Lynette Eason - Bounty Hunter

She hung up and sent an email to her team. She was a member of the elite FBI Tactical K-9 Unit. While the FBI started its K-9 program many years ago, the Tactical K-9 Unit was started by the agency ten years ago in response to the increased levels of terrorism haunting the country. They ultimately answered to the FBI Director, but her team was special in that they had very little micromanaging from above. They were good at their jobs and the director knew it. He left them alone, only requiring debriefs as necessary from their team leader.

Harper’s computer dinged as the responses came in. Good, everyone would be ready to leave by five this afternoon. They’d drive to Colorado, check into the hotel, sleep a couple of hours and be ready to roll by 5:30 a.m. She shut the laptop and placed it in her bag.

They had to find Jake. He’d disappeared in the shootout with the Dupree kingpin and his uncle, Angus Dupree, in Los Angeles, California. Jake’s Malinois, Buddy, was injured in the shootout and was slowly recovering. Unfortunately, as smart as he was, he couldn’t talk and tell them what happened or where his partner went. It was up to Jake’s team to find him and bring him home.

Or bring him to justice.

* * *

Riley glanced at his watch. 5:28. On any other morning, it would be too early for the motel to have breakfast ready, but he had requested that pastries and juice be available for the team. Since the two of them were friends, the manager had been happy to oblige and had even added scrambled eggs and bacon to the spread. Special agents milled around the buffet, their expressions solemn, determined and ready for anything. Each one had a highly trained, working dog. He didn’t see how they would be able to fly under the radar, but working in the early morning hours while most people still slept or late into the evening would help.

His gaze moved back to the woman who had captured his interest the moment she’d entered the breakfast area. She was one of two females in the group and he assumed she was the one he’d spoken to on the phone yesterday.

Harper Prentiss. He liked her name and thought it suited her. She looked to be in her late twenties. Her dark hair was cut short, but in a style that flattered her face. Her blue eyes had locked with his just moments before and he figured she’d be heading his way after she finished her bagel. He swallowed another sip of coffee. He hadn’t expected her to be so pretty.

Special Agent Prentiss took her last bite and walked over. Her German shepherd stayed at her heel and sat when Harper stopped in front of him. “Riley Martelli?”

He stood and held out a hand. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re here early.”

“I like to be prepared.”

A faint smile curved her lips and small creases formed at the corners of her eyes. “Thank you for reserving the rooms. We needed them by the time we got here.”

“Hope you got some rest.”

“A few hours, but we’re used to going without when we have to.” She looked around and he noticed the others clearing their trash. Her gaze landed back on his. “We’ll be ready to roll in just a few minutes.”

“All right. Your vehicles look like they’ll hold up to the rugged terrain.”

“They will.” She paused. “This is an afterthought, but I don’t suppose you got a picture of the guy you saw?”

“Nope, but his face has been plastered all over the news and that was the guy.”

“And he shot at you,” she murmured.

“He did. And kept shooting even after I identified myself with my arms up and my weapon held over my head. Trust me, he wasn’t interested in being helped. The bullets he fired weren’t warning shots. They were way too close for comfort. If he could have killed me, he would have. He wanted me dead.”

She frowned and exchanged a look of concern with the man on her left. He’d been listening to the exchange and now he nodded and stood. “Guys? Let’s do a quick introduction and get going. You all about ready?”

A chorus of yeses answered him. One by one, each team member stepped up to introduce himself and his partner. A tall, green-eyed agent with short blond hair held out a hand. “I’m Leo Gallagher.” He gestured to the chocolate Lab at his side. “This is True. Nice to meet you.”

Riley nodded. Next was the other pretty woman on the team. “Julianne Martinez and Thunder.” The foxhound’s ears twitched at his name and he looked up at her. She patted his head and they followed Leo out the door.

“Max West.” He was the one who’d stood and told them all to head out. Max was tall with short blond hair and blue eyes. He had a wicked-looking scar on his left cheek and Riley couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. “This is Opal.”

Riley shook his hand.

Harper leaned over as Max headed out the door. “Max is the boss,” she whispered. “Everything goes through him.”

“Right.”

All of the agents were friendly enough, but the walls were there. Riley didn’t take it personally. He’d been in law enforcement once upon a time so he got it. They didn’t know anything about him. He could be some thrill seeker who got his kicks by calling in false leads and making everyone jump through hoops. He’d have to prove himself, or at least prove he wasn’t mistaken—or lying—about spotting Morrow.

Another tall, muscular man stepped up and held out a hand. “Ian Slade.” He scratched the ears of the Belgian Malinois at his side. “This is King. Thanks for your help.” He moved on toward the door.

“And last, but not least, I’m Zeke Morrow and this guy here is Cheetah.” The Australian shepherd was a gorgeous animal. All of the dogs were.

“Morrow?” Riley asked.

“Jake’s my brother.”

“Okay, then. I hope we find him fast.”

“That makes all of us.” Zeke’s lips flattened and he walked out the door.

Harper sighed and met Riley’s gaze. “He’s having a hard time.”

“I’m sure,” Riley murmured.

“Now that you’ve met the team, we can get going. We’re all ready to find Jake and put this case to bed. Why don’t you ride with me? Star here has her own area in the vehicle.”

He nodded and followed her out the door to climb into the passenger seat. Star slipped into the back and Harper slid into the driver’s seat. Leo and True walked over. “Is there room for us? There’s no reason to take all the vehicles.”

“Of course. There’s room for True in there with Star for this ride. It’s not that long a trip according to the GPS.” They climbed in and True settled into the designated area with Star. The custom-designed vehicle came with a climate-controlled spot where the dogs had been trained to ride.

The other agents and dogs dispersed themselves between two of the other vehicles. Harper cranked the Chevy and pulled out of the hotel parking lot.

For the next twenty minutes, the three of them made small talk and he learned Harper had graduated from high school and then gone straight into the army. “You didn’t want to make a career of it?”

“Nope, just wanted my degree in Criminal Justice. As soon as I had that and the loans paid off I got out and applied to the FBI. I had pretty decent grades in high school, but nothing that stood out so the army made sense for me. My dad took off when I was little and my mom found her comfort at the bottom of a bottle and eventually died from alcohol poisoning.” She slid a glance at him. “My options were pretty limited. I just knew I didn’t want to be like either of my parents.”

“You’re pretty open about all that.”

She shrugged and smiled. “I’ve come to grips with it. Every once in a while I’ll get asked to do a demonstration at a school and instead of just making it all about the dog, I decided that sharing about my past might help someone make better decisions for their future. Kind of a ‘you might have it bad right now at home, but that doesn’t have to define your future’ thing.”