He thought he was checking out illegal logging in the Idaho mountains-until he found a German Shepherd locked in a frozen cage, staring at him like it had been waiting for exactly one person

dog, or both.

He disabled the trap with a length of firewood and a pry bar, then carried it inside wrapped in a tarp. Atlas followed close enough that his shoulder brushed Grant’s calf.

Ray came back before breakfast.

He studied the trap on Grant’s kitchen table without touching it. Then he looked out the window toward the tree line, where the first light continue reading …