39. One Of Theirs

Riggs

It was Thursday night, and they'd hit another zone where life was just good.

Riggs had time to get stuck into the new arbor, and so he could hit it early and keep at it until later, Nadia took his boy to school and picked him up.

Before starting dinner, they worked with Gia as a unit, and individually, with Hutch sending him directions on how to do that. He also offered to let him borrow Hannibal, one of Hutch's personal dogs, an older one who'd worked with Gia on synchronized guarding.

"Two, in any situation, is better than one," Hutch said.

But Riggs didn't need his son and woman falling in love with another animal, and considering he was still concerned that Nadia would be tentative to act with worry she couldn't control the dogs, he didn't need her worrying about that with two of them, so he declined.

Bubbles was still at the end of the access road every night, and Nadia, who he was learning could hold a mean grudge, offered her usual stipulations that she didn't know Bubbles or Riggs's history with Bubbles enough to provide an informed opinion, so she only allowed, "It's a nice thing to do, but not that nice."

His mom was over for dinner that night, and they were kicked back at the dining room table, shooting the shit over the crumbs of a banana cake that Nadia had made, when the call came in.

He pulled out his phone, looked at the screen, and, sliding his gaze through Nadia's where she sat beside him, he got up with a muttered apology and walked to the kitchen.

"Hey," he answered.

"You want him, you got him. You and Storm should start fucking each other, you're so good at fucking other people right up the ass."

And with that dulcet declaration, Angelica hung up.

Riggs walked down into the living room, up to the landing and out the front door.

He didn't call Storm until he was in the seating area.

"So you got the call too," Storm said as greeting.

"You did as well?" Riggs asked.

"She just hung up on me five seconds before you called."

"You hear anything from your attorney?" Riggs queried.

"No. I'm calling him at eight on the dot tomorrow, though. She's in this mood, I want her to sign her name to it as soon as possible."

"I'll give my attorney the heads-up as well."

"You think it's gonna be this easy?" Storm asked.

He hoped so, for him and Storm. He hoped not, for Ledger and Viggo.

"We'll see," he replied.

"Right. Tell Ledge and Nadia I said hi."

"You still hanging with Lynne?" Riggs asked, because he was interested, for Storm, and for Ledger and Viggo.

"Lynne?" Storm asked back, like he didn't know who she was.

Riggs started chuckling.

Storm did it back, but assured, "She's just a friend, man. Good woman, but I've been burned, you hear me? I'm gonna wait for someone like Nadia. Sweet and easy to look at, but more, funny as all hell."

Lynne was a fine woman, but she was no Nadia.

"I hear you."

"Later, Doc."

"Later, Stormy."

He turned and was mildly surprised it wasn't Nadia standing on the front deck, waiting for him.

It was his mom.

He walked to her.

"They're doing the dishes," she informed him when he hit the deck in front of her.

"Going in to help," he replied.

She didn't move out of his way.

"What takes you away from your family?" she asked.

He talked to his mother. He didn't go into detail, especially about all that had been going down. But she lived in Misted Pines, so what he left out, she could ferret out, and she was a mom, so she always did.

"Either Angelica is in a snit, or she just called to tell me she's not fighting my petition for full custody. She doubled down with the same thing for Storm. So we're getting our lawyers on that before she changes her mind."

His mom's shoulders slumped with relief.

He wasn't certain he should do what he was going to do this early.

But he did it.

"Gonna make at least one blonde baby girl with Nadia, and she won't carry this baggage."

His mom's eyes lit, she pulled him into a tight, but brief hug, slapped him on the back once, then let him go and went inside.

So yeah.

It was good he did it.

Riggs followed her in.

"Dad."

Riggs opened his eyes to a moonlit room and his woman tucked in front of him in a spoon.

His shoulder moved and his son called in an urgent, but quiet, "Dad!"

He shot to sitting and turned to see Ledger by the side of the bed, reaching toward him.

Gia, who slept in Ledger's room at their order and her preference, was standing at attention beside him.

"Outside," Ledger said.

"What, buddy?"

"Come."

"Riggs?" Nadia asked sleepily.

He was out of bed, pleased when he had not been earlier when one of her stipulations to staying with them, especially considering shit was going down in the middle of the night, was, after they fucked, they put pajamas on just in case something happened.

Something like whatever this was.

He followed Ledger to the window, Gia dogging their heels, and he pointed to the west side of the lake.

"Look," Ledger said.

It took him a beat to see it, but he saw it.

A soft glow in the trees. And there was another light, bobbing, like someone was holding a flashlight and walking.

