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J ess huddled next to Logan with Teddy at her side, listening as the police sirens grew louder with the approaching squads. She closed her eyes and silently thanked God for continuing to protect them. If not for His mercy, she felt certain she and Logan would already be dead.

And if they didn’t do something different soon, she was afraid the gunman would succeed in taking them out of the equation. Teddy had alerted them to the danger once again.

She and Logan didn’t move until the two responding officers, Burt Jones and his rookie Tim Riley, headed toward the garage. Logan straightened and quickly dropped his weapon back into his coat pocket.

“We’re fine,” he called. “But Teddy alerted us to danger.”

“What are you doing here?” Burt glared at her. “I thought you were going to stay off-grid.”

“That was the plan.” She rested her hand on Teddy’s head. “We heard about Ethan Dover’s death and thought it might be helpful to have Teddy search for drugs.”

Burt scowled. “Did Wayne agree to that?”

“We reached out to him.” She glanced at Logan who pulled out his phone, then shook his head. “Not yet. But it stands to reason that if Ethan had overdosed on drugs, there would be some here at his place.”

Burt heaved a sigh. “We got a call about someone lurking near the property. When we realized it was Ethan’s house, we quickly responded.”

“Did the caller report one person or two?” Logan asked. “Because Teddy began to growl and bark shortly before you headed over. We believe he caught the scent of the gunman.”

“Two people.” Tim, the rookie waved at them. “And a dog. We thought it might be you.”

“Too bad, I was hoping for a description of the gunman.” Logan scowled.

Burt eyed Teddy, then glanced at his rookie partner. “I’ve seen the Sullivan K9s in action. If they think the dog alerted on someone, then I believe them. Let’s do a sweep of the property to check things out.”

Tim looked slightly annoyed but didn’t argue. She and Logan waited as the two officers spread out and looked around the exterior of the house and garage.

Logan’s phone rang, and from his wry expression, she deduced the caller was Wayne. “This is Fletcher, and yes, I’m here with Jess and Teddy at Ethan’s house.” He winced and held the phone from his ear. “No need to yell, we just thought it would be helpful to ask Teddy to search for drugs.”

No surprise the cops were upset with their interference in their investigation. Yet in their defense, it was Wayne who’d asked for a meeting. And who had informed them of Ethan’s death due to a drug overdose.

Not to mention they were the ones being hunted by some unknown gunman.

“Yes, the offer stands. We’ll wait here. Thanks.” Logan lowered the phone. “Wayne has reluctantly agreed to use Teddy to search the house for drugs. He had to get a search warrant but is on his way.”

“Great.” She stroked Teddy’s fur. “I hope he finds something useful.”

“Me too,” Logan agreed.

Burt and Tim returned a few minutes later. “I found a set of footprints in the snow behind the garage. Do you want to take a look?”

“Yes.” Logan reached for her hand. “Did you take pictures of them?”

“Of course, but they’re not very clear. Looks like the guy came in from the street behind the house, then retraced his footsteps back out again.”

“Same way he did at the park, which proves Teddy alerted on the gunman’s scent.” Jess was concerned about how close they were to being shot. As they rounded the corner of the garage, she noticed the prints stopped about six feet from the garage. Easy to imagine the gunman freezing in place upon hearing Teddy’s barking. He must have quickly changed his mind and turned to leave.

“I agree, there aren’t any clear prints,” Logan said with a frown. “Although the size is approximately a men’s eleven.”

“Like that will narrow down our perp,” Tim said in a snide tone.

For a rookie, he had quite the attitude. Jess held Tim’s gaze for a long moment. “I’m sure you realize that the print will be more helpful once you have someone in custody.”

The rookie shrugged and looked away. “Whatever.”

Logan took pictures as well—why, she wasn’t sure—then they all headed back to the front of the house. Teddy hadn’t alerted on drugs outside the structures, which left the inside.

