Two police cruisers came to brake-squealing stops, one on the street a few feet from my Jeep, the other driving over the curb and onto the neighbor’s lawn.They both opened their doors in a rush, guns out.
Which was debatably excessive for the situation.Tasers would have been a better option in my opinion, and I kinda wanted to see them electrocute Hilary a little.
Then I realized the deputies had their guns pointed at me, not Hilary.
I blinked at one officer and then turned my head, giving a double blink.They had their guns aimed at me.
Guns.Aimed.Atme.
Well, now I could scratch that off the list of things I never wanted to experience.
A laugh bubbled out of me, not even close to amused.Hilary had killed a poor little dog.Caused two cat parents untold emotional and financial turmoil.Nearly took my sweet Waffles from this world.And I was the one these buttheads were pointing their guns at.
Finn
I stepped awayfrom Grier for five minutes.Six feet, that was all that separated us for the first time in more than fifteen hours.If it hadn’t been an important call, one I didn’t want anyone in the lab to hear, I wouldn’t have put even that little distance between us.
But she was coming out of her shock.Her tears had dried fully.Those goddamn hiccup-sniffle noises that were about as torturous as having a cattle prod zap my heart finally passed.Jagger had been close to losing his shit watching his eldest daughter so utterly wrecked all night.Once Luca arrived with Violet and Shaw, the tension in the lab only doubled.Jagger, I most likely could have handled without much issue.Luca Thornton, the greatest NFL defensive player in pro football history, not at all likely.
Even as leaned-down as the beast had become since retiring and starting his own youth athlete program for talented, underprivileged teens, spending more time coaching than tearing men apart on the field, he outweighed me in muscle.
Grier’s dad and godfather kept their cool, though.They were there to support her, not cause more problems.She barely noticed them, however, her attention locked on Waffles.While she was focused on him, I took care of her.All night, she held on to me like I was her lifeline, and I held her right back.
With her at my side, I’d taken call after call, giving orders to my deputies a few times but leaving the work to my family.Mom kept me updated while the MC investigated.Because we all knew this was not going to be something that could be handled through legal channels.Hilary would get a fine at most once the DA finished tearing apart any case we could make against her.
Finally ending the call with my grandmother, I turned around, expecting Grier to still be beside Waffles.He was sleeping peacefully now, no longer whimpering in that pitiful little way that affected everyone in the lab, myself included.
I gave him a scratch behind the ears.“Glad you’re gonna be okay, buddy.”
He kept sleeping, and I went to find Grier.As I walked toward the big barn, I noticed her UTV was still parked where her mom had left it when she’d driven it over for her the night before.In the barn, staff was moving slower than usual, but working.Everyone had a heavy heart, but there was still work that needed to be done.A farm this big wasn’t sustainable with only a few people.It was never-ending, requiring round-the-clock maintenance.For the animals, the equipment, the land, and everything in between.
Not finding her in the barn, I walked up to her house.It was a barn too.One that she’d turned into a loft apartment overhead, while below, there were a few stalls.One was for Waffles.Climbing the stairs, I called her name.“Grier?”
No answer.
Her kitchen and living room and office had an open concept, only her bedroom and bathroom separated with a wall.When I found the bedroom empty, I got a bad feeling.The bathroom was silent, but I still checked.Nothing.
Pulling out my phone, I retraced my steps.Her phone went straight to voice mail, and I realized it must have died.I hadn’t seen her with it during the previous long night.I called her mom next.
“Is Grier with you?”I asked when she answered.She and Violet had left with their husbands to shower and get some breakfast, promising Grier they would be back soon.
“No,” Shaw answered.“We just got home.”
“I turned my back for five minutes, and she disappeared.She’s not in the barn or the house.The UTV is in the driveway, though.”
There was a brief pause on her end before she finally spoke again.“Are any other vehicles missing?”
I scanned the driveway, taking inventory.Staff and guests parked in a separate lot closer to the barn.All the farm vehicles appeared to be accounted for.One of the trucks was absent, but I remembered Leo had asked Cody to use it to haul a trailer out to the east pasture to pick up a cow that had been limping the day before.
Then I realized the Jeep was gone.“I gotta go,” I muttered, disconnecting and running for my truck.
I had barely cleared the last gate when my cell rang.Caller ID flashed on the screen on my dash.Dispatch.Fuck.
A knot of dread filled me.“What is it?”
“We have multiple calls about a possible 10-35 and a potential 10-37 in progress, Sheriff.”
“Florist?”I guessed at the location of the vandalism and destruction of property.
