Читать книгу Rescue Operation - Lenora Worth - Страница 16

FOUR

When they stepped into the jagged opening to the cave, Oliver heard a low growl.

Halting Roscoe, Ava turned to Oliver. “That’s not a person. It’s an animal.”

Oliver watched as she slipped on her protective gloves. “What are you doing?”

“It might be one of the missing dogs, possibly one of the ones suffering PTSD. I’m going in to check.”

“Can he harm you?”

“Yes, if he’s hungry and scared. Will you radio Westley for me?”

“Of course,” Oliver said, “but I’m not leaving you in this cave alone.”

“Okay, make the call.”

Ava turned to Roscoe while Oliver stood just outside the opening and radioed their location. He watched as she ordered the K-9 to stay. The dog glanced at the back of the cave, whimpered a protest but sank down to do as he was told.

“I think Roscoe senses that the other dog is a friendly,” Ava told Oliver when he finished the call to Westley James. “His protective instincts tend to kick in when he sees another dog.”

Ava started talking quietly to the animal. “I took a PTSD course once,” she whispered to Oliver. “I’m going to use what I learned on the dog to calm him down.”

Cataloging that, he decided he’d ask her about it when she was out of danger. Staying quiet, he stood watch and tried to stay out of her way. When this was over, they’d have a lot to talk about.

“Hey, buddy,” she said as she sank down near the door of the cave.

Oliver could see the trembling dog’s shadow, but she kept talking in gentle, soft tones. “Roscoe and I are your friends. We’re here to help you. You’ll get to go home to the base and your warm, clean kennel and get all kinds of love, treats and good meals and chew toys. And the help you need, too.”

Ava’s voice wobbled, and Oliver guessed she had to be thinking of Chief Master Sergeant Clint Lockwood and her airmen friends Landon Martelli and Tamara Peterson, all of whom had died at the hands of Boyd Sullivan. He had purposely let the dogs out that night so long ago to shake everyone up and traumatize the animals.

Oliver’s bones burned with the need to find the Red Rose Killer and end his reign of terror. But right now, he had to stay here with Ava.

The dog whimpered and growled low, as if Ava’s changing mood had rattled him. “It’s okay. No one is ever going to hurt you again. You’re a hero and we’re going to make you well so you can become a strong Military Working Dog.” She smiled. “I have a friend named Isaac who’s looking for a dog like you. A dog named Beacon saved Isaac’s life over in Afghanistan. But he’s lost somewhere far away. Maybe you can cheer up my friend until he can locate Beacon. How about that?”

Something inside Oliver’s heart crumbled. He wanted to comfort both the hurting dog and the woman who seemed so strong but right now seemed so broken, too. But just like the dog, if he moved too fast with Ava, she’d balk. She’d bypassed flying helicopters to do this. Was that a conscious decision, or did something painful keep her from fulfilling that dream?

Maybe she was right where she should be. And then she answered his question with her words.

Talking to the dog again in a calming voice, she said, “You know, we have a family here. We take care of each other and pray for each other. We’ve all been praying for you, too.”

Prayer. Oliver had become so far removed from the faith his parents had instilled in him, he felt out of place hearing her words. He’d turned back to God after Madison’s death, but he needed to be more intentional with his faith. Now would be a good time to take up the habit of praying again. He needed help in all areas of his life to get through this case.

If this woman had a strong faith, perhaps she could be an example to him.

The dog, which looked to be one of the missing German shepherds, stopped growling but lowered on its haunches, its dark gaze on Ava and Roscoe. Oliver kept checking for Westley, holding his breath. He loved dogs. Who didn’t? But seeing how Ava handled this one made him more appreciative of what the MWD team did on a daily basis.

Slowly and carefully, Ava dug into her meal supply and found a peanut-butter granola bar.

“I’m thinking you’re hungry, aren’t you?”

She glanced back to where Oliver leaned against the entrance of the cave, her eyes meeting his, a soft understanding and longing in their depths. Ava pivoted back to the dog, carefully opening the paper covering the bar.

But Oliver would never forget that backward glance. It told him she was gentle and caring underneath that air force bluff.

“How about a snack to tide you over?”

Breaking half of the long bar, she tossed it toward the dog. Crouching and moving on its haunches, the dog gobbled the food and inched closer.

