Task Force Bride by Julie Miller

Author:Julie Miller [Miller, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Contemporary, Romance, Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 0373697112
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“I don’t like it.” Pike squatted down in front of the shattered windowpane in the vestibule at the bridal shop. Hans was right there in his business, too, sniffing the broken glass littering the floor, whining in his throat as Pike pulled his flashlight from the back pocket of his jeans. Those dark brown eyes were trying to tell him something about what had happened here, but nothing beyond the signs of a routine break-in were making the dog’s message any clearer. “What is it, boy?”

Hans sat and dipped his nose toward the corner where the frame around the busted pane met the adjoining brick wall. The dog’s long black muzzle moved closer and closer to the dangerous shards of glass—a strong enough hit on something that Pike swung his light around and leaned in closer.

The nose never missed a trick. There was a stain of viscous red liquid clinging to an arrow point of glass protruding from the window frame. “Our guy cut himself.”

Pike snapped a few pictures with his cell phone and texted them in with the report he’d made earlier. Then he patted the dog’s flank and pushed to his feet, drawing the shepherd away from the crime scene. “Good boy.” He bent down to ruffle up his fur before pulling the dog back into the shop. The intruder’s injury probably wasn’t the main reason he’d aborted the break-in. “You did good, Hansie. Bad Guy didn’t get in. You did real good.”

Hope was standing inside in the darkness of the closed shop, still wearing her trench coat and hugging her arms around her waist. “The one hour we were gone for pizza is when somebody breaks in? He’s definitely watching the place.”

“I know.” Pike unhooked Hans’s leash and harness and tossed him a crunchy treat from the pocket of the canvas jacket he wore. “I know it’s what we were hoping for, but I hate to say it. Our man’s taken the bait.”

At her audible gasp, Pike reached over to flip on a light switch to flood the store with light and hopefully alleviate some of Hope’s fear. Just as he’d imagined, she was pale as a ghost and keeping a wary eye on Hans to see where the dog settled down to enjoy his snack. But then those lake-gray eyes moved back to him, and he could see that, although she was rightfully concerned, she wasn’t on the verge of wigging out on him as she had done in the past. “I did a quick walk-through while you two were outside. It doesn’t look like anything has been taken or vandalized.”

Not for the first time, he wondered exactly what had happened in her past to cause those panic attacks, and what it took for her to control them. He knew one thing, though, the woman was a fighter. Whatever he, KCPD, her father, those damn reporters or the Rose Red Rapist himself threw at her, she kept coming back for more. Pike never would have expected that kind of tenacity from such a shy, feminine woman.

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