DANGEROUS JUSTICE By: Terri Reed

Chapter 6

Fiona slipped an arm around Dutch as she watched Chris weave through the parked cars. Her lips tingled from his kiss but at the moment she couldn't process the implications or lack thereof with the boom of a gun and the sound of glass shattering. Her head rang as more windows exploded, stirring her terror to a point where she wanted to scream.

Needing to do something more useful than quaking in her boots while hiding, she made her way in a low crouch to the passenger side of Chris's vehicle where the door remained open. Shards of glass crunched beneath her feet, reminding her how close she had come to dying.

Swallowing back her trepidation, she grabbed her computer, and then scurried back to the rear of the vehicle. She remotely connected her laptop to the Capitol K-9 Unit's server then brought up a satellite thermal image of the property.

Not surprising there were over a dozen people in the facility but only one person in the copse of maple trees. She had to tell Chris.

She grabbed paper and a pen from her purse. She quickly wrote a note, stuffed it under Dutch's collar. "Okay, boy. Find Chris." She didn't know the German words to use and hoped the dog understood.

The dog took off running.

Fiona bowed her head and prayed.

# # #

A noise to his right jerked through Chris. He was hunched down behind the rear bumper of a late model sedan. He swiveled, his weapon drawn. Dutch was army crawling toward him through the snow. A piece of paper stuck out of his black collar.

"I told you to stay with Fiona," Chris muttered. He grabbed the note and read it. He shook his head with both admiration and frustration. Bless Fiona's computer skills for confirming what he'd already surmised, but she'd put herself at risk by leaving the safety of where he'd left her. Yet he wasn't all that surprised.

She was a resourceful woman. An amazing woman. And no matter home much he wanted to deny it, he'd become more than fond of her. Kissing her had been a colossal blunder on his part. So much for not crossing the line of friendship.

Shaking off his thoughts, he focused on the immediate threat. Back up hadn't arrived yet and it was nearly dark. Fiona was out in the elements unprotected and the shooter could slip away undetected. As long as the man was on the loose, Fiona was in danger. The sooner Chris neutralized the threat, the quicker Fiona could get to warmth and safety.

"Okay, buddy, we're going snipe hunting." Chris jimmied the lock on the back door of the car and gained entrance. He and Dutch climbed inside.

"Platz" Chris commanded Dutch, who obeyed and lay on the floor behind the driver's seat.

Chris slid into the driver's seat, buckled the seat belt across his torso and slouched down to keep his head from being a target. He quickly hot-wired the car, grateful the model was old enough that it didn't have a locking mechanism like so many newer vehicles.

The engine roared to life, he pressed his foot on the gas. The car jolted forward, bumping over the slight raised barrier onto the snow-covered lawn. Snow made the ground slippery, and the tires struggled to gain traction. Bullets riddled the front of the car. The windshield exploded. The radiator hissed, blowing steam into the frigid air. He cringed. That was going to cost the department, but he'd rather take the price of the car out of his salary than let the shooter get away.

He kept his foot on the gas until the car rammed into a tree. Momentarily jarred by the impact, he remained still. Once his body adjusted to the lack of motion, he popped open the door and crouched down, searching the darkened woods for the shooter.