She Can Hide (She Can #4)(14)

A brisk wind sliced through his uniform pants as he climbed out of his vehicle. He recognized Brooke Davenport’s small SUV parked in the driveway in front of the narrow garage. Ethan climbed the front steps. Inside the house, a large body moved from the front window to the door and back again.

What the hell was that?

The deep woof sounded from the other side of the front door. It opened as Ethan tapped the snow from his boots on the porch post.

“Officer Hale.” Abby gestured toward the inside of her home. “Come in.”

In slim yoga pants, an oversized sweater, and thick socks, Abby could’ve passed for a teenager. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, leaving those big brown eyes to dominate her fine features. The sadness pooled in their depths made Ethan want to fix everything.

A whine diverted his attention to the giant animal at her side. Ethan did not step backward, but he was tempted. With her free hand, Abby held the collar of a gigantic dog, but the gesture was symbolic. There was no way she could hold that animal back if it wanted a piece of Ethan. It wasn’t that much smaller than the roan pony in his barn. But the pony didn’t have canines big enough to rip off a limb. The dog was as tall as a Great Dane and had similar markings, but instead of the lean Dane body, Abby’s dog was massive. His broad, heavily muscled body was covered with short, fawn-colored fur. A square head ended in a black muzzle. Large folds of skin hung loosely from his powerful jowls.

“Is it a bear or a lion?” Ethan scanned for signs of aggression but saw none.

“Neither. This is Zeus. Are you afraid of dogs?”

Ethan’s masculine pride recoiled at the implication. “No,” he said louder than he’d intended.

Abby released the dog. Zeus sniffed Ethan’s shoes and wagged his thin tail. “He’s a mastiff. Shock is the typical response to meeting him for the first time, and sometimes the second.”

Her eyes were clearer than the previous evening. The bruise and Band-Aid on her forehead highlighted her pallor. Darkness underscored the exhaustion in her eyes. His desire to protect and care for her disturbed him. There were too many unknown factors around Abby for Ethan to contemplate a personal relationship. His father’s death had ended Ethan’s career with the NYPD. He couldn’t afford to jeopardize his job in Westbury. Too many people depended on him. Not that Chief O’Connell would fire him over getting personally involved with the subject of an investigation. The chief’s fiancée had once been a case. But that wasn’t the point. Ethan had enough people under his watch.

He held his hand out to the dog.

“He’s friendly.” Abby smiled, catapulting her from pretty to gorgeous. She had the kind of warm smile a man could wake up next to for a few decades.

“Good thing.” He patted the broad head. A string of saliva dripped from the hanging jowls of Zeus’s black muzzle and landed on Ethan’s shoe.

“Sorry about that, Officer Hale.”

“Ethan, please.” Yeah. That’s the way to maintain his professional status. In reality, though, he’d grown up in Westbury. Most of the townspeople called him by his first name. “That’s OK. I grew up on a farm. I’m used to animals.”

The front door opened directly into the living room. He wiped his feet on the doormat before stepping on the gleaming hardwood floor. The walls were painted a soft yellow, set off with bright white trim. A worn sofa and chair faced the fireplace and small flat-screen TV. Stairs against the living room wall led upstairs. “And I’m glad to see you have a big dog.”

“Zeus is better than any alarm. There is no security system in the world that will tell me if someone is standing on the sidewalk thinking about breaking into my house.”

“An alarm system still wouldn’t hurt. Security is all about layers.” Ethan followed her through the dining room, checking out a few pictures on a sideboard as he passed. Abby with Brooke and the track team at a big celebration. Several photos of Abby at various ages with a blonde woman who had to be her mother. She looked to be a generation older, with the same delicate features but with a hard edge to the set of her mouth that said her life had been a disappointment. “Dogs can be poisoned or shot.”

Abby’s face paled, and he regretted his last comment.

“Not that it happens often,” he said. “Dogs are a good deterrent for the average criminal.”

The house was built shotgun style. Rooms were stacked one behind the other, with just an archway in between. The second story would be slightly larger as it extended over the garage. She led him into a tiny square kitchen. A table for two was nestled under the window. One empty mug sat on a yellow placemat. Yellow curtains framed a view of a yard fenced with chain-link.

“Good morning, Ethan.” Brooke stood at the sink washing a mug. She placed it upside down on a drain rack and turned to Abby. “I’m going to run to the grocery store. You’re out of bread, and the milk is low. Do you need anything else?”

Abby shook her head. “You don’t have to bother.”

“It’s no trouble.” Brooke grabbed her purse from the counter. “You don’t have a car, remember? And I was going to come back and check on you again later anyway. You don’t think I would just drop and leave you alone with a concussion?”

“Thanks, but—” Abby protested.