When a cop and a newly released convict cross paths, few cons can expect anything positive. Struggling toward a home he knows no longer exists, Ike Hernandez meets a cop who seems different. He isn’t sure he can believe the kindness, but he wants to learn to trust again and regain his lost self-respect.<br><br>Perry Parker became a law enforcement officer to help people. He learned there wasn’t much he could do, but now and then he found someone he could help. Would the lost man with the little dog that he picked up one stormy night be one of them?<br><br>Pursuing tales about a new drug dealer, Perry starts to doubt the man he’s befriended, but something inside him still feels Ike is a decent person. When the real dealers take advantage of the convict’s past, Perry, his unofficial canine partner, and the little stray Ike adopted save the day. Can a cop, a con, and two dogs make an unorthodox family?

A Cop and a Con

Instead of going home, he swung in to park at Dot’s. He really didn’t feel like cooking, and anyway, Dot needed the support of local customers to keep going. Ike glanced sidelong at him, but then turned to get out. The other man’s face resembled a graven mask of mahogany, devoid of expression or animation.


Marco Mendez looked up from a seat near the kitchen door as they entered. “Hope you ain’t in a hurry. I’m a one-man band right now, cook, waiter, and dishwasher. Dot’s gotta sleep some time. What ‘cha want, Perry?”


Marco, a wounded vet who’d come home to little more than Ike found, struggled to get by. This part-time job at Dot’s let him eat and gave him a reason to get up every day. Dot was like that; she took in strays.


“Coffee to start. And I guess a couple of burgers. Is that okay with you, Ike?”


Chapter 8