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
“I didn’t come here to take that dog from you,” he said. “I came to see that she was kept out of danger. And I can’t see how we’ve accomplished that yet.”
She blinked, tilted her head a little bit, but she didn’t break. “So?”
Mason sighed. “So I’m thinking we need to stash this truck and hole up somewhere, figure out what we’re going to do next.”
Jess may have nodded, she may not have.
“Okay?”
Now she did nod. “Okay,” she said, but she didn’t sound all that convinced.
The sourpuss at the cash register in the Land’s End Motel had nothing but dirty looks when Mason and Jess walked in through the front door.
“Only got single bedrooms,” she told Mason when he asked for a double room. “Maybe try the Harbormaster’s.”
Mason and Jess swapped glances. They’d surveyed the town’s meager offerings and decided the Land’s End—off the highway, few cars in the lot, half the marquee burned out—was their best bet. Mason didn’t have the energy to go comparison shopping.
Jess shrugged; he figured that meant she felt about the same.
“One bed is fine,” he told the desk clerk. “It’s going to be cash up front.”
The clerk wasn’t having that, either. “Need to have a credit card. I can’t give you a room without one.”
“Just for the night,” Mason said. “We’ll pay double your rate.”
The clerk looked him over, and Mason could tell she was seeing the black eye, the split lip, the butt end of Cole Sweeney’s pistol. He took the envelope of cash out from his back pocket, found a hundred-dollar bill, laid it on the table. The woman looked down at the bill.
“I don’t want any trouble here,” she said.
“We’re not bringing any trouble,” Jess cut in. “We just need a room for the night, and then we’ll be on our way.”
The woman looked down at the bill some more. Muttered something under her breath, reached down and opened a drawer, and came out with a room key. Was about to hand it over to Mason when she looked past them, saw the Chevy in the lot out front, Lucy sitting stock-still on the passenger side.
“No dogs allowed,” she said, taking the key back. “Especially not pit bulls. Hotel policy.”
“That pit bull is a companion animal for a wounded United States Marine,” Mason replied. “Far as I know, the law says you have to accommodate her.”
The woman closed her eyes. Shook her head. “Which one of you is the marine?”
Mason pointed at Jess. Jess waved.
“Going to need a pet deposit,” the woman said. “A hundred dollars up front.”
Mason brought out the envelope again. “Thank you kindly,” he said, reaching for the room key. “We’ll be out of your hair by the morning.”
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Two