BLOOD ON THE WIRE: A HIDDEN VALOR MILITARY VETERAN/K-9 MYSTERY, Book 5 (HARDCOVER)

Chapter 1

Death permeated the air.

She couldn't smell it, of course. But Ruger could.

Kate watched as the German Shepherd worked his overblown nose in and around the perimeter of a pile of crumbling, blood-red bricks that had fallen off the southernmost exterior wall of the defunct corrugated box plant she'd visited months earlier. Her official K-9 partner of just over two weeks lunged forward to poke his schnoz into the center of the bricks. A split second later, his tail shot straight out. As the dog backed up to plunk his tush down atop the cracked concrete, Kate grinned and retrieved his cherished blue and orange ball from the rear pocket of her jeans.

"Good job, Ruger! You found it." She tossed the ball toward the dog's equally talented chops to reward him for the latest "deceased human" his nose had located.

The Shepherd twisted around, launching all ninety pounds of his brawny body upward, snatching the ball from mid-air. He thumped neatly down onto his paws, then barreled across the walkway and onto the faded blacktop where Kate waited.

"Show-off."

He dropped his drool-coated prize inches from the scuffed toes of her black leather boots, his wildly wagging tail begging her to lob it again.

Kate laughed as she bent down to grab the rubber ball, then turned to pitch it deeper into the parking lot. It bounced along the ancient asphalt several times as Ruger tore off after it, coming to rest several yards past the cadaver team that had run the course before them. She suspected her dog's earlier acrobatic leap had been half meant for her. The other half had been intended for the gorgeous Welsh Springer Spaniel that Ruger had been eyeing since their arrival. Evidently, her mutt had a thing for redheads.

Who knew?

The Shepherd was all business now as he captured the ball and swung around to tear back across the worn asphalt and drop it at her boots once more.

Kate reached down to snag it. This time, her toss was a soft lob aimed directly at those waiting chops, signaling the end to their game of fetch, at least for now. This was their final official training session before Ruger's qualifying exam next week. And while the Shepherd was more than ready for certification, they had one more pre-planted odor left to locate before Arkansas' late February skies opened up again.

From the wide grin of the sinewy retired cop who'd organized this afternoon's exercise, Tony was as pleased with Ruger's progress as she was. The man bobbed his bald head once, giving Kate the go-ahead to send her partner out.

She ordered Ruger to drop the ball, pocketing it as she knelt on the asphalt beside him to pat his chest and point toward the copse of naked oaks separating the rear of the defunct plant from the residential neighborhood beyond.

"Okay, buddy—search."

The Shepherd took off, those eagerly flaring nostrils starting high off the ground and then skimming low as he zig-zagged over the edge of the asphalt. Kate followed her partner into the shadowy trees. With the setting sun obscured by thick clouds, she could barely discern the inky fur on Ruger's back or his drab green working vest from the layer of last autumn's leaves still damp from the rain. Fortunately, the intermittent flash of white from the underside of that joyous tail led the way. Racking up hit after hit was just another game to him—and, thankfully, one he excelled at.

She called out "Hup" as the Shepherd closed in on a fallen oak, smiling as the instant athlete in him kicked in, causing him to soar over it. The moment all four paws thumped down on the opposite side, he swung his body about and began sniffing the length of the log.

Seconds later, his tail shot straight out—and he sat.

Kate crunched through the leaves separating them and peered down into the crack of rotted wood that held her partner's zealous attention. She didn't see one of the vented stainless-steel odor containers that Tony tended to use. And the log's crack, while deep, was far too narrow to be hiding a human bone from his cache. But Tony also used donated placenta.

"You sure, buddy? Show me."

Ruger stretched out his right paw and settled it over the center of the crack.

She could hear the trainer laughing as he closed in from behind. "I'll be damned. Kate, that pup is fantastic. Especially with the mist still clinging to the air. Do you know, he flew right by the odors from both a squirrel carcass and a deer on the way in here—plus the bully chew I brought along since you told me they were his favorite? That tasty little decoy is just under the log, inches from his paws."

