Chapter 8
8
“ H eel,” Rhys ordered. He stood by the back door of the K9 SUV truck.
Honor was excited, as always, to be at work. The dog was going frantic in the backseat. The moment he issued the order, she sat. Her wide eyes watched him through the slightly open window. While he drove, she was like a pup at heart and wanted to capture any scents she could blowing in the wind. He opened the door, and it was then he saw her tail thumping on the seat behind her.
He grinned at his partner. She was ready to get to work. But today was different. They wouldn’t be chasing down a bad guy. Today was the day that Zayden had asked the favor of him. Today was media day for the K9 team. It helped to be in the public eye so they could connect with people and help educate about the police dogs.
Rhys snapped on her short leash and waved her down from the truck. Honor hopped out and pranced in place while he shut the door.
“Come,” he said.
He turned and took in the public park where they were meeting the crew from the local news channel. Zayden knew how much Rhys hated public talking. His gaze landed on two other K9 SUVs in the parking lot, and he relaxed. It would appear as if Daxton and his partner, Hawk, were there along with Arlo and Kimbo.
Honor took notice of the other two police dogs and barked her greeting at them. He scanned the area and took in his fellow K9 officers standing off by a large tree near the playground. They were all dressed in their matching police uniforms. The camera crew weren’t too far off from them. He walked over to them. It was a beautiful day for a quick demo for the public. Honor always shined when she wanted to show off how good she was.
Daxton and Arlo were experienced officers of the CPD. He’d known each of them a long time, and they were both good men. Daxton had joined the K9 unit about year before Rhys while Arlo came in a few years after Rhys.
“It about time you two showed up,” Daxton grumbled. Dark shades hid his eyes. Hawk sat at his heels, watching Honor as they approached.
“You know he had to make a special entrance.” Arlo chuckled. He leaned against the tree while Kimbo lay on the ground. Even though the dog had his harness on, he wasn’t completely relaxed. All the dogs were trained to understand that from the moment their work harness went on, they were in work mode.
“And you know I would rather be anywhere else but here,” Rhys admitted. He pulled his sunglasses off the top of his head and slid them onto his face. It was a bright sunny day, and the air was quite warm.
“I’m sure Zayden bribed you to be here. What did he promise you?” Daxton asked.
“Now don’t you worry about what I got coming,” Rhys teased. He ran a hand through his hair, wishing he’d grabbed his ball cap from the truck.
“So wait. Zayden promised you two something?” Arlo asked, looking between them.
Rhys remembered Zayden saying that Arlo had volunteered him and Kimbo. Arlo was a pretty outgoing guy. He was widowed at a young age and was a single father to a young boy. His wife had passed away a few years ago from cancer. The precinct had showed so much support to Arlo and his son. He had been a mess immediately after her death. The captain had forced the man to take time off afterwards. Rhys understood the single-father gig, but he was thankful for one that he had never had to go through being a widow. His divorce was bad enough, he couldn’t even begin to imagine if his woman died.
Jordan’s face came to mind.
A sharp pain lanced through his chest at the thought of losing her. Not when he’d just found her. It was apparent that it was never too late to find love. She was meant for him, just as he was meant for her. There couldn’t be a better person for him than Jordan.
But to have that taken away from him…
He’d go fucking crazy.
“Of course. Don’t tell me you just volunteered.” Daxton snorted.
Rhys chuckled at Arlo’s low curse. Zayden had taken advantage of him. If the sergeant wanted them to do anything extra, he would have to pay up. That was just the way it was. He got what he wanted, and the unit officers got what they wanted. It was a win-win situation.
“You missed out on getting Kimbo some good treats,” Rhys announced.
Honor whined from her seat at his feet. She was not happy that they weren’t busy. Zayden knew Rhys well and had already sent him a text with a photo of a case of Rhys’s favorite beer along with chicken treats for Honor.
Arlo would learn one day. It had been a few days since Rhys had seen either of them. They patrolled different areas of the city and were on different shifts. They stood around talking and catching up before the newsman came over to them.
“Hello there. Thank you for meeting with me today.” He stalked over to Rhys with his hand outstretched.
