Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Lexi
We slipped out the rear door into the shadowy alley behind the animal hospital. The cool air had the usual smells of the city, but it also had hints of salt water and trouble.
Gray scanned the narrow space. “Let’s head left to the end of this alley, cut right, and—”
She didn’t get a chance to finish. Two guys in dark jackets stepped from behind the dumpster, blocking the path. They were kind of scrawny and thin, but they presented a united front, and we weren’t sure what they wanted. The dog? Our money? Our lives?
Gwen gave a startled yelp and then frowned. “What the heck? Is it your job to lurk behind dumpsters and scare women? What are you doing back here?”
Another man came around from the front. It was the bald guy in the black raincoat, Richard, who’d tried to get into our hotel room.
“We’re here for the dog, ladies,” he said, spreading his hands slowly as if he didn’t want to spook us.
“Just hand her over and we each go our separate ways. No trouble.”
Ginger pressed against my legs, trembling.
Basia stepped forward without hesitation, every inch of her posture screaming don’t even think about it. Despite being seven and half months pregnant and about five-three, she looked formidable.
“Forget it, Baldy,” she snapped. “You think it’s okay that you tried to break into our hotel room to get what you want? You’re a criminal and a loser. No way are we turning her over to you.”
“You better,” he said, making his first mistake. His hand shot out, gripping the fleshy part of her upper arm. Not violently, but with the kind of confident entitlement that assumed compliance.
That was his second mistake.
“Hey!” I snapped. “Take your hands off her.”
He shot me a hard look. “As soon as you hand over the dog. Quietly. That’s all we want.”
Before I could respond, Basia moved. She lifted her foot and brought it down, hard, directly onto the instep of his shoe.
It was her signature move, the one she’d once used to escape a man twice her size in the jungle.
Back then she’d been wearing a heel. Tonight, it was just a tennis shoe.
Regardless, the result was identical, except this time the bruising probably wouldn’t last as long. But it got the desired effect.
Baldy howled and released her instantly, limping in small circles trying to manage the pain.
Basia crossed the distance to me in two strides, planting herself squarely between Ginger and anyone foolish enough to try her again.
One hand rested protectively over her stomach, but her eyes were pure steel.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” she said evenly. “Do not touch my friends. And especially do not touch this dog.”
“But it’s my dog,” Baldy protested. “Now give her back or…you’ll be sorry.”
Dr. Partridge and Dusty suddenly opened the back door behind us. “What’s going on here?” Dr. Partridge said angrily. “You have a lot of nerve threatening my clients. On my property, too.”
“Lady, it’s our dog,” Baldy repeated. “Calm down. We’re just reclaiming her.”
“At this moment, that dog is my medical patient brought in by these ladies, and if you think this dog is yours, then you can file the appropriate paperwork tomorrow at a licensed intake facility like everyone else. Until then, the dog is in my care until I release it. Now, get off my property.”
“No,” Baldy said, putting his hands on his hips and scowling. “I’m not leaving without my dog.”
We started backing toward the clinic door.
Baldy jerked his head to the side, and the two other guys started to flank us.
Although it appeared they were trying to intimidate us, it wasn’t terribly ominous.
The two guys were scrawny and looked super anxious.
The one closest to me, skinny with glasses and a black knit cap, was visibly shaking.
I was sure I could easily take him alone while Gray took care of the other guy.
But we’d never all make it inside with the dog, and even if we did, it seemed like they wouldn’t leave until they had Ginger, as they seemed desperate enough to try and break into the vet hospital to get her.
I doubted these guys could even manage that, but I couldn’t discount that they might recruit professional help.
That would put the vet and her tech at risk, and for what, I wasn’t even sure yet.
“Everyone, stop,” I said quietly holding out my hands. “You can have the dog.”
“What?” Basia said in disbelief, turning those steely eyes on me.
“Lexi, what are you doing?” Gwen said sharply.
Gray just shot me a puzzled look. I gave her a steady look as my response, and she shrugged her shoulders slightly, giving me the benefit of the doubt.
“Just let me say goodbye.” I knelt and hugged Ginger. While my fingers were in her fur, I quickly unclipped the leash from the collar and put my mouth near the dog’s ear. “Run but stay close to this area. I’ll call for you when it’s safe.”
I hugged her one more time and stood slowly. “Okay, you can take her.”
Baldy stepped forward warily. He reached for the leash, and at that exact moment, Ginger bolted, leaving him holding a dogless leash.
She shot between his legs at lightning speed, a golden flash zipping through the alley.
Baldy grunted, lost his balance, and stumbled into one of his colleagues.
The two of them crashed into the dumpster in a symphony of metal and curses.
Ginger vanished into the dark.
“No!” Baldy shouted, scrambling after her. He ran clumsily, yelling the whole time until he disappeared from view.
The remaining two men turned back toward us, frustration on their faces. “Why did you do that?” one of them asked petulantly.
Before we could respond, Dr. Partridge stepped fully into the alley, fiery and fearless. “You have no legal authority here,” she snapped. “And you just endangered that dog. She could be hit by a car or worse.”
“But she belongs to us,” the whiny one responded. “We have to have her back tonight. We must.”
I studied the guy. “Are you…crying?”
“What?” He swiped his face. “No! No, I’m not. We just need that dog.”
“Then you should’ve followed proper intake protocol,” Dr. Partridge said icily. “This is a veterinary hospital. Not a dark-alley adoption center.”
The two men exchanged long glances and then, without a word, vanished into the dark after their bald colleague.
We sat in the waiting room, shaken. Both SUVs had peeled out of the parking lot shortly after we came in from the back.
