The Military K-9 Unit Collection. Valerie Hansen

“We’ll starve before we get a booth in there. What do you say we pick up a pizza from Carmen’s instead and eat it back at your place?”

      Zoe wanted to argue. She really did. But his suggestion made perfect sense, and she knew Freddy had to be hungry, even if her own stomach was too crowded with butterflies and angst to leave room for food. “Fine. I was going to invite you in, anyway. It looks as if this afternoon is going to be a hot one, and I see no reason to make that poor dog suffer in the heat.”

      “Can I come in with her?”

      Zoe huffed and nodded. “Yes, as long as you behave. No jumping on the furniture—or jumping to conclusions.”

      “Promise. And maybe if we go back over the recent incidents involving you, we can find some kind of pattern. It’s worth a try.”

      “I’ve been over and over it. There are no logical connecting factors.”

      “Only because we haven’t discovered them yet,” he argued.

      “It’s not my brother,” Zoe told him flatly. “Boyd may be a lot of things but subtle isn’t one of them. If he wanted to punish me, he’d come right out and do it. No. Whoever’s been messing with me is someone other than him.” She lowered her voice. “I’m actually more afraid of the unknown than I am of Boyd. I keep remembering the man in my apartment who pulled the knife on us.”

      Linc wheeled into the drive-through lane under a red-and-white awning outside Carmen’s Italian Restaurant. “Funny you should see it that way,” he said. “The same possibilities occurred to me.”

      She couldn’t suppress a relieved smile. “Hooray. Finally. Now we’re getting somewhere.” The reserved look on his handsome face told her Linc had not come as far in his reasoning as she had. That was okay. At least he’d made a baby step in the right direction.

      And for now we’re reasonably safe, she added, swiveling to grin at her cute little boy. Being committed to the air force meant she wasn’t free to go on the run from her enemies, nor was there any place on the base where she could hide. Not for very long at any rate. That meant standing her ground and bravely facing all foes just as the military she honored did, at home and around the globe.

      It might sound clichéd to outsiders, but she was a part of the best fighting force in the world and proud of it. So was the man who sat beside her and imparted both courage and strength. Linc Colson may not feel that close to her as a person, but she was ready to stand by his side against anyone and anything. What she could not accomplish on her own was more than possible with his support. They would succeed and get to the bottom of all that had been happening. Together.

      Full realization hit her like a rocket ignition. Zoe’s pulse sped, pounding until she wondered if the beats were audible. She had just mentally joined herself to Linc Colson in a way that surpassed anything in her past. The sense that they were already a functioning couple, standing as one, was so strong it left her breathless.

      Her first instinct was to deny those conclusions and banish any notions of partnership. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. Like it or not, she wanted him beside her, now and for as long as unknown foes kept coming at her. So far, they had found no victim of the shooting she’d seen. The person in her apartment had escaped. And she had thwarted this morning’s effort to coax her into the wrong vehicle. So far, so good, but how long could that last? Considered together, those instances were enough to set her on edge and keep her looking over her shoulder all the time. Plus, there was the question of the whereabouts of her murderous sibling. Every day brought more angst and increased her fear. Only one element brought relief, and she was most grateful.

      Thank You, Lord, for sending Linc and his K-9 into my life, Zoe prayed silently. I don’t care why they’re here. I’m just thankful they are.

       EIGHT

      It didn’t take long to get to the Sullivan apartment with their food. Linc let Zoe handle the pizza box and shepherd her child while he and Star took point. The K-9 began straining at her leash as soon as they reached Zoe’s second-story apartment.

      “Whoa. Wait,” Linc ordered sternly. “I thought I’d convinced you to lock up.”

      “I did.” She leaned to peer past him.

      “Well, the door’s not even closed all the way, so something happened.”

      His outstretched hand became a barrier. “You stay out here with the boy while I check inside.”

      To his dismay, Zoe disagreed. “How do you know this isn’t a ploy to get you to leave us alone out here in the hallway so we’re vulnerable?”

      “That is a valid point,” he said. “Okay. Slip inside after I give you the okay and do your best to secure this door. It doesn’t look like it’s been jimmied so the lock should still work.”

      “How could—”

      “I don’t know. One thing at a time, okay? I’m going to make an entry and let Star tell me if there’s anybody in here who doesn’t belong. I’ll leave the door open and signal you to follow as soon as I’m sure it’s safer in than out.”

      Satisfied by her nod, Linc gave the door a push, stood aside with the K-9 and called out, “Security. Anybody in here?”

      Star seemed relaxed enough that Linc quickly motioned to Zoe and Freddy to follow him in. They stopped as ordered and waited. The little boy was behaving with extraordinary restraint, probably because he was picking up vibes from the adults.

      Linc once again made a barrier with his outstretched arm to keep his charges in place. “Stay here and look around the room. Does anything look different or missing?”

      “I think the sofa was moved. It looks farther to the right than I left it. But why would anybody move furniture?”

      “Maybe you did it while you were cleaning and forgot.”

      “Sounds like my whole life lately. My possessions seem to have a mind of their own. I put my purse on one table and it ends up somewhere else when I look for it. Stuff like that.”

      “Do you think you’re just rattled because you’re worried?”

      “It’s possible.” She shivered and pressed her back to the closed door while Freddy hugged her knees.

      “We’ll talk about all that later.” Linc gave Star the command “Get ’em” and let her leash extend.

      Nose to the floor, the K-9 began to sniff. She coursed back and forth in the living room a few times but surprisingly she alerted on nothing, then proceeded to the kitchenette and then down the only hallway. A few minutes later, she was heading back to the entry.

      Linc gave Zoe a shrug and a slight smile as he followed his dog back through the living room. “Nothing positive. Not even a stray prowler.”

      “Not funny,” she said, making a face. “The last time took ten years off my life.”

      “You can spare them.” He unleashed his dog, relieved Zoe of the pizza box and strode toward the small kitchen. “If I hadn’t seen your file, I’d have thought you were still a teenager.”

      “There are times when I feel twice my twenty-six years,” Zoe replied. “How old are you?”

      “Four, in dog years, if you count them the old way. There’s a new complicated formula that’s supposed to be more accurate but seven to one is a lot easier.”

      “Hmm, twenty-eight. I’d have guessed you were older. Sorry.”

      He had placed the box on her kitchen counter and was washing his hands at the sink. “Not a problem. Looking more mature helps in my job. Besides, there are plenty of miles on me.”

      “Hard ones?”

      Zoe was sponging