Page 40 of Smoky Mountain K-9

“Yep.” Ben slid out his side, then held out a hand to Gemma.

Carter helped Mara from the booth, then took out his wallet and tossed a twenty on the table. On their way out the door, they passed their server, barely noting her look of confusion. His attention was on the video feed playing on his phone. Maverick had started to cough. Dread filled him, settling into a lead ball in his stomach. “Ben, I think someone threw tear gas or a smoke bomb into my house.”

“What?” Ben cursed. “I’ll call it in on the road. Are you good to drive?”

“Hell, yes.” Let someone try to take his keys. They’d have to handcuff him and throw him in a cage.

Ben held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. “Just remember, you have precious cargo.” He pointed at Mara.

“I know. I’m good, Ben. Can we stop jawing and go now?”

With a short nod, Ben pulled Gemma toward their vehicle. “I’ll lead.”

Grinding his teeth, but knowing it was probably best so he didn’t speed too much, he nodded. He had no intention of putting himself or Mara in danger, but there was no doubt he would push the speedometer needle well past the speed limit.

Tugging on Mara’s hand, they jogged toward his truck, and he helped her inside.

“Give me your phone.” Mara held out her hand. “You can’t drive and monitor it.”

He handed it over, then rounded the hood to get in. The engine roared to life with a quick flick of his wrist. He buckled up and pulled out of the lot behind Ben.

“What do you see?” He glanced at the device in her hands, but couldn’t see anything from this distance. “Are those sirens?”

She nodded. A moment later, the sirens grew louder, filling the truck cab until she had to turn down the volume.

“Ben must have gotten through to dispatch. The officers are wearing gas masks.”

Carter heard the officers’ muffled voices as they announced themselves, then the distinctive tinkle of glass as they cleared the windowsill of glass shards so they could get inside.

Maverick’s barks changed to a more threatening tone, even as he continued to cough. Carter drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “This is not good. They need to get him out of the house, but they’re likely to get bitten. Let me see your phone.”

“My phone?”

“Yeah.” Carter held out his hand.

Mara dug through her purse and lifted it free. Unlocking it, she laid it in his outstretched palm. Carter clicked on her phone app and called dispatch. After identifying himself, he asked to be patched through to the officers in his house. When the lead officer came on the line, Carter didn’t waste time.

“There’s a leash on a hook by the door to the garage. Put the clip through the handle and make a loop. One of you needs to distract him while the other gets the loop around his neck. You only need to control him well enough to get him out the back door into the yard. Don’t go into the kennel with him unless you have the leash on. He’s freaked out.”

The officer’s garbled affirmative came over the line, then it went silent as the man went to subdue Maverick. Carter edged the speedometer needle higher, riding Ben’s bumper as he waited to hear if the officers were successful. Two minutes passed before the line crackled to life again.

“Remind me never to run from you,” the officer said. “He’s a beast, even feeling the effects of the tear gas. But we got him into the yard without incident. My partner asked dispatch to get the vet over here. They’ll be waiting for you.”

Carter breathed a cautious sigh of relief. Maverick still needed treatment, but at least he was out of the gas. “Okay. Thank you. ETA is about fifteen minutes.” And it would be some of the longest minutes of Carter’s life. He hung up the phone and handed it back to Mara. “Can you switch to the cameras on the back of the house?”

She nodded and touched the screen.

“How’s he look?”

“Miserable. He’s pawing at his face and rolling in the grass.” Her voice was tight as she relayed what she saw.

Carter slammed a hand on the steering wheel. “Dammit!” He growled and gripped the wheel, his knuckles turning white. “Go to the stored footage and look at the front cameras. See if we caught this bastard on video.”

Mara thumbed through the controls, doing as he asked.

“Anything?”

“Not yet. No, wait.” She sat up, touching the screen.