by Amy Shojai
Chapter 56
Lia’s nails dug into the palms of her hands, and she forced herself to relax her clenched fists. The loan officer’s ultimatum replayed in her head. Pay off the loan by end of the month—less than a week—or the bank would take possession of the boarding facility. She slid into the passenger side of Combs’s car and slammed the door.
“Wish I could help.” Combs took his place behind the wheel, his low baritone sympathetic and brown eyes concerned as he started the car. His faded jeans, boots and hat, and canvas jacket made him look more cowboy than police detective.
“I appreciate you spending time on your day off to come with me. But you heard him. They want the whole thing paid a month early.” She pushed flyaway hair out of her eyes and aimed a weak smile his way. “Unless you know someone who can come up with the whole amount, I’m screwed.” She gritted her teeth. She’d bet anything Grandfather instigated the demand.
Combs cracked his knuckles. “I’m sorry, Lia. I don’t have that kind of money, not on a detective’s salary. And I can’t think of anyone else other than your grandparents.”
“Hey, I know that. And you know Grandfather disowned me.”
He pulled out of the parking lot. “Can I at least buy you lunch? That I can afford. I’m meeting September in half an hour, and you’re welcome to join us.”
Lia wanted to apologize to September for putting her dog at risk. More than that, she’d been anxious to confirm September’s black shepherd was the same as the Shadow-dog that kept appearing in Lia’s life.
“Are you sure?” Lia didn’t believe the other woman would be pleased. She wasn’t sure if September was avoiding meeting with her or if it was just bad timing. After learning more about the challenges September had survived, Lia leaned to the former.
He shrugged, and then added, “What have you decided to do about Karma?”
Breath hissed between her lips. She didn’t want to think about that, but she managed to keep her cool. “Just take me home. I don’t have much of an appetite.”
The income from a trained police dog would more than pay off the loan and set her up for the next six months until Corazon Kennels regained some traction. But after Grandfather pulled his support, Captain Gregory let her know that option evaporated. Just as well. Lia wasn’t sure she could let Karma go, not after all they’d been through.
“How’s Mele doing? She hasn’t tried to run again?”
“Nope.” Combs adjusted his hat, frowning. “CPS placed her with a local foster family, and she’s getting some counseling.” He cut his eyes toward her, and grinned. “She misses Karma. That big ol’ dog of yours sure makes an impression.”
Lia laughed. “I’m sure Karma misses her fan club, too. But she’s as big as a house and due today or tomorrow. I don’t want her traveling. That’s why I left Tee with her. Maybe in a few weeks, Mele can visit.”
“What will you do with the puppies? I mean, if you don’t have the kennel anymore . . .”
She gritted her teeth. “Don’t know. Can’t think about it right now.” She turned away to stare out the window at the gray day. “Rotties often have 8 to 12 puppies in litters. But the vet only palpated one or two puppy bumps early on, and first litters often are small.”
Karma’s romantic encounter with the mysterious shepherd happened under traumatic circumstances. She’d gone into season earlier than most Rottweilers, and planned matings often put the prospective parents together several times to ensure conception. Under the circumstances, she was surprised any pups resulted.
Combs was right. Without a place to house and train them, several dogs would be a challenge. Once Tee returned to Chicago, the temporary lodging they shared would go away, too.
Any way she looked at it, kennel plans had hit a wall.
“Hang in there, Lia. What’s that old saying? Things always look darkest—”
“—before crap hits the fan?” She nodded at the cloudy sky. “Had my fill of storm clouds, Combs. You can’t outrun them. You just hang on for dear life and pray you’ll come out the other side.” The temperature had dropped. She pulled on hot pink gloves, a gift from Grammy last winter, but at least the silly looking things kept her hands warm.
“You’ve got puppies to look forward to. Nothing brightens a mood like puppies. Or neon pink hand warmers.” He grabbed her hand, squeezed, and let go to navigate the turn back toward the apartment where Karma and Tee waited.
