Page 42 of Colorado K-9 Rescue

E van continued to convince himself that his idea would work.

Mckenna had told him about Mocha’s history of flunking out.

The dog would find only Mckenna, not others, when Cassidy had tried some tracking training with him.

Maybe Mocha would track Mckenna, maybe not, but if the dog could follow her scent, it was the best way to find her quickly.

He had a bad feeling that she was in serious trouble.

Sheriff Stewart pulled up and parked. She came over with a questioning look on her face, glancing at Mocha and then Evan.

“I don’t know where Mckenna is,” Evan said. “But her dog, Mocha, has had some tracking training. I want to try to use him to find her.”

“Some tracking training?”

“He was supposed to work for the FBI as an explosives detection and tracking dog. He failed out of both and so now he’s a crisis K-9.”

“What makes you think that he’ll track Mckenna?”

“Because in his training, Mckenna would hide. She volunteered to do it so he could get extra tracking training. He would only find her. If anyone else hid, he would start tracking and then flop down and refuse to move. He could be quite stubborn, but since it’s Mckenna we’re searching for, maybe he’ll do it. ”

“Okay,” the sheriff said. “I’m game to try it. Do you have any experience working dogs?”

“I do. My dad was a K-9 handler. My sisters and I grew up working dogs.”

“Okay, then let’s do it. I will be your backup officer. Tell me what you need as I don’t have a ton of experience backing up a K-9 handler.”

“Just let the dog work, stay behind me, and shoot anyone who tries to shoot us. I won’t be able to pull my weapon or observe our surroundings. I’ll be watching Mocha and his body language.”

“You got it. Anything to help find Mckenna and see if we can nail this guy.”

“Thanks,” Evan said as he went to Mckenna’s front seat and grabbed her jacket.

Normally there was a whole protocol for tracking.

He should have gloved up and put her jacket in a plastic bag to preserve the odor, but at this point, he was hoping that Mocha would entertain the idea and do this. Forget the usual operating procedures.

Raising his voice to heighten Mocha’s interest, Evan let Mocha sniff Mckenna’s jacket. He didn’t know what command had been used for Mocha to track, so he went with a standard one. “Find her. Go find her. Seek. Come on, let’s go find her.”

At first, Mocha tilted his head at the sound of Evan’s higher voice. His tail wagged and he gave a short couple of barks. Doubting his plan, Evan gave it another shot.

“Go find her, Mocha. Where is she? Where’s Mckenna?”

At the sound of Mckenna’s name, Mocha turned and sniffed the ground. He glanced back at Evan asking if this was what Evan wanted.

“That’s it, boy,” Evan said. He used his arm to cast Mocha out in different directions. Now the Lab appeared to be more focused. Using Mckenna’s name had helped.

“Find Mckenna,” Evan repeated a few more times.

Evan was about to let Mocha sniff the jacket again when he noticed a shift in Mocha’s body language.

The Lab’s tail poked straight in the air and his breathing changed.

Evan’s dad had taught him to listen to the sound of a dog breathing.

When they were in odor or had caught an odor they were trained to find, their sniffing would change along with the body language.

Mocha continued to make snorting sounds as he pushed his nose to the ground.

The dry hot day was making it harder for him to pick up Mckenna’s scent, but suddenly the dog took off in a trot toward the other end of the ghost town.

Weaving back and forth, with his tail remaining straight up, every now and then Mocha would pause. Evan would be about ready to let him sniff the jacket and cast him out again when Mocha would resume his search, intent on his mission and appearing to remain in odor.

When they reached the edge of town, he saw a deep slope that went down at a sharp angle. Evan knew it would be hard to keep his balance downhill and there wasn’t anything past this area. Mocha didn’t hesitate and pulled on the leash.

“You think he’s on her scent?” the sheriff asked behind him, her gun drawn and ready.

Evan knew she’d have a hard time holding the gun and backing them up going down the incline. Mocha continued to pull on the leash and whine. “I think he is.”

“Then, let’s do this,” the sheriff said. “I’ll be okay.”

“So will I.” Evan gave some slack in the leash and worked to not lose his footing. Just when he was thinking that Mocha was taking them on a wild-goose chase, he saw a grove of aspens.

They had curved trunks and appeared to be dancing.

Footsteps echoed as Keith came down the hall toward them.

Mckenna prayed her plan would work. If it didn’t, there wasn’t a plan B.

She forced herself to slow her breathing, to concentrate.

Her timing would have to be just right. Rex’s breathing remained haggard and harsh.

She’d made him talk too much, but she had to know the truth.

Now that she did, she knew Keith was ready to end his game of catch and release.

After killing Autumn and shooting Toby in cold blood, there was no going back.

But if she was successful with her plan, he might not be able to ever hurt anyone again. If she hit him hard enough, other young women wouldn’t lose their lives. Other women wouldn’t feel the terror that had possessed her for so long.

She would swing as hard as she could. For her. For them. And for Evan. She wanted to see Evan again so she could tell him her feelings.

Even if Evan decided to leave, like Cassidy said he might, Mckenna didn’t care. They were meant to be together. She was certain. She could only hope he felt the same way.

The door hinges creaked and groaned as Keith peered inside. Mckenna sat huddled in the corner just like he’d left her. The board was behind her. Rex hadn’t tried to move. Mckenna didn’t even know if he could move. The only good part was that Keith hadn’t noticed that they were both untied.

A sly smile spread across his face. There was something different about his expression and it made Mckenna’s heart pound. Keith came over.

Crouch down, you bastard. Go ahead, get close to me again.

Keeping her head down, Mckenna had her eyes open, but with the darkness of the room and the fact that Keith thought she’d had some of his “special” water, he wasn’t paying attention. She was glad she had poured some out. Hopefully, the spot where she’d dumped the water had dried.

He stood there for a minute, Mckenna staring at his boots. If she concentrated on them, she could still pretend that she was sleepy from the water. She had to make him think she was groggy and unable to fight. Taking the toe of his boot, he nudged her.

Trying to see how asleep I am? Just wait until you find out.

Mckenna kept an eye on his boots as they stepped back. She didn’t dare look up and give away that she was fully awake, but she waited and watched until his feet turned around.

Now, she thought, leaping to her feet, and before Keith could realize what was going on, Mckenna took the board and swung as hard as she could.

The board connected with Keith’s head, giving a satisfying crack as it connected.

He dropped to the ground and Mckenna rushed forward, hitting him again and again until she drew blood.

Horrified at what she’d done, even though she knew he deserved every bit of the beating, Mckenna rushed for the open door.

She was about ready to step out when Keith’s hand grabbed her ankle, his fingers wrapping around her and then pulling with such strength that Mckenna smacked the ground, falling hard.

She had the wind knocked out of her for a second, but her flight instinct continued to kick in. She was a survivor. She was strong. She was no longer a victim, and he would not get the best of her.

Mckenna took her free leg and began striking his face with as much force as she could. For a moment, his hand tightened, but then she connected with his nose, hearing another satisfying crack. She hoped she’d broken it, her horror at hurting this man long gone.

His fingers loosened and Mckenna took the opportunity to pull her leg away and scramble to her feet. Pushing with all her might and forcing her legs to work, Mckenna bolted out the door. Despite the head injuries, Keith was right behind her and gaining fast.

Mckenna glanced over her shoulder, stumbling and tripping. She fell to the ground and was scrambling to her feet when Keith grabbed her again by the ankle. This time Keith was full of rage and fury, and Mckenna knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get away.