Trained To Protect. Linda O. Johnston

Doug had alerted her to the potential additional threat in Chance. She could handle things the way she chose—which apparently was to ignore it all, or at least to do nothing more than bring some additional company into her dog walking and try to convince the owner of the decrepit house where she lived to install some kind of security system. Yeah, right.

      But her bravery appealed to him, even though he considered her foolish.

      “Enough of this, Hooper,” he said out loud, as if his dog in the back seat knew what he’d been stewing about. He glanced into the rearview mirror to see Hooper sit up from where he’d been lying. He was tethered safely. And now he was looking at Doug with his eyes large, his ears up, as if waiting for the next command.

      Which he wouldn’t get in the car. Except... “Good boy, Hooper,” Doug said. “Now, down.” And of course the smart and well-trained dog obeyed.

      Doug spoke aloud a little more, mostly so Hooper could hear him. But all he talked about was his frustrations—with traffic and with Elissa. Nothing that Hooper would understand, except, perhaps, for his handler’s mood.

      When Doug finally pulled off the freeway and onto the mountain roads, he used his car’s wireless connection to call his sister, needing to blow off steam—and hoping she had a minute to talk. Maisie was devoted to her job—and, of course, to Griffin. If they were out on an assignment, she simply wouldn’t answer.

      But she did. “So what’s going on, bro?” she asked.

      “Any further word about the K-9 Ranch?” he asked.

      “Nothing I’ve heard, and they haven’t called Griffin and me in to try tracking whoever left that sign.”

      “Not surprising. Hooper didn’t alert on anything when we were there, so Griffin probably wouldn’t, either. But Hooper did alert on a situation at Elissa’s home.” Doug quickly explained it to his sister, including his subsequent communications with the local San Luis Obispo police.

      “Did Elissa give you any more idea of what’s going on?” Maisie’s tone sounded like a demand, as if she really did want to know if there’d been an answer—and what that answer was.

      “She didn’t seem to know.” He knew his frustration resonated in his voice. “She didn’t make any guesses about who might be doing this or why, though she seemed justifiably scared. I tried to get her to stay with a friend or do something else self-protective, but all she indicated was that she’d take her dog on walks with a neighbor for a while—at least sometimes.”

      “Brave lady,” Maisie said.

      “Foolish lady,” Doug retorted then changed the subject. “So what’s going on with you?”

      They talked for a while longer. Maisie and Griffin were at the station. Assistant Chief Kara had set up a meeting with them tomorrow morning, though it was Saturday. “Not sure exactly what’s on her mind but she indicated that Hooper and you should join us if possible. Can you come?”

      “Definitely,” he responded. They talked about nothing for another few minutes and Doug said he’d see Maisie soon, at the home they and their dogs shared. It was evening, and they were off-duty that night—unless, of course, a case came in that required the assistance of one or more K-9s.

      Then he hung up.

      Meeting tomorrow with the assistant chief was fine with Doug. If nothing else, it would be a genuine, official distraction from the nonsense going on in his mind.

      No, not nonsense. There was a civilian in potential trouble.

      A very lovely and, yes, brave civilian in an apparently inexplicable situation—or at least not explainable for the moment, if she truly was telling him everything.

      And he wanted to trust her. Did trust her, even though he hardly knew her. But should he?

      Think with your brain and nothing else, he ordered himself. For despite all the orders he’d given himself, despite everything his revered uncle Cy had drummed into his head and Maisie’s when they had, at his urging, decided to become cops, he found Elissa Yorian not only a distraction but a very sexy, appealing woman.

      But he was a cop. A damn good one. And so he would help figure out what was going on with her, find a way to protect her, without getting emotionally involved.

      “Yeah, right,” he expressed aloud.

      His tone must have startled Hooper, who sat up once again on the back seat and gave a small growl.

      “You said it,” said Doug with a brisk nod.