He dreaded Alexander’s house more than almost anything. Seeing a dead man’s ghost had a way of chilling you to the bone. Unfortunately, he’d gone through his paperwork faster than expected.

His GPS directed him down a narrow driveway pinched in by overgrown hedges. Max whimpered and shifted in his seat. He put his paws on the door and rose on his haunches to stare at the house coming into view.

The small white building had an extended garage that almost dwarfed the entire yard.

With the wonky weather and unusual hot and cold spells, Grimm wasn’t surprised to find the grass half dead and half overgrown as well. The hedges had been neglected, the yard was a mess from the recent rainfall.

“We’re almost there, boy. Hang on just a minute.” The rocky path was well-maintained and easy to navigate. The rains hadn’t made a mess of it, thank everything that was holy. His truck was already a mess.

Suddenly, Max growled low and deep. Grimm stared at him and watched the fur from his neck to his tail stand on end. His ears flicked forward and back while his tail went low to the seat.

“What’s out there?” Grimm’s fingers brushed the .38 Special in its holster and flipped the safety catch loose. He glanced around but couldn’t see anything that might have triggered Max’s reaction. His eye burned like it had caught on fire, and Grimm pushed the palm of his hand against it, keeping it shut. Whatever he needed to see, could wait until he out of the vehicle.

Grimm parked and shut off the truck. He jumped down from the driver’s seat and tried to shut the door quickly. Max scrambled through the crack, and onto the ground, hitting the gravel at a full run.

“Max!” Grimm shouted. He chased after the dog with desperation. Grimm’s eye burned hotter than ever and he let his palm fall away. Alexander ran toward Max, waving his arms. And Ryan was right behind him, running, waving at Grimm in a too-familiar danger hand motion. Two ghosts, no connection.

“Max, stop!” Grimm bellowed and the dog jerked to a halt for a split second.

The light came so bright and fierce that it blinded him. Fire, all-encompassing fire, burst out in a ball of explosive power. Time stopped for a split second and he saw that Max was flying through the air. A solid wall of heat and debris knocked him back as parts of the house splintered and shattered. The sound hit his ears the moment he slammed into the front end of his truck.

Pain ripped through his back and side but he dropped to the ground and moved forward, half running, half stumbling to where Max had fallen.

He reached the dog’s side and saw him breathing. Sunlight reflected off the slick blood oozing out of cuts on his side.

Movement beyond the fire caught his eye and he raced around the house, pistol drawn and ready. A dark shadow slipped through a crack in the fence. Grimm ran after him, desperate to ID the bastard. He reached the crack and made out the shiny white tail end of a Dodge Magnum as it peeled away. He caught three of the license plate letters and tapped them into his phone. He put the gun back in its holster and raced back to Max’s side. He dialed emergency response while he waited. The moment they connected, he told them his ID number and the situation. He gave his designator and contact from the division.

“My partner has been injured. I’m getting him help.”

“Sir, we need an officer at the scene.”

Grimm stared up at the sky and then down at Max. His breaths came shallowly as he laid there, barely moving.

“I’ll be here.”

He hung up and called Torres. “Yeah, what’s up buddy, how’s that wash—“

“Someone just blew up Alex’s house and tried to take me and Max down with it. We’re here. I need Stephanie. Get her to us right now. I got a partial plate, a car, and a small build. Not much, but it’ll be enough. Make it happen.”

“On it. I’m sending two units now. Get to a safe location. Evacuate the local homes. Was it another fire.”

“No, an explosion. Get EOD out here too.” Ryan’s ghost had disappeared, but Alex’s remained. He sat next to Max and watched his friend. Hot agony tore through Grimm’s chest as tears burned his eyes. Like hell he’d let this dog die this way.

“Anything else you need?”

“That bastard’s throat in my hand.”

“In due time, brother. See you soon.”

He rubbed his hands over Max’s body. The vest had pieces of trash and debris, but seemed solid. Most of the cuts were already coagulating. The gash the side of this throat, however, opened slightly every time he breathed. The poor guy wasn’t gasping, but it was obvious that every breath was agony.

His phone rang and he answered it, switching to speaker. He hated the way his bloody fingerprint stared back at him until the phone’s light faded.

“Grimm, this is Stephanie.”

“Hey Steph.” His throat closed on her name. Keep it together, man. Max shifted slightly. He shushed him gently.

“Talk to me, Grimm. Tell me what’s going on with Max.”

“He’s bleeding.” Grimm dragged in a deep breath and steadied his thoughts. “Most are superficial cuts, at least from where I can see it. I haven’t moved him yet, to see the extent of his injuries.”

“Good, don’t move him. I want you to run your hand along the side of his face and talk calmly to him. If you’re calm, he’ll stay calm.”

“Right.” He did as she suggested and got close enough to nearly kiss his muzzle. “You’re still not getting out of that bath.”

Max swiped a tongue lick his direction. As slobbery kisses, it was pretty weak, but he took it as a good sign.

“How is he now?”

“Calmer.” He knew what she meant. “Both of us are.”

“Good. You said most of his cuts were superficial. How bad are the others and how many?”

“Two deep cuts, one on the side of his throat.”

“His left or right side?”

“Left.” It took a moment for Grimm to realize that the ringing in his ears were actually the sounds of sirens closing in on their location.

“Alright, describe it to me. I need to make sure I have the right supplies.”

Her voice calmed and soothed the tightness in his chest. His tension uncoiled slowly. He put his hand on Max’s head and rubbed it the way Alex had taught him. “Don’t you go turning into a ghost on me, dog, you got that.” His demand was met with a small whimper. He willed his partner’s survival with every fiber of his being.

Vehicles arrived and hands pulled him away from Max. He shrugged off their touch, until Stephanie’s hands cupped his face. He stared deep into her light brown eyes. Strong willed determination stared back at him. “Let me take him. I’ve got the surgery room on standby. There’s a truck waiting for him, so let me get Max to where he can be helped while you take care of this.”

“Call me as soon as you can.” He gripped her hands against his face and fought with the helpless rage burning inside.

“I will. Just promise me you’ll get this guy.”

“I will.”

Torres cleared his throat and he let Stephanie go. She directed a stretcher next to Max.

“Be good for her this time.” He ruffled Max’s fur, slightly, but the dog was out of it.

“We’ll send an escort with you.” Torres nodded his head and one of the guys from the shop, the name slipped Grimm’s mind, nodded and ran over to one of the trucks.

Grimm watched them walk away and saw a Dallas PD uniform heading in their direction.

The moment they reached his side, Grimm started talking. If they wanted to catch this killer, they’d need to move fast.

He would trust Max to Stephanie the same way she trusted him to do his job. Now he just had to do it without letting the guys around him know that a ghost was walking among them. And now that Max was gone, he looked pissed as hell that his house had gone up in flames.