Chapter 6
THE REST OF THE BARBEQUE had been filled with an uncomfortable tension between Harmony and Mason. Even Coop had picked up on it, but it seemed the dog picked her side.
Not that there was a side to pick because she didn’t have time to deal with Mason or how he made her feel.
She had to decide if this was threat enough to call the panic number and relocate.
Only that made no sense. Lucas was in jail. She should be safe. It wasn’t like he was part of the mafia or anything. He didn’t kill people.
He just hit women.
And stole people’s money.
And ran drugs.
Who the fuck was she kidding? Lucas could have easily sent someone looking for her.
“Are you cold?” Mason asked as they turned off Main Street, heading for home.
“A little,” she said, rubbing her arms with her hands, though the goosebumps weren’t caused by the chill in the air. “What do you think happened tonight?”
“I really don’t know. It’s not my case, so I haven’t been involved with all the details.”
“That’s vague,” she said, wondering if he knew she’d lied about the computer. She should tell him the truth. Why she’d opted to pretend she hadn’t seen the last timestamp didn’t make sense for a woman who had nothing to hide.
Only she had everything to hide.
He was an officer of the law. She could trust him.
Trust no one but me and whoever I assign as your handler. Sterling’s words echoed in her mind, rattling her nerves.
“I’ll talk with Jonah in the morning and see what I can find out. For now, the locks have been changed and make sure you secure your doors tonight.”
If ever she needed a dog, now would be the time. A big dog. Like Coop.
“You have to have an opinion or theory about who broke into both stores. I mean, who steals a puppy?”
“Teenagers. Or one could have just gotten out during the robbery. But right now, without looking at all the evidence gathered, I’m grasping at straws.”
The night sky filled with bright stars as they turned up the pathway to the cottage. Coop started barking, pulling hard on his leash.
“Knock it off, Coop,” Mason said.
“Why’d you give him your last name?” she asked, making clucking noises, trying to get the dog’s attention, who tried to drag Mason toward her house.
“My mom named him. She said at this point, it was the only way to keep the family name going.”
Harmony covered her mouth, laughing. “That’s kind of mean.”
“My mom is all about the grandbabies.”
“I guess most mothers are,” she mumbled.
“Coop. Heel,” Mason said, yanking on the leash.
The dog whined, but relented.
“How did your parents die?” Mason asked.
She shivered. She had no idea if her birth father was alive or dead, nor did she care. “They were killed in a car crash. I’d rather not talk about it.” She found it difficult to pull all the pieces of her fake life together and didn’t want to make a mistake and have to backpedal later. She’d already lied to him once tonight.
Now twice.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to be so short. I’m just tired and a little wigged out by what happened.”
“I understand.”
Coop jumped up, barking wildly, his tail wagging back and forth like a tennis match.
“What is up with you?” Mason asked. “He doesn’t get this excited unless he’s around other dogs.”
“I saw that at the park today. Big, old goofball, this one.” She snapped her fingers, and Coop turned his head.
That’s when she heard the yelp of a puppy.
Mason whipped his head in her direction. “Did you hear that?”
She nodded as Coop started barking again.
“Quiet,” Mason commanded.
She strained her ear, and the sound of a high-pitched bark echoed in the night air.
“It’s coming from the cottage.” Mason set off at a brisk pace.
She raced past him, taking the porch stairs two at a time and fumbled with the keys, but managed to unlock the door.
“Harmony, stop. It might not be safe.”
Too late for that warning.
A small German Shepherd pounced on her feet. “What the hell?” She bent over, picking up the animal. “How on earth did you get in here?”
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Mason said with a deep scowl as he pulled out his phone.
She rubbed the dog’s head as she glanced around the room, looking for…she had no idea what.
“Step outside,” Mason said, handing her the leash to Coop, who tried to jump up to get a good whiff of the puppy.
“I’m not leaving.”
“Yes, you are. This is a crime scene, and I need to call it in.” He glared.
“What?”
“That’s the missing dog.”
“Oh,” she whispered, stepping onto the porch. Sitting down on the bottom of the stairs, she held the puppy in her lap. Coop sniffed and licked wildly while the puppy did the same. Fast friends, these two.
In the distance, a quick burst of a siren rang out.
That was fast. Well, the police station was only a few blocks away.
Why the hell would someone steal a dog and put it in her house?
Her phone buzzed. She snagged it from her back pocket, noticing she had a new email. Only the fifth one in her business email: .
She gasped, dropping her phone to the ground when she saw that an email from Lucas’s sister had popped into her inbox.
“What’s the matter?”
She jumped at the sound of Mason’s voice behind her. “Shit, you scared me.”
“Looks like something on your phone scared you first.”
“I’m just shaken up by all this,” she said, which was the truth.
“And what about this? Does this shake you up?” He shoved a picture of her and Lucas in front of her face.
“What the hell?” she took it in her trembling hands, flipping it over and staring at the words: Lucas and Heidi.
“Who the hell is Lucas, and why does a picture of you say your name is Heidi?”