15. Dog Day Afternoon
CHAPTER 15
Dog Day Afternoon
O ver the next few days, Garrett helped Kimi improve her security. Her locks were good, and she had alarms around the office part of the barn where she kept medication. Now, they’d added cameras and alarms at several points around the barn and her cottage.
Along with several of the men from Midnight Security, they’d also installed alarms at the top of the driveway so she would know when anyone entered. They’d also added alarms and cameras to Garrett’s barn.
Now, they both had apps on their phones so they could see camera feeds and alarm information. Marcus was still a little pissed, but having the extra security installed, and knowing the whole story, helped his friend simmer down.
Together, they’d settled into the routine of taking care of their ever-growing brood of animals. More goats were arriving soon. Pygmy goats. Garrett bet Popcorn would have the entire flock trained to be therapy goats in a few weeks.
Just over a month ago, his life had been quiet with the rescue horses and a couple of people he spent time with.
Now, he had horses, cats, pigs, goats, rabbits, rheas, a parrot, a donkey, and a dog who didn’t like to be out of his sight. He had friends he saw almost every day. He’d made new friends with the team out at Midnight Lake and in the town of Phail.
Most of all, he had Kimi. She was everything. It was fast, but he’d fallen in love with her. After losing his parents and grandparents, he hadn’t trusted in love. Losing Shaggy had made him turn his back on it completely. Now, he was open and ready. Not quite ready to say it out loud, but he was getting there.
A loud whistle pulled his attention to Heath waving from over the fence. Today, the gang was working on the brewery setup in Heath’s barn.
Kimi had a few appointments on nearby farms in the morning, but she’d be back by lunch. He felt like Olaf. He didn’t like Kimi out of his sight.
“Come on, Olaf, let’s go build a brewery.” The dog ignored his stitches but still wore the ridiculous onesie for another day or two. Today’s outfit was navy with a dinosaur pattern. “I’m going to get Kimi to choose some more manly options when she puts in her next order. Just put on your swagger, and it’ll be fine.” Which was exactly how Garrett got through so many times in his life.
He adjusted his pace to Olaf and felt the dog hesitate at the sight of Heath, Nina, and their dog, Animosh. Garrett kept walking. “It’s all good, Olaf. They’re my friends. We thought it might be easier if there was another dog there. This is Animosh, although she gets called Mosh a lot. She’s friendly, and I think you’ll like her.”
Animosh was mostly a German Shepherd and had the intelligence of the breed in her eyes. She was at least three years old and didn’t lack impulse control like many puppies. She listened to instructions easily, and Heath figured she’d be a good friend for Olaf.
They stopped when they were all a few feet from each other. Of course, Nina was the first to speak. “Hi, Olaf. I’m so glad to see you. Kimi fixed you up nicely. I like your dinosaurs. You look dashing.”
Then, the girl plopped onto the ground. Animosh sat beside her, head tilted quizzically at the pit bull, who stood behind Garrett’s legs.
Nina petted her dog. “Animosh, this is Olaf. Olaf, this is Animosh. ”
Garrett and Heath exchanged a grin at the girl’s formal introduction.
Nina continued. “You’re going to be friends. Animosh is smart and gentle. None of us are going to hurt you, Olaf. I know some creeps forced you to fight before, but you never have to do that again. Garrett is going to take great care of you. He loves animals, and it’s going to be a good place for you.”
Garrett had to blink back the emotion at her simple words and confidence in him. It really was a good place.
Olaf didn’t run, but he didn’t advance, either. After a few minutes Nina popped to her feet, and they moved toward the barn, keeping a few feet apart.
The barn doors were wide open, and light filled the place. They’d had the equipment delivered over the past few weeks and had them mostly in place. Today was about hooking up things and learning how everything worked.
Levi, Marcus, Troy, and Sean arrived as Nina played fetch with Animosh while Olaf watched. Every few tries, she’d toss another ball to Olaf, encouraging him when he looked at it, even if he didn’t make a move toward it.
When the group moved inside, Garrett squatted down and patted Olaf. “I’m going inside to get some work done. You can come inside, or you can play here with Nina and Animosh.”
He grinned at Nina. “If he stays but gets stressed, just call me.”
She smiled back and sat on the ground again near the dog. “No problem.” Animosh curled up beside her, and they both watched Olaf.
The teen was smart and sensible. He knew she would be fine with the dog and he hoped the little guy sensed it, too.
“Hey Scooby, have you started that brewmaster course yet?”
Garrett rolled his eyes at Troy’s question. “I’ve been in town for about a minute, and I’ve been a little busy.”
Troy laughed and peeked to make sure Nina wouldn’t hear. “You don’t appear to be too busy to make time with a certain veterinarian.”
