I hope you have enjoyed this next installment in the True Blue K-9 series. The saga unfolds in the next book as the hunt for Jordan Jameson’s killer continues. You can be sure that there will be thrilling twists and turns ahead for the K-9 officers and their incredible dog partners! As always, I love to hear from my readers. If you’d like to contact me, you can find me on the usual cyber stops (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and via my website at www.danamentink.com. There is a physical address listed on my website for those who prefer to correspond by mail. Thank you again for coming along on this journey. God bless you, friends!
Sincerely,
Dana Mentink
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
—Psalms 4:8
To the brave officers of the NYPD, both canine and human, thank you for your service.
Contents
Instinct ratcheted up Violet Griffin’s pulse. Something was definitely not right with the passenger who stood before her, his body stiff with impatience. The impatience part was par for the course at LaGuardia Airport in Queens. Her ticketing counter at Emerge Airline was always crazy, and passengers were not known for accepting delays with good cheer, but this guy was downright jumpy. Long and lean, with an ill-fitting canvas jacket, dark glasses and bottle-blond hair caught in a tight braid, he chewed his lip until it was his turn.
“I wanna talk to him, not you.” The man pointed at her boss, Bill Oscar.
She took a moment to breathe, plaster on her “you will not fluster me” mask and flip her curtain of wheat-brown curls behind her shoulder.
“No need. I can take care of you. May I see your driver’s license please?”
He shifted the strap of the bag that hung from his shoulder. “I said I want your supervisor to check me in. That guy, over there.”
She gritted her teeth, trying to keep her thoughts from coming out of her mouth. “I assure you, I can handle it, sir. I’ve been doing this job for a very long time.”
“No,” he snapped. “Him.”
Shifting slightly, her fingers inched toward the security phone. If the man was about to become out of control, he’d be met with plenty of airport security.
But her boss flashed her a plump-cheeked smile. “I got this, Vi.”
Insulted, she stepped aside and tended to another customer. Bill’s easy grin was still in place. He must think her testiness was pure overreaction, since he did not seem the least bit nonplussed. Had he intervened to spare her aggravation, then? But she was an expert at dealing with aggravation and soothing ruffled feathers. She’d been doing it brilliantly for ten years now. She pondered her reaction to the guy as she processed a line of customers. Was her patience thinner than usual? Had her recent anguish started to show at work?
Zach Jameson’s tormented blue eyes surfaced in her memory. He was in agony over the death of his older brother Jordan, the victim of a murder made to look like a suicide. She’d heard the officers gathered at her