Quid Pro Quo

by Sherryl Hancock

  Quid Pro Quo

  Sherryl D. Hancock

  Copyright © Sherryl D. Hancock 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Vulpine Press in the United Kingdom in 2018

  ISBN: 978-1-912701-47-6

  Cover by Claire Wood

  Cover photo credit: Tirzah D. Hancock

  www.vulpine-press.com

  Thank you to the Sacramento Front Street Shelter for teaching me about dogs and for all the incredible work you do! Rescue animals make the very best pets!

  Also in the WeHo series:

  When Love Wins

  When Angels Fall

  Break in the Storm

  Turning Tables

  Marking Time

  Jet Blue

  Water Under the Bridge

  Vendetta

  Gray Skies

  Everything to Everyone

  Lightning Strykes

  In Plain Sight

  Prologue

  “I think I’ll take him back,” Cody said, standing up from the ground and taking the leash of the small dog she’d been working with.

  Shenin smiled up at her. “Okay.”

  They’d done good work that morning; Cody Falco, for all her impatience elsewhere, was very focused when it came to working with the timid dogs at the shelter. Shenin knew it was good therapy for Cody, as much as it was good therapy for her and Skyler Boché as well; they all had issues to work through, and doing it while helping shy dogs get adopted always seemed like a perfect fit.

  It was a nice cool morning at the shelter; the Los Angeles summer heat finally seemed to be abating. The crisp mornings of fall were on the way. It seemed to put everyone in a better mood. Shenin stood up, stretching her back, knowing she shouldn’t sit as long as she had been on the hard pavement.

  “Ugh,” she groaned as her back protested. She grinned at Skyler. “Guess I know what Ty’s gonna be doing later this afternoon.”

  “Working out all the knots in your back that you just put in?” Skyler asked, even as the dog she was working with licked her face, making her chuckle softly.

  “Pretty much. And complaining that I do it on purpose…” Shenin said with a grin.

  Things between Shenin and Tyler had gotten so much better in the last year and a half. Their relationship had been tested a couple of years before when Shenin pulled away from Tyler, the absolute love of her life. Tyler had been at a loss as to how to deal with Shenin’s post-traumatic stress from a war-time abduction and injury. There had been much more to the story than Tyler had known. Tyler was a captain with the Air Force and a member of their security force, as Shenin had been before she was hurt in a car accident. She was also very protective of her wife, and Shenin had known that some of the details of her abduction, very specifically her rape by her captors, would kill Tyler. Keeping the secret had almost killed Shenin, and just about destroyed their relationship. Fortunately, things had come to a head and that had given them the ability to get through it. Between counseling and therapy with things like timid shelter dogs, Shenin was dealing with her trauma and life-long battle with depression.

  ****

  Kai Temple walked through the shelter with the law enforcement liaison she’d met to discuss the viability of retraining shelter dogs as assets to law enforcement units.

  “So you’ve had success with animals like this before?” the liaison asked, smiling up at the taller woman.

  Kai Temple was an impressive sight. She stood five feet nine inches, with long, straight jet black hair usually pulled back into a ponytail, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. She had a very attractive face, with an exotic look to her features. Her skin was darkly tanned and smooth; it was impossible to guess that she was actually thirty-nine years old—she looked much younger. She also had an impressive build of solid muscle. She wasn’t overly bulky, but her highly toned shape was definitely hinted at by her close-fitting white thermal shirt with the sleeves pushed up. Her long, muscular legs were emphasized nicely by her faded jeans. It was obvious that Kai Temple took excellent care of her body.

  “Yeah, in Afghanistan we were able to—” Kai’s statement was cut off by the radio call.

  “We have a loose dog from isolation, I Building! Loose dog from isolation, I Building!”

  Kai turned toward the area cited, scanning the space. She immediately saw the large Rottweiler walking down the side of the fencing. She let out a loud whistle as she started to run over.

  Cody had left the small, fenced-off “play yard” to take back the dog she’d been working with. She’d just turned past isolation and was heading down the row toward the strays building when she heard the call. She turned to look around; she knew she was close to the I Building. She heard a sharp whistle just as the Rottweiler came around the corner. The dog let out a loud bark and started toward her. Cody could see that it was extremely agitated; its hair was standing up on its back, a clear sign. She backed up, putting the small dog she was returning into a kennel that happened to be open. Her main concern was the dog, not her own safety. The Rottweiler was further agitated by the other dogs barking at it from nearby kennels—suddenly it growled, baring its teeth, and started running for Cody. Cody backed up into the fence, freezing up in her fear.

  Just as the Rottweiler would have leapt for her throat, Cody heard a sharp command.

  “Nein! Platz!” The voice giving the command was deep, intense, and the Rottweiler responded immediately, stopping and lying down. A moment later it started panting.

  Cody was sure she was going to pass out from relief. She looked up and saw a tall woman with a dark complexion walking toward her, her eyes searching her.

  “Are you okay?” Kai asked.

  Cody nodded, blowing her breath out in relief as she leaned forward, breathing heavily. “How did you know to do that? That was like German, right?”

  Kai chuckled. “Well, I tried ‘Stop’ and ‘Down’ in English first—you probably just didn’t hear me. But he’s a Rottie, so I figured he might know German commands.”

  Cody leaned back and dropped her head against the fence. “Thank God you were here.”

  “You froze up,” Kai said. “You can’t do that around these big guys.” She knelt to the side and put her hand out to the Rottweiler, which immediately sniffed it.

  “So you know dogs?” Cody asked, still eyeing the Rottweiler cautiously.

  Kai grinned. “Yeah. Worked with them in the Marines.”

  Kai took a leather leash that had been hanging around her neck and put it on the Rottweiler, then said, “Steh.” The Rottweiler stood, his big head turned up to Kai.

