The Search (22 page)

"Screw you." She hung up the phone.

"You should have let me talk to him," Logan said.

"I got too much satisfaction out of telling him to go chase himself."

"That wasn't exactly the term you used," he said lightly.

The phone rang again.

She didn't answer it. "It's him again. He can't believe I'm not jumping through his hoop."

"Are you going to answer it?"

"No. I'm burning my bridges. If you don't keep your promise, I'm going to go down in flames."

"But you trust me to keep it. Or you wouldn't have burned that bridge."

She was silent a moment. "Yes, I trust you."

"How much time do I have?"

"A few days, maybe a week. Madden will have trouble believing that I won't change my mind. Then he'll get angry and want to punish me."

"And then what happens? What will he do to you?"

"He'll take Monty away from me."

"What?"

"Monty doesn't belong to me. ATF owns him. I do what Madden wants or he uses his influence to have them take Monty away and give him to someone else."

Logan swore softly. "Can't you buy him from ATF?"

"Don't you think I've tried? They won't sell him. Madden wants that hold on me."

"Are you sure he can get them to take Monty away?"

"He's done it before. Two years ago I'd had enough and told him to go jump in the lake. ATF snatched Monty out of my jeep while I was in the supermarket getting groceries. They left a very businesslike note. They were sending him to a handler in Europe and I'd be notified of the new dog I'd be assigned."

"Europe?"

"The K9 Corps trains dogs for other law enforcement bodies overseas." She continued bitterly. "Madden was very clever, wasn't he? He didn't even tell me what country. I was frantic. I begged everyone from mail clerks to senior officers in ATF to tell me where they'd shipped Monty. It took me over a month to find out they'd sent him to a police department in Milan. I thought it might be too late."

"Too late?"

"It's not only that he won't eat or drink for anyone else. Monty loves me. We're . . . close. He would mourn. A dog as loving as Monty can die of sadness." She blinked her stinging eyes. "He did mourn. He was sick, so sick, when I found him in Milan."

"And what did you do?"

"What do you think I did? I called Madden and told him I'd do anything he wanted if he'd give me back my dog." She looked straight into his eyes. "I won't let that happen to him again. If you can't find a way to get Madden off my back, Monty and I will just go away and disappear."

"I'll find a way." Logan's lips tightened grimly. "Count on it."

"I am. Heaven help you if you let me down."

"I won't let you down." He took out his phone. "Now go tend your wolf while I take care of Madden." He looked up after he'd dialed a number. "Since we're joined in putting Madden down, couldn't you ignore all my sins and give me my truce?"

"Maybe." She smiled. "If you promise not to feed my dog again."

"Only if he's starving." He spoke into the phone. "Margaret, what's the word on Madden?"

Sarah was still smiling as she and Monty moved toward the back porch. There was something very comforting about Logan's immediate and focused response to her problem.

Monty looked back at Logan. Nice.

"Cupboard love. You shouldn't have eaten until I fed you. You know better."

Trust.

"You still shouldn't have broken the rules." But she, too, was breaking the rules and trusting Logan. How had he managed to get past her defenses?

Nice.

Charisma? No, heaven knows he hadn't tried to charm her during these last days. He had just been straightforward and hardworking.

Why was she worrying anyway? All she had committed herself to was a truce for the next week or so.

Beautiful. Monty was trotting toward Maggie, who looked at him balefully. He plopped down beside her. Love.

She curled her lips in a snarl.

Sarah shook her head. "She's not feeling very romantic, boy. That wound's giving her a fit." She moved toward Maggie. "Come on, let's see if I can make it feel better. No snapping. Let's see if we can have a truce too."

The dog was romping and playing, his golden tail wagging happily as it ran circles around the Patrick woman.

Duggan sighted down the rifle squarely on the dog's head. His finger slowly caressed the trigger.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up to see Rudzak coming toward him over the ridge.

"The Patrick woman and the dog are outside the cabin. I'm going to give her a little surprise. I didn't do a good job of getting the dog at Santo Camaro. I'm going to blow his fucking head off now."

Rudzak looked down at the cabin. "That's not why we're here. We just managed to avoid Galen's men patrolling this area. They're all over the place. You'd think they were protecting Fort Knox. We may have only a short time before they come back. Have you seen Logan?"

"He's standing in the doorway."

"Ah, yes," Rudzak murmured. "His attitude is very protective, isn't it?"

"You told me we weren't going to touch him or the woman yet. But there's no reason I shouldn't kill the dog, is there?"