And if that was clean, she would lean toward Ethan’s death being murder rather than an accidental drug overdose.

Five minutes later, Wayne arrived. He did not look the least bit happy to see her and Logan. He gestured to his officers who crossed over to join him. The three men spoke in low voices for a moment.

“Okay, Jess. We’re going to access the house. We’ll need you and Logan to stay back until we’ve cleared the place. I’ll let you know when we’re ready for Teddy to do his thing.”

“Sounds good.” She smiled, but Wayne didn’t return the sentiment. He used a key that he must have gotten from Ethan’s pocket to get inside. Burt and Tim followed him.

“We owe Teddy a big steak for alerting us to the danger,” Logan said when they were alone outside the squad.

“No steak, it’s not good for him, but maybe a sweet potato treat, hmm?” She bent to pat Teddy’s head. “Anna bakes them by the dozen, and the dogs love them.” She grinned. “People can eat them too.”

“Ah, no thanks. Although they would have come in handy last night.” Logan straightened. “Looks like they’re ready for us.”

Jess glanced over to see Wayne waving them in. She bent and looked into Teddy’s dark-brown eyes. “Are you ready to search? Are you?” When his tail began to wag, she strode forward. “Peppers! Search for peppers!”

Teddy followed her up to the front door of the house, then immediately lowered his nose to the floor as they entered. She focused on her dog, peripherally aware of the messy interior. Ethan was not a neat guy.

She took Teddy through the house one room at a time, offering him encouragement along the way. Ethan’s bedroom and bathroom were last. If they were going to find peppers, a.k.a. drugs, this seemed the most logical place.

Teddy did his best. He nosed every nook and cranny of both areas but didn’t alert. Jess almost wished she had drugs of some sort so she could reward him.

He gazed up at her, clearly waiting for another command. She knelt and hugged him.

“You did good, Teddy. Really good.” She had to laugh when he licked her face. “We’ll try again later.”

“What about the garage?” Logan suggested.

Wayne shrugged. “We may as well check there. Ethan was in his car when he was found, so the vehicle isn’t inside.”

Jess headed out the back door with Teddy. Burt opened the garage for them. Peering in, she noted a push lawn mower, a couple of rakes, and a small workbench. She held Teddy’s gaze. “Search! Search for peppers!”

Once again, Teddy lowered his nose and began sniffing along the length of the structure. Then he abruptly turned and zeroed in on the corner of the workbench. He sniffed the drawer there for a long moment, then sat and let out a sharp bark.

His alert! She turned to Burt. “Open it up.”

Burt was still wearing the gloves he’d donned upon entering the house. He reached for the drawer and opened it. Jess was close enough to see a bag of what appeared to be pot sitting in the corner.

“Well, well, seems as if Ethan was a user after all,” Burt drawled.

Unconvinced, she glanced at Logan. He nodded, acknowledging her thought. “Or they were planted there to add credence to his overdose death.”

“Why go to the trouble?” Burt asked.

“To throw us off course.” Jess gestured to the baggie in his hands. “I highly recommend the contents of that baggie be closely examined for fentanyl. Touching pure fentanyl powder with your bare hands can be enough to overdose.”

Burt eyed the baggie critically, then nodded. “Yeah, we’ve all been warned about that possibility.” He shrugged, then added, “Your dog is amazing.”

“Yes, he sure is.” She turned to her K9. “Good boy, Teddy!” She crossed over to the open garage door and pulled out his stuffed moose. She tossed it into the air. “Good boy!”

Teddy’s body practically vibrated with excitement as he leaped up to grab the toy. Then he ran through the yard, shaking the stuffed moose from side to side. As she watched, she thought about what Wayne had said about Ethan’s body being found in his car.

And the drugs were found in an obvious hiding place in his garage. A garage that would be easier to break into without being seen compared to entering someone’s house. Interesting how the gunman had approached the property from behind the garage. It could be that it was a trip he’d made before in the not-so-distant past.

