Chapter 6 Kyle
KYLE
The second Cami ran out of the room, my training kicked in. I suppressed the impulse to run after her. If the guy in the front room was part of a criminal network, I needed a cover. I turned to Gina. “Do you have clean scrubs?”
She pointed to a cabinet.
I rummaged through it and pulled out a set marked as large. I pulled off my T-shirt and tugged on the scrubs top as I spoke. “Gina, lock the other entrances to this room, and as soon as I’m gone, lock this door behind me.”
She did as I asked, then stared at me. I held up the pants and made a twirling motion with my fingers. “Unless you want a show.”
“Sorry,” she said as she turned her back to me.
I didn’t really care if she caught a glimpse of me in my boxer briefs, but I didn’t have time to deal with her freaking out if she caught a glimpse of the stun gun holstered around my waist. With the scrubs in place and gun easily reachable from under the loose shirt, I reminded Gina, “Lock me out. No one comes in here but Dr. Vaughn or me.”
I covered the distance to the reception area in seconds. I pulled open the fire door that separated the back rooms from the public space.
“Seriously, Scott,” Cami was saying, “what the hell is going on?”
The two things I now knew were she’d met this guy before, and she was afraid of him.
I could hear it in her voice. Maybe her fear was for the dog, but an instinct told me it ran deeper than that.
This was definitely the man I’d seen in my rearview mirror as we’d driven away from the pet supply store.
That equaled three reasons to want to crush this fucker, but my training was second nature and quickly quashed my urge to escalate.
I stepped in front of her, blocking the asshole’s view of her. “Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Vaughn.” While I spoke to her, I kept my eyes on him. “You’re needed in the back. Darla, you should join her.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
Cami gasped and I wondered if she’d caught a glimpse of my weapon. I’d have to worry about that later. For now, my only goal was getting rid of this fucking guy. Preferably by defusing the situation, but I wasn’t averse to literally throwing him out the door if he proved uncooperative.
“Who are you?” Asshole asked.
The back area door banged closed and I glanced behind me to make sure Cami and Darla were clear of the situation.
Then I turned my full and undivided attention back to him.
“I work here. Darla says you’re looking for a dog.
You took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. We provide medical services for pets, not adoption services. ”
“Albuquerque? What the hell does that mean? I’m trying to find my missing dog.”
Okay, the guy didn’t get Bugs Bunny humor. The list of reasons to punch him in the face kept growing. I clenched and unclenched my fists, then forced a fake smile. “Sorry, no one’s turned in a stray to us. You should check at the shelter.”
“I did, an hour ago. And now they’re closed for the day.”
“I suggest you check with them again tomorrow.” I took a step toward him. “And now it’s time for you to leave.”
“What if someone brings her in here later today?”
“Then we’ll scan her chip, which will give us your contact information.”
He frowned. “She’s not chipped. I haven’t had time to do that yet.”
“So, she—you did say the dog is a she?—is a new pet. Do you have adoption papers, a breeder receipt, something to prove she belongs to you?”
His nostrils flared and his face flushed. He didn’t like my line of questioning. “I want to speak to Cami.”
“Dr. Vaughn is in surgery by now. If you leave your number, I’ll have her call you at her earliest convenience.” Which would conveniently be never.
I relaxed my stance, leaned back with one elbow on the reception desk, and crossed one foot in front of the other.
I was sending a subtle message that his lizard brain would track, even if his slightly more evolved frontal cortex missed it.
I’m no longer on high alert because you don’t even rise to the level of a threat.
“If the dog isn’t chipped and you don’t have paperwork, I’m curious about what proof of ownership you do have, Scott.”
He blustered for a minute, clearly thrown off-balance by the change in my demeanor. Easily owned fucking amateur. “If I find out anyone’s keeping my dog from me, I’m holding you personally responsible.”
“Now, why would anyone to want to keep your dog from you?”
He was really invested in that idea, which pointed to the possibility that he knew we had the dog.
He hadn’t spotted Cami and me while we’d made our getaway, but there were other ways he could have picked up our trail.
Amateur or not, maybe he’d been working with a partner who saw Cami leave the pet supply store.
Maybe he had access to security camera footage.
Or had a mole on Cami’s staff. None of those possibilities gave me the warm fuzzies.