Which her pup was masterfully ignoring.

Kate instructed Ruger to hop back over the fallen oak so she could ruffle his ears and praise him for his concentration and latest find as the retired cop bent down to extract a human molar, garish root intact, from the wooden crevice.

They both grinned as he held it up. "See? Ruger gets an A plus, and you two are done. I'll be a minute. There's another tooth I need to fish out."

"Thanks, Tony. Today was terrific. I appreciate the invite." She glanced down at her patient partner, still studiously ignoring the hidden bully chew as he waited for her to tug his expected—and preferred—prize from her rear pocket. "Here you go, you brilliant dork." She lobbed the ball as hard as she could and followed the leaf-spitting, thunderous path made by the Shepherd's paws out of the trees.

Ruger had retrieved the ball by the time she'd reached the asphalt and was dancing impatiently in place as he waited for her—but not for another toss.

Approaching them as they made their way toward their Durango? The long, silky-haired, four-legged object of her partner's rather recent desire.

Which also explained the cocky jaunt to the Shepherd's stance as he settled down to walk beside her. Her more brutish Casanova knew he was being eyed in return. They arrived at the passenger side of the SUV as the other cadaver team joined them.

Kate grinned as the pups touched noses and wagged hello.

The lanky, thirty-something male redhead at the human end of the leash bobbed a freckled visage that rivaled the russet back and matching speckles of his Spaniel's undercoat and legs. "You're Kate Holland, aren't you?

"I am."

"Thought so." He stuck out his free hand. "Jeff Legare. I was laid up at Walter Reed when they flew you in a few years back."

"Legare?" Wow. She knew him, too, or rather, knew of him. Kate glanced at the mottled light pink and darker scarlet crisscrossing of scars from the healed burns on the man's hands and wrists, along with the bit of forearm extending out from his blue pullover as they shook. "Your Humvee was taken out by an IED just outside of Mosul, wasn't it?"

He nodded. "Yeah, the bomb flipped the fucker, then torched it on us for good measure."

Familiar story. Painfully so.

And that us he'd referenced? That would include the unconscious soldier Legare had yanked out of the vehicle before they could burn to death. She didn't know much more about the incident than that. As for her meager knowledge, General Francis Bolling himself had offered up that bit after Bolling had delayed her release from Walter Reed by an entire day so he could pin that damned Silver Star on her chest while his aide stole a photo of the event. The general had been slated to award the Bronze version to a fellow Arkansan next.

This fellow Arkansan.

Looking at Legare now, it appeared as though the third and fourth-degree burns the general mentioned had healed well. "How's your buddy? I heard the sergeant refused to come home." Which had impressed the hell out of the general—and Kate. As had the fact that the former soldier standing in front of her now, all healed up, had been determined to head back overseas then, too.

"He did. Said he owed it to me to stick around." Legare frowned as he offered up a shrug. "Steve stepped on a smaller IED a month later. Lost both his legs."

"Shit."

"Yep. Grunt life blows, eh?"

That it did. And not just for those in the Infantry. There weren't really any "front lines" for troops to stay behind anymore, were there? Combat or otherwise. Not in Afghanistan and not in Iraq. Hell, not in pretty much any place currently on fire around the globe.

Silence settled in, only to be broken by the bootfalls of the retired cop who'd hosted this afternoon's training. Tony held up the bully twist he'd referenced out by the fallen oak, then tossed it to her. "Great job, guys. See you next time."

"Thanks, Tony. For everything." Kate wedged the twist into the back pocket that already held Ruger's ball and joined Legare in waving as the trainer headed for his white Tundra pickup in the middle of the lot.

The Infantry vet swung back. "Are you and your pup with the Mazelle PD, too?"

"No." But it was a fair assumption. Legare had mistakenly added Ruger's official K-9 vest to the fact that Tony's old lieutenant had set this up. "I was a deputy in Braxton for a few years, but I'm with the State Police now. I'm working out of the governor's office. Mostly on cases involving vets." She glanced down at their dogs. Hers had his chest puffed out so far that his vest had ridden halfway up his back.

