nd opened his vehicle door. It was too soon to feel optimistic, but this was the first glimmer of hope they’d seen in a long time.
* * *
Before she met Spencer at Bubba’s Diner, Katrina took the dogs to the training ground and handed them over to Suzie. After finding the note threatening to feed them antifreeze, she wasn’t prepared to leave them alone in the house. Not even for the duration of a meal.
“I’ll be back soon,” she told Suzie. “I’m meeting Spencer for breakfast.”
Her friend gave her a thoughtful look. “Take all the time you need.”
When she arrived at the diner, Spencer was already there. He was seated at a table near the window and he waved a hand to make sure she’d seen him. As he did, her heart did a curious backflip.
Oh, my goodness. What was that?
He was a good-looking man, but she’d seen handsome guys before. None of them had ever had the ability to make her heart perform gymnastics.
As she took her seat, Spencer handed her the breakfast menu. Boris, who was lying under the table, wagged his tail against her legs. “Let’s order, and then you can tell me about Aidan Hannant.”
She frowned. “I didn’t have much of an appetite, anyway. Now it’s gone completely.”
He pointed to the lighter options. “Try the avocado toast with poached egg.”
She managed a smile. “You’re very persistent.”
“I am.” He beckoned the waitress over. “And the fresh-squeezed orange juice is good, too.”
“Since you know the menu so well, I guess you should order for both of us.”
When the waitress had taken their order and left, Spencer turned his attention back to Katrina. “Let’s do this before the food arrives. That way we can enjoy our breakfast.”
She fiddled with a paper napkin for a moment, then nodded. “There isn’t much more I can tell you. Aidan Hannant came into the training center asking for advice. Although Suzie offered to help, he insisted on speaking to me. At first, he seemed like a regular client. He introduced himself and told me about his dog. He said it was a rottweiler puppy that had some chewing problems. Then, when I started to give him advice, he asked if I’d gotten the message. That was when he said the car had been a warning.”
“Those were his exact words?” Spencer’s blue gaze lost any trace of humor and become very direct. “He told you that the car mounting the pavement and almost hitting you was a warning?”
“Yes.” For a moment, she felt unnerved. Was he doubting what she was telling him? “He said my heroic rescuer could have saved himself the trouble. He wasn’t planning to hit me. Not that time.”
“Yet you didn’t report this?”
“Hey—” anger started to bubble up inside her “—I’m not the one who did something wrong here. And I did try to report it. But every time I tried to call you, I got your voice mail, and when I stopped by the station, you weren’t there.”
“But you didn’t tell another officer?”
“I didn’t want to go through the whole story again with someone new,” she explained. “I figured it would be better to wait and speak to you.”
His expression remained stern. “I don’t understand why, having delivered a warning, Hannant, or whoever was behind him, would follow through on it so fast.”
“What do you mean?” Her anger faded a little. She knew exactly what he meant, and she wasn’t looking forward to explaining her next actions to him.
“Usually, having issued a warning, the bad guys wait to see if it worked before they take action.” Spencer’s voice was calm, but that gaze probed her face. She imagined he was very good at interrogating his suspects. “In your case, the break-in happened soon after Hannant threatened you.”
“Ah.” She gave the napkin a good, hard twist. “That could be because I didn’t listen to his warning.”
“What?” He jerked into a more upright position. “Katrina, what did you do?”
Before she could answer, the waitress arrived with their order and the next few minutes were taken up with food-related matters. When the server had gone, Spencer took a slug of coffee and spoke in a calmer tone.
“Okay, let’s eat and talk at the same time. What did you do to make Hannant, or whoever is backing him, trash your place and threaten your dogs?”
She took a bite of her toast and chewed it slowly before she answered. She might as well tell him everything. “As well as meeting Christie Foster, I went to visit a woman who I’d seen in a confrontation with some AAG members.”