Page 57 of Serve ’N’ Protect

“Glad she’s okay,” Kade said.

“Me, too,” he said absently, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Something about that burglary still bugged him, buzzing around his brain like a mosquito, but he still couldn’t pinpoint what or why.

Kade chuckled, and Markus turned to see the corners of his mouth had lifted, his lady-killer dimples in full force. “In all the years we’ve known you, that’s the most you’ve ever talked about a woman.”

Matt’s chuckle was even louder. “Might be the only time he’s ever talked about a woman.”

“Fuck both of you.” Markus dragged a hand down his face while his friends laughed outright. But they were balls-on accurate.

He’d barely spoken about the women he’d dated in the past, mainly because they were always fleeting in his life, most never sticking around long enough for him to introduce to his friends. Truth was, he’d let them go because they’d never become important to him. Cassidy had.

Time to end his sappy gut-gushing. “Did you find anything else on this guy since we talked yesterday?”

Kade cleared his throat. “He’s thirty-eight years old, born in Virginia and went to college at Oxford, studying Middle Eastern languages. He worked at the United Nations in New York City for eleven years as a translator. Been with the embassy for the last five years. Travels occasionally to Saudi Arabia. No criminal history, not even a parking ticket. Nothing stands out.”

“Right,” Matt said. “Just one hell of a big knife collection.”

“There is that,” Kade agreed.

Markus stiffened as a lone bearded figure wearing a dark gray suit strode toward them. With his face down and glued to the phone in his hand, he still couldn’t be sure if it was Mansfield. When the man was about twenty feet away, Markus’s pulse took up a steady trot that quickly morphed into an all-out gallop. He twisted in the seat to snap on Ghost’s leash. “It’s him.” He recognized the guy from that night at the party.

Markus shoved open his door and quietly shut it behind him before opening Ghost’s door and grabbing his dog’s leash. Kade and Matt had already exited the SUV and stood waiting for them on the sidewalk in front of the building. The plan was to try and talk to the guy first. If he lawyered up, they could go for an arrest warrant, but without enough probable cause, they’d be SOL convincing any Assistant U.S. Attorney to move forward with charges. They needed a confession.

As Mansfield drew closer, Markus tightened the hand he held Ghost’s leash with into a fist. He blew out a deep breath, trying unsuccessfully to ease the rising tension in his muscles. If this was their guy and he didn’t own up to what he’d done, Markus would spend the rest of his days making Mansfield’s life a living hell.

Picking up on the tension traveling down the leash, Ghost issued a low growl, his body quivering with a mixture of excitement and anticipation. It had been too long since Ghost had been on patrol. The mere hint of a takedown had his dog prancing in place. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come down to a chase. If it did, no way could Mansfield outrun Ghost or evade three trained federal agents. One way or another, they’d get their man. If he really was their man.

Unable to contain his enthusiasm, Ghost growled low in his throat. Mansfield looked up, took another step, then froze. Markus knew the instant Mansfield recognized him. His eyes grew wide. Then he did a one-eighty and began hauling ass in the opposite direction down the sidewalk.

In a smooth, practiced movement, Markus unhooked the leash, issuing a one-word command. “Go.”

Ghost sprinted down the sidewalk at a dead run. Markus, Kade, and Matt took off after him. With each pounding step, the partially healed wounds on his abdomen and back throbbed like a mother, but he kept going. Letting this fucker go…not an option.

Kade and Matt easily passed him. At the first intersection, their target hung a hard right, disappearing around the corner of another building. Ghost followed, close on the guy’s heels.

Throbbing pain laced his midsection, forcing Markus to slow his pace. He turned the corner just in time to see Ghost launch at Mansfield, slamming the guy face-first onto the sidewalk.

Deep growls emanated from Ghost’s throat as he locked his jaw around their target’s upper arm.

“Police!” Kade shouted. “Stop struggling! Stop struggling and we’ll call off the dog.”

Mansfield must not have heard Kade because he jerked his other arm behind him in an attempt to swat at Ghost’s head.

Bad move. The more the guy resisted, the worse it would be for him.

Ghost locked on tighter, his tail in the air as he arched his back and loosed a deep, menacing growl. Mansfield’s scream rent the night air. Luckily, the sidewalk was deserted. No prying eyes and no cell phone cams. For the moment. Their best course of action was to get inside and conduct a thorough interview. Again, if Mansfield didn’t lawyer up.

Markus leaned over and planted his hands on his thighs, sucking in deep breaths. In front of him, Mansfield’s face contorted as he attempted to extricate his arm from Ghost’s teeth. “Stop struggling, and I’ll get him off you.”

As if someone had flipped a switch, the man’s body went still.

“Release,” he ordered, and Ghost instantly unclamped his jaw but continued circling Mansfield. Markus snapped the leash onto his dog’s collar. “Sit.”

Ghost sat, but the tension from his quivering muscles traveled directly up the leash, telling Markus that his dog would love nothing more than to make a meal out of the guy’s biceps.

Matt grabbed the man’s backpack, which lay in the gutter. Kade stood back, letting Markus take charge of whatever would happen next.

“Get him up,” Markus said in a deadly voice.