Her neck and face warmed. She turned away to look out the window. Damn! It didn’t mean anything, she knew. She fought back tears. All the stress had her riding an emotional roller coaster.
They pulled into the parking lot, and Combs stopped outside her door. “Will you be okay, Lia? The offer still stands. A good meal would make you feel better. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse and chase the cowboy.”
She snorted a laugh. Maybe a meal would help her think. And she’d finally get to meet September. Come to think of it, a first meeting might go smoother with Combs there. Lia started to agree, until she noticed her truck was missing. “Dammit, what now?”
Combs started at her sudden exclamation and called after her when she jumped from the car. “What? Something else wrong? Lia!”
“Tee took my truck. I told her not to leave Karma alone. To use my truck only in case of emergency to go to the vet.” She rattled the door to the apartment. Worry grew when no bark answered. “Why didn’t she call me?” She juggled a coat pocket for her keys.
He tipped his head and resettled his hat. “You know Tee. Besides, Karma doesn’t bark unless it’s a stranger, right? I bet she’s inside snoozing with your shoes again. Tee took your truck for one of her off the wall ideas.” He sounded pissed, but not surprised.
Lia pushed open the door. “Karma? Baby-dog, where are you?” The place felt empty even before she confirmed it.
They must be at the veterinarian. She had to be there, needed to be there for Karma. Combs would take her.
Lia ran back to the open door in time to see his car speed out of the parking lot, leaving her stranded.
Chapter 57
The truck hit a big bump, and Karma grunted and winced.
“Sorry.” Tee looked at her in the mirror but didn’t slow down. “I’ve got to meet a lady about a very bad man and can’t be late.”
Karma braced herself to stay balanced in the swift truck. She wanted to stick her nose out of the back window, and drink the smells that gushed past. But each time she stood on the back seat, the truck lurched. At least the strange ache inside her tummy had subsided. She still wanted...something, she wasn’t sure what. Karma scratched at the blanket covering the back seat, scrunching it up into a more acceptable bed. She grabbed the lamb-toy, pulled it close to her tummy, and sighed with satisfaction.
“Almost there. This should happen quick, Karma. I already texted Combs, so he’ll have the cavalry ready on my signal. We’ll be home in no time.” Her words came fast, high pitched with excitement.
Karma’s ears pricked at the “home” word, but Tee’s excitement and her underlying fear-smell made Karma’s hackles bristle. She wagged at the thought of the shabby kennel building she shared with Lia. That was home. Karma missed the home-place, and often wondered why they stayed away.
Staying with Lia and Tee in two tiny rooms made Karma’s fur itch and paws yearn for wide open spaces where a good-dog could sniff and roam, run and roll in grass and mud to her heart’s content. Her muscles ached to race, throat longed to bark and howl without hush-demands, and claws wanted to dig up some dirt. Home meant adventures, search and sniff games. And comfort. Safety. Home.
The tiny rooms they shared smelled stale, and lately, she’d been restricted even more. Lia kept her on leash for the few steps outside to take-a-break. Tracking games in two rooms offered no challenge. Karma’s boredom made her want to chew and tear and break things, even though she shouldn’t. So she couldn’t wait to see what happened on this ride. She loved rides! But she wished the lurching-bumps would stop.<
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Maybe they’d drive home? Wouldn’t that be fine! Karma wondered if Lia waited for them at the home-place. She couldn’t help wriggling at the thought.
The truck slowed and pulled off the road. Tee stopped the truck behind a very large sign surrounded by trees that hid them from the road. Karma leaped up with happy anticipation. It wasn’t home, but that was okay, especially if she got to run outside in the nearby field with Tee. It had been many, many days, more days than a good-dog had paws, since she’d been allowed to run with Tee. Karma panted happily when her girl turned around to stroke Karma’s face and scratch under her chin. Karma leaned into the caress, and half closed her eyes.
Chapter 58
“They’ll for sure take my phone. And gun, if they see it. But maybe you can help, honey-girl. Can I borrow your toy?”
