She needed to go back to bed, not only because she had to be up in a few hours, but also because the middle of the night was not a good time to weigh major life decisions. Everything seemed heavier in the wee hours of the morning.
As she started to turn to go back inside, the movement caught her eye again. Jules whipped around as she strained to focus on the shifting shadow—one that was definitely not a tree branch. She clutched her phone tighter.
If she called the police, there would be reports and questions and her name would almost surely be run through some database. Dennis seemed to be good at what he did, but Jules would rather not test that, not for an unconfirmed shadow on a windy night. Instead of hitting the send button, she held her breath and watched the spot where she’d seen the movement.
There it is! Something had moved, a shape that was too big to be a cat or a bunny or any sort of nonthreatening creature going about its innocent business in the woods. She’d been so worried about human dangers that she hadn’t even considered that Colorado was home to all sorts of predators, including bears and mountain lions and—
The shadow moved again, the black-on-black shape moving out of the trees, and Jules jolted, the thought of tearing claws and ripping teeth filling her brain, making her lurch back until her shoulder blades hit the door with a painful thump. As her hand reached for the door handle, the thing—whatever it was—charged toward her.
She grabbed for the doorknob, a shriek building in her lungs, but it evaded her fingers, and she was unable to look away from the dark shape plunging toward her. Her fingers smacked against the doorframe, but she didn’t feel it, couldn’t feel anything except her terror and the scream filling her lungs like overextended balloons. It was so fast, yet she felt like she was bogged down in a slow-motion nightmare. The thing came closer and closer until it lunged onto the porch with her, wriggling with excitement and twisting around her legs.
“Viggy?” she croaked, heart still racing. In response, the dog sat on her foot, a bony part of his haunch digging painfully into her instep. The ache brought back her reasoning skills, and she bent to simultaneously pet him and shove him off her foot. “Holy moly, Vig, you scared the stuffing out of me!”
As her initial panic settled, a new fear rose in its place. Why was Viggy here? Had something happened to Theo? Jules wished she’d gotten his phone number, although there was no way in Hades she would’ve been brave enough to ask, even if she could have come up with a good excuse. After all, how was she to know his dog would end up on her back porch in the middle of the night?
Peering at her phone, she cancelled the call with fingers that shook with residual adrenaline. Pulling up her Web browser, she found the police department’s nonemergency number.
When the dispatcher answered, Jules asked hesitantly, “Can you get a message to Officer Theo Bosco?”
“What message is that?”
“His dog is at my house.”
As the dispatcher asked for her name and address, all Jules could think about was that the call was being recorded, leaving yet another breadcrumb for their stepmother’s investigators to find. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly. It was just one more reason that letting Theo and Viggy into their lives was a horrible, horrible idea.
Viggy whined, and Jules opened her eyes. The sight of the dog, looking at her with sweet eyes and his head cocked to the side, made Jules realize it was too late. A certain cop and his K9 partner had already implanted themselves firmly into her heart.
Swallowing a sigh, Jules gave the dispatcher her address.
* * *
The phone rang, startling Theo out of yet another daydream about Jules. His first instinct, as nonsensical as it was, was that Jules was calling him, and a surge of anticipation shot through him as he grabbed for his phone.
“Hey, Theo, it’s Jackie from Dispatch.”
Theo grimaced at his own idiocy. Of course Jules wouldn’t be calling him. She didn’t even have his number. “What is it?” His tone was short from disappointment, and Theo held back a wince. It was a good thing he didn’t work nights, or Jackie would’ve made him pay for his attitude. She would’ve sent only the worst calls his way, and his shifts would’ve been miserable until she forgave him—or until someone else pissed her off.
Jackie was talking, and Theo forced his attention back to the call. When her words started to penetrate, Theo was startled out of his self-recriminations. “Viggy’s where?”
Even as she repeated herself, Theo was rushing downstairs and shoving through the back door.
Sure enough, Viggy’s kennel was empty.
“The caller’s address is—”