The others laughed, and he shook his head but didn’t bother to hide the grin. “She’s way prettier than you are, Epic.”
The good-natured ribbing continued as they worked out how to hook up all the equipment and how to work everything. The guys had a good knowledge base because they’d brewed two different batches in the shed on Sean’s land.
He was glad he actually had started the brewmaster course and brushed up on the beer-making process, so the words they threw around made sense. Flow meters and mash tun and malt mill. It was a whole new language to learn. And a lot of fun.
It had been years since the six of them had worked on a project together. Arrow still led the team in that quiet way of his. Epic cracked jokes and kept everything light. Falcon wanted to ignore the instructions and just get to it already. Slick rolled his eyes and meticulously read out each detailed instruction, probably to drive Sean nuts. Garrett and Oz were the quieter ones. Same as before, but different.
This time, their mission wasn’t about saving lives and taking down assholes. They could relax and have fun. Moving to Phail had been a hell of a good idea.
Arrow’s phone rang, and he moved outside to take the call. When he returned, his face was grim. He moved straight to Garrett. “That was my FBI connection. We need to talk.”
K imi hated putting animals down, especially if they hadn’t lived a full and happy life. This morning, she’d had to deal with two.
A skunk who’d run into the road and had far too many internal injuries to fix. That had been sad enough.
Then Floyd Macmillan had called her, voice shaky and desperate. The dog he’d rescued a few months back had panicked when one of the farm machines had backfired. Poor Crispy had rushed into the path of the farmer’s tractor and Floyd hadn’t been able to stop in time. Even if Kimi had been there when the accident happened, she wouldn’t have been able to save the dog. The stoic farmer had sobbed without shame when she’d eased the mutt over the rainbow bridge.
Thankfully, she’d been able to save a lamb that had a nasty bite very near its femoral artery. The poor thing needed the cone of shame to stop pestering at the stitches, but it would survive. The rest of the lambs and ewes had been safe and healthy.
Heart heavy, she climbed into the truck to head home. She needed a dose of happy. Seeing Garrett and his shadow, Olaf, should provide exactly that.
As she started up the truck, her phone beeped with a text. The pygmy goats would arrive within the hour. And that eased her heart a little more.
On the drive home, her mind wandered again to the dogs out at John Mead’s compound. After talking with the FBI, she’d grudgingly agreed to keep her nose out of it and let them handle it. She’d offered to help with housing and rehab of the dogs but hadn’t received a firm response. Would they even bother to tell her the result of their investigation? How was she supposed to cope without knowing what happened to them?
When Kimi pulled into her yard, she backed into the garage, a habit she’d forced herself to develop. It was a pain getting the truck in and out, but if she had been spotted on one of her recon or rescue missions, it was an extra layer of protection.
After she locked up the garage, she spotted Garrett and Marcus heading her way, with Olaf right at Garrett’s side.
The image of the two strong, confident men and the newly healed dogs evaporated a bit more of the sad, but then she caught their expressions. Grim. Angry.
She hadn’t ventured on any midnight forays since the conversation with the FBI, so she didn’t think they were pissed at her, but they were pissed.
“What’s wrong? What’s happened? Is someone hurt?” Had the bear returned? She tore her gaze from the men and checked the animals in view as she moved forward. Everyone looked okay.
Garrett reached for her and leaned down to kiss her lightly. “Everyone’s okay. We just have some news.”
Marcus nodded. “I got a call from Shanice Williams.”
She knew that was the FBI lead agent over in New Hampshire. “Is there news about the dogs? Did they arrest John Mead? ”
Marcus shook his head. “No. They’ve been having difficulty getting evidence in order to escalate the investigation.”
Kimi rolled her lips together to keep the curses in. “They’re not giving up, are they? They can’t just leave those dogs when they know what’s happening. We have to save them.”
Garrett wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her into his side, but he let Marcus speak.
The deputy sighed. “As you know, Mead’s property is very secure and isolated. He built in an area of mature trees. The FBI has sent drones in on multiple occasions, trying to get proof of what we know is happening. Without that proof, they can’t get warrants to conduct a search.”
Drones. That was a good idea. She should have considered that earlier.
“If the drones stay high up, they can’t get any pictures. And any drones that venture lower stop working and don’t return. They’ve been caught or shot down.”
Okay, maybe not such a good idea.
“Because Mead owns several acres of untouched forest around the compound, the FBI isn’t able to get as close as you ventured.”
Because they couldn’t trespass. Kimi hadn’t worried about that. “Which was why I was going in. Do they want me to try again?”
“Not exactly. They’ve asked me to speak with you about an undercover mission.”