Rhys took his hand in a firm shake. He moved on and shook with Daxton and Arlo.
“My name is Scott Long, and that’s my cameraman, Mike, and my producer, Nancy.”
Rhys, Daxton, and Arlo all gave nods to Mike and Nancy before turning their attention on Scott.
“Today we are doing a piece on the K9 officers. We are going to ask each of you questions about your service on the force and your dogs. We really want you to share information that you would want the public to know when coming into contact with a K9 officer. It’s a simple bit, nothing too in-depth,” Scott said.
Rhys nodded. This he could do. He could speak about being a K9 officer with his eyes closed. He reached down and patted Honor on the head. She glanced up at him with a question in her eyes, and he already knew what she wanted to know.
Do I get to chase him?
She loved the hunt and racing after perps. Her mouth slid into one of her silly grins. He gave her another good pet on the head with a quick scratch behind the ears.
“Sounds easy enough,” Arlo’s voice cut into Rhys’s thoughts.
“Yes, it is,” Nancy spoke up, coming to stand by Scott. Her dark hair was peppered with a few gray strands, and she was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt that had the channel’s logo on it. She kept her clipboard pressed to her front. “We are spotlighting not only the K9 unit but others as well.”
“Oh, so we aren’t special?” Daxton arched an eyebrow.
“Of course you are!” Nancy sputtered. She became slightly flustered, obviously not recognizing Daxton being facetious. Daxton did have a dry sense of humor to him.
Rhys smirked and shook his head.
“We are doing an exposé on the city’s police officers to help with community engagement.”
“I’m just messing with you.” Daxton grinned.
Nancy became even more flustered. Daxton did have a way with women. From what Rhys recalled, the man had never been married and was single. It didn’t matter if the women were old or young, they all reacted the same way.
“Oh, okay.” Nancy’s cheeks were bright red.
Rhys decided to put her out of her misery. He might as well take the lead and get this shit over with.
“I’ll go first. What questions do you want to ask?” Rhys said.
Nancy pulled her clipboard away from her chest and glanced down at it.
“Since you are the last to arrive, I’m going to assume you are Officer Newman?” she asked before looking up at him.
“That I am, and this is Officer Honor,” he introduced.
Honor perked up at the sound of her name.
“She’s a beauty,” Nancy said.
Honor stood to her feet at the compliment. He tightened his grip on the leash, giving it a slight tug. It was a natural reaction on his part. He wanted to remind Honor to stay at his side.
Nancy motioned to the open area near the playground. “We can go over there. Mike is going to make sure the sun isn’t in the shot.”
“The questions will be simple,” Scott said. “I’ll ask you to introduce yourself, how long you’ve been a cop, and working with the K9 team. Then you can tell us a little about Officer Honor, her specialties, and something that you would want the public to know when they come into contact with a police dog.”
There was plenty of information that Rhys could share. This was a common question that they received even from fellow officers. Safety was a first when it came to having dogs involved. It was common knowledge for the K9 officer to always run point when on the scene. If a perp took off and ran, the dog would be commanded to take them down. If a cop was running after the bad guy, the dog wouldn’t know the difference between cop and bad guy.
Occasionally, a young, stupid cop wouldn’t heed the instructions and would learn the hard way. A couple of times a year there would be word of an accident involving K9 officer. They had been lucky there hadn’t been any serious incidents. Most times it was the human officer who had to be reprimanded for not following field policy and procedures.
“Let me know when you are ready,” Rhys replied.
He tugged on Honor’s leash and guided her away a little so she could do her business. She sniffed around for a moment before she found a good spot to urinate. Daxton and Arlo must have thought of the same. They each had moved away to allow Hawk and Kimbo to take care of their business, too.
Minutes later, Rhys and Honor were positioned with Scott standing next to them. Rhys hated cameras, but he would do this because he did love his job and talking about Honor. She thrived under the attention.
“We have Officer Rhys Newman of the Columbia Police Department K9 Unit,” Scott began talking to the camera. He went into an introduction of the segment they were filming.
