Irresistible Force Read Online Free PDF Page A

in affection as his partner raced back toward Shay in long loping strides. He was a bit small for a Belgian Malinois, sixty-five pounds compared to the average size of the breed, whose weight could range upward of eighty pounds. The usual golden coat of the breed was in Bogart’s case so heavily peppered in places it looked as if he’d been rolling in ashes. And, like the most famous characters played by his Hollywood namesake, Bogart was often underestimated by strangers until put to the test. He was capable of staring down any suspect, leaning his slightly oversized head to one side as he assessed a situation, ready for action when intimidation didn’t work.
    James smirked. His partner was a bit of a rascal, too. He liked to hide things and wait to be ordered to find them. And when he didn’t like someone—for instance a competitive girlfriend like Jaylynn—a shoe, or a purse, or even a cell phone might get “accidentally” chewed.
    As James watched, Shay produced a brightly colored tennis ball from her bag and tossed it with the same good right arm she’d used to lob that branch at the mystery vehicle the night before.
    James frowned as Bogart took off after the ball, wondering what that episode the night before had been about. He glanced back at the deputy who was busy calling on his radio, wondering if he should mention it. Of course a better question was, why hadn’t she mentioned it? One would have thought she’d have connected his intrusion to her unwelcome night visitor. Unless she knew who the visitor was.
    His attention came back to Shay with renewed intensity. She was hiding something. He could feel it in his gut. She’d been afraid the night before but attacked anyway, just as she’d done with him. His hand still throbbed where she’d bitten him, even though she’d barely broken the skin. Scared but not cowed. Who was this woman?
    She was athletic, no doubt about it. As she chased after dog and ball, she moved with the unconscious grace of a person who was at home in, not at constant odds with, her body. He was surprised to see her produce another ball. K-9s were taught to chase and hold, not play chase and retrieve. How had she discovered that?
    She also obviously understood that Bogart had high energy and needed to be exercised regularly. Her second throw was long and high. Bogart went after it at top speed.
    James turned back and scanned the cabin’s central room, noticing that the only personal property on view was a laptop on the dining table. Had she looked up Belgian Malinois on the Web? Maybe that’s how she knew he needed to be managed with exercise and companionship.
    Jaylynn never got that. The time he spent with his partner was not to slight her but to keep Bogart from becoming anxious and frustrated, which would lead to him becoming bored, and making mischief. For instance, chewing up a pair of her five-hundred-dollar shoes because Jaylynn couldn’t be bothered walking him on the one rare occasion when James wasn’t there to do it.
    Shay’s cries of approval, as Bogart ran down another toss caught on the wind and came sailing back, snared his attention once again.
    Encouraged by her responses, Bogart began to show off. No longer content to chase a ball after it landed, he ran out ahead of her throws. Then he stopped short and leaped high to snag the ball out of the air. Pretty soon he had lined up a group of six balls on his side of the field, placed side by side.
    James couldn’t blame his partner for wanting to show off for this woman. Her laughter was full throated and a little husky in a way that made it a pleasure a man wanted to hear repeatedly, and often. It settled in his belly and moved lower down until it reached his groin.
    Get a grip, Cannon.
    When her supply was depleted, she walked out to retrieve the balls. As she picked up the final one, Bogart jumped on her, using his strong back legs to propel him forward. Shay fell sideways onto the grass.
    Heart leaping into