Chapter 33 #2
“Aww,” Gracie chimed in, but as I continued, my chest constricted.
What I was about to tell her wasn’t just going to be painful for her, but it could potentially wreck me as well.
But I’d made a promise to myself that I would do the right thing whenever I could, and here and now I had the opportunity to make things right.
“I did some digging and I found out the phone number on the name tag actually belonged to Lexi,” I spoke the name softly, knowing just how fresh Gracie’s grief was. “From what I can tell, she adopted Rogue a few days before she went missing, but for those few days he did belong to her.”
“What?” Gracie raised a hand to cover her mouth, eyes wide. “Are you sure?”
“I am,” I told her. “I can show you the collar, if you need proof, but I think he was the reason she was hiking on that trail in the first place.”
“That...makes sense,” she said, her eyes going unfocused, like she was seeing something I couldn’t.
Remembering something that was finally connecting the dots.
“One of the things that was recovered from her SUV was her day planner. Lachlan told me she had the day of her death circled with the words Begin S&R Training written there. I thought maybe she was leaving to train herself to become an official search and rescue medic, but maybe it was more than that. Maybe she was planning to train him to help her find people.”
“I can see it,” I said, nodding along. It was easy to imagine Lexi’s medical experience and love of the outdoors coming together like that.
It would explain why Rogue was there when she died but somehow no one else in her life knew about him yet.
Neither of their futures had worked out the way she’d planned, though, and now I had to face the logical conclusion to this revelation.
I took a deep breath, and then said the words that I didn’t want to say but knew I had to.
“But this means that he rightfully belongs to your family, if you want him.”
It took everything in me to say those words.
I didn’t want to give Rogue up. He was loyal, relatively well-behaved, and made me feel safe in a way I hadn’t for a long time.
But there was still a chance that I would be sent running again, or that I would be caught and cuffed, and I had to give him the best shot at stability that I could.
This was the only scenario that ended with Rogue belonging to someone else that I could even stand to consider.
“Oh,” Gracie’s eyes went even wider, and she glanced towards the back door where I could just see the shadow of Lachlan’s silhouette as he stood with Trick and Mason, drinking beers and talking about who knew what.
Whatever discomfort had lingered between them post-divorce signing seemed to have been soothed by the terrifying ordeal of their daughter’s near-abduction.
Gracie’s gaze returned to mine and she shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m sure Hadley would be thrilled, but I don’t have the time to take care of a dog.
Besides, I like knowing he’s with you. You were the one who stopped that man from doing to Hadley what he did to Lexi.
I think she would have wanted you to have him as well. ”
“That is high praise,” I said even as a rush of relief filled me. I was absolutely going to go upstairs after this and lavish Rogue in love and attention. And tomorrow, I would go to the shelter and make the adoption official. Then it would just be Rogue and I against the world.
“I mean it,” Gracie said, and I sent her a reassuring smile.
“I know you do,” I told her, even as I caught movement near the front door. I glanced up just in time to see Noah closing the door behind him. Our eyes connected and he jerked his head towards the hall. I turned back to Gracie with an apologetic wince. “I better make the rounds.”
I pushed myself off the couch as Gracie hummed her agreement, and headed down the hallway, away from the crowd of people I barely knew and into the quiet of the study. Noah followed, closing the study door behind him.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” I said, moving to sit at the window.
I could see the trio of men in the back yard drinking beer from where I sat.
They looked like they were having fun, Trick sloshing beer out of the can as he gestured along to some grand tale.
Mason was staring down at his phone, completely ignoring the other two, but Lachlan was rapt with attention.
“What can I say?” Noah replied without a hint of humor in his voice. “I can’t turn down an invite to a good party, especially one hosted by the hero of the day.”
“I won’t apologize,” I told him, looking away from the window and back to him. “If it comes down to risking my cover or letting a little girl be kidnapped when I can stop it, I’ll choose to risk my cover every time.”
“I know you will,” Noah said, sighing as he moved to the oak desk and leaned against the edge, facing me with his arms crossed and a weary look in his eye. “I can’t even blame you. You did good, saving that little girl.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. It meant a lot coming from one of the few people who knew my situation, knew exactly how much I’d risked by going after Lombardi.
“Is it too much to ask that you limit your grand rescues to once every few months?” he asked, and I felt my shoulders tensing at the implication of his words.
He didn’t think I would have my name cleared anytime soon.
Neither did I, but it still stung to hear it said aloud and it only hardened my resolve.
“Oh no, what’s that look for? What are you up to? ”
“Nothing,” I said automatically, and then sent him an apologetic look as I amended.
“Nothing that will blow my cover, at least. Kenna offered me a job as her assistant. ‘All of the investigation with none of the credit’ is how she put it. And she agreed to focus on cold cases rather than active clients, so the chances of me actually solving anything are pretty low, but I need to do something other than tend bar while we figure out my case, and I think this will keep me from losing my mind. I’m going to accept her offer. I think it will be good for me.”
“So do I,” Noah agreed.
“You do?” I asked, eyes narrowing as I waited for the other shoe to drop.
Noah quirked an eyebrow at me and shrugged.
“You’re prone to getting into trouble and you clearly can’t turn off your investigative nature.
I think channeling it into something productive but low risk is an excellent idea.
Not that I anticipate that you’ll stay out of trouble.
By my count you’ve solved five cold cases and a kidnapping in less than two months. ”
“I didn’t solve those missing persons cases at the Academy,” I argued, because it was the only thing I could argue.
He was right that I was still likely to get myself into some trouble.
As long as that trouble didn’t lead back to the FBI discovering who and where I was, I was happy to take that risk.
“Agree to disagree,” Noah replied, waving his hand like he was batting my argument away. “Listen, there’s another reason I drove all the way back down here and took the risk of being seen publicly with you.”
I bit back any banter that I might normally have offered as I took in the way his body language changed from playful to cautious.
Shifting a little to match his mood, I crossed my legs on the cushioned ledge, put my back to the window entirely, and gave him my full attention.
Whatever he was about to say, I knew it had to be about my case, because what other reason did he have to make the long drive down to Bend again when he could have just called?
“I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I might have a lead on where to find Vienna Quinn,” he said, and I leapt out of my seat.
He raised a hand to indicate I should calm down and shook his head, like he somehow thought that my response to that kind of news was disproportionate after weeks of waiting for a lead we could act on.
“Where is she?” I asked, ready to drive wherever I needed to go to get to her and force the answers out of her.
“Word on the street is that she’s currently working a political scandal in D.C.,” he told me.
“Great. The one place I can’t go,” I said, slumping back down onto the window seat, feeling more defeated than I had before Noah showed up with his so-called lead. “I step foot in D.C. and they’ll have me in cuffs by breakfast.”
“That’s why I came to tell you in person.
To make sure you didn’t run off and put yourself in unnecessary danger.
Besides, you can’t be seen in the capital, but I can,” he said, and then leaned in with a conspiratorial look in his eye.
“What’s more, Briggs noticed that your phone isn’t in evidence and he’s requested an OPR agent to join Monica Park’s murder investigation.
More specifically, he requested me to be that agent. ”
“You’re going to get official access to my case?” I asked, perking up again as a thrill of hope ran through me.
“I’m going to figure out who did this and put them behind bars,” Noah replied. “So don’t get yourself into any trouble you can’t get out of while I’m gone.”
“No promises,” I said with a cheeky smile, but this felt like a promise, like everything I’d done so far to maintain my freedom and catch Monica’s killer had been justified.