A gentle breeze blew, and Rhys’s nervousness dissipated. He could talk about police work in his sleep. He’d just stay focused on that.
Scott turned to him. “Officer Newman, how long have you been a member of the police department?”
The questioning was just as they had been informed. A little about them and then some information about the dogs.
“Thanks for having me, Scott. I’ve been a member of the CPD for twenty-five years,” Rhys answered proudly. It was an accomplishment to have served his community for as long as he had. He still had some good years left in him. He didn’t see himself retiring anytime soon. After joining the K9 unit, he had truly felt like he’d gotten a breath of fresh air in his career. Police work could be hard, strenuous, and dangerous. But he knew he didn’t want to do anything else. He’d found his calling and he had the perfect partner.
“Tell us about Officer Honor here. She’s a magnificent-looking canine,” Scott said.
The camera focused on Honor who had a talent for this. Her ears perked up, and she gave a wide doggy grin. Her tail even wagged. Rhys barked a chuckle and reached down and gave her a firm pat on her head.
“Honor is a German Shepherd. One of the most commonly known police dogs. She was actually born in Germany then brought over here to the US,” Rhys began. He gave a bit of her background and their training. Honor was a bilingual dog, understanding commands in German as well as English. Rhys, on the other hand, only knew English—and bad English. He’d had to learn some commands himself in German but preferred the English ones.
Raising her to be a police dog was tiring but well worth it. The training was the reason he and Honor had such a close bond. They worked and lived together. She had grown to depend on him just as he had to depend on her.
“What is one thing you want the public to know when coming in contact with a K9 officer?” Scott asked.
Rhys grinned at the question. He pushed his sunglasses on top of his head so he could make eye contact with the camera.
“If you are stopped by a K9 officer and his partner, never run away from them.”
Rhys opened the door to the precinct and allowed Honor to go inside before him. He had her on her short leash. After their interview with the news channel, they continued their day. Rhys and Honor had a long one. From patrolling to handing out a few tickets, they had even walked the beat in one of the smaller neighborhoods. He loved being deep in the communities. The mayor was wanting to increase the police presence. Robberies, theft, and gang activity had been on the rise again.
“Hey, Rhys,” Polly called out. She was one of the officers who worked the desk out front.
He would never want her job. As many people came in with complaints, the person who worked out there had to have the patience a saint. Everyone came in with grievances that they felt deserved attention right away.
“Polly.” Rhys gave her a nod.
Polly had worked at the department just about as long as Rhys had. She was a pleasant woman in her late forties. Her husband, Frank, had just retired from the department last year. He’d been a detective for the CPD for thirty years.
“Officer Honor, how are you?” Polly’s voice went up a notch. She loved the K9 officers and spoiled them all. She always had treats at her desks for the dogs. Honor’s tail wagged in recognition of Polly. “Why don’t you bring Honor over to my desk so she can get her treat. I think I have the chicken ones today.”
Honor heard one of her favorite words, and her tail wagged even harder. Rhys chuckled and gave Polly a small salute.
“Maybe later.” He gave Honor’s leash a tug as they continued walking along. Honor gave him wide eyes and whined. “Not right now, girl.”
The precinct was busy as usual. He entered the bullpen and took note of the chaos. It was to be expected for a little craziness, but today, something was different. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. He took notice of Amber, one of the cops who Jordan hung out with. Amber had joined the force a few years ago. She was a good policewoman and did a lot of traffic detail. He causally made his way over to where she stood by the water cooler.
“Rhys, how are you?” Amber said. She twisted the cap on her water bottle and turned to him. She gave a smile to Honor. “Hey, Honor.”
“What’s going on?” Rhys asked.
Amber’s smile disappeared. She took a small sip of her water and shook her head. “There’s been a hostage situation that SWAT is being called in for. It’s at some mansion. FBI is involved, so you know the captain and the mayor have been all over it since that means national news. Everyone here is trying to stay busy so that the captain doesn’t lay into them for anything.”
Rhys felt confident that Jordan and the SWAT team would be fine. He relaxed somewhat, but something still didn’t feel right to him.