And his dragon's tail?

She had no idea it could curl up that much.

Kate retrieved her phone from one of the pouches on her utility belt and held it up. "Do you mind? I have to get a photo of this attitude for someone."

The man nodded, and she snapped a pic of their dogs.

"Thanks." Phone returned to its slot, she grinned as she reached down to tweak a rigidly perked ear. "This shameless flirt is my partner Ruger. He recently qualified in patrol. We're hoping to add on a cadaver dog certificate next week."

"Oh, the ink's already dry on that. I watched you go at it. You're both naturals." Legare grinned down at the Spaniel. "This is Skye. We're just aiming for the cadaver team part, hoping to join a non-profit outfit run by a friend of mine. I work security at the Baymont building in Little Rock at night, so she and I can train during the days. We're nowhere near ready. But when Tony called, I agreed the experience would be worth it. And it was." He glanced over at the vacant plant. "Interesting place. I can see why Tony likes it. You two been out here before?"

"Just me and it wasn't with Tony. I got called to a crime scene out by the loading docks a few months back."

"That poor woman who was stabbed and set on fire?"

Kate nodded.

Disgust weighed down the man's head shake. "Shit." The shake paused, then morphed into a distinct head tilt as a glint lit up those blue-gray eyes. "Didn't Arash Moradi work that case, too?"

"He did."

To her surprise, Legare laughed and shook his head again, this time in awe. "So, you're the one. That's outstanding."

The one? "I'm sorry?"

And what was outstanding?

"Ah, shoot." A ruddy flush took over. "I'm the one who should apologize. Hopefully, Moradi won't throttle me." He hooked the end of the Spaniel's leash to the D clip on his belt, using both those scarred hands to scrub through his hair. The tide receded as he dropped them. "What the hell. I saw the major a few weeks after that case—for the first time in four years, mind you. Since we were both in Arkansas this time, I offered to make good on an old threat to set him up with a cousin of mine. She'd seen him in a group photo from my first deployment and had been bugging me to play matchmaker since. Moradi told me straight off he wasn't interested. Right firmly, too. He said he was seeing someone, and that if he was damned lucky, it would go the distance."

Kate laughed at that final revelation. Since Arash had officially moved into what was now their split-log home, "It has."

"You're not gonna tell him I told you, are you?"

She shook her head. "Your secret's safe with me."

And evidently with Arash.

Legare looked down at the pups. Hers still had his chest puffed out and was all but strutting in place. His dog was fluttering those long, lush lashes and flat-out preening. "Well, they're sure getting along. You and the major should come over this weekend. If the rain lets up for more than a few hours, we can fire up the grill."

"I'll mention it. But we'd have to push the date out. Arash is overseas at the moment."

"Already? Christ." The former grunt turned to press his back against the rear passenger door of her Durango. "It hasn't even been a year yet. At least, I think so. I'm pretty sure Arash told me he only switched to Reserves last March."

Kate nodded. "That's correct. But Arash hasn't been pulled back on active duty." At least, not yet. "It's a TDY thing." And this particular temporary duty had required the man's particular skills. Specifically, his native fluency in Farsi…and those matching Persian looks. It was the latter that'd had her pouncing on her phone every time it rang.

"It was only slated to last for a week. Ten days, tops." Or it was supposed to have been. That second calendar mark had passed on Saturday, a full two days ago.

And, yet, no call from Arash. Hell, not even a text.

"You okay?"

She stitched on a smile and wove in a lie. "Yep."

Evidently, neither had been convincing. Legare had known her for all of five minutes, and he was shaking his head.

Then again, he was a vet. He would understand the worry.

And the reasons for it.

"He's an outstanding officer, Kate. Smart and savvy. He'll be fine."

Right. And both she and Legare could testify to those odds, couldn't they?

She glanced at the crisscrossing of scars that covered the front and backs of the man's hands—as he took in the ones on her face. He nodded sagely, then reached out to squeeze her right arm—and received a low, rude growl for his compassion.

