Page 74 of The Search

Why was she worrying anyway? All she had committed herself to was a truce for the next week or so.

Beautiful. Monty was trotting toward Maggie, who looked at him balefully. He plopped down beside her. Love.

She curled her lips in a snarl.

Sarah shook her head. “She’s not feeling very romantic, boy. That wound’s giving her a fit.” She moved toward Maggie. “Come on, let’s see if I can make it feel better. No snapping. Let’s see if we can have a truce too.”

The dog was romping and playing, his golden tail wagging happily as it ran circles around the Patrick woman.

Duggan sighted down the rifle squarely on the dog’s head. His finger slowly caressed the trigger.

“What are you doing?”

He looked up to see Rudzak coming toward him over the ridge.

“The Patrick woman and the dog are outside the cabin. I’m going to give her a little surprise. I didn’t do a good job of getting the dog at Santo Camaro. I’m going to blow his fucking head off now.”

Rudzak looked down at the cabin. “That’s not why we’re here. We just managed to avoid Galen’s men patrolling this area. They’re all over the place. You’d think they were protecting Fort Knox. We may have only a short time before they come back. Have you seen Logan?”

“He’s standing in the doorway.”

“Ah, yes,” Rudzak murmured. “His attitude is very protective, isn’t it?”

“You told me we weren’t going to touch him or the woman yet. But there’s no reason I shouldn’t kill the dog, is there?”

“Do you think you can do it? We weren’t able to get very close. It’s way out of range for most shooters.”

“I can do it.”

The golden retriever was lifting his head in the air and joyously barking.

“I’ve always hated barking dogs.” Duggan sighted down the barrel again. “What do you bet I can put him down with one bullet?”

“No bet.” Rudzak smiled. “I know you’re an excellent marksman.”

Yes, Rudzak always appreciated him, Duggan thought. Ever since he’d joined Rudzak a year earlier, he’d been given due respect. “Then watch me blow that pooch away.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Rudzak crossed his arms across his chest. “Actually, this may be a stroke of genius on your part. I imagine Logan is feeling very safe in that little cabin with Galen’s men protecting them on that far ridge. What better way to shake him up than this little statement? By all means, shoot the dog.”

Duggan could almost see the after scene play out before him. The dog falling, covered with blood. Sarah Patrick staring at her dog, screaming, and then she and Logan running toward him.

“Wait a minute.”

He followed Rudzak’s gaze to the woman. She had whirled around and was looking up at the mountains.

“Interesting,” Rudzak said. “Do you suppose she senses something? She’s calling the dog.”

“Goddammit.” The dog and the woman were moving quickly toward the cabin, Duggan realized with frustration. He had to act fast. “Don’t worry. I can still kill that dog.”

“No.”

He glanced up at Rudzak with a frown.

“I’ve found out what I wanted to know, and Galen’s men aren’t fools. They’d be able to locate the direction of the shot and be down on us in a heartbeat. It would be worth the risk if it was important, but it’s not.” He shrugged. “Besides, killing a dog would hardly be a worthy follow-up to Kai Chi.”

“But it wouldn’t hurt anything to—”

“No, Duggan,” Rudzak said gently as he turned away. “Trust me. We’ll just have to think of something more fitting.”