Darke Heat Read online

  “About another twenty minutes.”

  Good. She’d hire a rental, and take her dogs home with her. Then maybe she could begin to get over this man.

  They made the turn off into a small suburb, and then a few other turns, before Bryce pulled into the driveway of a blue and white house at the end of the street. There were several other homes built around the same time, as they all seemed to be of similar design. The house had an attached garage with a fenced in back yard, just like its neighbors on either side. She’d barely let him stop the car before she jumped out, grabbed the leash, and got Samson.

  Bryce went to the front door and unlocked it. There was very little in the way of furniture. Just the bare essentials for any man cave.

  “I’m only renting this place since I still own the farm,” he said.

  She followed him as he walked through to the back of the house and into the yard. There was a doghouse set up in the next yard. Paige could see the Rottweiler. It was a big, black, mean-looking dog. He was huge and full of muscle and didn’t like the look of Samson one bit. He set up barking. Samson looked at him and then ignored him.

  “You better keep Samson in the house when we go check on Sheba. She took up residence in my shed as she got closer to her delivery time. I set it up with an old blanket

  “Samson will be fine.”

  They hadn’t made it to the shed when Bryce’s neighbor came out on the back porch.

  “Hush, Killer. Hey, Bryce. We had some company last night. They were checking out your place. Killer and Sheba put up quite a racket. They buzzed by. I called the police to let them know someone was casing the neighborhood.”

  “Thanks, Jimmy. I’ll check into it.”

  Bryce rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t like this at all. If the drug dealer had his address, things just got real risky.

  Paige turned to take Samson toward the shed, but Samson was in total professional stance. She wasn’t able to move him. This was what she had trained him to do when he scented a bomb.

  “Bryce! Don’t move.” He stopped in his tracks.

  “What?” he said as he turned and saw Samson on alert mode.

  “Jimmy!” Bryce yelled.

  The neighbor came back out.

  “I left my phone in the car. Call nine-one-one. Ask for Officer Jenkins and tell him I found explosives at this address. Okay?”

  The older gentleman turned pale but nodded affirmative and went in to make the call.

  “Paige, are you sure?”

  “No, but are you willing to take a chance? This is what he is trained for, so either he is overreacting to all the stimuli, or you have some explosives in your yard. I may even be standing on them.”

  After uttering those words, her whole world tilted off its axis. She just couldn’t fathom the depth of fear her words caused. Paige couldn’t think—could only stare at his face. What if he was standing on a bomb? She felt the life rush out of her, certain she’d turned pale beneath her summer tan. Gooseflesh stood up on her arms and she felt suddenly weak. Concentrate. I need to really concentrate to keep from keeling over. I have to keep my legs straight and my feet still or I’ll be in danger of setting off the bomb.

  Jimmy stuck his head out of his back door. “They’re coming. I don’t trust myself to step outside in case I set off the explosive.”

  “Your yard should be okay, but Jimmy, listen. Go to all the neighbors and tell them there is a potential fire, a gas leak. Get them away from here. Don’t let them panic. Let them know help is coming, but get them to leave the area. Okay?”

  “I’m on it, Bryce. Killer, come. We’re on the job.” Jimmy and the dog disappeared into the house, and the sound of them leaving by another door could be heard. Soon there were cars all around them driving away from the neighborhood. In the distance, sirens sounded and were coming closer.

  Paige could feel her heart beating in her throat. Her palms were sweaty, but she didn’t dare wipe them on her shorts in case she moved in the wrong direction by accident. Just breathing and remaining upright was taking all her concentration.

  She looked over at Bryce again. Deep lines bracketed his mouth and the corners of his eyes. Standing still for so long was putting a huge strain on his leg muscles, if his expression was anything to go by. The minutes ticked by while Paige looked at the beloved face of the man she thought she’d want forever.

  “Bryce, where is Sheba? She would have been standing in the same position as Samson.” At the sound of his name, the dog looked up from where he was standing on point. Then he sat down with his nose still pointed at the spot next to Paige’s right foot.

