leaned toward him and licked the tears away from his right eye, drawing his attention in her direction.

“You did the right thing,” she tried to reassure him. “We did the right thing.”

He hung his head. “Then why do I feel so bad?” he asked glumly. He sniffed loudly and looked at her. “I'm almost sorry we ever had pups.”

Luna was shocked. “Toby, don't talk that way!” she cried.

“Well, I am,” he confessed. His tears began to subside as his rational mind took control of his emotions once more. “When I was a puppy, I had this notion that being a grown-up meant automatically knowing what to do in any given situation. Especially being a parent.” He looked at the floor. “Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade the kids for anything, or the happiness it gave us when they were born. I just never thought any of them would turn out to be as rebellious as Angel. It's like she's not even my daughter.”

Luna sighed. “I feel the same way,” she agreed, “But what can we do about it?”

She laid her head down, and he came over and rested his neck across the top of hers in a canine embrace, trying to comfort her. “I don't know,” he admitted. “I just don't know.”

Meanwhile, someone outside was pondering the same question.

“Did you pick up anything worth hearing?” asked Max as Sam entered their hideout.

Sam nodded. “They grounded her,” he replied. “She's not gonna be out of their sight for weeks, and if she even tries to get near us then or later, he'll sick the cops on us for real.”

“This is a problem,” grumbled Max.

“Yeah,” agreed Buck, “But can't we just get another runt to do our dirty work?”

Lily nodded. “Yeah, why go messing around with her, of all dogs. I mean her dad's in tight with the cops, remember?”

Max rolled his eyes. “What are you guys, a bunch of pea-brained chihuahuas? That's why she's so important. Yeah, any pint-sized squirt could get us into places, but as long as we've got her, we've got leverage.”

Buck scratched an ear. “I don't get it,” he admitted.

His next scratch drew blood behind his ear as a back-pawed swat from Max drove his head against his claws. “Idiot!” Max berated him. “We already know that mutt Toby's a hazard to anyone trying to pull a job in this town. His old man may still be wearing the badge, but Toby's the active chief and everybody knows it. If we can keep Angel doing what we want, we've got inside information if he plans anything. Not only that, but if he tries to stop us, we'll have a little dirty laundry on him to keep him at bay.”

“Dirty laundry?” asked Lily.

Max looked in disgust at his cohorts before turning to Sammy with an expression that said, in effect, “You had better know what I'm talking about or you are all going to be in for a world of hurt.”

Sammy gulped. “It means, uh, something he doesn't want other dogs to know about?”

Max nodded, leering. “And what might that be?”

“Angel,” Sammy replied, more quickly this time.

“Exactly,” Max grinned. “Right now, nobody outside their family knows about Angel's behavior. Toby will want to keep it that way. After all, what could be more embarrassing for him as a police dog than his own pup turning to crime?”

“So we tell everyone that his kid is a criminal?” asked Buck eagerly.

Max shook his head. “Not yet, we don't,” he replied. “”If word gets out about that, we lose our greatest weapon against him. Besides, some of us have reputations in society...” he nodded to Lily, “Which it would be in our best interests to keep intact.”

“But that means they could turn around and do the same thing to us!” she protested.

Max rolled his eyes. “Oh brother,” he uttered under his breath. “Take note,” he said, “This is why I'm the boss. You fail to grasp the innocent mind. Angel's parents are unlikely to even consider countering our efforts at blackmail. They're too honorable,” and he said it with disdain, “to even think of stooping to our level.”

The other dogs nodded, but Lily still frowned. “So how do we keep the little brat working for us?”

Max leered. “Listen carefully,” he said with a smile that would have made Dracula's look friendly.

Later that night, all was quiet at the Calvins' house. The humans were asleep. Toby and Luna were upstairs, keeping vigil over Angel, who had dozed off hours ago out of boredom. Arrow had found a comfortable place by the Franklin stove in the kitchen, and Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior had decided this seemed like a good idea. Star lay in the living room, gazing at the orange flames so bright and vibrant like her mother's fur, and wishing she could look like that too as she listened to the wind howling outside. Suddenly she lifted an ear. Was that a voice out there? Yes, there it came again. Someone was outside, calling. And the closer she listened, the more familiar it sounded. Like someone was calling her name. And the someone...

“Eska?” asked Star. “What are you doing here?”

“I need you to come outside for a minute,” replied his voice.

She scrunched her face and reclined her ears. “Now?” she asked, glancing at the window. “It's freezing outside. Don't you want to come in?”

“No, I can't. You come out here.”

She frowned. Something didn't sound right about all this. But it was Eska asking. “Okay,” she said, “But just for a minute, promise?”

“I promise,” came the reply.

She toddled to the pet flap and stuck her nose out. Youch! The minute she cracked it open, the biting wind hit her nose like the tip of an icicle. She jerked back, rubbing her nose. “Can't this wait until morning?” she asked.

“No, it's gotta be now. Come outside, or I won't be your friend anymore.”

Well, she couldn't say no to that. “Okay,” she agreed. And with gritted teeth, she slipped out the pet flap.

The snow was so deep even on the porch that she immediately sank up to her chin in the icy powder. The wind blew in her eyes, forcing them shut. “Eska!” she shouted. “Where are you?!”

“Not here,” came a much different voice. And before she could turn and see who it was – if seeing were even possible in the squall – she felt herself being snatched up like a mouse in the clutches of an owl. She was totally powerless as her faceless captor took off, carrying her away into the night. There was nothing she could do but scream.

Which, as it turned out, was exactly what the enemy wanted.

Upstairs, Luna lifted her head and raised her ears. “What was that?” she asked.

“Hrrm?” Toby mumbled in his sleep.

“I thought I heard a scream,” she asked.

He lifted his head and yawned. “Oh, probably just the wind,” he replied, dismissing the matter categorically.

She nodded, but inside she felt uneasy. “Well, I might as well go check it out,” she said. “I need to, uh, take a walk anyway.”

Toby shrugged, uttered a drowsy, “Alright,” and returned to his nap. But a minute or two later, loud barking called him to attention.

“Toby! Toby, get down here quickly! Something's wrong!”

He was on his feet in an instant and ran for the stairs. “What, what is it?” In the living room he found Luna nearly hysterical. “Luna, calm down and tell me what the problem is!” he barked.

“It's Star!” she replied. “She's disappeared!”

Meanwhile, Toby's sudden movement had jarred Angel awake, and she blinked sleep from her eyes. “Wha...?” she asked the suddenly empty room.

A scratching at the window grabbed her attention. It was Buck!

“Buck?” asked Angel. “What are you doing out there?”

“I've been waiting for your folks to leave, pup. Now hurry up, we don't have much time.”

Angel was still confused. “How do I get out of here?”

“Easy,” he replied. “Get up on the ledge in front of the window and flip the latch with your nose.”

Angel obeyed, and with a little tooth-work, the stubborn window latch came open. She pushed at the bottom of the pane with her paw, and the lower half slid outward at the bottom enough for her to slip through. “Brr!” she shivered. Even though they were on a side of the house that blocked the wind, it was still freezing cold. “What the heck are we doing out here?!”

“Will you come on?” Buck growled in reply, scooping her up in his jaws. He slid down the icy roof they stood on, dropped into a snow drift below, and with a moment's work, managed to wriggle free. “We've got some things to do.”

Angel did not enjoy her trip to the gang's hideout. And when they finally got there, she didn't realize they were one dog short. “What are we doing here?” she asked, shivering as Lily, in a show of what pity she had, wrapped her tail around her to provide some protection from the cold. “My mom's gonna kill me when she finds out I sneaked out.”

Max smiled.