The Hit (Team Zulu 1)

He seemed odd, nervous even. Did he have bad news? Was he here to tell me I had to go on the run again because one of Franky’s crew had found me? I folded my hands around my belly where a sinking sensation grew. “Is everything all right?”

“There’s no trouble following us, if that’s what you mean.”

I exhaled a deep breath, not realizing I’d been holding it in.

Shep looked over my shoulder into the apartment beyond. “Are you alone?”

“Yeah.” I opened the door wider, my grip on it firm to stop my hands from shaking. “Do you want to come in?”

“Actually” —he hooked a thumb over his shoulder— “there’s something I want to show you.” He turned and walked down the path.

I wasn’t expecting that, but followed him to the driveway, anyway. Parked out front was a shiny black pickup, a newer model than the one that got wrecked.

“You… got a new truck?” Great, but not worth coming all this way to show me.

“Well, yeah, but—” He gave a whistle and a familiar brown head with floppy ears popped up in the front seat.

“Ranger!” I ran to the truck and ripped open the door. The pointer leapt down and almost floored me when his front paws met my chest. I let him snuffle my neck with wet-nosed kisses while I gave him a cuddle.

As I rubbed his coat, I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. “I missed you, boy.” His butt wiggled with excitement, so I gave it a scratch. “And I never got the chance to thank you for saving my life.”

Shep eyed our reunion with one brow arched and arms folded across his broad chest. Was he jealous? I guessed I hadn’t greeted him as warmly as I had his dog, but I still wasn’t sure why he was here.

Ranger’s nose went to the ground. It led him to the mailbox where he cocked his leg and relieved himself.

I laughed and glanced at Shep who covered his face with his hands before dropping them to his hips. “Sorry. He’s been stuck in the car since Phoenix.”

“Perhaps we should take him to the beach to stretch his legs. Is he fully healed?” The hair on Ranger’s chest was a little shorter than the rest of his coat, and there was a bald patch around the scarring.

“I’m increasing his exercise gradually, but he’s coming along well. The vet said it wasn’t a good idea for him to fly yet since the bullet messed up his lung pretty bad. The pressure in the cabin can cause problems. That’s why we drove.”

We crossed the road to the beach and made our way to the firm sand by the shore. There weren’t many people around because of the cool weather, even though it was a sunny day. Ranger ran through the shallows and stalked sea gulls as Shep and I walked.

I was painfully aware that he hadn’t once tried to touch me. That hurt. Plus, he seemed anxious, which wasn’t like him. What was going on?

“You’ve driven a long way to get here.” I swept my windblown hair from my face. “What’s on your mind?”

“I needed to talk to you, and it’s stuff that shouldn’t be said over the phone.”

Right. Being monitored must still be a concern.

“How have you been?” Shep asked.

I shrugged. “I’ve been better.” He didn’t need to hear how I was heartbroken and still a mess. But I’d toughened up since he saw me last. I wasn’t about to grovel and beg him to take me back. “And you?”

“Okay, I guess. Things were kind of tense after you left. Took me a while to deal with the fallout from the club, but it’s done.”

From the tight set of his shoulders, I sensed he didn’t want to talk through those messy details.

I rubbed my arms to stay warm. “And the cops? The Feds?”

“We’re in the clear thanks to Landers. He wiped the club’s security hard drive and stopped the cameras from recording before the shootout. And later, he screwed with the DNA evidence by hacking into the system. The whole thing ended up looking like a botched investigation because of him.”

Relief washed over me. Shep and Ben had some serious skills, and I was thankful for it.

“I’ve got some good news for you,” he said. “I got your car back.”

I stopped walking and my jaw dropped. “You did?”