9. Going To The Dogs
CHAPTER 9
Going To The Dogs
T he days flew by for Garrett. It had been a long time since he’d had that feeling. Same with the contented one that filled him.
His buddies dropped by regularly, both to help and to visit. He visited them, too, to assist Levi to get the hops in the ground and marveling at what Isla was working on in her greenhouses.
Sean occasionally called all hands on deck for demolition or basic construction needs. Today, the six of them were building a bridge over a creek to expand the walking trails extending from the town’s park, which sat across the road from Phail General. Troy’s lady, Piper, had dozens of ideas for helping improve the town, and this was a big one. She wanted the town to have a central gathering place, along with built-in activities for all ages.
Garrett had been into Phail proper a few times, mostly to pick up groceries from Phail Phoods or to pick up cinnamon buns from the No Fail Diner. The town was barely a speck on the map, but it was filled with great food and even better people.
The walking and jogging path meandered through Phail Way Park and into the woods behind it. At every water crossing, Piper wanted to include a bridge and at least one bench along with a stand holding a plaque that held Phail Fun Facts .
These included all kinds of things. Local history. Animal facts. Riddles and puns. Photos from the past. Quizzes. “How does Piper’s head contain all these things?”
Troy laughed as he nailed in a board. “Her brain is constantly creating. She makes connections like no one I’ve ever met before.”
His buddy’s happy smile almost had Garrett making a joke about his obvious feelings for Piper, but he wasn’t opening that topic. Not when his own feelings for Kimi were exploding with every day that passed. The woman was addictive.
Of course, even thinking about Kimi brought up the topic. Arrow passed Garrett another board. “You seem to have made a pretty strong connection of your own, Scooby.”
He played dumb. “What are you talking about?”
Marcus grinned at him. “Nice try. You and Kimi are getting along well. Spending a lot of time together.”
He nodded and put the board into place before picking up his nail gun. “She’s great with the animals. All the horses like her.”
He ignored the laughter from his friends. They knew him too damn well. He might as well ask a question that had been bugging him. But he couldn’t phrase it without letting out his suspicions. Before he could figure out how to phrase it, Slick spoke up. “Have you been able to catch that stray Nina named Olaf?”
The stab of grief when he talked about dogs came, but its edge was dulled. By Olaf. By his horses. By Kimi. “He’s taking food from a bowl, but he hasn’t let me touch him yet.”
Heath sighed. “Nina worries about him. She thinks he was attacked by other dogs or wolves or something.”
“Probably dogs. To me, it looks like Olaf was part of a dog-fighting ring somewhere. Probably got thrown away because his injury prevented him from fighting again.”
Marcus growled. “I’d like to catch those assholes and get them locked up.”
Garrett studied the deputy. “You think they’re somewhere close by?”
Arrow shrugged. “Not in our immediate area, but those rings are all over the country. All kinds of gangs and mob money are involved. It’s big business, and they set up in rural areas with lots of woods where they won’t draw too much attention.”
Garrett swore, and Marcus nodded. “Scum who treat animals like that don’t deserve to breathe free air.”
He totally agreed. If Olaf had been dumped from one, how had he ended up here? Was there a ring close by that Marcus didn’t know about? Was that where Kimi had disappeared those couple of nights?
A shiver of dread ran up his spine. She wasn’t stupid and wouldn’t walk into a compound to set the dogs free, but if she were investigating, she was treading on dangerous ground.
Kimi was passionate about animal welfare, and he knew she’d bought Onigis from a disreputable trainer to keep the mare safe. She had plans to go back to buy another soon, but she’d said they wouldn’t sell anything to her if they recognized her, so she was biding her time.
He’d figured she might be investigating the horse training facility at night, which was dangerous enough. If she was looking into people running the dog fighting rings, that was a different level of danger.
After they’d finished the bridge, they headed to the Saloon for a beer and some food. When they grabbed a table, Sean disappeared into the back. Probably to sneak in a few kisses with his Branna. Garrett was surrounded by sloppy-in-love friends, and he kept picturing himself in the group with Kimi at his side.