That ruddy flush returned. "Sorry. I told you Skye and I were new at this. I'm still getting used to the 'don't touch the dog or the handler' rules."

"No worries." Kate shook her head. "And there's a bit more to it than the usual with Ruger." Although the vibes she'd been giving off while she and her partner had been standing here had been positive ones, Legare was, after all, a man. Ruger still had issues with darn near that entire gender. Always would.

Ever since she'd met the Shepherd's former owner and understood the causes, she was more inclined than ever to cut Ruger as much slack as he needed.

"How about I apologize for my gaff over dinner? My treat." Legare grinned down at the dogs. "I've never seen Skye take to another pup so quickly and thoroughly. They definitely need to join us. I'll even promise to toss in an amusing tale or two about the major from our days downrange—so long as you honor your promise to keep that clunky match-making attempt of mine to yourself."

"I'd like that." She could even use the distraction. "But I'm due in Braxton. I'm meeting a former colleague about a case we're still wrapping up."

"Ah, you're referring to those filthy Pit Bull fights, right? And the murdered SEAL and missing CAD that kicked it all up?"

"Yeah."

"That I heard about on the news. Hell, the entire state has. Congratulations on putting those rat bastards out of business. The whole passel of 'em."

"It was a true team effort. But thank you."

"Alrighty, then. A rain check it is. Let's go, Skye." Legare clicked his tongue as he stepped away from the Durango, easing his noticeably reluctant Spaniel along with him. "Do give me a jingle. My number's listed. Or just call the security office at the Baymont. I hereby promise to distract you with a decent meal and those vignettes about the major for a few hours while you await his return."

Kate added a nod to her wave. "I might take you up on that."

Skye held Ruger's attention as she walked off, his ears still perked, his tail whipping from side to side every time the Spaniel glanced back.

As man and dog rounded the front of what must be their beat up dark green Chevy Tahoe before disappearing down the passenger side, her partner finally met Kate's amused stare.

"You've got good taste there, Romeo. She's cute."

The Shepherd huffed out a sigh, causing her smile to spread as she opened the door to his shotgun seat, then waited for him to hop up. Hated K-9 safety restraint secured, she gave that overblown but perfect nose a kiss and closed the door. Rounding the Durango's grille, Kate climbed into her seat and started the engine.

Halfway across the cracked asphalt, her mood took a decided tumble as the SUV's tires rattled and jarred through the dozen-odd potholes crowding the lot's exit. Steering the Durango out onto the smoother street beyond, she pointed them toward the interstate and Braxton.

By the time the on-ramp was in their rearview mirror, Ruger had settled in for the remaining ten minutes of the drive, and her mood had all but bottomed out.

Arash.

The lack of communication was affecting more than her concentration. The worry surrounding it had begun to consume her nights, too, causing her to wake up every hour on the hour just to check her phone.

Or, worse, the international news.

Thirteen days ago, shortly after she'd arrested Topher Strom for murdering those involved in the Pit Bull fights that she and Seth had managed to infiltrate, Arash had received a call letting him know that his unique skillset and ethnicity were needed overseas, along with his personal tie to someone the US government was very interested in relieving of their current Iranian citizenship. Arash hadn't told her who that someone was, and she hadn't asked. They'd simply stepped up their timeline to get Arash's things moved out of his studio apartment in Mazelle.

The household goods he'd put into storage when he'd transferred his active-duty commission to the Reserves following his uncle's death were still there. But they had been able to finish moving everything else a mere hour before Arash had been slated to don his camouflaged utilities and depart for Little Rock Airbase.

She and Ruger had dropped the man off at the edge of the tarmac, where he'd promptly boarded a military hop to Iraq to begin his assignment.

Given that he hadn't shaved before he'd donned that uniform and that he'd left his iPhone at the house, plus the lack of communication since?

She was all but certain Arash was currently attempting to blend in amid the population of one of their country's staunchest geopolitical and ideological enemies. With what little he'd been able to share of his official destination—an Army outpost a stone's throw from the Iranian border—which country was a no-brainer.