  “Good boy, Samson,” she said in lieu of petting him with approval. She couldn’t risk it.

  “I told you she made a bed for herself in the shed. The concrete is cool in there. She should have come out by now. Normally my voice would have her trotting over,” Bryce said.

  Now she had to worry about the dog. Where was she? This wasn’t like her. Was she hurt? Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of several officers.

  “Tom, glad you made it. Paige, this is Tom Jenkins, our bomb squad leader.”

  Jenkins was standing on the other side of the neighbor’s fence.

  “Bryce, I see the dog. He’s a bomb detector right?”

  “Yes, and Paige is his trainer.”

  Tom turned toward her. “Paige, how accurate is he?”

  “Spot on in a simulation.”

  “This is his first real situation?” he asked.

  She nodded in the affirmative.

  “Okay, doesn’t matter if it’s his first or not, we still treat it the same. It’s a threat. I have a bomb squad in position. We will initiate an extraction.”

  He spoke into his two-way radio for a few minutes and then turned to them again.

  “I’ve a report that all the neighbors have been evacuated. We’ve got road blocks in place to keep out the reporters and the curious. We’re ready when you both are.”

  Paige looked over at Bryce and saw his look of determination. He was ready. She nodded.

  “We’re ready,” Bryce confirmed for both of them.

  “Will the dog go to Bryce and show him a way out?” Jenkins asked.

  “He should, but he isn’t fully trained yet, so his actions could be unpredictable,” Paige answered.

  “Go ahead and give him the command,” Jenkins said.

  “No! We can’t leave her here. Let her go first,” Bryce argued.

  “Bryce, don’t argue. You know the drill: most likely to survive first.”

  Jenkin’s words cut through Paige’s brain like a cold blade. The thought that she could die today sent a chill straight through to her soul. Bryce sent an imploring look her way. She understood. He didn’t have a choice, as he wasn’t the person in charge. She was just here to pick up her dog. But if anything happened to Bryce, she’d be devastated.

  “What about women and children first?” he was stalling, hoping for some kind of reprieve from the situation.

  “Quit arguing, Bryce, and let’s get this situation resolved.”

  Bryce called Samson over to him. At the same time, Paige commanded him to go to Bryce. The dog stood up and went over to Bryce in a zigzag pattern. The pattern denoted several traps in the yard. Since the yard was bare dirt, there was no way of telling where they had buried the devices, or if they were buried, but the pattern was not something to ignore.

  Bryce grabbed Samson’s collar and allowed the dog to lead him to the edge of the yard, to the neighbor’s fence, and to safety. Bryce hopped the fence.

  “Okay, so what do we do about Paige?”

  “We get the dog to do the same for her. If we’re right, she’s close, but not on the charge.”

  “That’s the best you can do?” Bryce’s face showed a mixture of fear and frustration.

  “Paige, we’re sending Samson back across the yard to you. Let him lead you back over to this part of the fence. Then we will lift you both out of the yar
d.”

  Paige nodded her head in agreement. She didn’t trust herself to speak. Samson did another zigzag route and then pointed to the spot next to her foot.

  “Is it safe to move, Samson?”

  Samson barked once. He’d been trained to bark once for safe and twice for not safe. But he was still in training and she was putting a lot of faith in his ability. The first step was the hardest, since she knew she was either on a charge or really close to it. She lifted her left foot, and shifted her weight to the inside of her right, so there was no weight going to the outside of her foot closest to the charge. Samson came around to offer her his collar and guide her to her next step.

  “Samson, good boy. Now go back over to the fence.”

  “What are you doing?” Bryce yelled.

  “If it goes off, I don’t want to kill my dog too. If I can move my right foot and nothing happens you can send him back over. Otherwise, keep him safe. Maybe all of you should step back until I take the next step.”

  The rest of the bomb squad stepped back a pace or two, but Bryce stood there, stubborn and unmoving. If anything happened to him, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. But then, she would be dead, she thought grimly.

