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Dakota flashed her one of his handsome grins. “Just helping out while I’m here in town. Like I said, we have a couple kids who say they saw a guy get shot in the woods. And then I heard about the body found out near that ranch.”
Wait a minute. The woman was assuming he was still a cop. And although he hadn’t outright lied, he was withholding the truth.
“Let me check…”
Allie tried to get Dakota’s attention while the doctor started typing on her keyboard.
He was too busy looking atFelicia.
“Psst.” Allie shot him low whisper.
He gave her a slight shake of the head and returned to smiling at the doctor. “So, did you ever finish remodeling your kitchen?”
She laughed. “You remember talking about that?”
“I remember being impressed that a woman knew the difference between an impact driver and a cordless drill.”
While the two of them chuckled together, Allie had the insane urge to kick something. All because some cute guy had shown her a little attention and now was focused on someone else. What was happening to her?
A printer behind the doctor started whirring and soon spat out two pages. Felicia handed them over to Dakota. “Here you go. It took a while, but we did ID him finally. Army Ranger Kurt Paulson. There was no next of kin to notify.”
“An Army Ranger?” After studying the picture, Dakota passed it to Allie.
The photo was of a rough-looking man with dark features, a military haircut, and dress uniform. The boys had mentioned him wearing a necklace of some kind.
A sudden chill ran down her back, and she looked up from the paper. “Was he really shotandburned? Is that odd?”
Dr. Felicia held up two fingers. “He was shot twice. Once in the back and once in the head, then he was burned and left in an area where the fire was approaching. We’re pretty sure the body was moved there, that it wasn’t the initial crime scene. The sheriff believes he was executed and someone tried to cover it up.”
So Ethan and Nolan very well could’ve been the last ones to see this man alive. And if someone had gone to all the trouble of killing an Army Ranger, they probably wouldn’t have any qualms about silencing two little boys.
Allie locked eyes with Dakota. “We have to find the boys.”
Dakota was completely on board with Allie. They left the building with the pictures. Now to find Ethan and Nolan and keep them safe.
“We need to go to the cops, right?” Allie asked.
What? Hadn’t they already been through this? “First we talk to Ethan and Nolan.”
“I know that’s what we planned, but?—”
“Allie, we have the picture. We need to see if this is the man they saw. This is no made- up story about Ray. Those boys actually witnessed a murder. And the killer is still out there somewhere. We have to figure this out.”
She stopped on the sidewalk and folded her arms across her chest. “But you don’t have the authority to do stuff like that. You’re not a cop anymore. And you lied to Felicia. You’re not officially on this case.”
“What are you saying?”
“That it’s not your job anymore. And I want to protect Ethan and Nolan just as much as you do, but I bet that doctor would’ve still given you the information if you’d been up front with her. And”—she let out a short breath and looked him straight in the eye—“at some point you’ve got to come to terms with the fact that that part of your life is over.”
He tried hard not to wince at that. Over. Finished. Washed up. Yeah, that all fit him to a T. But it didn’t mean he had to like it. Besides, how exactly did one come to terms with losing one’s whole identity?
Allie stepped closer and laid her small hand on his arm. “You don’t have to be a SWAT guy to help others. The world still needsyou, Dakota. It just might look a little different now. That’s not a bad thing.”
Wasn’t it? Why did it seem like no matter what he did, it wasn’t enough? But somehow, the way Allie looked up at him, her hazel eyes filled with something he’d been desperately longing for, he began to hope. Maybe there was some other way to prove to Will and the world that he wasn’t just a hotheaded addict who’d thrown his life away. Maybe he did have something to offer an amazing woman like Allie.
And he hated disappointing her. “I’m sorry I didn’t admit to Felicia that I wasn’t with the PD anymore. It’s…not something easy to say. I ruined a great career.”
“Dakota, you fought back against an addiction. That takes incredible strength. You don’t need to hide it. You should be proud of who you are and what you’ve accomplished.I’mproud of you.”