“Who were those guys?” Dusty asked.
“They claimed to be the owners of the dog we brought in,” I said. “But they didn’t seem eager to get her back by legitimate means and tried to grab her from us at our hotel. The dog clearly didn’t like them and neither did we.”
“That’s just gnarly,” Dusty said, bringing us paper cups of herbal tea. “They couldn’t wait until the morning to get her from the shelter after her chip had been read?”
“Apparently not,” I said.
“You’re right. The dog was clearly terrified of them,” Dr. Partridge said. “A part of me is glad she got away, although I’m worried about her safety now.”
“Me, too,” I said glumly, though I hoped that Ginger understood all my instructions.
Dr. Partridge turned to us. “I don’t know what’s going on. But I didn’t like the look of those men, either. I totally understand why you did what you did. I hope you can find and help that sweet dog.”
“We’re going to try,” Gray said, turning her car keys over in her hand.
“I’m going to head out now, get the car, and drive around a bit to see if anyone is following me.
The rest of you go out the back and see if you can get Ginger to come in.
I’ll call you when I think I’m in the clear and let you know where I am. Kind of like we did at the hotel.”
We nodded as Dr. Partridge set her tea aside and stood.
“You know, if those bad characters are watching the practice, you should slip out as unnoticed as possible. Take my lab coat.” She slipped it off and offered it to Gray.
“Pull up the collar. If they are watching, they’ll just think it’s me, leaving for the night. ”
Gray blinked. “Really? That’s very kind of you. Thank you.”
“The only requirement is that one of you must get back in touch with me and let me know if you ever find the dog and what happened to her.”
“Deal,” I said promptly.
“Thank you so much, Dr. Partridge,” Basia said, tears welling in her eyes as she gave the vet a hug.
Gray donned the coat, flipped up the collar, and slipped silently out the back door. We watched her car pull around from the back and zoom off into the night. We didn’t see anyone following her, at least from our vantage point.
Five minutes passed. My phone buzzed and I pulled up the text from Gray.
Parked one block east, accessible through the alley in the back. No visible tails. Come now.
We thanked Dr. Partridge one more time before hustling out the back. We looked around but didn’t see anyone. I held the leash in my hand and called for Ginger, but she didn’t appear.
Disappointed, we started moving slowly down the alley, eyes and ears attuned, but there was no sign of anyone, and no one intercepted us. I only hoped the bad guys hadn’t found her.
We continued down the alley, calling for her, until I heard a noise. “Quiet,” I said to Basia and Gwen. “I thought I heard something.”
There were still city noises, but once we stilled, I could hear the pitter-patter of claws on pavement. A moment later, Ginger emerged from the darkness, her tail wagging slowly and the foil and tape still clinging to her fur.
Her eyes found mine as she loped toward me as fast as she could. Relief washed over me. “Oh, thank goodness,” I whispered, dropping to my knees and holding out my arms. “Good girl. You’re okay. You listened to me.” She pressed her forehead into my chest. Hard.
Basia grinned. “Well. Ginger returns to her person, Lexi, the animal magnet.”
I tried to roll my eyes, but my voice came out soft and a little shaky. “Very funny, Basia.”
She chuckled, but we didn’t waste any more time.
I clipped the leash onto her collar and we jogged the rest of the way toward Gray’s car.
Ginger followed tight on my heels. Gwen got to the car first and opened the door.
Ginger hopped in instantly, as if she already knew our escape plan.
Maybe she did, but more likely, she just enjoyed riding in a car.
“You found her!” Gray exclaimed, looking over her shoulder. “That’s great.”
“Lexi called her and she came,” Basia said, shutting the door. “It’s like magic.”
“It’s recall,” I corrected her. “And she looks okay as far as I can tell.” I buckled in and looked over my shoulder. “You’re sure we’re clear and no one followed you?”
“As sure as I can be,” Gray said. “But where do you want to go? It’s almost midnight. We can’t go back to the casino tonight in case they’re waiting for us there.”
“No,” I agreed, as Gray pulled away from the curb. “We have to go somewhere safe. Then we figure out how to keep Ginger out of that lab’s hands until we can make sure it’s safe or at least that the lab is treating her humanely.”
“I’m all for that, but first, if I’m going to be driving at this hour, I need some coffee.” Gray zoomed down the boulevard. “I’m going to find a drive-through, and we can take a few minutes to reorganize and strategize.”
“I am totally on board for that plan,” Basia said. “The baby wants some French fries.”
Gwen, Ginger, and I didn’t have any objections, so Gray drove around looking for an easy place to get food and coffee and park in a lot where we’d be away from the main road.
In the meantime, Ginger planted half her body on my lap.
The tape the vet had quickly applied was catching on her fur and looked uncomfortable.
I loosened the tape that wrapped under her belly, and she seemed satisfied.
I then pulled out the rest of the foil from my pocket and began smoothing it down over her shoulder blades, making sure we kept the GPS nice and blocked.
Ginger didn’t seem to mind what I was doing.
She had to be scared, cold, and exhausted.
Her eyes closed and her breathing stayed warm and steady.
It was unusual for me to have a calm animal on my lap (okay, any animal), but strangely, I didn’t mind, and in fact, I almost liked it.
I finished securing the rest of the foil around her and she opened her eyes, looking up at me, trusting, tired, and incredibly aware. I stroked her soft fur and admitted to myself it felt relaxing and comforting.
“We’re going to figure this out, girl,” I whispered, stroking her head. “You can rest now.”
Her tail thumped once, and for the first time that night, I felt hope spark in the dark.