to wean the hound off it. This particular sock monkey had been a joke gift from the other officers right after she’d adopted Justice, and she regretted ever offering the toy to her dog. It was the only stuffed thing he hadn’t ripped to shreds…unfortunately.
“Good find,” she crooned, offering the horrid thing to Justice, who accepted it eagerly. No matter what Theo and Hugh were hiding from her, her dog came first. “Good dog! Who’s the best dog?” It was only after rewarding Justice for the successful—she assumed—trail that she followed the other two cops inside. Looking around the large kitchen, she noted that it was in a similar condition to the exterior, with missing and drooping cupboard doors and mismatched chairs. It was clean, though, and there were little personal touches, like an elementary school award letter proudly displayed on the ancient fridge and a row of boots of all different sizes lined up on a rag rug next to the door.
“Theo.” Jules, the waitress from the diner, walked into the kitchen, looking surprised but pleased. “What are you doing here so early? And why do you smell like you’ve been rolling around in a tire fire?”
“A tire fire?” His face softened as he looked at her.
Stopping so that they were almost but not quite touching, Jules smiled up at him. “I was going to say a campfire, but that smells too nice. I hate to tell you, sweet pea, but you stink.”
Jules echoed her earlier thoughts so closely that Kit snorted a laugh. The sound made Jules look over at her, Justice, and Hugh, who’d followed her into the kitchen and was standing behind her. Jules’s welcoming smile faded as apprehension took over her expression.
“What’s going on?” Jules asked, taking a step away from Theo.
He caught her hand. “How long have you been home?”
Her gaze flickered to the clock and then returned to meet Theo’s as the worried grooves in her forehead deepened. “Just about an hour. Why? What’s happening?” She gave Kit and Justice another anxious look.
“Are you the only one here?” Theo turned, putting his body between Jules and the hallway entrance.
“You need to tell me what’s going on.” Her Southern accent was thick. Kit had a feeling that Jules was about to lose it if Theo kept her in suspense any longer.
Theo, however, appeared to have missed the warning signs of his girlfriend’s impending freak-out, because he kept his attention on the doorway. “I’ll tell you as soon as we make sure the house is safe.”
As Jules sucked in a breath, Kit winced. That had been the wrong thing to say.