He moved immediately to the chair, turning his back to his kid to pull off his pajama bottoms, and he grabbed his jeans, ordering Nadia, "Call the station."

After he had his pants up, he turned back to see she was standing at the window with Ledger.

But her eyes were on him.

"Are you going out?" she asked.

He was buttoning his jeans. "Fuck yes, I'm going out."

"Riggs."

"Call the station, honey," he repeated, pulling on a shirt.

"Take Gia," she demanded, dashing to her nightstand for her phone.

"She stays with you two."

"Take Gia," she reiterated.

He sat on the bundle of clothes on his chair to put on his running shoes.

"Dad, take Gia," Ledger urged.

Fuck.

He should have borrowed Hannibal.

"Yes, hi. Sorry. This is Nadia Williams out at Doc Riggs's house on Coun—" Pause then, "Yes, hi, Karen."

Fuck, his woman hadn't been there a month and she knew every deputy in the department by their first names.

So, oh fuck to the yeah.

He was going out.

He went to his boy, wrapped his hand around his head and kissed the top of it. Went to Nadia, did the same but kissed her forehead. Went to his side of the bed and snatched up his phone and army knife. Then he raced out, calling, "Gia! Here!"

She took off with him.

He found his Maglite in the kitchen junk drawer, tested it, went to the laundry room and grabbed his stash of digital cable, drawing the ring of it up his arm to hang from his shoulder. He then clipped on Gia's leash.

And they headed out.

He found the trail and didn't use his Maglite because he didn't want them to see him coming. He used the moonlight as he tore down it, Gia running at his side.

When he suspected he was getting closer, he slowed, she did the same the instant he did, and when he saw the lights in the distance, he whispered, "Gia, quiet. Heel."

She crept beside him as he moved as carefully as he could, but without light to show him where he was walking, and with a dog, it'd be impossible not to step on a branch. He'd be lucky he didn't stumble over a fallen log.

But by some miracle, they managed to make the high ground without them noticing he and Gia were there, and he stopped to look down at them.

Two of them, a man he'd peg at about Jess and Jace's ages, that being around thirty, and an attractive woman in her fifties.

They had a few camp lanterns lighting what looked to be a makeshift center of operations, which consisted of a shovel, two thermoses and a backpack. And both of them had flashlights and metal detectors and were sweeping the ground several yards from the lanterns.

Since Riggs was looking, and not at the ground, he caught something—movement, or a reflection off a balding head—and he saw Bubbles lurking behind a tree, down from him and at least thirty yards away.

Bubbles had seen Riggs and was doing action movie hand gestures, that if Riggs read him right, said he was on the man, Riggs was on the woman.

Riggs shook his head.

Bubbles did the gestures more sternly.

Goddammit.

He shook his head again, and before Bubbles fucked this, he shoved his flashlight in his back waistband, shifted his hand to the clip on Gia's lead and moved out from cover, making an intentional racket.

Both the man and woman swung his way and froze.

He pointed at the man, and shouted, "Gia! Attack! Bite!" unclicked her leash, and she went flying through the woods.

The man started running.

The woman did too.

Riggs went after her.

He caught her easily, hauled her up, turned her, and slammed her down to her stomach, not giving that first shit she was a female, even when he heard her pained, "Oof!"

While she was winded, he pulled the digital cable down his arm, his knife out, slit the plastic fastener on the cable, and wasted no time hog-tying the bitch.

He heard the snarling, and the screams, over which Bubbles yelled, "Doc! I'm on him. Call this beast off!"

He ran that way, and only when he was close enough to intervene, did he shout, "Gia! Stop! Sit!"

She instantly let go of mauling his leg, sat and started panting.

Christ, Hutch could train a freaking dog.

Bubbles fell into a knee on the guy's belly.

Riggs moved in.

They worked together to turn him, and since he wasn't going to get anywhere on that leg for a while, Riggs just bound his hands behind his back.

Bubbles got off him, and Riggs didn't care about his cries of pain when he dragged him to the woman.

He pulled out and clicked on his Maglite, and ordered Bubbles, "Put the lanterns down by the lake."

Bubbles moved to do that.

He looked down at the two, aiming his light at them, first checking the damage to the guy's leg to make sure he didn't need to fashion a tourniquet or something.

Gia did a number on him, but it wasn't that bad.

He moved his light to take them both in.

She, still on her stomach, turned her face away.

The man was more concerned about the pain in his mangled leg, so he was on his back, giving all of his attention to groaning and wincing.

But Riggs had occasion in his life living in Misted Pines, with all the lore, to remember with clarity the times he saw Roosevelt, Lincoln and Sarah Whitaker.

And there was no mistaking this asshole was one of theirs.