Classified K-9 Unit Christmas. Lenora Worth
a bad idea on all accounts. They both had dangerous, stressful jobs. One reason he didn’t do long-term dating. That, and him being a nomad of sorts. Women wanted a settle-down kind of guy. He wasn’t that.
And he had a feeling this particular woman wasn’t a settle-down kind of girl, either.
Better to stick to business and get his man so he could decide where to land for the holidays. Hunting and fishing here in Montana, or maybe surfing and sailing in California? Too many options. Thomas thought about that as they traveled up the interstate to Billings.
A few minutes later, he turned into the drive leading to an impressive building in the center of the city. He’d heard the FBI Tactical K-9 Unit occupied two floors here, one for administration purposes and one for training.
Thomas followed Nina’s SUV into a gated garage and found a spot two down from where she parked on the ground-floor level. They walked to the elevator together.
“The few team members we have on holiday duty are in and out,” she explained. “We’ve had some suspicious fires in the downtown area that could be arson, but nothing much else has been going on around here until tonight.”
“Well, if we’re looking for the same man, your holiday duty might get a little more exciting,” he replied, taking in the sight of her in the dull elevator lights.
She was buff and solid muscle, petite but with a stance that didn’t mess around. Her hair shone a deep golden blond and went every which way around her face and neck. Her eyes were expressive and sparkling, a muted brown like apple cider and cinnamon.
Boy, did he have it bad. He needed to date more often. He was latching on to this woman like a puppy trying to form a bond.
Nina straightened from leaning on the elevator wall when the door opened. “I think this holiday season has already gotten exciting. We often have a lot of US Marshals coming around, but never one for Christmas. Santa must have decided I’ve been good this year.”
Thomas had to chuckle at that sarcastic remark. Then he turned serious about what they had ahead of them. “Sorry you had to deal with this,” he said. “I hope that girl makes it.”
The agent gave an appreciative nod. “I’m praying for her to survive. We need to find the man who put a bullet in her shoulder.”
If the man who’d shot that girl was indeed Bernard Russo, then they had a deadly killer to track down. A killer who this feisty agent had seen up close.
He could come after her.
And that would not be a good Christmas at all.
Nina sat down in a small conference room, her laptop on the table. She’d grabbed a quick shower in the locker room and put Sam in the capable hands of one of the trainers for some tender loving care. Now she was ready to get down to business. Thomas handed her a fresh cup of coffee and pulled out an electronic tablet.
“So you go first,” she said, still wondering how he’d appeared out of thin air. But when she’d called Max West and given him the lowdown, the SAC had reassured her.
“Thomas Grant is a good man and one of the best in the business. He’s been with the US Marshal Office for at least five years, so he’s high ranking. You can take his word to the bank and, of course, he has jurisdiction in all fifty states and any US territories. Cooperate with him, but stay focused on your case. He knows to stand back and not overstep. But he is authorized to help out if he needs to. Send me the particulars, too. I can go over the reports at least. And if you need me...”
“Yes, sir. You enjoy your time with Katerina and her dad. I’ll keep you posted.”
Not that she minded so much that she had a US Marshal to deal with. The man was gorgeous in a way that reminded her of the movie character Thor that she and her friends drooled over. Getting her mind back to business, she let out a sigh and then stifled a yawn. “Sorry, long day. Go ahead.”
Thomas opened his tablet. “Is this the man you saw tonight?”
Nina took a good look at the picture and nodded, her heart pumping as she had a flashback. “It sure looks like him. It was dark but the moon was full. He was taller than average. I remember the salt-and-pepper longish hair and the craggy skin.” Then she wrapped her arms across her chest and said, “I thought you were going first.”
Thomas gave her that wry smile again. “This is me going first. I wanted you to identify him. This is Bernard Russo. He’s the man I’m looking for. We have reason to believe he’s killed several people across the country from Florida to Montana, and who knows where else. He’s a hired contractor. An assassin.”
“And you’re here to find him?”
“Yes. I got a tip that he’d possibly been sighted in Montana. Several assets reported seeing him around the state. He came here either to hide out or to take a job. He killed an informant we’d hidden to testify against a major drug ring in Texas.”
“Killed, as in before you could move the informant into the witness protection program?”
“Yes, and we’re not proud of it. We were moving him to a new location when someone shot out one of the tires on our transport vehicle and snatched the witness, after shooting two of our officers. They both survived, but didn’t see the shooter.”
“I took a different jogging path and came up on them tonight,” Nina said, a delayed reaction coursing through her body. She set her coffee on the table and held her hands in her lap so he wouldn’t see how they were beginning to shake. “I didn’t have my weapon. Not even a Taser. I should have at least had that, or pepper spray. I didn’t identify myself as FBI, but I did my best to stop him from killing her.”
“You had Sam,” he replied, his astute eyes watching her.
“Yes, my strongest weapon. That and lots of prayers.” Sam was resting in his kennel in the training area while they talked. “I planned to order him to attack, but the man turned and shot at me and then turned the gun on the girl. Then I needed Sam to protect us while I tried to...save her.”
She’d taken her shower while Thomas talked to some of the other agents, but she could still see the blood on her clothes and hands, could remember the girl’s cold, pale body. A shiver moved down Nina’s spine, reminding her how close that poor young woman had come to being murdered.
Help her, Lord. Help this poor girl so we can find out what’s going on.
“And you did save her,” Thomas said, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “She’s alive because you came along at the right time.”
“She’s in surgery, so let’s hope everything will be okay. He planned to kill her and dump her just like the others.”
“So you think the other two females were killed by this same man?”
“I don’t know. I’m speculating. But it makes sense because he purposely brought her to that spot, from what we can tell. I’m waiting to hear from the medical examiner regarding their cause of death and their IDs. We’ll have to notify their next of kin, too.”
“A grisly undertaking,” Thomas replied. “My gut tells me Russo is your man for all three crimes.”
“I’ll have to wait to concur with you on that, but yes, it’s looking like a possibility.”
He nodded. “Understood.”
She leaned forward. “Sam must have picked up a strong scent, because after the shooter shot the girl and ran away, Sam immediately alerted on the two other graves. Shallow graves, a little over a foot and a half deep. The gunman knew that would keep anyone from detecting the scent of decaying bodies. Until Sam got a whiff anyway. I can’t say how long they’ve been there, but the ME said maybe months.”
Putting