And since Arash had also told her that he'd do his damnedest to phone her by this past Wednesday, Saturday at the latest, yet had not…?

She was slowly going nuts.

Her sigh was so heavy Ruger sat up. Ever in tune with her moods, the Shepherd caught her stare as she took their exit off the interstate.

"I'm fine, buddy. Just missing Arash."

His tail flopped at the name, then settled as it registered within that canine brain and heart that she'd simply voiced it.

"Yeah, I know. You miss him, too." Ruger's half-hearted chuff let her know that they were of like mind and heart.

As she took the turn that led into Braxton proper, the dog lay down and stretched out so he could nuzzle his snout over her thigh.

Her left hand still on the wheel, she used her right to stroke the fur on his neck, the contact soothing the both of them.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only two souls in town missing a loved one tonight. The deputy they were meeting had been fighting the same depression for almost as long. Although the decidedly dour tinge to Seth's mood in the bullpen that morning suggested that his loss had become permanent.

With Arash overseas these past twelve days, she'd been putting in serious overtime pushing through the massive stack of files that had once filled a certain hidden home office cubby connected to that heinous Pit Bull fighting ring and other illegal rackets. With hopes of conducting investigations for the State Police himself someday, her favorite bubba had been right there at her side. This weekend, she and Seth had nearly finished organizing their findings—something that would only help prosecutors as they made the case against the remaining living personnel involved in those schemes.

But as they'd wrapped up on Saturday night, Seth told her that he'd need to take Sunday off since he'd made plans. Kate had assumed those plans would involve the mystery woman Seth had been dating and had fallen so hard for that he'd purchased a house sooner than planned in an attempt to move the relationship forward.

But by this morning? The morose mood that had clung to Seth?

Something had happened between the deputy and his mystery lady. Whatever it was, Kate's instincts were telling her that it was insurmountable. Which was why she'd suggested to Seth that they have a pizza delivered to the station while they wrapped their case and presumably why Seth had jumped at the idea.

Hopefully, she and Ruger would be able to distract him.

Or not.

As the Durango reached the bakery just down the street from the police station, she could see Seth's hulking bubba build up ahead, hustling out of the station's doors. The man hadn't even taken the time to cover his dark hair with a ball cap. He opened the driver's door to his departmental SUV, tossed the cap across the seats and climbed in. A split second after the engine turned over, the emergency lights sparked to life as he backed up and swung the vehicle away from her SUV to peel up the road.

Kate instinctively reached out and switched her State Police radio over to Braxton's channel but didn't hear anything.

She continued through the intersection, passed the sheriff's sedan and pulled into the parking slot Seth had vacated. She was about to get out when she spotted Lou through the double window at the front of his office, motioning for her to stay put—he was heading outside to see her. She climbed out anyway but left Ruger sitting shotgun as she met the sheriff on the walkway.

"Hey, Lou. Everything okay?"

He doffed his dark blue Braxton PD ball cap and ran his free hand through the thick pelt of silver that covered his head. "Cain't be sure, but I 'spect so. Seth got a call from his neighbor. That touchy home security system Liz installed in her daddy's farmhouse before Seth purchased it? The damned thing tripped again. Seth asked me to pass on a message. He's hopin' y'all can finalize your notes in the mornin'." Lou reseated his cap. "Figured I'd stop ya before ya came in just in case the pup was tuckered out from his course."

She laughed at that.

Ruger was sitting up with his nose pressed against his side window, wagging his tail in hopes that she'd let him out to greet his second favorite guy on the planet.

"You sticking around?" It was dinner time. Della would be waiting.

Lou shook his head. "Nah, I'm due for a late meetin' with the blowhard across the street in a few minutes." His rising brows were powered by more hope than the yearning in that wagging tail. "Lessin' you want to head over and stand in for me?"

"Oh, not a chance." The mayor still hadn't decided if he was ticked that she'd resigned from the department or thrilled because her job with the governor had swollen the city's coffers with the fat monthly stipend they now received for her to occupy the spare office near the holding cells.