"Do you think you can do it? We weren't able to get very close. It's way out of range for most shooters."

"I can do it."

The golden retriever was lifting his head in the air and joyously barking.

"I've always hated barking dogs." Duggan sighted down the barrel again. "What do you bet I can put him down with one bullet?"

"No bet." Rudzak smiled. "I know you're an excellent marksman."

Yes, Rudzak always appreciated him, Duggan thought. Ever since he'd joined Rudzak a year earlier, he'd been given due respect. "Then watch me blow that pooch away."

"I'm looking forward to it." Rudzak crossed his arms across his chest. "Actually, this may be a stroke of genius on your part. I imagine Logan is feeling very safe in that little cabin with Galen's men protecting them on that far ridge. What better way to shake him up than this little statement? By all means, shoot the dog."

Duggan could almost see the after scene play out before him. The dog falling, covered with blood. Sarah Patrick staring at her dog, screaming, and then she and Logan running toward him.

"Wait a minute."

He followed Rudzak's gaze to the woman. She had whirled around and was looking up at the mountains.

"Interesting," Rudzak said. "Do you suppose she senses something? She's calling the dog."

"Goddammit." The dog and the woman were moving quickly toward the cabin, Duggan realized with frustration. He had to act fast. "Don't worry. I can still kill that dog."

"No."

He glanced up at Rudzak with a frown.

"I've found out what I wanted to know, and Galen's men aren't fools. They'd be able to locate the direction of the shot and be down on us in a heartbeat. It would be worth the risk if it was important, but it's not." He shrugged. "Besides, killing a dog would hardly be a worthy follow-up to Kai Chi."

"But it wouldn't hurt anything to--"

"No, Duggan," Rudzak said gently as he turned away. "Trust me. We'll just have to think of something more fitting."

"What's wrong?" Logan asked as Sarah shooed Monty in the front door. "What did you see?"

"Nothing."

His gaze narrowed on her face.

"Nothing," she repeated. "I just felt . . . something wasn't right. I know it sounds crazy. But I've learned to go with my instincts."

"It doesn't sound crazy at all. I imagine you've developed very good instincts over the years." He took out his phone. "I'll call security and ask Franklin to check out the area for any sign of Rudzak."

"If there's any threat, it's more likely that ranchers have found out I'm taking care of Maggie. They might have decided to teach me a lesson." She made a dismissive gesture. "As I said, it's probably nothing but maybe I'll take Monty out after dark from now on."

"Good idea." He spoke into the phone. "Franklin, what's happening up there?"

"Come on, Monty." Sarah headed for the kitchen. "I'll get you some fresh water."

Logan hung up as she finished filling Monty's dish. "No one's been sighted but they're checking."

"I told you, I didn't see anything." She moved toward the back porch and Maggie. "But if it was one of those ranchers, it won't hurt for them to know they're not alone out there."

"Are you letting me win?" Sarah leaned back in her chair and gazed at Logan suspiciously. "I'm good, but you can't be this bad."

"Believe me, I am. Poker's not my game. I've never been into instant gratification. I'm better at chess."

She studied him and then nodded slowly. "I can see it. Strategy and war games. I've never gotten into chess. I vote for instant gratification every time."

"Who taught you to play poker? Someone on the search team?"

"No, my grandfather. When I was a kid, we'd sit here before the fire and play for hours."

"What about your mother?"

"She lived in Chicago. She didn't like it here."

"But you did."

"I loved it." She grimaced. "And I loved getting out of the city. It was dirty and crowded and--" She stood up. "I'm thirsty. Want some lemonade?"

"Please."

"It's not as cool as it usually is this evening." She went to the refrigerator. "Maybe we should put out the fire."

He crossed to the fireplace. "Your mother liked the city?"

"She liked lights and movies and bars and people. Lots of people. She got bored a lot." She gave him the frosty glass. "She was married four times."

"Tough for you."

"I survived." She sat down and stretched out her legs. "In fact, I was lucky. I got to go to my grandfather for a while every time she got married. I liked that. The third time she let me stay for two years."

"Why didn't she just turn over custody?"

"She'd get lonely. She had to have someone around."

"Nice."

She looked at him over the rim of the glass. "Look, I'm not complaining. That's just the way things were. I wasn't abused. Some people are just needy."

"But not you."

"Who'd take care of the needy people if we were all the same? It all balances out."

"Did your grandfather need you?"

She didn't answer right away. "I think he did. It was hard to tell. I know he loved me. He told me so at the end."

"Not before?"