Chapter 3
Since Alex had been out so late,never getting to bed until after two o’clock in the morning, he allowed himself to sleep in. When his alarm went off, he was wide awake. Damnit, who’d spent the night just inside the bedroom door, a sentinel watching over Alex while he slept, stretched and trotted over to him.
The large dog looked up as though confused when Alex threw his legs to the side of the bed. He petted Damnit’s head and chuckled. “No, boy, you don’t need to act as an alarm clock for me.” Almost every morning, Damnit had to literally get into Katlin’s face, licking and nudging her until she finally got out of bed. She was not a morning person. Even her dog understood what it took to get his fiancée out of bed in the morning.
When the dog licked his hand, Alex petted him again. “Yeah, I miss her, too.” His voice seemed very loud in the empty apartment. He wasn’t used to noise when Kat wasn’t there, least of all his own voice.
Alex rubbed his hand down his face and over his scratchy jaw. He must be lonesome because he was talking to the damn dog. He bent down until he faced Damnit. “See what’s happening here? She has me talking to you as though you can understand what I’m saying.”
Damnit licked his face.
Alex burst out laughing as he stood and padded naked to the bathroom. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel weighed down by the long list of items he needed to accomplish that day. The dog followed him to the large en suite but sat down at the door. As Alex relieved himself, Damnit began to whine.
“Shit. I’ll bet you need to go, too.” Alex nabbed a pair of sleep pants on his way through the bedroom. Grabbing the leash and keys on the way out the door, the overgrown pup right beside him, they took the elevator down to the ground level. Damnit darted for the outside door. Alex had barely stepped outside when the dog lifted his leg and seemed to relieve himself for several long minutes.
“Thank you for waiting.” Alex was relieved that he didn’t have to clean up the mess. It wouldn’t been a puddle, but more like a small lake. Making a mental note that Damnit would need to go out early every morning, he added that to his daily to do list.
Taking the stairs on their way back to his apartment to give them both some much needed exercise, Alex’s stomach growled. As soon as he was through the door, he grabbed the landline phone. Since he’d missed breakfast with his men, who’d eaten two hours earlier, he called to the kitchen and asked the center’s cook to send him up breakfast.
By the time he was showered and dressed for traveling, there was a knock on the door.
“Good morning, Mr. Wolf.” Stella brought in a tray and arranged his food on the dining table in the penthouse suite. Damnit followed her from the moment she walked in.
Empty tray in hand, she strode into the kitchen and placed the glass coffee pot in the machine, clicking it on warm. Stella scratched Damnit’s ears. “I know, you get to eat breakfast when he does.” She measured out dry dog food she’d retrieved from one of the cabinets. Alex hoped he could find it stocked in the other centers. Stella had an affection for the mutt and handled his feeding when they were in the D.C. center. The dog’s feeding would be up to him after this morning. He’d add that to the growing list. Dogs took a lot of care.
Just as he was finishing his breakfast and catching up on all the work he’d ignored while Katlin was in town, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID: Quin Barrister. He wondered what his Dallas Center manager needed.
“Good morning, Quin. What can I do for you?” Even though Alex had planned to be there within four days, he never told the managers when he was coming. He preferred to catch them unexpectedly. He’d never found his staff doing anything wrong, but Alex had always preferred the management technique of catching his men doing something right and praising them for it.
“Alex, I just wanted to let you know that Kane Jordan is in the hospital.” Quin’s grave tone raised Alex’s senses. Although he knew most of his employees by name, he had a personal connection with Kane. They’d met several months ago on the previous Dallas trip. The former SEAL had been integral in thwarting an explosion and murder of several dignitaries and dozens of innocent bystanders. Alex had hired him on the spot, knowing his physical limitations due to his type II diabetes.
“Did something go wrong with his insulin pump?” Alex had helped Kane get in to see the top endocrinologists in Texas, who happened to work at the UT Southwestern Medical Center just a few miles away from Guardian Security Dallas office.
“Yeah. It quit working when a gang of punk kids ripped it out of his back pocket while beating the shit out of him just before he got shot trying to take a gun away from one of them.” Quin quickly added, “He’s doing okay. They got the bullet out of his bicep but any injury fucks with his glucose levels so they’re watching him carefully.”
Alex closed his eyes. As a former SEAL, Kane could’ve killed every one of those teens. “Let me guess, he didn’t fight back.”
“Of course not.” Quin let out a heavy sigh. “Kane was more concerned about protecting the little social worker than beating down a bunch of gang wannabes who’d been terrorizing the homeless.”
“When did you move Kane to personal protection detail?” Although Alex didn’t concern himself with personnel changes at each of his ten centers, he was surprised that Quin would’ve made such a decision. Kane’s Type I diabetes could put him, and the client, at risk. Hired him for the control room.
“Sir, I didn’t.” Quin went on to explain, “Kane’s been accompanying the social worker from the Veterans Administration when she goes into the homeless areas. Since he’d lived on the streets for nearly two years, he’s very familiar with the locations and knows many of the veterans personally. He didn’t believe the young lady was safe.”