“Hey, Westley’s here,” Oliver said in a low voice, his breath gushing out in relief. Why was he so worried that the animal would hurt her? She knew what she was doing, after all.

Ava slowly slid away from the trembling dark-furred dog. “I’m going to go now, okay? But I’m leaving you in the best possible hands. He’s my boss, so make me look good by bragging on me, okay?”

She scooted back, her gaze on the dog. The scared animal didn’t move, but Oliver saw the apprehension in its eyes. The traumatized animal didn’t want Ava to go.

Oliver didn’t want her to go away either. Which scared him way more than a dog attack.

When she reached Roscoe, she scooted near. “Sir, come on in.”

Westley entered the cave and got down on the dog’s level. While Ava gave him a quick whispered update, he kept staring at the dog. Then he nodded to Ava. “One of our four stars.” Turning back to the scared animal, he said, “We’ve got this, okay. You’re home, soldier, and you won’t ever be scared again.”

Ava called to Roscoe. “Come.”

The Labrador stood but turned back to the other dog, emitting a soft whimper from his throat.

Westley let out a light chuckle. “Hear that? Roscoe says chin up.”

Ava made her way out. Oliver waited with his hand out to help her up. She stood on trembling legs and glanced up at him, unable to speak.

Her sweet gaze shattered him. “Hey, it’s okay. The dog’s safe now.”

Nodding, she wiped her eyes, clearly embarrassed at the tears forming there. “But, Oliver, Boyd Sullivan did this. He sent these scared, scarred dogs out to fend for themselves. We have to find him and we have to keep looking for Turner Johnson. Because if he did this, I don’t want to think about what he’d do to an innocent child.”

Oliver reached out a hand and then dropped it, memories jarring him. “I feel the same way.”

Then he touched her arm and looked into her eyes.

“We’ll keep searching, I promise. I know firsthand what Boyd Sullivan is capable of doing. And I am not going to stop until I either put him behind bars or put a bullet in him.”

* * *

“Well, Turner Johnson’s parents aren’t happy, and I don’t blame them,” Ava told Oliver an hour after they’d found the German shepherd in the cave. “But they’ve been waiting and wondering and I had to report back to them. Not to mention, those two base reporters, Heidi Jenks and John Robinson, are all over this and I keep telling them ‘No comment.’ Lieutenant General Hall will probably want to have a nice chat with me, too.”

“With all of us,” Oliver retorted, his expression as dark as the rain that hovered on the horizon. These pop-up storms weren’t helping the situation. “You’ve done everything you can and you’re still out here searching, so the base commander should cut you some slack.” He glanced around, then lowered his voice. “I also expect that annoying Anonymous Blogger to have all the details, too. I’m wondering if that person is Sullivan’s helper.”

Ava had to wonder, too. For months now, someone on base had found a way to get all the details of the Red Rose Killer case and blast them online. They suspected Heidi Jenks, but Ava figured Heidi wouldn’t risk her journalism career with an unsubstantiated blog full of false accusations.

“I hadn’t even thought about that,” she said, “but yes, we can expect some sort of cryptic, inaccurate report on that front, too.”

The phone call earlier to where the Johnsons were waiting at a nearby staging site had broken Ava’s heart. Turner’s parents were distraught and exhausted. Their child was missing in the same area where a dangerous man had been seen, so yes, they were frightened, angry and beyond being reasonable. She’d be the same way in their position. Reporters were always hovering around, but lately they’d become even more annoying. Heidi and John both worked for the base paper, with John being the lead reporter on the Red Rose Killer case, but they were in a competition of sorts to get the scoop on the Boyd Sullivan story. But Heidi seemed the more reasonable of the two, at least. Ava figured the determined reporter was probably with Turner’s parents right about now, getting their take on this turn of events.

“Well, regardless of reporters and vicious bloggers, we still have our work cut out for us. No sign of Turner Johnson or Boyd Sullivan.” She did a check around them and added, “I’m so afraid that wherever they are, they might be together. But I can’t bring myself to voice that to Turner’s parents.”

Oliver walked with her through the hot, damp woods, Roscoe back on the job just up ahead of them. “They’re feeling guilty that the kid slipped away. But they’re also terrified about Boyd Sullivan, too. Drew Golosky turned up dead, and we barely had time to warn anyone.”

