Chapter 24
ALEX
Love. I’d said love. Not in the three-little-word sense, but in the “we’re moving toward three little words” sense. She hadn’t been expecting it. I could tell by the way she gulped in a breath and coughed, choking on air.
“You okay?” I squeezed her hand.
“Um, yeah.” She righted herself on her side of the cab.
“You sure?” I pushed a chunk of hair back over her shoulder. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No.” Her head shook back and forth. “I think you just caught me by surprise.”
“Do you disagree with me?” I could drop it right there. Leave it sitting between us like an oversized elephant on the center console. But if I’d learned one thing from my parents, it was that things left unsaid did far more harm than the shit that sat out in the open.
Her gaze met mine. Those brown eyes held a world of hope. But something else mingled with it. Fear. I shouldn’t have said anything. Maybe my parents had been right to keep secrets, even if it had torn the whole damn family apart in the end.
“I don’t disagree with you.” She turned to glance out the window. “But you’re leaving soon and I guess I’d rather not open myself up to something that’s not even an option.”
Yeah, I could see that. “I get it.” I did, too. No sense gearing up for something that wouldn’t be. “But we can have a good time in the meantime, right?”
“I thought that’s all this was.”
“It is.”
“But you said . . .”
“Hey, we’re in charge here, right? We can call this whatever we want.”
She nodded, her head moving up and down so slowly that I wondered if I’d imagined it. “Okay.”
“Does this mean I can stop sleeping on the couch?”
Her laugh immediately lightened the mood. “We’ll see about that.”
“You ready for that burger?”
“Yeah. Let’s get to it.”
I cupped her cheek with my palm, taking one more look at her before her defensive shield slid back into place. Then I put my foot on the gas pedal and eased back onto the road.
Zina focused her gaze straight ahead. Her phone rang and she scrambled to dig it out of her purse. “It’s Bodie.”
I nudged my chin toward the phone. “Aren’t you going to answer?”
She held the phone up to her ear. I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, but Zina’s side was filled with mms and ohs until she finally ended the call.
“Everything okay?”
She closed her eyes and took in a long, deep breath.
“What’s wrong?” I reached over and took her hand. Keeping one eye on the road and trying to make sure Zina wasn’t having some sort of panic attack, I squeezed her hand. “Zina?”
Her head lolled to the side and she met my gaze. “Bodie found a puppy mill. The one he thinks is supplying the dog-fighting ring. I’m sorry to cancel dinner plans but can you take me back to my truck? I’ve got to meet up with him right away.”
“Hell no.” I put both hands back on the wheel.
“Excuse me?” She jerked her hand away from mine. “I know this messes up your plans for dinner. But I’ve got to get over there.”
“I know. I’m going with you. Just tell me where to go.”
Forty-five minutes later we pulled off the main road onto what looked like an ATV trail through the woods. “You sure this is right?” I asked.
Zina had been sitting on the edge of her seat since Bodie’s call. “I think so. Bodie said it was tucked way back in the woods. No wonder no one reported it before now.”
“How did he find it?”
“An anonymous tip. Someone called the sheriff’s office and said they were out on a trail ride and heard a bunch of dogs barking.”
Tree limbs swatted at the truck as we forged on. I had to slow down to a crawl twice to cross two small streams. “This is crazy. How could someone live back in here?”
Zina’s hand landed on my thigh as we pulled into a clearing.
Bodie’s truck sat in front of what could only be considered a compound of shacks.
She hopped out of the truck before it even stopped moving.
I pulled up behind Bodie’s truck and took a good look around.
The buildings looked like they might come tumbling down at any moment.
I rushed over to where Zina stood, arms crossed over her middle, deep in conversation with Bodie and a woman I didn’t recognize.
“What’s going on?” I stopped when I reached them, and put a hand on Zina’s back, trying to offer support.
“So far they’ve got two dozen dogs, six who appear to be pregnant, and two litters of puppies.” Zina’s hands wrung together. “We’ve got to get them out of here.”
