Page 72 of Operation K-9 Brothers

“No, someone beat him up last night.I’m going to the hospital.”

So Lane’s temper had finally caught up with him.“I’ll take you.”Mark was too agitated to drive himself.

“You don’t have to.I know you hate him.”

She shook her head.“He’s not my favorite person in the world, but I don’t wish him harm.Let me put Rambo in his kennel and we’ll go.”

They weren’t family, so they weren’t allowed to see Lane or get any information on his condition.

“How about I make you some French toast?”she said to Mark when they returned home.Growing up it had been his favorite meal, one of the few things he had an appetite for when he was going through chemo.

“Sure, that would be great.”

“Hey, Mark?”He’d been quiet ever since leaving the hospital.She guessed he was keeping his worry for his friend to himself because he knew how she felt about Lane.

“Yeah?”

“I know Lane’s your friend, and it’s okay to be worried about him.You don’t have to hide that from me.”

He glanced down at the floor, then sighed.“I’m feeling guilty.I’ve been blowing him off ever since meeting Jack.”

She kept how much that pleased her to herself.No matter what was going on between Jack and her, she would pick Jack to be her brother’s friend over Lane any day.

His gaze lifted to hers.“The thing is, I haven’t been liking Lane so much lately.”

About time.She also kept that thought to herself as she grabbed the carton of eggs from the refrigerator and the bread from the pantry.“There’s no reason for feeling guilty for not admiring a man who thinks it’s okay to hit a woman.”

“Jack would never do that,” he said.

“No, he wouldn’t.”The doorbell rang.“Get that, would you?”She hoped it wasn’t Jack finally showing up.She had no idea what to say to him since her brain and her heart were still waging war.

“Nichole, this is Detective Matthews.He says he needs to talk to you.”

Weird.Why was Deke here to see her?She turned off the burner, then smiled as she faced Jack’s friend.“Deke?This is a surprise.”

He didn’t smile back.

Mark glanced from her to Deke.“You know him?”

“I do.He’s a friend of Jack’s.”

“Cool,” Mark said.“Have you talked to him today?He was supposed to pick me up this morning.We’re volunteering at a service dog place.”

“I have.He’s...ah, he’s busy with something right now.Nichole, can we talk in private for a minute?”

At seeing the serious look in Deke’s eyes and the odd way he’d answered Mark’s question, she knew it had something to do with Jack.“We can talk outside.”

Mark frowned and stepped closer to her.“Why can’t you talk in here?Is she in trouble or something?”

“No,” Deke said.“I just need a few minutes of her time.”

She put her hand on Mark’s arm.“It’s okay.”It was the first time that he’d tried to be protective of her.Maybe he was finally growing up, and no matter what happened between her and Jack, she knew he’d played a part in her brother’s new attitude.She’d always be grateful to him for that.

“It’s about Jack, isn’t it?”she said as soon as she and Deke stepped onto her porch.

“Yeah.He’s in trouble, Nichole.He’s in jail, accused of beating up your ex-boyfriend.”

“What?You’re saying he’s the one who did that to Lane?”She gave a hard shake of her head.“No way.”