Page 49 of Smoky Mountain K-9

“No. I thought I had enough to go on with her name and her husband’s name. Her number was my next step. If we can’t verify who she is with that, then I want to open an official investigation and run the check she wrote.”

Ben gave a short nod. “Sounds good. Keep me posted.”

“Will do.” Carter nodded, but made no move to rise. Another thought—one that had been swirling through his head for a while—kept him in his seat.

“You got something else on your mind?” Ben raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Carter glanced at the wall behind Ben, trying to put his spinning thoughts into words. “Do you get the feeling there’s something bigger going on?”

“With the donor?”

“Not just her, but with all the trouble surrounding Mara and me lately. I feel like we’re being targeted. I just don’t know why. Or who could be doing it.”

Ben leaned forward, crossing his arms on the desk. “When you put all the incidents together, yeah, it certainly seems like someone’s targeting you. Or her.”

“Maybe I should dig into my own past more.” Perhaps take a deeper look at the people who jumped out at him the first time.

“Tristan and Jake are on that. They’re tearing your professional life apart. What about Mara?”

“Mara? What about her?”

“She have any skeletons in her closet?”

It was Carter’s turn to frown. “Not that I know of. But that’s absurd. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

A mirthless smile crossed Ben’s face. “This is why cops don’t investigate loved ones. You’re biased. Mara’s only lived here a few years. Maybe something followed her.”

“Like what? Her husband died in a car crash. She worked as an equestrian therapist in Oklahoma too. It’s not like there’s anything illicit in her past.”

“That she’s told you about.”

Carter scoffed. “Why would the equestrian center here hire her as their director if she had problems in Oklahoma?”

“Maybe she lied.”

The frown on Carter’s faced turned into a scowl as anger swelled.

Ben held up a hand. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate. I highly doubt she’s ever been involved in anything nefarious. Mara’s as sweet as they come. But it’s my job—and yours—to look at things from every angle.”

Carter blew out a breath, his anger fading. He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Look, go home. Talk to her tonight. See if she can think of anyone who would want to cause her harm. And get the other information about that woman so we can run it.”

Mouth flat, Carter nodded, then rose. With little more than a quick wave, he exited Ben’s office. Crossing the bullpen, he called to Maverick. The dog trotted to his side. Carter picked up his leash, and they left the station.

The day outside had warmed up, but Carter didn’t feel the sunshine on his face. His thoughts were a jumble of questions and what-ifs. The incidents involving Mara didn’t seem connected to the ones involving him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling they were. And whatever was going on, he was certain he was the center of it. It didn’t matter what Ben said. Carter didn’t believe for a second that this was about Mara.

And that really just left him with one looming question: what was he supposed to do about it to keep her safe?

Twenty-Six

Aquick thrill went up Mara’s spine and made her heart skip as she turned onto her street and saw both Carter’s truck and his cruiser parked out front of her house. There was no mistaking he was there. She was eager to see him. Since his visit earlier, she was distracted the rest of the day, excited to discuss their relationship.

She couldn’t believe how much she was looking forward to taking the next step with him. With as hard as she’d fought not to date again, it should have been harder for her to commit to a man. But it wasn’t. Things with Carter just felt right. Natural. It had all been going so well, it actually made her a bit leery. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Surely, finding love again couldn’t be this easy. There had to be some hiccup, some skeleton that would come to light and cast a shadow over their happiness. Right?

Mara turned into her drive and pushed the button above her rearview mirror to raise the garage door. She drove into the garage and parked, cutting the engine. Silence enveloped her, but her thoughts still raged. She sighed and picked up her purse. Whatever happened, she was going to enjoy what they had now. If Blake’s death taught her anything, it was that life was short and never guaranteed.

Getting out of her car, she went inside, hitting the button on the interior garage wall to close the overhead door as she went. Stepping over the threshold, she smiled at Carter, who was in the kitchen. “Hey.”