Chapters (78)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Acknowledgments
- Discover More
- About the Author
- Also by Owen Laukkanen
The blow punched the wind out of him. Knocked him flat on his ass, knocked the hood off his face. She flipped the shotgun around, showed him the business end, made sure he could see her finger inch toward the trigger.
He was older than she was; in his thirties, she guessed. Crow’s-feet starting to show around his eyes, his face winter pale. Jess didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t mean anything. It sure didn’t make him a friend.
The stranger caught his breath. Stared up at her, past the shotgun, like he wasn’t all that worried she’d use it. “I guess you’d be the army vet, then,” he said.
“Marine,” she replied. “And who does that make you?”
“Well, I’d be the guy trying to piece together why his dog bit a deputy,” he said. “Are you going to shoot me, or can I stand up?”
She didn’t answer. Replayed his words, couldn’t make sense of them. “Harwood send you?”
He laughed. “That deputy? No, ma’am, he did not. In fact, I’m fairly sure he’d take issue with my being here.”
“What you said just now, about your dog biting him,” she said. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I trained that dog, Lucy—you still calling her Lucy?” He gave her space for an answer; she nodded. “Good,” he said. “I know that dog pretty well, and she wouldn’t just up and attack somebody. I came to figure out what went wrong.”
She stared down at him. Held the gun square, center mass. “They said it was prisoners who trained her,” she said slowly. “Some jail back east. You a criminal?”
He nodded. “I was.”
“And what, you heard the dog was in trouble and you escaped?”
“No, ma’am,” he said. “I served my time, and the first thing I did when I got out was call and check on Lucy, make sure she was all right. I wasn’t looking to see her again, nothing like that. I just wanted to see that she was happy.”
She opened her mouth. Closed it. Figured she’d have some harsh words for the woman at the agency, sending this ex-con out in her direction. But the stranger caught her expression.
“She didn’t tell me anything,” he said. “Just said Lucy was in trouble and due to be destroyed. I figured out the rest on my own.”
“How?” she asked.
“You sent a picture, Lucy in some school yard?” He shrugged. “Deception Cove Ravens, that’s how I got it.”
Jess stared down at him. How in the hell was this real, any of it? “What are you planning to do?”
“I already talked to that deputy; he didn’t say much. I thought I’d look you up, get the real story. And then I was planning to do what I could to get that dog out of trouble.”