  She took a deep breath, lifted her right foot, and gingerly set it next to her left. Nothing happened. The relief was almost crippling.

  “Come, Samson,” she called out.

  The dog did his zigzag and came around to place himself beside her so she could grab his collar. Once she had hold, he led her in the same staggered pattern back to the fence. When they reached it, Bryce grabbed her, lifted her over the fence, and promptly crushed her in a bear hug. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to handle being on a bomb squad. It played havoc with her nerves. Yet she’d been doing this for years. She’d trained others, put herself in these positions on a regular basis. She’d never thought of herself as courageous, but with Bryce’s life on the line, she found she could be.

  Jenkins was either a little crazy or an adrenaline junkie. However, Bryce didn’t strike her as one. He was cautious to an extreme. He held her now, reaffirming she was alive by the way his warmth calmed her shivering body, and his breath ruffled the hair on her collar.

  “Bryce, get Samson,” she mumbled into his neck.

  “Jenkins has him,” he said.

  She reluctantly let go and stepped away from his comforting embrace.

  The bomb squad came in with their bulky bomb suits. They went through the house and around the perimeter. Samson helped them.

  Paige was still shaking and having a hard time getting over the fear of Bryce being killed.

  “We found it,” Jenkins yelled.

  He then came over to explain how the house and yard were booby trapped.

  “The gas line was rigged to blow if you turned on a light or walked to the shed.”

  “So where is Sheba?” Paige asked.

  At Jenkins questioning look, Bryce explained.

  “Sheba is Paige’s other bomb sniffing dog. She was staying in the shed getting ready to have a litter of puppies.”

  “We haven’t checked the shed. The amazing thing is that you didn’t set it off when you went toward it, Bryce.”

  “Well, the neighbor’s dog was putting up a fit, and my neighbor called out. I didn’t make a straight line for the shed. It was more random.”

  “Well your neighbor and his dog saved your butt, not to mention that of your neighbors.”

  “I’ll let him know,” Bryce said, retaining his hold on Paige’s hand.

  “So where is Sheba, Bryce? Do you think she’s still in the shed?”

  “Jenkins, is there any way to see if the other dog is in the shed?” Bryce asked.

  “Yes, but it could be booby trapped as well. You’ll just have to wait until we figure out what all the triggers are and disarm them. For now, take Paige and the other dog and move a safe distance away.”

  Bryce called Samson over and ushered a now very upset Paige to a safe distance. The police barricade had the neighborhood contained, and there were several news vans set up just on the other side of the police line.

  Paige walked back to Bryce’s truck and grabbed her phone.

  “What are you doing, Paige?”

  “Sheba has a special chip inserted in her neck and a locator on her collar. I’m going to use my phone’s special GPS app to find my dog.”

  “So, let me get this straight. At any given time you knew exactly where your dog was?” he accused.

  “What? You think I’d trust you with one of my babies. I knew you wouldn’t hurt her, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t keep her. I’d have come for her sooner, but the training at Fort Bragg took a lot longer than first expected. Otherwise, I would have been here two weeks ago.”

  Officer Jenkins was talking with his men. She heard them determining the threat level and whether to detonate. But to detonate meant risking the entire neighborhood, if it was rigged to the gas line as they suspected.

  Paige knew Bryce had to stay there, but she needed to go. He’d had time to say something, and since he didn’t, that said it all. She’d been hanging onto a hope, wish, or some other foolish thought. He was just not into her that way. He obviously cared for her, or he wouldn’t have been so shaken up about the bomb being close to her, but he wasn’t into anything permanent. She needed to accept it and move on. She wasn’t going to settle for anything less; her days of being second best were over. Never again.

  Paige looked for an app on car rentals and found an agency that would pick her up. She glanced around at the police tape as she made the call and decided to have them pick her up on the next block over.

  “Hi, my name is Paige Conner and I need a vehicle, an SUV would be best. Could you have it delivered to the street over from Blaine? Yes, the street to the West of Blaine. Maple? Yes, that’s the one. Thanks.”

