Chance smiled. “Before we head to the kennels, we’re going to the kitchen for coffee.”
“Good idea, buddy. We both know how she gets when she doesn’t have her coffee in the morning.”
“Oh, is that right?” She folded her arms over her chest. Then she laughed, realizing that neither of them could see her defiant gesture. “Like Chance has ever let me miss my coffee in the morning.”
“I think I’ll fill up a thermos for all of us.” Chance opened the door. “We might need more than a single cup.”
“Excellent idea,” Jaris said. “It’s unusually chilly this morning.”
After getting their coffee, they headed out to the kennels, passing Bayless’s RV. There was no sign of the man anywhere.
Corey and Bryant, the current men on guard duty, walked over to them.
“Good morning, guys,” she said.
“Morning,” they answered in unison.
“Any word on Jacob or Josh yet?”
Bryant shook his head.
“The team isn’t giving up,” Corey said. “Jason has reached out to other agencies. More men should be arriving later today to help with the search.”
She could see the concern on Corey’s face and knew it wasn’t just about the two missing men. Belle, his and Shane’s wife, was still Lunceford’s main target. Her bone marrow matched the killer’s, who was battling leukemia.
“Where are you three headed?” Corey asked.
“To see my dogs and Sammie’s new pups. I also want to get a look at Bayless’s dogs. Have you guys seen Bayless around this morning?”
“No. We talked with Lyle. He said the man left during his shift a little after four this morning.” Corey’s tone was all US marshal. Serious. To the point.
“Did Bayless say where he was headed?” Jaris clearly didn’t trust the man despite his credentials panning out.
“Lyle asked him where he was going,” Corey answered. “Bayless only said he had business to attend to and would be bac
k later today.”
She took a deep breath. Knowing how poorly the man treated his dogs, she would be happy if he never returned.
“Kaylyn, I look forward to hearing you sing again.” Bryant, Amber’s husband, always did try to lighten the mood when things turned grim. “When does your band perform next?”
“Not this evening, Bryant, but Wolfe Mayhem is scheduled to perform at the closing ceremonies of Dragon Week tomorrow night.” She knew that might get canceled given all that was happening. The entire town was stretched to the max with searching for Jacob and Josh, trying to keep security for Dragon Week, and with having to deal with the ongoing threat of Lunceford. “Please let us know if you hear anything about Jacob and Josh, okay?”
“Sure thing.” Corey patted the side of his jacket. “We’re all carrying our ROCs, so we’ll let you know as soon as we hear. How’s your leg, Kaylyn?”
“Much better. You can hardly tell I ever got shot thanks to Doc’s great handiwork. Stitches will be coming out in a few days.”
Jaris squeezed her hand. “Potter will pay for shooting you, accident or not.”
“Good thing the judge moved their trial to next month so that he and his buddies could leave town on bail,” Corey said. “We have enough to deal with in Destiny without having to keep track of those fuckers.”
“We need to get back to our shift duty,” Bryant said. “We’re going to help Emmett and Cody gather up the boys and get them back in the house.”
Corey’s face tightened. “I suggest you three hurry with your visit to the kennels and then get back in the house, too. We are considering this a high-alert time until we find Jacob and Josh.”
“I promise I won’t be long.” Kaylyn headed to the kennels with Jaris and Chance and their two wonderful service dogs. Sugar and Annie were two of her best. She hoped, despite Bayless’s awful training methods, his dogs would be ready to be handed over to her clients.
After seeing Sammie and her new puppies and all the other dogs, they walked over to the area Chance had placed Bayless’s four in and found Lyle working with them. They were beautiful dogs. All male German shepherds—one solid black like Sugar, two black and tan like Annie, and one white.