"Yeah, well, had to ask." He doffed his cap again and waved it up at her as he turned toward the city building across the street. "Talk at ya tomorrow, Missy."

"'Nite, Lou."

With her office closed up and her State laptop loaded with the relevant files she'd need to wrap up the Pit Bull case and already sitting on the floorboard of Ruger's seat, Kate climbed inside their SUV. Retrieving her phone, she shot off a text to let Seth know she'd take care of the remaining work herself since there wasn't much left to do, then pulled up the photo she'd snapped of the Shepherd in Casanova mode and texted that to her and Ruger's missing man.

His powered-down phone was sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting for Arash to come home…one of these days.

Her explanation of the photo typed in and sent as well, Kate fired up the Durango's engine and followed the deputy's earlier egress route from the station.

Several minutes later, she pulled up beside the mailbox at the entrance to her private, quarter-mile drive to retrieve a stack of junk mail. Continuing up the gravel, she took the left leg of the Y. As she reached the house, she hit the remote for the garage door, then changed her mind and parked out on the driveway.

The motion sensors had tripped, causing the ring of exterior lights to explode into blinding life, making the windows of the house and even the interior of the garage appear dark, cold and lonely. The thought of pulling in and parking beside Arash's dust-laden Explorer made her miss him all the more.

Maybe she should look up Legare's number. Cash in that rain check early. Especially since she had gotten the feeling as they'd parted out at the box plant that she and Seth weren't the only ones needing a distraction tonight.

Then again, she had a better idea—at least for her and the guy beside her. The one whose drooping tail testified to his resumed depression, too.

Leaning toward her partner, she unhooked his safety restraint, then opened her door to let them both down onto the pea gravel. "What do you say to a long walk in the woods, buddy? Maybe even a night time run through your obstacle course?"

Either would lift his mood and hers swifter than dinner with a stranger. Even one who was a fellow vet and could offer up a story or two that starred Arash. Right about now, such tales would likely have her missing the man even more.

Despite her own nine years in the Army, not to mention multiple combat tours, she'd never been so consumed with someone else's safety downrange.

Welcome to the role of the military loved one. She was getting a crash course in helplessness and nerves now.

Her phone rang as if on cue, causing her and Ruger to tense.

Hope surged as she retrieved the device, then crashed. That wasn't Arash on the line or even another soldier reaching out on his behalf. The number on the screen belonged to Captain Leahy.

She clicked into the line. "Hey, boss, what's up?"

"Hi, Kate. I've got a new case for you."

With the dinner hour upon them, she'd figured as much. "Who died?"

"Man named Marc Arbaugh. He's a therapist out of—"

"Ft. Leaves." Shit. "I assume he was murdered?"

"You assume correctly. Sounds like you might've known the guy?"

"We met in passing." A rather intriguing passing, too, given that the man was now dead. "What happened?"

"Not sure yet. You know medical examiners. They don't like to give away squat until after the autopsy."

True enough.

"All I know is Arbaugh's maid came in for her weekly clean and found his body in a pool of blood. I'm assuming the blood's his—but that whole noncommittal ME thing. I'll text you the address. It's about a half hour from Braxton, a suburban house in Jacksonville. I've asked the local detective assigned to the case to have everyone but himself, the photographer and the ME stand clear until you get there."

"I appreciate that."

A moment later, her phone pinged.

"That's the location. Call if you need anything from me. Otherwise, just text the link to the electronic file once it's up and running. With your outstanding work on the Pit case, the governor and I agree: no need to hold your hand."

"I appreciate the confidence, sir. I'm leaving now."

Kate hung up with her boss and looked down at her partner.

The Shepherd was staring up at her, expectant. And why not?

She'd used one of Ruger's favorite words right before her call: walk.

"Sorry, buddy. I'm going to have to issue a rain check of my own for the stroll and the O-course run." Worse, she'd have to leave this lovable source of potentially contaminating canine fur and DNA well outside of her coming crime scene. Which meant Ruger would need to remain at the house for the evening without her.

Fortunately, she had just the bribe to distract him with.