She was anxious to talk to her new brother-in-law, Doug Bridges, about what they’d learned today. Having worked many drug cases as a DEA agent, Doug’s take on this would be of interest. Because despite the way Teddy had found the baggie, she truly believed this was all an elaborate setup.

A way to hide the fact that Ethan Dover had been brutally murdered.

Too bad they had no idea why the young man had been killed.

Logan eyed the baggie in Burt’s gloved hand, wondering who’d put it inside the garage. The gunman who Teddy had scared away? Probably. He wasn’t buying the theory that Ethan stored his drugs out here.

No drug user would do such a thing. They’d keep their stash close at hand. He’d fully expected Teddy to find the drugs in Ethan’s bedside table. The most obvious place for them to be kept.

From the skeptical expression emanating from Jess’s gaze, he knew they were of the same mindset. And found himself hoping the local cops were smart enough to see through the ruse.

“I’ll ask our crime scene techs to head out here when they’ve finished processing the vic’s car.” Wayne nodded at Jess. “Good work finding his stash.”

Logan suppressed a sigh. Maybe the local cops weren’t as smart as he thought. “Don’t you think it’s odd the drugs were in the garage?”

Wayne frowned. “You’re an expert on drug users?”

“My brother-in-law, Doug Bridges, is a former DEA agent.” Jess put a hand on Logan’s arm, silently asking him not to argue. “I think it would be a good idea to get his opinion on this. I agree with Logan, though. It seems more logical to me that a drug user would keep their stash close at hand. Not tucked off in the garage.”

Wayne hesitated for a long moment. “I wouldn’t mind hearing Bridge’s thoughts on this. I’ll give him a call.”

“He should be back at the ranch soon,” Logan said. “Last time we spoke with Chase, Doug and Maya were on their way home via a red-eye.”

“Fine. We’ll run this past him,” Wayne agreed. “Thanks for your help, Jess. Teddy too. You may as well head back to the hotel now. We don’t need your help from this point forward.”

Logan swallowed his annoyance. “One more question, if you don’t mind.” When Wayne didn’t respond, he pushed forward. “Where was Ethan’s car found? Here in town or somewhere else?”

“Here in town,” Wayne said.

“At the general store?” Jessica guessed.

“Yeah.” Wayne scowled. “I guess there’s no reason to keep it a secret. Word will have spread across town by now anyway. We had gone there to interview him. The owner mentioned that Ethan was a no call, no show. That’s when Burt spotted his car in the back corner of the parking lot.”

Logan realized that if they’d have gone to the store, they’d have seen the crime scene tape blocking off the parking lot. Instead, they’d come here and had nearly been caught by the gunman.

“Do you have Ethan’s estimated time of death?” Jess asked.

“Sometime after midnight,” Wayne admitted. “We’ll know more when the doc is finished with the autopsy.”

Interesting. Logan wondered if Ethan had been taken to the general store against his will. Or if the gunman had met him there after work. Those details would have to be determined by the cops who would try to retrace Ethan’s last movements.

For now, their work was done here. He glanced at Jess. “You ready to go?”

“Yes.” She turned to her K9. “Come, Teddy.”

The dog had been galivanting around with his stuffed moose, but the moment Jessica called out to him, he trotted to her side and dropped the toy at her feet. She bent to retrieve it.

Logan scanned their surroundings, then gestured toward the back of Ethan’s garage. “I say we follow those tracks. See where the gunman may have left his vehicle.”

She considered that for a moment before nodding. “Okay. Although I’m sure he’s long gone by now.”

“I know. But we don’t want to take the obvious route back to the hotel.” He took a moment to look at the neighboring homes, knowing one of the owners had likely called the police on him and Jess. But it was hard to be upset. He liked knowing that people around here cared about their neighbors.