Ava watched the path ahead. “I just pray it’s not too late.”

“At least the base has closed down this area. It’s off-limits until further notice,” Oliver said, his tone solemn.

“He let me live,” Ava said, her mind still reeling from the last couple of days’ work. “Why do I get the feeling it’s not over between us, however?”

“Because you saw him, saw that feral look in his eyes. He doesn’t have much to lose right now.”

“Well, I do,” she said, moving ahead with Roscoe, her heart burning with the need for justice and her prayers centered on finding a lost little boy.

She was also moving away from Oliver. Somehow, they’d become too close. She didn’t do close. She was single and single-minded. Work consumed most of her time, and that was good enough for her. Or at least it had been up until now. But today, he’d stood there in the cave with her and another current of awareness had sizzled between them. Like heat lightning, there but hard to understand.

In spite of the circumstances, this man whom she didn’t want to like had become ingrained in her psyche. In the span of two days, they’d bonded in more ways than she’d ever bonded with anyone else. Well, maybe one other person.

Never one to rush things, Ava didn’t like the confusing feelings coursing over her each time Oliver was around. And now she was thinking about the man even after she’d purposely tried to distance herself from him. No, she’d been impulsive and rash once before in the love department. Not again.

She’d served with the one man who might have taken her heart. Julian Benton had been the gunner on her crew. They’d become close but he’d died in that chopper crash and left her numb with fear and afraid of life. She and Julian had never had a chance to explore where their feelings might have taken them because protocol and war had kept them too busy to take that next step.

So she’d put love out of her mind and she’d almost walked away from the world that had given her a home and hope.

Until the Military Working Dog program had saved her by offering her a way back to justice and that hope.

Did she dare go that deep with another man?

No. Not yet.

“Hey, be careful,” he said, catching up with her.

“I’m always careful,” she retorted. “And so is the trained animal guiding me.”

“Any alerts?”

“Not yet.”

“What made you switch to the MWD program?”

Oh, he wanted her to talk now, when she’d just been giving herself a mental pep talk. Since she didn’t have much of a choice, Ava replied, “A chopper crash.”

He kept his eyes straight ahead, his dark shades hiding his secrets. “You were on the front lines?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“But you survived.”

“I did.”

“Others didn’t survive?”

“No, they died.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “You’ll tell me later when we are clean and cool and sitting in a nice restaurant?”

“You wish.”

“I do wish,” he said, his tone steel edged, his voice low and husky.

“Maybe one day I’ll tell you but...you might not like what you hear. Isn’t that what you said to me?”

“Oh, so we’re gonna play that game where we try to hold on to our secrets until the very last minute?”

“One of my favorite games.”

Before he could say more, Roscoe alerted with a low growl. A sign of danger, not a frightened child.

Oliver held Ava’s arm and put a finger to his lips.

“I know how this works,” she whispered, drawing her own weapon. Then she gave Roscoe the signal to “Go.”

The big dog moved through the underbrush and rocky hillside, still growling low.

A bullet whizzed past Ava. Another hit at Roscoe’s feet.

“Come,” Ava commanded, bringing Roscoe back. Ava caught a glimpse of a figure dressed in dark jogging pants and a matching hoodie holding a gun aimed toward her.

Roscoe growled low, causing the other person to halt and lift the weapon. Ava did the same, ready for a face-off.

And then Oliver was there, pushing her down, a hail of gunfire and bullets bursting out in a harsh echo through the woods.

Overhead, birds flushed out of hiding and the whole forest came alive with critters being scared away and people shouting off in the distance. The shooter pivoted and took off.

Oliver rose up to get another shot with his handgun but it hit a tree while the culprit sprinted into the thicket.

“Stay here,” he told Ava as he took off through the woods, reporting through his radio.

Ava didn’t intend to stay here. She needed to be in on this hunt. And he needed to remember she was trained for this. If he hadn’t tackled her, she might have been able to get a clear shot.

Or she could have been killed, and Roscoe right along with her.

Moving on her hands and knees, she motioned Roscoe to do the same. Together they crouched through the woods, stopping to listen and search ahead.

Her heart hammering, her pulse on overdrive, Ava scanned the perimeter around her and kept Roscoe close.

Where was Oliver? And where was the shooter?