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Back Deception Cove Save as PDF
Chapters (78)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Prologue
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Thirteen
  20. Fourteen
  21. Fifteen
  22. Sixteen
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Forty-Three
  50. Forty-Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Fifty-Four
  61. Fifty-Five
  62. Fifty-Six
  63. Fifty-Seven
  64. Fifty-Eight
  65. Fifty-Nine
  66. Sixty
  67. Sixty-One
  68. Sixty-Two
  69. Sixty-Three
  70. Sixty-Four
  71. Sixty-Five
  72. Sixty-Six
  73. Sixty-Seven
  74. Sixty-Eight
  75. Acknowledgments
  76. Discover More
  77. About the Author
  78. Also by Owen Laukkanen

“There you go,” the trainer was saying. “There’s a good girl. No one’s going to hurt you out here.”

The dog wasn’t convinced. She tried to bust back into that crate, but Petrie had the door closed and locked, trapping her outside.

“There we go,” she said, standing. “Now you two can get acquainted.”

She walked over to Bridges Colson’s magazine-cover golden, left Mason sitting there with a dog who wanted nothing more in the world than to not get acquainted with anyone.

Mason put out his hand. “Hey, girl,” he tried. “Hey, Lucy.”

Lucy shivered. Backed away. Ignored the peace offering. She scratched at her crate like she was sure he was trying to kill and eat her. Mason looked at her some more. Rubbed the back of his neck.

“Damn,” he said, and he reached over and wrapped his arms underneath Lucy’s front legs, dragged her back to him squirming, lifted her off the ground, and held her up to face him.

“I don’t mean you any harm,” he told her. Tried to get her to meet his eyes with her own. “I’m here to help you, dog. Just a friend.”

Lucy looked at him, met his gaze briefly, and for that instant Mason could swear he maybe felt something, a connection, like the dog had heard what he’d said and understood, and for that one moment he felt like he knew why he’d been partnered with this dog, like this was something with some deeper meaning.

Then Lucy looked away, and Mason felt something warm on his legs, and he looked down and the damn dog had pissed all over his lap.

Three

Three

“If you could spare a little money, I’d be grateful,” Mason said. “I’ll pay you back, soon as I can.”

Across the table, his sister swapped a glance with her husband. Set down her fork. “Girls,” she said. “Go finish your homework.”

Mason waited while his nieces pushed back their chairs and carried their plates into the kitchen. Brianna, ten years old, and Natalie, eight; they were Mason’s blood, but neither of them had known him before today. The girls looked at him like they were scared of their uncle, put off by his sudden appearance in their lives.

He couldn’t fault them for it. Just his physical presence alone was bound to be off-putting. He’d always been tall, even as a kid, and so many years in a prison gymnasium had built his body into a form that seemed cartoonish and threatening out here in the real world, a menace come to life who couldn’t even maintain eye contact.

And here he was, asking for money.