by Dale Mayer
“Yeah,” he said, “it’s just one of those things I need to do.”
“Any particular reason?”
“My baby sister, Molly, is getting married,” he said. “There’s just the two of us. She’s marrying my old buddy Rodney.”
“That’s a good reason to go home then,” he said. “You thought about work?”
“Well, Rodney’s got a construction company, and he wants me to be a foreman.”
“Well, you’d do that quite nicely, wouldn’t you?”
“Maybe,” he said, “but personally I want five acres out in the middle of nowhere and an opportunity to just, … I don’t know, maybe raise a few dogs.”
“Dogs,” Badger said. “You’re a dog person?”
He looked at Badger and frowned. “Isn’t everybody?”
“Oh no, not everybody is.”
“You seem to be running a ton of dog operations through this place. I don’t quite understand what that’s all about.”
“No,” he said, “and it isn’t always all that clear. But the bottom line is, we’re doing a bunch of pro bono work for the War Dog Division.”
“I heard about that. You’re done though, aren’t you?”
“No, they dropped a bunch more files on us. We did the original twelve, and I guess our success has led them to give us a few troublesome cases.”
“Great,” he said. “Troublesome how?”
“I’ve got a couple dogs that need rescuing, depending on what quarter of the world you’ll be in?” he asked.
“Florida,” he said.
“Well, I’ve got one in Florida, held in a pound, about to be put to sleep in Miami.”
“What? A War Dog?”
“Yes, apparently it attacked a woman.”
“And is that confirmed?”
“No. I’m pretty sure nobody gives a shit, and it’s just another dog to them,” he said sadly. “I’ve been fighting with them for days.”
“Have you got anybody out there to fight on the dog’s behalf?”
“No. I’m trying to get them to do DNA testing on the bites, but apparently the woman’s refusing.”
“Well, that’s suspicious as hell.”
“She doesn’t like dogs,” Badger said with a sigh. “So she’s not being cooperative.”
“Well, Miami isn’t exactly my choice,” he said. “I don’t do huge cities like that. I’m actually from Saint Pete’s Beach originally, but, I mean, that’s a tourist town. Since my sister’s getting married nearby in Tampa though, I’m heading in that direction.”
“So no other family?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure where I’ll end up settling. My sister and her soon-to-be husband and his company are based farther out, in a smaller town, where he’s doing a couple hundred-unit condo developments.”
“So potentially a place where a dog might have a better life?”
“If I have any say about it, yes. Is this one male, female?”
“Female and they’re not exactly sure why she turned on and bit her caregiver.”
“Aggravation or protecting someone or something,” he said immediately.
“Well, that’s typical animal behavior. We just don’t really know what happened in this case. Nobody’s talking. Nobody has any video, and nobody gives a shit. That’s the bottom line.”
“Yeah, but those dogs have given their lives to the military. The least they deserve is a chance at a decent life.”
“She was adopted by the family, and then apparently the parents went on a cruise, and they left her with a daughter, who was attacked.”
“And how long was the daughter with the dog?”
“Just a couple weeks.”
“Hmm,” he said. “Well, I can be there first thing tomorrow.”
“That would be good,” he said, “because I think she’s slated to be put down on Friday.”
“Two days, counting tomorrow? The dog will die on the same Friday as my sister’s rehearsal dinner? That’s cutting it really close. Not a whole lot of time.”
“Well, I won’t be at all upset if you somehow sneak that dog out of lockdown where she is,” he said. “We have a little bit of money to help buy her way out, if need be.”
“I’ll book my flight and head down there right now,” he said. “You’ll make my sister’s day.”
“Maybe,” he said, “but why don’t we make the dog’s day and not put her to sleep?”
“What’s her name?”
“She’s got a big long Latin name, but basically she’s Bernadette, and they’ve shortened it to Bernie.”
“That’s not a nice name for a beautiful dog,” he said.
“She’s big, heavily muscled. She’s a Malinois with a bit of shepherd thrown in there, typical army breed,” he said. “Very well trained and she was a fire dog.”
“Well, she should be sniffing out fires then,” he said with a frown.
“Wouldn’t that be nice,” Badger said. “There, you were looking for a dog, … for a job. Why not that one?”
“It’s not exactly construction work.”
“Maybe not,” he said, “but you have something to do in the interim, if you wanna look for something else.”
“Not a bad idea.” Just then his phone rang, and he frowned, as he stared down at it. “An SMS message,” he said staring at it. “Apparently my soon-to-be brother-in-law has a firebug at one of his condo complexes.”
Badger looked at him in delight.
Tucker raised an eyebrow. “You shouldn’t look quite so happy about that.”
“Maybe not,” he said, “but the dog would be perfect to assist on that problem, and we might get a stay on the kill order because of it.”
Then Tucker realized what Badger meant. “You got a point there,” he said. “I’m on my way. See if you can get us a stay order on the euthanasia.”
“Confirm or deny the facts as we know them ASAP,” Badger said, “and let me know when you arrive.”
“I’ll be on the next flight out,” he said. “So it all depends on the flight time.” He lifted his hand and said, “Nice job for me, by the way.”
“If you say so,” Badger said. “We’re just grateful to have somebody be on the animal’s side.”
“I’m always on the animal’s side,” Tucker said. “The real predators in the world are the two-legged ones,” he said. “The four-legged ones? Well, their behaviors are simple. It’s the humans in the world who you must watch out for.”
And, with that, he turned and walked out.
This concludes Book 12 of The K9 Files: Kurt.
Read about Tucker: The K9 Files, Book 13
The K9 Files: Tucker (Book #13)
Welcome to the all new K9 Files series reconnecting readers with the unforgettable men from SEALs of Steel in a new series of action packed, page turning romantic suspense that fans have come to expect from USA TODAY Bestselling author Dale Mayer. Pssst… you’ll meet other favorite characters from SEALs of Honor and Heroes for Hire too!
Tucker is always ready to fight for the underdog. So when he’s offered a mission to save the life of a dog unfairly judged and slated for termination, he can’t let her go down without a fight. Plus the dog is in Miami, where his sister lives, and … no way he can refuse to attend her upcoming wedding.
Addie knows her sister lied about being attacked by the dog, but Addie isn’t sure to what extent or how far her sister will go for revenge against an animal she hates. Yet Addie is determined to help the dog who she loves, even if no one else does. Finding a hero to champion her cause isn’t part of her plan, but she is quick to realize Tucker’s value when she meets him.
Now if only he didn’t have a nightmare scenario of his own … one that threatens to take them all down, including the dog.
Find Book 13 here!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Kurt: The K9 Files, Book 12! If you enjoyed the book, please
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Dale Mayer
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About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
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KURT: THE K9 FILES, BOOK 12
Dale Mayer
Valley Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2020
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1-773363-17-2
Kindle Edition
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