“Hell, no. She isn’t safe in those areas.” Before Alex asked why the Veterans Administration didn’t provide her with a guard, he knew his answer. The agency was extremely underfunded in some areas. He was surprised as hell they’d send in an unarmed woman. No wonder Kane felt he needed to go with her.
Grabbing his laptop, Alex quickly changed his flight. “I’ll be in Dallas this afternoon. Pick me up and we’ll go directly to the hospital to see Kane.” Alex thought for a second. “Will they have released him before I get there?”
“No. He’ll be there at least two days,” Quin reassured him.
Alex glanced at his watch. “I’ll text you with my arrival details.” If he was going to catch the Dallas flight, he needed to hurry.
He gathered the last of his personal items and threw them into the black and gray Guardian duffel bag before heading to the apartment door. The click of toenails on the Italian marble tile brought Alex to a halt.
Damn it. He’d forgotten that Damnit had to go with him. And the poor pup probably needed to go outside and relieve himself before they went to the airport.
Alex dropped his bag and quickly glanced around the apartment looking for the dog’s official service vest, leash, and paperwork. Although it was a ruse to allow Damnit to travel with Katlin, Tanner had provided all the necessary documentation. A few minutes later, both man and dog were ready to leave.
Except, Alex had forgotten to book Damnit a seat. Since the dog was a hundred pounds, he had to have his own seat. First things first. A quick trip to the grass.
“Sir, don’t you want to drive?” Top Cooper, his D.C. center manager asked as he held out the keys and opened the back door for Damnit.
“Not today.” Alex shook his head as he dropped the end of the leash so the huge dog could jump into the backseat. “I forgot I had to make a seat reservation for Damnit. I’ll do it on my way to the airport.”
Luck was just not on Alex’s side that morning. Since it was too close to take-off, he couldn’t reserve Damnit’s seat. He was required to check-in at the desk. Then, traffic was a bitch as everyone got stupid in the downpour.
“Thanks, Top,” Alex called as he exited the car and opened the door for Damnit. At least they’d been able to pull up under the portico where it was relatively dry. Alex started his scan before he even entered the building. Once inside the automatic doors, his head swiveled left to right checking the corners.
Hypervigilance was a habit he never broke.
There seemed to be twice as many people in the small private lobby as usual. Alex could only imagine how crowded and cramped the commercial terminal at the other end of the runway would be. He was so grateful that Katlin had found the executive jet service. The small corporate planes rivaled high-end private aircraft for comfort and service. The direct flights between the largest cities around the United States, including the ten where Guardian Security had offices, was the definite selling point.
Thankfully, there were only two people in line in front of him and Damnit had become an expert flyer. After Katlin’s traumatic brain injury, she and her dog traveled with Alex for nearly two months. Crowds didn’t seem to bother the dog. Although he kept looking around, he calmly stayed beside Alex.
The first man’s problem had been resolved quickly but the second asshole couldn’t understand that the flight had been delayed due to the weather. The young woman’s smile never faltered as she explained from behind the counter, using different terms each time, that nothing could be done about the storm.
Irritation twisted inside of Alex as she started the explanation for the fourth time. Damnit forced his head under Alex’s hand. He automatically started petting the dog, hoping to calm the big pup’s anxiety. When Alex released a long breath, his frustration seemed to leave his body. He was still aggravated but no longer contemplating throwing the jerk in front of him into one of the overstuffed chairs in the lobby while ordering him to sit there and shut up.
Alex glanced over his shoulder as the man behind him moved in closer. The queue now extended nearly to the door. Every few seconds, Alex checked the growing line.
Damnit moved from his side and practically sat on his heels, facing the people behind him. The man next in line took a step backward. Alex had to hold in a chuckle. A hundred pounds of animal muscle staring at you, his head at cock level, was intimidating as hell.
An authoritative woman with short-cropped dark hair and studious glasses slid behind the counter and took over the conversation with the asshole.
The younger woman looked relieved as she gave Alex a genuine smile. “How can I help you, sir?”
Within two minutes, Damnit had the seat next to Alex’s for the flight to Dallas…that had been delayed thirty minutes. Alex wasn’t going to waste that valuable time. The private terminal had several offices available for passengers to use while waiting for their plane. As he walked down the hallway, the third room was available. He entered and pulled the shade down over the window in the door and flipped the lock to occupied.
Damnit took up post next to the door, his nose practically touching the partially frosted glass. Alex chuckled when he realized the dog was peering at the hallway through the six inches of clear glass at the bottom. Ignoring the big, spoiled puppy, because that’s how Alex thought of him, he placed his laptop on the wooden desk and took his seat in the executive chair.
Damnit growled.
Alex had been around the dog for nearly two years—day and night for the last two months—and he couldn’t ever remember hearing Damnit growl. Perhaps someone else had a dog with them.
When his phone rang, Alex answered it.
At the dog’s second growl, Alex stood and walked to the door. When he raised the shade, the jerk-off from the counter was pacing the hallway yelling into his cell. Every time he passed Alex’s temporary office, Damnit growled.
As though the dog was protecting him.
Ridiculous.
Damnit wasn’t a trained guard dog. He was a rescued mutt.
A text came to Alex’s phone. His plane would be boarding in five minutes.