When Falcon returned, he and Branna both worked behind the bar for a few minutes. Then Branna let out a whistle to get everyone’s attention. “You all arrived on a good day. We’re introducing the latest brew from Phail Brewery. Today, we’re giving you a taste of a blonde ale that’s a perfect fit for Italian cuisine.” She grinned, held up a glass, and tipped it toward Sean. “It’s also a perfect fit for a certain Italian I know. Here’s to Falcon Blonde Ale. First round is on the house.”
Cheers erupted in the bar, and soon, everyone held a draft glass. As one, they all lifted their glasses. “To Falcon.”
Sean grinned and took the first sip. “Perfect. And the only Blonde I’ll ever need.”
Everyone laughed as Branna, a vibrant redhead, gave him a mock glare. Then Sean set down the beer, picked Branna right off the floor, and kissed her until she wrapped her arms and legs around him, laughing.
Yep. Garrett wanted that.
After they’d eaten, he headed home and parked behind his house. The house he’d barely spent time in, although he’d managed to sleep in his bed a few nights. Alone. He wanted to share that bed with Kimi sooner rather than later.
They’d taken things slowly, but he wanted to see where the relationship went. Which surprised the hell out of him. He hadn’t thought he wanted a relationship with any woman. He’d had enough loss in his life, and loving someone meant taking a risk of losing that person again.
Love?
Was he falling in love with Kimi? Seemed ridiculous to even be thinking about the possibility when they hadn’t even had sex.
But she was the most alluring woman he’d ever met and he couldn’t imagine not moving forward with her at his side. They fit together.
He found the bowl he’d left for Olaf empty again, but no sign of the stray. The three horses shared the paddock peacefully. He led Grover into his stall for the night and then Oscar.
He brought the halter out for Kitty and stood at the gate to talk to her. She moved his way and then retreated several times. When she reared back, he moved back into the barn without her and hung up the halter.
He thought about hopping the fence to see Kimi but decided to grab a couple of hours of sleep instead. He had a mission to accomplish in a few hours, and he needed to be at his best.
K imi did another lap of her property after midnight. She needed the peace of the animals before heading out for more recon. Those dogs were suffering every day, and she needed a plan to get them out before much longer.
She’d stocked up on kennels suitable for pit bulls, but she wasn’t ready to take them on the mission with her. She’d had glimpses of the compound from various angles, but she hadn’t seen enough to develop a plan to rescue the dogs, and she certainly wouldn’t be able to do it surreptitiously or alone.
Even though it wasn’t a good life, she wasn’t sure the dogs would take her up on her offer of escape. Even if there were no humans on site, the dogs had no reason to trust any people, especially a stranger. To get them out silently, she might have to use a tranquilizer. And each dog weighed upwards of fifty pounds. Getting them out would be a hell of a process requiring bucketfuls of luck.
She wouldn’t forgive herself if those dogs continued to suffer for much longer. She’d rescued animals before. Mostly, she’d bought them, but on the rare occasion, she’d snuck onto the property and walked a dog away. Luring them with food and a soft voice had worked every time.
It wouldn’t be enough this time. Not with so many dogs. Not with so much security. And she hadn’t been able to find the exact location of the dogs within it yet. The property was vast and several large buildings blocked views of the interior of the compound.
After a final check on the cats, Kimi locked up the barn and said goodbye to Snoops, the goats, and Onigis, who was at least halfway in the shed this time. She was confident in another week, she’d be in the shed stall. The barn would be better for winter, but she had months before that rolled around.
Kimi beeped her key fob and opened the driver’s door. The passenger door opened at the same time. Kimi reached for her phone and opened her mouth to yell at the intruder before she realized it was Garrett.
He smirked at her and hopped into the truck while she stared at him. When she didn’t move, he clicked on his seat belt. “Need a hand to get in?”
She narrowed her eyes at him and climbed in. She waited for him to say something, but he simply smiled at her with one eyebrow up, all sexy man and protective warrior in her passenger seat. He wore black, including his hiking boots and a plain black ball cap instead of his Stetson.
Finally, she found her voice. “What are you doing? It’s after one in the morning. ”
The smirky smile disappeared, and he became deadly serious. “Providing you with backup.”
“For what?”
