“Hey, honey,” she cooed. “Showing off our baby again?”
“Yes, Kenzie darling.” Axe was beyond being in love. I could tell by every action he took. “Did you talk to Dr. Monroe when you called her?”
“No, I had to leave a message, why?” She narrowed her eyes.
“The man who saved my life was asking.” Axe was grinning from ear to ear. In my wildest dreams I never would have thought this side of the man would exist.
She rushed toward me, throwing her arms around my neck. “Thank you for saving this crazy, pain-in-the-ass man.”
While I smiled, my thoughts were miles away as I tried not to make something out of nothing. At the same time, given the angle of the way I was standing in the hug, I was offered a closer view of Frosty. “That’s fine.” While I wasn’t trying to be rude, I pushed her away and snatched the phone from his hand.
Dear God.
No. This was crazy. Impossible. Or was it?
“Hey,” Axe chided, but noticed my face. “What is it?”
“I know that dog. He was already seen by Grace a few days ago. The guy he came in with was the one I mentioned at the base. The pup had supposedly been shot.”
Both Rock and Axe stepped closer, Axe glancing at the photograph. “You’re talking about the guy with the ballcap?”
“Yeah. I need to find Grace. She can confirm it.”
“Why would you take an injured dog with you on a hike?”
“He didn’t,” I gritted out. “The dog was used as a lure.”
“For who?” Axe’s eyes darted back and forth across mine.
“Me.” The motherfucker didn’t like that I was there to protect her. Oh, my fucking God.
“Viper?” Another woman’s voice caught my attention.
I swung around, almost knocking into her. Narrowing my eyes, I had to corral my thoughts before I managed to recognize her. “Darlene. Right?’
“Yes. Where is Grace?” She was as nervous as I was. “Is she here? I need to talk to her. It’s very important.” Her voice was shaking.
“She hasn’t gotten here yet. Why?”
She chewed on her lower lip and I was in her face so fast, her eyes opened wide. “She called and left a strange message, but there was a dog barking in the background and I could barely hear her.”
Exhaling, my entire body stiffened. “Did she say anything?” Something was wrong. I could feel it.
“Something about a group of letters and a restraining order. Did she tell you about the lighter she found on the ranch?”
“What lighter?”
“It was by the river near the old bar. My father ran it for fingerprints. There was a name of a bar on the surface, so she went there asking questions.”
“What?”
“What’s going on?” Axe asked.
“Grace has been handling some detective work of her own,” I gritted out.
“She wasn’t far off, Viper,” Darlene said. “She found several details that are adding missing pieces to this puzzle. There was some crazy break-in at the pet store and half the pictures she’d painted had been stolen. Something is going on and I askedmy father, but as the chief of police, he can’t tell me what is happening. He’s on his way hoping to talk to Grace.”
My fucking God. She was trying to get herself killed. The bastard had been told.