Garrett’s arm flinched, and he growled. “It’s a terrible idea.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t heard it yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. Any situation that says undercover , organized crime, and Kimi in the same sentence is a terrible idea.”
Marcus sighed. “Hard to argue with that.”
Kimi’s stomach roiled, and she was glad she hadn’t eaten lunch. To give herself a moment to prepare, she angled her head toward the barn. “The new pygmy goats are showing up soon. I need to check on the rabbits and cats before that. Tell me what they want.”
Garrett squeezed her hand, but walked with her toward the barn. Onigis whinnied a greeting as they marched past, and she forced herself to take a deep breath and greet the horse. The mare was making excellent progress with interacting with people, and Kimi wasn’t screwing that up because her emotions were overwhelming her.
Onigis leaned into Kimi and then Garrett. She even allowed Marcus, a near stranger, to stroke her neck showing no signs of stress. “Good job Onigis. Once that leg heals all the way, we’ll see how you feel about joining the other horses in the field out back.” Garrett’s three horses were enjoying the freedom of the larger field, and had settled in beautifully because of this man she’d fallen in love with.
She was so damn lucky.
That thought settled her as they moved to the barn. At so many times in her life, she’d had someone to help, someone to care. Her mother. Grandmother. The people of Phail. Garrett.
It was her duty and privilege to help those who needed it. That had been one of her motivating factors in becoming a vet. And in helping re-home abandoned animals. She’d built a career she loved in a town she loved. Now she had a man she loved.
So lucky.
Which meant she needed to help. Or at least listen to whatever scheme the FBI agent had concocted. “Okay. I’m ready to hear it now.”
But she kept moving into the barn, leaving the men to follow. When she opened the door to her office, Canuck spread his wings and bobbed his head. “Keanu Reeves. Keanu Reeves.” Then he flew toward the door. She motioned the two men back to give the bird a clear path.
Garrett frowned. “Canuck goes outside? What if he flies away?”
Kimi shrugged. “He hasn’t so far. One day, he showed up on the fence post and hasn’t left since. I figured he’d head home right away, but he seems content. If he leaves, I’ll assume he’s ready to go home.” Her words sounded brave, but she’d miss him if he left. His choice of celebrities was often on point. When there were sick animals, he often said Michael J. Fox, a man who personified charm and kindness.
Now, he’d said Keanu Reeves. Another kind soul, but his on-screen characters kicked ass. She’d have to channel those characters to handle whatever Marcus was about to tell her.
She grabbed her kit, then led the way to the stall where the rabbits and kittens were learning to get along. The poor mama cat had to be near her breaking point with all the young around her. Thankfully, Molly, as named by Nina, was as calm as her wizard namesake. Kimi imagined the cat would be just as fierce if someone threatened her offspring or her adopted bunnies.
Kimi sat on a hay bale and picked up the nearest kitten to do a checkup and nodded to Marcus to give his news.
“As you know, Shirisha Abalos leads the Boston FBI team that has been investigating the criminal organization that oversees John Mead and his people.”
Kimi couldn’t even imagine a job like that. While she was glad there were people who thrived in that kind of environment, she couldn’t deal with all the negativity. Garrett picked up Ginny and Ron, then sat beside her on the hay bale.
Marcus sat on a bale across from them and picked up a rabbit who was trying to hop into his lap. If a person had to think about horrible people, it was best to do that while holding something soft and cuddly.
“In the course of Shirisha’s investigation, they’ve discovered Mead is hosting a fight night in a couple of days.”
Kimi shuddered as she patted George and then switched him out for Ginny.
Marcus continued. “It’s a large event with a minimum bet of three thousand. Only people with pre-paid wagers are allowed on the property.”
Kimi shuddered again. “How are people so horrible?”
Garrett tucked her into a sideways hug and kissed her hair.
Marcus nodded. “I don’t have an answer for that. People who support and enjoy this kind of thing are at the very bottom of the humanity ladder. Total scum.”
She couldn’t agree more.
“People who wish to attend are required to sign up online. They’re vetted by Mead or someone on his team. An undercover FBI agent has managed an invitation for himself and a plus one.”
Her stomach clenched.
Garrett’s arm tightened around her. “No way in hell.”
Marcus nodded. “Another agent’s undercover identity and description had been added as the plus one, but she was injured in a car crash and won’t be able to make it. ”
Kimi wanted to help these animals, but she wasn’t sure she was up for what Marcus was implying. How would she be able to keep a blank face while watching such cruelty in action? Did the FBI really want her to do this? Did they expect her to act like she was interested in the fights?
Marcus confirmed her suspicions with another nod. “There are enough physical similarities between you and the agent, Kimi. They’d like you to take her place.”