What’s His (A Peyton Risk Suspense Thriller—Book 1) by Ella Swift

Author:Ella Swift [Swift, Ella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2023-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Peyton stared out the window of the car, her eyes locked with the unfriendly-looking dog. Its dark, mottled fur bristled, and a low growl rumbled from its throat.

Nothing like laying out the red carpet, she thought wryly.

The dog was a muscular mix of Rottweiler and pitbull, standing like a sentry between them and their destination: the house of Gus Darrow, widower to Leticia Darrow. The dog's bared teeth and tense posture screamed readiness to attack as soon as Peyton dared to step out.

"Got any bright ideas?" she asked Sean, who was sitting in the passenger seat, his eyebrows raised.

"Maybe we should go to the store and buy a T-bone steak," he said.

"Ha-ha," Peyton said dryly.

The Darrows' residence was on the outskirts of a town not far from Yellowstone. The area looked weather-beaten and neglected, with patches of overgrown grass and wildflowers peeking through the cracks in the sidewalk. The house itself had once been white but had faded to a dull gray over time. It stood solitary among the other modest homes, each separated by wide stretches of land. A chain-link fence enclosed the backyard, a creaky gate hanging slightly ajar.

Taking a deep breath, Peyton decided to try a new approach. She carefully lowered her window just a few inches and attempted to speak to the dog in the calmest voice she could muster. "Hey there," she said. "It's alright, we're not here to hurt anyone."

Instead of calming down, however, the dog seemed to grow angrier at the sound of Peyton's voice. With a guttural snarl, it lunged at the window, snapping its teeth viciously.

"Okay, that was a bad idea," Peyton said, quickly rolling up the window as the dog continued to snarl outside.

Just then, the front door of the house swung open, and a man stepped out onto the porch. He was squat and thick, with unkempt brown hair and deep-set eyes that were shadowed by grief. The man shouted something unintelligible at the dog, who hesitated as if unsure whether or not to obey.

"Chopper, heel!" the man shouted again, this time more forcefully. To Peyton's surprise and relief, the dog obeyed, slinking away from the car to stand obediently at the man's side.

"Sorry about that," the man called over, his voice strained but apologetic, as he led the dog into the backyard and closed the gate behind it. Moments later, he returned, walking toward Peyton's and Sean's car with a somber expression.

Peyton and Sean exchanged a glance before cautiously stepping out of the vehicle. The man approached them, offering a weary smile. "I'm Gus Darrow," he said, extending a hand first to Peyton and then to Sean.

"Peyton Risk," she replied, shaking his hand firmly, feeling the rough texture of his calloused fingers. "This is my partner, Sean O'Malley."

"Nice to meet you both," Gus said, eying their NPS uniforms. "I suppose you're here about Leticia."

"Unfortunately, yes," Peyton replied softly. "We just want to ask you some questions about her to try to get a better understanding of who she was.

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