Mr. & Mrs. Norcross - Page 12

He changed course.

“Vander?” Brynn glanced back, her fingers squeezing on his.

“Trust me?”

“You know I do.” She met his gaze.

There was no hesitation. Brynn’s trust and love still floored him.

He saw some crates and boxes stacked against the far wall. He ran over and leaped up. Brynn scrambled up behind him.

He gripped the closest rafter and pulled himself up. He reached down, and Brynn grabbed his hand.

Dogs came into view, barking wildly. He hauled her up beside him on the wooden beam.

The pack of dogs swarmed below, fangs bared. There were muscular rottweilers, pit bulls, and Staffordshire bull terriers, all of them frothing at the mouth.

“Poor things,” Brynn murmured.

His wife had a soft, compassionate heart. It was what made her a good cop. He wrapped his arm around her.

“They’ve been horribly mistreated.” Her gaze hardened. “Forced to fight to survive. Turned into monsters.” She shook her head. “The breeder, Ed Baker, is going down.”

Vander’s jaw tightened. He had no doubt this Baker had a lucrative gig going on.

And he was willing to kill to protect it.

Vander suspected he knew who’d let the dogs out.

“Come on. We need to move.”

If Baker was here, Vander wanted his wife far away from the man.

They carefully walked along the rafters, the dogs following down below. They reached the other side of the warehouse, and he saw an exit door. There were also doors leading into several rooms he guessed were for storage. There were more boxes and crates stacked haphazardly.

Vander pulled out his handgun. “I’ll scare the dogs off. You get outside.”

She gripped the front of his shirt. “And you’ll be right behind me?”

“That’s the plan.” He cupped her jaw. “Always. My spot is right beside you for the rest of our lives, Brynn.”

She smiled at him, and he felt it in his gut. Whenever Brynn smiled, or told him that she loved him, he felt it deep.

After the military, he’d come home numb. He didn’t regret the hard things he’d done to protect his country. Jobs he’d done so his family and friends, the people he loved, never had to. So they’d sleep peacefully in their beds every night.

But a tough, stubborn detective had barged into his life and turned it upside down. She’d woken him up, and brought him back to life.

He’d been happy in the dark, but Brynn had dragged him out of it.

He tightened his grip on his Glock. Most of the time he lived in the light, but right now, he needed the darkness to keep her safe.

He fired at the concrete floor.

The dogs yelped and pulled back.

Brynn dropped down, landing with a bend of her knees. She rushed to the door and grabbed the handle.

As she yanked, Vander fired again. One big pit bull snarled.