Tracking Secrets. Heather Woodhaven

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      She rolled her eyes. “Well, someone could’ve told me that.”

      They burst through the last row of trees into the clearing. A Tudor-style house with a steeply pitched roof and a half-timbered frame sat in the center. Raven had lost the race with the squirrel and seemed intent on something else. The dog ran around the house, jumped up onto the gutter downspout at the corner and feverishly scratched at it.

      “Oh, great. No! Dog, no,” Alexis shouted. “That’s the last thing I need. I’m not an official contractor with the company. If she damages the house, I’m probably liable. Why do I let myself get talked into these things?” She spoke at speeds that could rival auctioneers or impassioned lawyers.

      The dog hopped down and shoved its nose as far as it could go inside the end of the gutter before it sat, almost as if at attention. Had the squirrel run up the gutter? Raven wagged her tail, looked back at them and then caught another sniff. She raced to the other end of the house and jumped on the corresponding downspout, repeating the entire routine. “An odd thing to do twice,” he commented.

      With Raven’s full attention on the gutter, it was their best chance to get her. Nick sprinted ahead at top speed, hoping he wouldn’t scare her away. The dog looked up but seemed to grin at his fast approach. Nick smiled back. “Good girl.”

      She wagged in response. Nick dropped to a knee and put one hand on the loose skin behind her ears so he could grab her if need be. “I’ll take that leash now,” he called out. The dog lurched forward, shoving her nose into the gutter again. A rustle of plastic caught Nick’s attention. “What do you see, girl?” He bent over. A plastic package filled with white powder peeked out. His stomach sank, and he prayed it wasn’t what it appeared to be.

      Raven sat, and Nick spotted a white patch on her chest that looked like a heart. It jogged his memory. Of course, she was the new drug dog in detection training. He’d performed a physical and administered vaccinations right after her owner—a name that escaped him—adopted her a few months ago. But that meant Raven thought she was working. His heart rate sped up.

      Alexis slid a little on the leaves as she came to a stop. “Here’s the collar.” She dangled it, still attached to the leash, as he straightened. “Is there a problem?” she asked.

      He didn’t know how to answer that. He removed the breakaway collar and looped the leash around Raven’s neck to make sure she couldn’t escape again in the event she caught the scent of another squirrel. Nick stood, the end of the leash in hand. The dog took off in front of him, heading back for the first gutter.

      Nick let her lead. Raven shoved her nose in the gutter before she sat, wagging her tail. He took a knee and bent over to see what was in there. The same telltale bag was squished inside. If it was what he thought it was, they needed to get off the property fast. He hoped this property had a better cell signal than his did. “We need to call the—”

      Something crunched.

      Brown work boots rounded the corner. Nick flung his hands to his own shoe closest to the gutter as if he were tying the shoelaces. He looked up into the eyes of a burly middle-aged man and attempted a smile. “Hi. Shoe untied.”

      The man’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. It didn’t take a genius to realize this was not normal neighbor behavior.

      Nick straightened to standing but didn’t take his gaze off the man. He could hear Alexis approach, so he began walking backward in hopes she’d get the hint. “Sorry to intrude,” he said. “As you can see, our dog took off after a squirrel, and we had to catch her. Had a collar issue, but it’s fixed now. One-time issue. You won’t be seeing us again. We’ll be going.”

      Alexis entered his peripheral vision. She tilted her head and gave him an odd look. The man raised his phone to waist level. His right thumb was busy moving. Awareness hit Nick in the gut.

      Either the guy thought they were trying to steal his drugs, or the man was a scout for the real traffickers. Both options meant they were in serious trouble.

      “It’s my fault we’re on your property,” Alexis said. She took a step forward with her hand outstretched. “I’m—”

      “Honey,” Nick blurted. He couldn’t let her reveal her name and become marked.

      She whirled around on the spot, her dark brown eyes wild with indignation. Her forehead creased and smoothed in an instant. She pursed her lips, tilted her head and studied his face as if searching for a reason for his sudden change in behavior.

      He reached out with the hand that didn’t have a leash and grabbed her wrist. She frowned but didn’t try to pull away or argue.

      “We’ve taken enough of this man’s time,” he said. “We need to finish our jog.” Nick glanced at the way Alexis was dressed and knew that was the wrong thing to say. “More of a fast walk, really. Our friends are waiting back on the path.” He chanced a glance at the man’s hard eyes. “We’re visiting, and they’re eager to take us to the shooting range.” Okay, the last part might’ve been a bit too much because it was obvious they didn’t have guns on their persons. But he wanted to make it clear to the man they weren’t going down without a fight.

      The sound of tires spraying gravel echoed through the trees. A vehicle was approaching at high speed. Not good.

      The man straightened his torso so he looked even taller. “How about you meet my friends first?”

      The coldness of his voice chilled Nick’s bones, and he knew the vehicle fast approaching wouldn’t be filled with friendly neighbors. He lifted his chin to the right. “You mean them?”

      The man turned his head. Nick didn’t wait for him to realize the vehicle hadn’t arrived yet. He pulled on Alexis’s arm and yanked her around the corner of the house. She tugged her arm free but ran with him and Raven without any discussion.

      A truck squealed to a stop. Nick picked a path around the thickest grouping of trees, choosing the biggest ones in hopes they’d obscure the view of the men who started yelling at each other behind them. The man’s friends had arrived.

      He couldn’t make out much of what they said except two words: “Get them.”

      * * *

      A gunshot rang out. Alexis ducked and put both hands over her head. A scream tore from her throat. The dog answered with a bark. The bullet snapped a branch, which spun and smacked the side of her neck.

      She fought against confusion. For some reason men were shooting at them and she’d just helped give away their location. She hadn’t meant to scream, but she’d never been shot at before.

      Nick grabbed her upper arm again and pulled her around another tree. He kept his fingers there, tugging, silently urging her to run faster, but her sandals didn’t have much grip. It was all she could do to keep up without falling on her face.

      Alexis fought a surge of nausea as several men’s voices filtered through the trees. “Use the jammer,” one shouted. They were trying to make sure she and Nick couldn’t call for help.

      “Shoot only on sight. We don’t need the whole valley showing up!” It sounded like the voice of the man who had confronted them at the house, but she couldn’t be sure. Why were these men so angry they’d stepped onto the property? It didn’t make sense.

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