Page 158 of Nobody Told Me Thrift Shops Sell Stolen Dragon Heirlooms

Oh, this was excellent.

Saturday morning arrived cold, clear, and deeply offensive for a charity race.

Avery met me in the parking lot outside the event. She had an expression that suggested she was only here because she loved me and enjoyed legally gray nonsense.

“You have the papers?” she asked.

I patted the slim envelope tucked inside my jacket. “Complaint, summons, proof-of-service form.”

“And the recall plan?”

“Max approaches, stays within twenty feet, no traffic lanes, no crowd crush. I call him back the second Fenwick engages or if he gets too excited.”

“And if Fenwick shifts?”

“We leave.”

“And if Rafe finds out?”

“He knows about the plan.”

“That wasn’t my question,” Avery said, cocking an eyebrow.

“Helena approved it,” I said.

“Helena Wallace is not the one who looks at you like he’s trying to chew through his own self-control.”

My face heated. “Can we focus?”

“Sure.” She looked across the lot. “Target?”

I spotted Alistair Fenwick near the finish area, still wearing his race bib, hands on his hips as he talked to two other runners. He was lean and flushed from the race, silver at his temples, finisher medal hanging crooked against his shirt. Even standing still, he looked ready to move. His neon-orange running shoes didn’t improve my opinion of him.

“That’s him,” I said.

Avery looked. “He’s been dodging the firm?”

“Every letter, call, and meeting request.”

“Embarrassing for him.”

“Let’s make it worse.”

We waited until the crowd thinned and Fenwick moved toward the far side of the lot, away from traffic, near a cluster of parked SUVs and a grassy median. Perfect. Public enough, but no moving cars.

I crouched beside Max and clipped the drag line to his collar.

“Okay,” I murmured.

Max looked at me. He knew something was up.

Avery stood beside us, ready.

I gave the soft release. “Frei.”

Max trotted into the lot.

Just loose enough to look unattended and purposeful enough to draw the eye. He moved toward the grassy median, sniffed, then glanced back at me for instructions exactly as he should.