“Tell Cami I’ll be expecting her call.” He narrowed his eyes and grinned. “She has my number. She probably still has me in her favorites.”
He was trying to get a rise out of me. He might have clocked my eyes lingering on her a second too long or read me putting myself bodily between them as proof that we were dating.
I decided to handle that one head-on to see if I could get a rise out of him.
“Should that make me jealous? Because while I’m flattered that you think I’m too pretty for any woman to resist, Dr. Vaughn and I are colleagues.
” I took another step toward him, and this time he wisely took a step back.
“Is that what really brings you here today, checking up on Dr. Vaughn?” I narrowed my eyes and shook my head.
“There isn’t really a dog, is there Scott? ”
“Fuck you. There is a dog and she’s missing. The receptionist has my number. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll make sure Cami calls me.” He stalked out of the building.
I laughed aloud. This guy couldn’t keep up his bravado for more than a minute before he had to turn tail and run.
He was all hat, no cattle as an old teammate of mine from Texas used to say.
Only this asshole didn’t even have a broken-down horse he rode in on.
He was a nuisance who would have to be watched, but not much more than that.
Except... That inner caveman was whispering something in the recesses of my brain that jacked up my alert system to the red zone.
Scott’s lizard brain had messaged something to mine, warning me there was more to this story.
I couldn’t decipher the details of the signal, but I knew for sure we would see that asshole again, and probably soon.
I locked the front door of the clinic, then opened the fire door and gave the all clear to the staff. Cami, Darla, Dr. Kramer, and the vet tech named Mike, rushed to the lobby. Gina, who was prepping Bella for surgery, stayed with the pup.
Bella. The name had flashed into my mind, and I knew it belonged to the sweet dog. It suited her. When she was out of surgery, I’d run it by her and if it got the tail wag of approval, she would be Bella from here on out.
In the meantime, I would do my part to keep her and the humans helping her safe. I’d assessed visible security measures, and I could get a full picture with a few more questions. I pointed to a button at the reception desk. “Is that a buzz-in system you can use for clients?”
“Yes,” Cami answered. “We installed it during the pandemic.” She was pale, possibly from her run-in with Scott, but her voice was stronger now.
I would ask questions about him later. My first order of business was securing the premises. “Any reason you couldn’t return to the buzz-in system, at least until we resolve the Scott situation?”
She and Dr. Kramer exchanged a glance.
“I think it’s a good idea,” the older man said, “but you’re the boss now, so it’s your call.”
“Dr. Vaughn bought the business from Doc last year,” Darla said.
Dr. Kramer smiled. “Allowing me to semi-retire, knowing the practice is in excellent hands.”
Cami touched his shoulder. “Thank you for saying that. And Doc—that’s what we all call Dr. Kramer—is right. The buzzer system isn’t ideal, but our priority has to be keeping our staff and clients safe. I’m sure we still have the instructions we can post on the front door.”
“I know where the sign is,” Darla said. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Should we close early today?” Dr Kramer posed the question to Cami. “It’s only an hour from regular closing time and I think the staff has had a bit of a scare.”
Cami agreed with him again.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d been prepared to go all “demanding alpha” to persuade her, but I hated guys who resorted to that. “Good. Can someone go over your security system with me? If you don’t mind some advice.”
“Kyle works for the security firm that’s headquartered in town,” Cami explained to the staff. “We have good security since we stock medications on site,” she told me, “but I wouldn’t mind an assessment from an expert. Darla, can you walk Kyle through our system?”
The receptionist smiled at me. “Hang out with the hunk? Sure, anything for the good of the business.”
I felt like blushing, but it was Cami who actually turned pink. I hoped that meant she’d had hunk thoughts about me as well. But she glossed over Darla’s comment as if she hadn’t heard it.
“I’d like to get started on the dog’s surgery as soon as possible.”
“Do you need an assist?” Dr. Kramer asked.
“No, thank you.” Cami answered. “You should all go home, except for Darla. And of course, Darla, you should leave as soon as you’ve given Kyle the information he needs.”
“If you need a second tech in the surgery...” Mike offered.
“No, thank you, Mike.” Cami’s tone was polite but firm.
Dr Kramer furrowed his brow. “If it turns out to be a complicated case, an extra pair of hands might help.”
She shook her head, turning down the advice of her mentor on this issue.