Talking to Karma helped Tee focus her thoughts, and the dog’s happy personality kept Tee in a good mood. For some reason, talking to Karma helped keep her calm, too, and she’d not had an “episode” since August, when Karma’s presence grounded her and brought her back from the trance-like state she occasionally suffered. Half the time, she didn’t remember she’d been “gone” unless someone nearby noticed and told her. God, she hated that! Damaged goods, in so many ways, that’s what she was. Just her bad luck that Lia witnessed her weakness.
She picked up the wooly lamb. Karma woofed softy and nosed the stuffed toy. “I’ll bring it back, I promise.”
Tee got out of the truck, shedding her jacket and leaving it on the front seat. She shivered in the brisk October breeze, her bare arms and thudding heart homesick for the warm breeze of Hawaii. But their informant insisted her undercover ruse required the skimpy outfit, to convince the Boss she was a street-wise runaway. They knew Boss still wanted a girl to replace Mele. As a cop, Tee wanted to catch the Boss, but also the lowlife scum who solicited such human merchandise.
Her cell phone rang. Combs, calling back. Tee braced herself for his disapproval and slipped back into the front seat of the truck, switching the heater on. “Like I said, Momma Ruth sent a text. The plan’s a go.” She worked to loosen the stitching of the stuffed toy as she talked.
“You can’t go in by yourself. There’s a procedure, you know that. We got no backup in place, and you’re not experienced enough—”
“Then get backup out here ASAP.” She rattled off the location, ignoring his angry tone, and countered with her prepared argument. “We knew it’d be a now-or-never opportunity whenever she gave the go. I texted you as soon as I got the call. Not my problem it’s your day off. Sorry to interrupt your meeting.” She couldn’t resist the dig, knowing Lia’s feelings for him even if Combs seemed oblivious.
“This is my operation, and there’s more at stake than you cow-boying it alone. Hold on.”
“What the hell does that mean? You’re the cowboy.” But she spoke to dead air. He’d switched lines to speak with others on the team, giving them details of the unfolding operation.
None of the female detectives could pass for Hawaiian. At age twenty-one, Tee was older than the youngsters Momma Ruth recruited, but her small frame could pass if she just acted the part. Karma’s toy lamb would help the illusion. And according to Momma Ruth, the Boss was desperate to satisfy a specific buyer’s Hawaiian hunger so beggars couldn’t be choosers. She tugged the form-fitting short-shorts to a more comfortable position, wondering how anyone wore such outfits in public.
If all went well, they’d nail the mysterious Boss, and cut the head off the sex trafficking ring that left Vicki Kala (aka Wikolia Pa’akaula) dead and Mele traumatized last August. It had taken six weeks before Momma Ruth took the bait Combs’s team set up. Vicki’s murder and Mele’s escape ratcheted up the probability the Boss would run. Momma Ruth would come sooner or later, and the woman seemed to fear the same thing. Combs offered a deal with protection and possible reduced sentence, but only if Momma Ruth worked with them.
Combs came back on the line, chewing his words in his hurry. “We’re scrambling from this end. Chances are you’ll be moved. We need a way to track you. And for God’s sake, ditch your gun and phone or they’ll make you and it’ll be all over. Damn, why did you have to rush this?”
“Already covered. Put the tracker in my boots.” She figured the over-the-knee boots would be the last place they’d look, at least right away. And she had to take the gun. No way would she go unarmed. She checked the time. “I got to walk to the meet spot in the next ten minutes, or we’re done. Momma Ruth sounded on the edge, and I don’t want to give her an excuse to rabbit.”
“Okay, go. Make this work, Tee, and the public will call you a hero. Fail, and your police career is over—and maybe your life.” His tone softened to add, “In other words, don’t die.”
“Glad to know you care, Combs.” She grinned and ended the call.
***
Karma tipped her head first one way and then the other as Tee manipulated the lamb-toy. She pawed the front seat, then stood up, short tail jerking with excitement when the truck door opened again and her girl got out. The front door slammed, and she panted with short interspersed whines of anticipation when Tee walked to the back door. But instead of opening it so a good-dog could go with her, run in the grass and feel wind in her face, Tee just stuck her hand through the partially open window. Karma licked the hand and raised her head to accept the chin-scratch.
