Evasive Action (Holding The Line Book 1)

Clay. “I’d like that a lot.”
Too bad he meant the dog and not him.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, April got up when she heard Meg banging around in the kitchen. She’d barely gotten any sleep the night before, anyway—between visions of headless bodies and the thought of Clay’s very real body in the next room, she couldn’t turn off her mind.
She crept up behind her cousin. “How are you feeling?”
Meg yelped and dropped a coffee cup, which hit the tile floor and cracked. “Oh my God. Why are you sneaking up on me?”
“I’m sorry.” April crouched down and retrieved the broken pieces of the cup. “I figured you’d have a hangover. I was trying to be quiet.”
“I do have a hangover, and I still have to go to work.”
April patted Meg’s back. “Sit down. I’ll get your coffee.”
“Did you and Clay kiss and make up last night?”
“Of course not.” April threw a little pink packet of sweetener at Meg. “He was here to protect us.”
“Yeah, okay.” Meg’s eyes widened. “Good morning, Clay. Did we wake you?”
“Sounded like you two were throwing glasses around in here.” He curled one arm behind his head and patted his flat belly as he yawned.
“Just an accident.” April pointed to the pieces of glass on the counter. “How’d you sleep?”
“Great, without Denali crowding me. You?”
“Fine—with Denali crowding me.”
Meg heaved a sigh. “Can you please pour that coffee into my commuter mug? I have to get out of here. When are you two going to Albuquerque?”
Clay answered, “Tomorrow morning. I have a few days off, but don’t worry. I’ll get your security system installed first.”
“That would be great.”
“Do you want me to leave Denali behind with you when we go to Albuquerque? He can serve as another layer of protection, and it would be easier for me and April to drive without him.”
“About that.” April set Meg’s mug in front of her. “We’ll have to take separate cars. I need to get that car back to its rightful owner.”
Meg’s hand jerked as she stirred the sweetener in her coffee. “Wait, you stole that car?”
“Not exactly.”
Meg raised her hand. “That’s enough. I’m off to work...and I’d be happy to take care of your dog.”
When the front door slammed behind her, a heavy silence hung over the room.
April cleared her throat. “Do you want me to watch Denali while you’re at work? We have some catching up to do.”
“Are you going to stick around here all day, or do you want to stay at my place? Denali needs to eat.”
“We can stay at your place, and I’ll feed him.” She held up her coffee mug. “Do you want some coffee?”
“No, thanks. I’ll wait for you to get ready, and you can follow me over to my place. I’ll shower and change there, and then leave you and Denali to your own devices.”
She flicked her fingers. “You two can get a head start. I’ll come over when I’m ready.”
“Are you sure you’re okay to stay here alone?” Clay spread his hands. “I didn’t want to leave you alone.”
“I won’t be alone.” She put her cup in the sink. “Leave Denali with me. I’m going to get my gun out, too. You can help me clean it and load it sometime today.”
Someone knocked on the door and Denali growled.
“See how good he is?” April patted Denali’s head on the way to answer the door, but Clay grabbed her arm. “Let me.”
He leaned into the peephole and nodded. “Perfect timing. It’s Charlie Santiago from Paradiso PD.”
Clay opened the door. “Hey, Charlie.”
“You here already, Clay? Doing some investigating?”
“No, I’m going back out to the site where we found the first body. You here to do some more canvassing?” Clay widened the door to include April in the conversation.
“Hello, Ms. Hart. I hope you and your cousin had an uneventful evening.”
“It was. Clay’s leaving and is nervous about my being here by myself. Can you let him know you can keep an eye on the house for the next thirty minutes or so?”
“No problem. I’ll be in the neighborhood for about an hour.” He adjusted his equipment belt, the leather creaking and handcuffs jingling. “I’ll keep a lookout for anything suspicious.”
“Problem solved.” Clay winked at her. “Don’t take too long.”
With Clay gone, Charlie the cop patrolling the neighborhood and Denali parked outside the bathroom door, April showered, allowing the knot in her belly to loosen.
She grabbed her new purse and exited the house. She waved at Charlie in his patrol car as she patted the passenger seat of her ill-gotten vehicle and Denali jumped inside.
Before she started the engine, she tried calling Adam. Again, his phone rang without rolling over to voice mail. She tried a text and watched the display for the notification that it had been delivered. That notification never came through.
Why was he offline? Had Jimmy threatened him? Did Adam know who took Jimmy’s flash drive?
Denali whined beside her and she touched his nose and said, “My brother’s a mystery, Denali.”
By the time she got to Clay’s place, he’d already showered and changed into a fresh uniform. He’d always looked good in the Border Patrol greens that matched his hazel eyes. Hell, Clay Archer would look hot in a clown suit.
He shook a dog dish full of dry food. “I already got Denali’s breakfast ready and changed his water outside. Just add a little warm water to his kibble when he’s ready to eat.”
“You’re going to work and then to the hardware store to get the security systems?”
“Work, back here for lunch to check on you two and then to my friend’s place. He installs the systems and I can get a couple from him. Will you be back here at noon?”
“I’ll make sure of it. I’ll even make us some lunch.”
“What do you plan to do this morning?”
“I meant what I said. I’m going to get reacquainted with Denali—and try to reach my brother.”
Clay raised his eyebrows. “No word from Adam?”
“Nope.” She pushed her hair from her face. “Maybe he