Sudden Recall (23 page)

“And I'm guessing there was no sign of the smugglers when you dispatched the search-and-rescue boat,” Carl said.

Dillon shook his head. “No, no sign at all.”

Carl let out a long breath. “How do they keep doing that? It's like they know we're coming.”

“They'll slip up eventually,” Dillon said. “They always do.” He turned to Larry. “I'd like you to analyze the data I put on your desk. Your specialist skills in identifying the type of boats being used could be crucial.”

“Yes, Captain,” Larry said. “I'm on it.”

Both men headed out the door just as the phone rang on Dillon's desk. He answered with his usual greeting: “Captain Randall.”

The voice on the other end was panicked. “Dillon. Is that you?”

He knew who it was instantly. “Beth? Are you okay?”

Her voice was thick with emotion, and she snatched at her words through sobs. “It's Ted,” she cried. “Somebody hurt Ted.”

“Ted,” he repeated. “Who's Ted?”

“My dog. Somebody tried to get into the cottage while I was out, and Ted must have stood guard.” She broke off to catch her breath. “He's bleeding badly.”

Dillon checked his watch. “I can be there in ten minutes. Stay exactly where you are, and wait for me, okay?”

“Okay.”

He hung up the phone and raced out into the hall, grabbing the truck keys from the hook in the corridor. Once he was in the vehicle, he activated the sirens to reach the lighthouse in extra-quick time, and he found Beth kneeling on the grass outside her home, cradling her limp dog in her arms. The animal was breathing but bleeding from a wound to its rib cage. He looked to have been stabbed, and his shaggy fur glistened with a dark, sticky patch.

Dillon didn't say a word of greeting. He simply bent down, lifted Ted from Beth's lap and carried him to the truck. “Come on,” he said. “I'll get him to the vet in no time.”

He saw Beth rise and follow, rubbing her bloodstained hands on her light blue jeans. “There was a man watching me from a Jet Ski in the bay earlier,” she said, her voice noticeably shaking. “I think he tried to get in while I was at my friend's house. There are pieces of a torn shirt on the floor in my living room, so Ted might have injured the guy before being hurt himself.”

“How did the attacker get in?”

“I never lock up when Ted's at home,” she replied. “It's usually so safe.”

“Go lock up now,” Dillon said. “Let's not take any more chances.”

He laid Ted across the backseat of the truck and stroked the dog's small pointed ears. “Good dog,” he whispered.

He watched Beth turn the key in her front door with shaking hands before she ran to the passenger side and slid into the seat. Her skin was deathly pale and her full lips had been drained of their deep pink color.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I'm sorry for calling, but I panicked and you were the only person I could think of.” She looked into the backseat where the dog lay. “Ted means so much to me.”

He shut the passenger door and went around to the driver's seat. “Don't ever apologize for calling me,” he said. “The most important thing is that you're safe.”

He switched on the siren and raced back along the coastal road, heading for the veterinarian's office in the town. The fact that Beth's house had been broken into so soon after she saved the young boy was no coincidence. He suspected that the cartel was responsible, and he needed to find out why this woman was of interest to them. Had she been targeted for elimination because she had seen the face of one of their men the previous evening?

He glanced over at her. She had turned her body to the left, to reach an arm around and stroke the dog's head. A tear slipped down her cheek. This young woman was in danger. He didn't know how or why, but he knew it wasn't good to be on the radar of a Mexican cartel. She would need protecting.

This situation just got a whole lot more complicated than he would have liked.

Copyright © 2016 by Elisabeth Rees

ISBN-13: 9781488008320

Sudden Recall

Copyright © 2016 by Lisa Phillips

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