“Back as soon as I can, Karma. People know where we are and will be here soon. Wait here, yeah?” She tucked the lamb-toy under one bare arm, turned, and strode away.
Wait? Karma had grown to hate that word. It meant being left behind, excluded from fun, exciting things. Whining, Karma pawed the door again. She woofed softly, and then more sharply but her girl didn’t look back. She kept walking, until out of sight.
Karma stuck her nose into the crack of the window, huffing the intermittent breeze for her girl’s scent. Concerned whines grew more and more strident when the sound of a stranger’s car drew near, slowed, and stopped on the hidden road where Tee disappeared.
Tee screamed.
Karma howled and threw herself against the window.
Chapter 59
Lia stood, mouth agape, watching Combs peel out of the parking lot. “Son-of-a . . .” She grabbed her phone, dialed his number, but disconnected when it went to voice mail. She typed an angry text instead, and then bit her lip, wanting to take it back. After all, he’d offered and she’d declined the invitation, so why should he stick around?
She closed the door, still fiddling with the phone until she found the vet clinic number. If she couldn’t be there, at least knowing Karma’s status would lessen the worry.
“This is Lia Corazon, I’m calling about my Rottweiler, Karma. Is she there? My sis—” She cut herself off. Her relationship with Tee wasn’t anybody’s business. She didn’t need to fuel more gossip. “Has my roommate, police officer Tee Teves, brought her in yet?”
“Oh hi there, Lia. No, they’re not here. Is there a problem with Karma?” The receptionist sounded concerned. “When’s her due date?”
“Not for another three days. But her temperature dropped this morning and she’s been nesting.” She swallowed hard. “I had an errand, and left Karma with Tee. Now they’re both gone, so I figured . . .”
The girl tsk-tsked. “I see. Well, they’re not here, but I’ll give Doc Eugene a head’s up. Are you on your way?”
Lia sank into the computer chair, shaking her head. “Tee has my truck, so I have to catch a ride. Could you please call me as soon as they get there? And keep me posted?” She disconnected.
The trip to the animal hospital took about twenty minutes, so they must have left minutes before she’d returned. Lia thumbed her phone, opening the Uber app. She bit her lip seeing one wouldn’t arrive for forty minutes.
On impulse, she dialed another number. Maybe she could still reach him.
“Hello?” September answered on the first ring.
“We’ve never spoken, but thi
s is Lia. Combs gave me your number to call when I could afford to get Karma evaluated.”
“Lia? What a surprise. Isn’t Combs with you?”
“No. He just left, heading your way I believe.” She paused, not quite sure how to ask for a favor.
“Guess he’s running late. How’d the bank meeting go?” September sounded sympathetic. Combs must have shared her troubles. “We keep missing each other. I’ve been meaning to contact you about that big police dog wannabe I was supposed to evaluate.” She added dryly, “Never mind what your grandfather wants or wanted.”
Lia gathered her thoughts, and spoke with care. “I thought you were avoiding me after Grandfather cancelled everything, and I put your dog at risk with the fire . . .”
September laughed, but Lia detected a bitter note. “Combs asked, and I answered. When kids are in trouble, people respond first and think later. At least, I do. Anyway, you didn’t do anything wrong, Lia. Shadow put himself at risk.” Her voice caught. “I don’t think I could forgive myself if he didn’t come back.”
She understood the feeling. The brief but intimate connection she’d shared with Shadow changed her life. “I only had him for a short time, but Shadow’s special. His pups will be, too. That’s why I’m calling. I need a ride to the vet. Karma is in labor.”
Dead silence.
“September? Are you there?”
September spoke with sharp edge. “When did you meet Shadow? What are you talking about?”
“The short answer is that I rescued a black shepherd from the flood back in February. He saved Karma when she was washed into the flood. Then the girl Karma was protecting saw her mate with a black dog during the fire. Karma is due to whelp any day. I assumed it was Shadow.”