“Who owns this place?” I asked.
“We’re looking into that now. Appears to be registered to a corporation, so I don’t have a name.
Whoever was staying here took off though.
Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here in days.
” Bodie glanced toward the sheds. “Right now we’ve got to get these dogs out of here if they have any chance of survival. ”
“You think this is related to the guys from the restaurant?” I asked.
Zina twisted her head to look at me. “What guys?”
“I heard some men talking at the Burger Bonanza and mentioned it to Bodie. I did see some double tire tracks over there, the same type we found over at your place.” I glanced at Zina. “Know anyone who drives a black dually pickup?”
“Yeah, probably half a dozen people around town.” She looked from me to Bodie and back again. “Obviously someone’s trying to close down the dog shelter and shut me up in the process.”
“Seems that way.” Bodie jotted something down on his notepad. “The report came back on your roof, too. It was in bad shape to start with, but evidence shows traces of some sort of acid. They probably used that to weaken the structure.”
“Right now all I can do is worry about the dogs. Do they have kennels?” Zina asked. Her tone shifted from one of worry to one of take-charge action. “Let’s get as many as we can and if I need to come back with crates for the rest, I can do it later.”
“I’ll come with you.” I nodded. So much for having more room for the penguins. But we had to do something. I hadn’t seen a dog yet but even with my inexperienced eye, I could tell the dogs had lived through some sort of hell at this place.
“I ought to have a few more officers here in a bit. We’ll clear the place, then help you get the dogs back to the warehouse.” Bodie nodded.
I put an arm over Zina’s shoulders and pulled her close as Bodie walked away. “You okay?”
She took in a jagged breath. “What kind of person does something like this?” Tilting her head up to meet my gaze, her bottom lip trembled. “People can be so cruel.”
I nodded. I wasn’t about to admit that I’d seen animals treated much worse on some of my travels around the world. “We’ll get them situated. They’ll be fine.”
“But the warehouse . . .” She shrugged my arm off. “Where am I going to put them?”
“We’ll figure it out. Together. Okay?” My thumb brushed over her knuckles. I pressed a kiss against her temple. “Trust me.”
Nodding, she let her head drop to my shoulder. “Okay.”
Bodie came back and we began to catalog the dogs.
My stomach tossed and turned as I took in the conditions the poor pups had been forced to live in.
Some of the older dogs had scars on their muzzles.
One was missing a leg. Zina had left her emotions checked at the door when we entered the first shed.
She moved around the kennels, calling out markings and conditions like she was doing inventory at the warehouse, not detailing the travesties put upon dozens of dogs.
By the time we were done, the sun had almost set.
I carried kennel after kennel out to the trucks, loading them as full as possible to eliminate the need to return.
The whole place would be better off if someone took a torch to it.
Bodie’s other deputies arrived and they filled their truck beds with kennels as well.
By the time we got the last pup loaded, I was ready for a shower and a whiskey.
I wasn’t even hungry anymore. Seeing how these animals had been treated had ruined my appetite for the night.
“Ready?” Zina appeared at my side, a clipboard in her hands.
“What’s the plan, boss?”
“To the warehouse for now. I called one of our volunteers who’s a vet. She’s going to meet us there and check over all of the dogs.”
For a moment I wished I’d finished college and pursued my veterinary degree. I’d feel a hell of a lot more useful if I could actually help treat the animals instead of just providing the muscle to move them around. But moving around was what I seemed to do best.
“You coming?” Zina asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah. I’m right behind you.” I might not be able to change the past, but I could do something about my future. Maybe I didn’t need to take off when the wedding was over. Maybe I could find a job around town and give Char a hand for real instead of just tossing money and words at the situation.
There would be plenty of time to think about all of that later.
Right now I needed to focus my efforts and attention on helping Zina with the dogs.
I’d promised to help with the deductible on getting her that new roof and that meant I had to do whatever I could to make sure the Munyon wedding went off without a hitch.
Even if I had to work around penguins and pit bulls to pull it off.