  Chapter Two

  Paige reached inside Bryce’s truck, grabbed Samson’s bowl and chew toys, and stuffed them in her bag. In her peripheral vision, she saw Bryce break away from the group discussing how to disable the device and head toward her.

  “Have you found where Sheba is?” he asked.

  “Yes, she’s somewhere just outside of Darke County. Any idea how that could be?” she asked.

  Bryce looked her in the eye and said nothing.

  “Well, I’m out of here.”

  “Wait, don’t go without me. It could be dangerous. And I have a favor to ask.”

  “Bryce, if it’s dangerous, I’m getting my dog out of there. You need to stay here and clean up this mess, but I don’t.” There were so many things she wanted to say, but if she got into it now, she’d make a fool of herself. At least if she stayed mad at him for taking and then losing her dog, she didn’t have to admit how his actions had hurt her. His phone rang and he looked at the caller ID. By his expression, she could see he needed to take the call.

  She’d turned to walk over to Maple, when Officer Jenkins came over.

  “Paige, I’d like to get a dog like Samson. I know the force can’t afford one, but I’d like to get one just the same.”

  “If you’re looking to adopt one of my dogs, Officer Jenkins, they don’t come cheap, and I run extensive background checks, as well as home visits.” At his stunned look, she explained. “Being in law enforcement hasn’t stopped people from mistreating dogs. If you’re willing to go through the vetting process, here’s my card. Call and make an appointment when you have time to come and meet the dogs, and see if there is a personality match.”

  “Will I be fingerprinted as well,” he added jokingly.

  She could tell her standards were more than he had expected. “No, your prints are on file through the police department, which is good enough for me.” She turned and walked away from the barricade toward Maple. Samson walked with her. This day was on the top of her list of bad days.

  Two cars pulled up to the curb at the corner of Blaine and Maple. One of them had the logo of the car r
ental company and the other was the SUV she’d rented. The driver got out and walked over to her, handing her the credit card receipt and the keys. She loaded up Samson, only sparing a brief look back at Bryce. There were too many things unresolved between them, with no closure. Enough, life moved on, and she’d find a way to do the same. For now, moving on physically would help.

  She forced herself not to look back to see what Bryce was doing. It didn’t matter. She’d find Sheba and tell Bryce he could get someone else’s trained dog. She started the engine, ready to pull away, when the tap on her window startled her. Bryce was there.

  “Now what?” she demanded.

  “I need you to loan me Samson.”

  “Are you out of your mind? Of course you are. Need I remind you of current events? You stole my dog and now she has been stolen from you. Your track record with me is not good by anyone’s standards.”

  “I need Samson now, Paige. Quit giving me grief and let me have the dog.”

  “How can I trust you, Bryce?” She meant it in more ways than one.

  “You have my word I will bring him back this weekend.”

  “How can you even say that with a straight face? Your word hasn’t been worth spit.”

  “This isn’t about that night is it? That was a mistake.”

  So now she had his take on their evening together. “Wrong answer, Bryce.” She could feel her whole body shut down at the hurt his words caused.

  “If I have to, I will seize him for the investigation, and you won’t know when you’ll get him back,” he said in a hard, unyielding tone.

  The knife seemed to twist a littler deeper in her chest, at the idea that he’d actually pull his professional power to bear against her. What did it matter? He’d already said they were a mistake. This must be what a fish feels like when it’s gutted.

  “Fine! Take my dog. But if he isn’t back home by next week, I won’t wait. I’ll come up here with my twenty-two, and I’ll be taking him. He has a chip just like Sheba, so don’t think you can hide him away.”

  He nodded in agreement, but wasn’t backing down from taking her dog.

  She got out and grabbed Samson’s things and handed them to Bryce along with the leash, while trying to not touch him. He seemed to take exception to her avoiding contact, and made sure his hand caressed hers. She looked up into his eyes. Searching their depths for the truth, but it eluded her. What was going on? This was just another mixed signal he was sending.