He cut a parallel path to the footprints in case the crime scene techs could do something with them. Jessica and Teddy were both on high alert, too, as they came out on the other side of the block. The street had been well plowed, so he couldn’t tell where the gunman’s car may have been parked.

Around here, you couldn’t get too far away from Cody without a vehicle. Which only reminded him of the way Benton had requested a charter flight to the mountain. He obviously would have had to meet someone there.

Was the gunman Benton? Or someone else? They had yet to get close enough to figure that out.

“The more run-ins we have with this guy, the more I want to head back up the mountain,” Jess said, breaking the silence. “That’s where this all started. And I have a feeling that going back will be the only way to end it.”

He wished he didn’t agree with her. But he felt the same way. “Maybe Shane or one of your brothers could take Teddy up there.”

“What?” She spun around to stare at him. “No, Logan. That’s not happening. I’m Teddy’s handler. Besides, I can’t stay back while putting my siblings in danger.”

“Okay, okay.” He held his hands up in defeat. “But I’m going on record in saying this is a bad idea.”

“Duly noted,” she snapped. “You can stay back if you’d like. I’m more than capable of retracing our steps with Doug.”

“Oh, I’m going.” Logan took a deep breath, fighting the flash of anger. “It was my plane he tried to take down.”

“Whatever.” She acted as if she couldn’t have cared what he did.

Their earlier closeness, including their amazing kiss, seemed like eons ago. And maybe that was for the better. It wasn’t as if he didn’t admire her skill and dedication. Along with Teddy’s incredible nose. His concern was for her safety.

And heading back up to the mountain felt akin to meeting the bear in his den.

They continued walking in silence, darting through side streets to avoid traveling on the main routes. Now that he knew one of Ethan’s neighbors had called the police, he tried to choose their shortcuts along properties that appeared deserted.

Their circuitous route added extra time so that it was almost a full twenty minutes before they arrived back at the Lumberjack Inn. Once they were safely inside their room, he and Jessica stripped off their winter gear. Logan ran his hands through his hair, thinking once again that the hotel room seemed smaller than the tent they’d shared.

Teddy stretched out at Jess’s feet. She had pulled out her phone then met his gaze. “I think it’s safe enough to have Doug meet us here, don’t you agree?”

“Of course. I trust your family. But make sure he doesn’t drive one of the SUVs that has your ranch logo on the side.”

“Good point.” She shook her head as she entered the number. After a moment, she said, “Hey, Doug. How was Hawaii?” There was a pause as he answered. Then her voice rose in surprise. “You’re ten minutes from Cody? How did you get here so fast?” Another pause. “Yes, we’re at the Lumberjack Inn. See you soon.” She lowered the phone. “Doug will be here in a few minutes.”

“I heard.” Logan wondered if Doug had even unpacked his suitcase from his trip. “I hope Maya isn’t upset.”

“About Doug helping us? Never.” Jess shook her head. “She’s not like that. Maya would want us to find this gunman ASAP.”

He’d almost forgotten that Maya Sullivan now Bridges had worked as a cop in Cheyenne. No wonder the Sullivans took incidents like this in stride. Most women would be panicking at the idea of being targeted by a gunman.

But not Jess. She was cool under pressure.

He turned to rummage through his backpack. If they were heading back up the mountain at some point, he wanted to be sure his gear was ready to go. He pulled several items out, making sure to spread any wet clothing out near the room’s heater to dry.

The knock on their door came five minutes later. He shot over to press his eye up to the peephole to verify who was out there, before standing back to open the door.

“Hi, Logan. Jess.” Doug Bridges shook his hand. He’d first met Doug back in January when the guy had paid Logan to take evidence to the state crime lab. Doug had hired Maya to help find his kidnapped sister, and they were successful in finding Emily. Logan then worked with him a month later when Chase had needed backup. In both instances, Logan’s role had been minor, just flying from point A to point B.

This was the first time he needed Doug’s help on a personal level.

