“This is Tanya Fielding,” Dev said, gesturing to the petite redhead wearing cargo pants and a lightweight, long-sleeve shirt. “I’ve been working with Tanya at another facility for a year now.”
Tanya’s brown eyes were warm. “It’s a pleasure. I’m in awe of the work the task force is doing.”
“I’m Jacob Wexley. I’m a friend of Dodger Andrews.” The man stepped forward, drawing their attention.
The pompous tone to his voice grated on Maren’s nerves.
He continued, “I’ve been working with K-9 dogs across the state for the past few years.”
“And this is Christian Dane,” Dev referred to the last candidate who stood silently watching them all.
Maren exchanged a curious glance with Eli.
Colt’s eyebrows rose. “Any relation to Emmett?”
The tall, muscular man gave a sharp nod. “Cousins.”
Surprise had Maren considering the dark-haired, blue-eyed man more closely. She could see a resemblance now that she was looking for it.
“Okay, let’s get to it, shall we,” Dev said and urged his three potential replacements into the ring to work with Trooper.
“Seems all three of them have someone who’s already involved in the task force rooting for them,” Maren mused aloud to Eli and Colt.
“It will be a tough decision for sure,” Eli said. “But it won’t be made until November. They have time to prove themselves.”
Leaving the training center, Colt and Maren headed back to the borrowed SUV.
“Colt.” Maren paused at the back of the SUV. “Can you find out where Agent Spares was taken? Maybe he’s regained consciousness and can shed some light on what Steve wanted to tell me.”
Nodding, Colt released the hatch for Haven and Rusk to jump into the specialized compartment. “Good idea. I’ll make the call.”
SIXTEEN
“Thank you, sir.” Colt hung up the phone after talking with his Special Agent in Charge Leo Herman. He turned to Maren, who stood outside the SUV, waiting for information on where the injured agent had been taken. Behind her, the task force headquarters’ brick building gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. “Henry is at Boulder Memorial Hospital.”
“Then off to Boulder we go.” Her tone brimmed with anticipation.
He hoped she wasn’t setting herself up for more disappointment. Henry had claimed when he’d called asking for them to come to the safe house that Steve refused to tell him why he had to talk to Maren. But if for no other reason than peace of mind, they needed to talk to the agent to verify if he knew something about the information Steve had, and why Henry had told them to come in the front entrance.
“My SAC also said they found a shooter’s nest across the street from the house and one in the backyard,” Colt said. “Forensics has collected bullets and are hoping to match them to other crimes.”
“That would be a big break,” she said.
Having already put the dogs in the specialized back compartment, Colt and Maren climbed into the SUV and drove away from the Colorado K-9 Unit task force headquarters. As they left Denver behind and the silence became too oppressive, Colt asked the burning question that had been plaguing him since the night before. “Are we going to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?”
The wariness in her tone let him know she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“The kiss.”
“We kissed,” she said, in a strained voice. “It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
He frowned as he changed lanes to pass a semitruck. He glanced in the rearview mirror, watching as various other cars made the same move. Was one following them? All things considered, his paranoia was justified. “Are you saying that because you think that’s what I want to hear? Or is that how you feel?”
“Does it matter?” From his peripheral vision, he noticed her shrug. But her hands twisted nervously in her lap.
His jaw tightened. After almost losing her, his feelings for her had clarified and expanded. But he needed to know how she felt. “It matters.”