“For whatever you’re doing in the middle of the night. I know it’s something dangerous, and I know you’d never put someone at risk by asking for backup. I’m guessing it has to do with rescuing some animals from a dangerous situation. The fact that you’ve returned with no new rescues makes me think you’re trying to infiltrate a bigger operation. Maybe a puppy mill or a farm that raises poultry with no thoughts for the welfare of the birds. Or a farmer who abuses his animals, or a dog fighting ring. Or the place where you bought Onigis. Whatever it is, wherever it is, you’re getting backup.”
Kimi opened her mouth to respond but wasn’t sure what to say. Instead of saying anything else, Garrett reached over and took her hand. His firm confidence in her and in the power they could have together floored her. Eventually, she squeezed his hand and nodded. “Thank you.”
She put the truck into gear and headed out onto the road. Garrett sat quietly, and the silence filling the cab was comfortable, but she knew he needed answers.
Once she got on the highway that headed southeast, she spoke. “It’s a dog-fighting ring in the southern part of New Hampshire. I suspect Olaf was one of their dogs once upon a time. It’s the only one I know of in this area. John Mead runs it. He’s involved in organized crime and has been running fighting rings for years. He moves every few years to a new location. I want to get those dogs out and piss him off enough that he never returns to this area again.”
Garrett nodded, and she felt the tension rise in his body.
“I can turn around. You don’t have to come. I can only imagine how difficult losing Shaggy must have been. I’m just doing more recon tonight, and this isn’t your fight.”
He was quiet for such a long time she wondered if he was ever going to speak to her again. Finally, he blew out a deep breath and turned his face from the side window to look at her and then out to the front.
“It was my fault.”
Her heart broke for him. “I’m sorry. ”
He shook his head sharply. “I should have known they’d set IEDs around the school. I should have been faster. If I’d been three steps faster, Shaggy would have made it out, too. I was too slow.”
The grief in his voice tore at her heart. “Did any of the kids in the school die that day?”
Another deep breath. “No. Some injuries, with Arrow’s being the worst.”
Kimi knew Marcus had needed his foot amputated overseas, but she’d never heard details and had never asked for them. She suspected few people even realized he wore a prosthetic, but when she’d been fiddling with something to help a sheep, Marcus had shown her how his worked to help her improve her system.
She brought her focus back to Garrett and his grief, hoping she could help him as Marcus had helped her. “Shaggy helped save them?”
He nodded. “Yeah. She helped us find this little girl who was so scared she couldn’t move. She’d squeezed between a shelf and a wall. Shaggy coaxed her out, and I scooped her up. Arrow wouldn’t leave until we did. Shaggy was on our heels, herding us out the door. The IED blew as we exited.”
Kimi had to swallow hard. “The little girl?”
“She’s okay. Not even a scratch. She kept wailing for Shaggy, for the hero who’d saved her.”
“That’s so hard. I’m so sorry, Garrett. Shaggy would have been happy you were all safe. She would be happy to know the girl is doing well.”
Another nod. “Shaggy was special.”
“Brave and selfless.”
Another nod in the dark cab.
More minutes passed in silence until he finally spoke again. “Olaf’s eyes are the exact same shade as Shaggy’s were. It’s like she’s looking at me through his eyes. I’m not sure she’d like what she’d see.”
That pissed her off. “You’re completely wrong about that. I think she’d be so damn proud of you and what you’re doing. You’ve done nothing but good for horses since you left the Army. Your compassion for animals is boundless. Even though it hurts, you haven’t turned your back on Olaf. He’s closer to you than any other human because he senses he can trust you. Shaggy was a smart dog who made sure you and that girl were safe. She did her job, and it’s awful that she died doing it, but she loved you. She’d want you to continue to do what you do, and she’d want you to continue to be who you are.”
Kimi turned on the blinker and pulled over to the side of the empty road, so full of emotion that she couldn’t focus on driving. She put the truck into park so she could look at Garrett. “You’re full of compassion. You instilled that level of love in Shaggy so that she could do her job and help others despite the danger. She was a proud soldier. I know her death gutted you, but she would want you to keep living. For her. For that little girl. For you. She loved you, and she would be so happy you lived. She would be so proud of you and of what you do. You’re the best man I know, Garrett. She wouldn’t want you to keep suffering.”