“Thanks for coming.” Jess gave her brother-in-law a quick hug. Teddy wagged his tail until Doug bent to give the K9 some attention too. “We’ve managed to get ourselves in a bit of trouble.”

“So I heard.” Doug’s tone was wry. “Care to fill me in?”

Logan decided to take the lead. “It started with me accepting a request to be flown from Cheyenne to the base of Cedar Mountain.” He went on to explain about the piece of plane he’d seen and his decision to let Jessica know. “Teddy alerted near the passenger seat of the plane, and that’s when I found the glove.”

“We believe Craig Benton, Logan’s charter client, was transporting drugs. Or components of drugs,” she clarified. “Teddy’s been trained on all of them.”

“I remember.” Doug gave an encouraging nod. “Go on.”

When he reached the part when shots were fired at them, Doug’s expression hardened. “You weren’t hit?”

“We’re fine,” Jess said. “But it was bad when he tried to shoot down our plane. Thankfully, Logan is a highly skilled pilot and managed to land without incident.”

He shouldn’t have been touched by her praise. Logan quickly finished the story, ending with Ethan Dover’s death and their theory of the overdose being set up to look accidental rather than intentional murder.

“A bit of trouble is putting it mildly,” Doug drawled. “You’re smack dab in the middle of this mess.”

“It wasn’t on purpose,” Logan protested. “But you’re right. The end result is that big red targets are etched on our backs. This Benton guy and his pals seem to think we know more than we do.”

“Although, we’re learning more by the minute,” Jessica added. “Ethan Dover was murdered for a reason. The only thing that makes sense is if he had started to snoop around about Ella’s death, which was also supposedly”—she used air quotes around the word supposedly —“a drug overdose.”

“Why would he bother to do that now after eight years?” Doug looked skeptical. “I would think he’d moved on with his life.”

“Not as much as you’d think,” Jess said. “He never got married or started a family.” She flushed as if realizing the same could be said about her and Logan. He knew his reasons for not dating were tangled up in his feelings for Jess. Her reasons for staying single were murky. She shrugged. “I don’t know Ethan that well anymore, but from our brief interactions at the general store, I got the impression he was a bit of a loner.”

“Maybe Ethan learned something new recently,” Logan said. “We don’t know how long Benton and his guys have been hanging out near Cedar Mountain, but I have a feeling it hasn’t been that long.”

Doug regarded them silently for a moment. Then he let out a sigh. “The best way to figure out what is going on with this guy is to head back up there.”

“I agree, and Teddy can help by tracking the scent of drugs and/or gun powder. That should help us zero in on the correct location.” Jessica straightened. “How soon can we head out?”

“Hold on, we need other law enforcement officers to come along.” He shot Doug an exasperated look. “Come on, you can’t imagine the three of us can pull this off. What about the feds? Or DEA agents?”

“I’ll get in touch with Griff Flannery from the FBI.” Doug pulled out his phone. “I’m the closest thing to a DEA agent in the area. My current role is that of a criminal investigator for the state of Wyoming, but my boss is trying to change that to include a broader jurisdiction. Sounds like he has support from the FBI office.”

“Really?” Jess sounded surprised. “What does Maya think about that?”

“She’s fine with whatever I’d like to do. Especially since it hasn’t happened yet.” Doug grinned wryly and tapped a button on his phone. “But if this ends up being the big drug bust that I think it is, that will likely seal the deal. It’s not good that highly potent drugs are finding their way into our cites.”

Logan dropped down onto the edge of the bed, listening as Doug connected with the FBI office in Cheyenne. He was slightly reassured that others would be going along with them on this trip. Yet it would also take Agent Flannery a while to get there. Even if he chose to come by plane. Which now that Logan thought about it was the better option.

A glance at his watch had him doing the math. The hour was going on three in the afternoon, so the earliest they could get strike out to head back up to the mountain was first thing in the morning.

He could only hope and pray the trip back to the wilderness wouldn’t turn out to be their last.