Page 19 of Smoky Mountain K-9

She giggled, scratching his ears. Her melodic laugh sent a shot of desire through Carter’s body, and he wished she were running her hands through his hair instead. Preferably while he kissed her senseless. He’d wanted to Saturday before the incident with her car. After that, the timing was never right. Not even when he took her home after the wrecker came and towed her car to the body shop. The mood was gone.

He sank into the chair across from her desk. “I have an update on your car.”

Her hands stilled in Maverick’s fur. “Oh?”

“The rock came from my neighbor’s landscaping, but there were no prints on it. Another neighbor has a doorbell camera that caught a shadowy figure at the very edge of its field of view. But that’s it. No car.”

“So, was it someone from the neighborhood? A local kid?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. They could have had a car further down the road too.”

“But why would they target my car and no one else’s?”

That was the part that bothered Carter. “I’m not sure. Maybe they intended to break into several cars, but because yours had that glass break sensor, it foiled their plan and you were the only one hit.”

Her brows dipped again for a moment before her expression smoothed out, and she nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Yeah.” Carter nibbled the corner of his mouth and glanced away.

“You don’t think so?”

He turned his gaze back to her and blew out a breath, letting his misgivings go for now. “I don’t know what to think. There’s not much to go on, and we may never know who did it.” He almost hoped that was the case. It meant it was random. He had no reason to believe it wasn’t, but something about it bothered him. He just wished he could put his finger on what.

“So, how’s your week been?” Mara spoke to him, but she looked at Maverick. “Did you catch any bad guys?”

The dog let out a short bark.

Mara smiled and ran a hand over his head again. “That many, huh?”

Carter chuckled. “We had a few busts. Nothing huge. At least not on shift. Gustavo Herrera came after Piper and Cullen last night.”

Her eyes went wide. “What? Are they okay?”

He nodded. “They will be. Piper’s unharmed, but Cullen took a bullet to the side. Just a graze, but it was enough to knock him down. I guess he hit his head when he fell, so he has a concussion too. Thankfully, it’s nothing time won’t heal.”

“Wow. Is Herrera in custody, or did he get away again?” They’d all been following what was going on with Piper, Cullen, and the drug cartel. Mara was no exception.

“He’s in custody. Cullen managed to knock him out, despite his injuries.”

“Good for him.”

“Yeah. The doc’s pretty tough. So is Piper.” He let out a sigh. “Other than that, it’s been blessedly quiet. Just busy.”

One corner of her mouth kicked up. “Isn’t that word—quiet—anathema? Like it is for medical personnel?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never been one to put much stock in superstitions.” Some of his military buddies swore by them—and lost their lives anyway.

“Me, either.” She glanced at her watch. “I have a session to get to.” She stood. “You’re welcome to come back and talk with me a bit longer while I get set up.”

Carter rose and called Maverick to heel. “Sure. I’ve only ever been beyond the offices once. That was for the auction.”

Mara smiled. “Great. I’ll give you a quick tour.” She rounded the desk and led him down the hall, then through the door leading to the arena and stables.

“I didn’t know you conducted your own sessions,” Carter said, his eyes trained on the therapists and riders walking around the arena. “I thought you were more of a paper-pusher.”

She chuckled. “I don’t, normally. I do a few here and there, but mostly I hide behind my desk nowadays. But I took on most of Gemma’s patients while she’s out. Thankfully, January and February are slow for me. All our end of the year stuff is wrapped up, and I don’t have quarterly reviews until March.” She rounded the corner into the stables.

Maverick’s ears twitched at the sound of the animals. When he stuck his nose in the air and went on alert, Carter glanced around. Something had piqued his interest. “What do you smell, Mav?”