  “I’m Kai,” she said to Cody, extending her hand.

  “Cody.” She nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Just gotta be careful with these big boys.” Kai smiled with very white, perfectly even teeth, her dark eyes twinkling.

  “That’s why I work with the ones that size,” Cody said, pointing at the small dog safely in the kennel.

  Kai raised an eyebrow. “Put her in there and didn’t get in with her?”

  “Didn’t think about it, really,” Cody said, grimacing.

  Kai nodded. “Happens to the best of us.” She held out her forearm, pointing to a half-inch scar on the inside. “First encounter with an Afghan Shepherd trained to kill Amer
ican soldiers,” she said, grinning. “Got too close and froze when he warned me off.”

  “Ouch,” Cody said, closing one eye and wincing.

  Kai chuckled. “Yeah, it hurt. He bit all the way through my uniform sleeve.”

  “How’d that turn out?”

  Kai grinned. “He lives with me now.”

  “Guess you didn’t take it too personally.”

  “It’s never personal. It’s fear—it’s always fear, which breeds aggression.”

  Cody nodded.

  “Oh my God, Cody, are you okay!” Shenin exclaimed as she and Skyler came around the corner.

  They’d both heard the all clear on the radio from one of the vet techs and had come out to see what had happened. The law enforcement liaison Kai had been working with them had explained.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” Cody said, smiling. “Shen, Skyler, this is Kai…” She trailed off as she realized she didn’t know Kai’s last name.

  “Temple,” Kai said. “Kai Temple.” She held her hand out to both Skyler and Shenin.

  “Kai’s the reason I’m okay,” Cody said. “Otherwise I would have been a Rottie chew toy.” She smiled down at the dog, who was watching everyone with interest.

  Shenin and Skyler looked surprised, then started to nod.

  “Thank you,” Shenin said to Kai. “That could have been bad.”

  “It could have,” Kai said. “But it wasn’t.”

  “Thanks to you,” Skyler added, nodding.

  Kai inclined her head, which put Cody in the mind of something Remington LaRoché would do, and that gave her another thought.

  “Hey, have you ever been to The Club?” she asked, easily recognizing Kai as “family”—the term the LGBT community used for fellow gays.

  Kai nodded. “A few times. Why?”

  “Well, our friend Memphis is spinning tonight,” Cody said. “And I’d like to buy you a drink, and I’m sure my wife would love to thank you for keeping me hole-free,” she added, grinning.

  Kai chuckled. “Okay, I’ll be there. What time?”

  “Say nine?”

  “You got it.”

  Later that night Kai walked into The Club and was immediately greeted by Cody, who was holding hands with a beautiful blonde with big blue eyes—her wife.

  “Kai, this is McKenna,” Cody said.

  McKenna reached up to hug Kai, smiling. “Thank you for saving my girl for me.”

  Kai grinned. “I was saving the dog too. If he’d bitten your wife, they would have put him down immediately.”

  “All about the dog…” Cody said, smiling as she shook her head.

  “Always.”

  “Kai?” came a voice from behind her.

  Kai turned around to see Remington LaRoché standing there with her girlfriend, Wynter.

  “Hey!” Kai said, smiling widely as she shook Remington’s hand before hugging Wynter, kissing her on the cheek. “How are you two?”

  “Good,” Remington said. “I didn’t think you came here,” she added, her look pointed.

  “I don’t, usually. But Cody invited me.”

  “’Cause she quite literally saved my neck today at the shelter,” Cody said.

  “How?” Remington asked as they walked toward the rest of the group.

  “There was a Rottie loose, and he was getting aggressive,” Kai said.

  “Yeah, thinking about killing me is how I saw it,” Cody added with a grin.

  Kai laughed. “Nah.” She shook her head. “He was just trying to show you who he thought was boss.”

  “And you showed him you were?” Remington asked.

  Kai smiled. “Always the alpha, never the beta.”

  Remington laughed.

  “What does that mean?” Wynter asked.

  “It means there’s no room for second best,” Kai said, her expression serious.

  “I see…” Wynter said, smiling.

  Cody introduced Kai to her mothers, Lyric and Savanna. They were both effusive in their thanks for keeping Cody safe.

  “So, how do you know Remi?” Cody asked after she’d introduced Kai to the rest of the group.

  “She trained me,” Remington said.

  Cody looked back at Kai, shock momentarily evident on her face, but then she took in Kai’s appearance. She was wearing faded jeans, black leather two-inch-heeled boots, and a black Oxford tucked into her jeans and open at the throat. Around her neck she wore a thick silver chain with a dog tag hanging from it; the silver pendant depicted a bronze winged dragon. She also wore a thick-banded black watch at her wrist and a series of silver rings on her fingers. What Cody saw now that she was looking for it was the width of Kai’s shoulders and the way her waist tapered in; there was no appearance of fragility about the other woman.

  “You’re a trainer?” McKenna asked, expressing the surprise Cody hadn’t.

  Kai chuckled. “Yeah.”

  “But you know how to handle dogs?” Lyric asked.

  “That too.”

  “Kai!” Quinn called as she and Xandy walked up to the group.

  “Hey!” Kai exclaimed, reaching over to shake Quinn’s hand. “Hey there, pretty girl,” she said to Xandy, smiling as she reached over to hug her gently.

  “Hi, Kai,” Xandy said, smiling up at her.

  Cody gave them an odd look. “Okay…”

  “Kai trained me that month before the fight, while we were still on the tour,” Remington said, referring to the tour Wynter and Xandy had been performing on while Remington and Quinn acted as their bodyguards.

  “Oh—yeah.” Cody nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “So she knows Memphis too then?” McKenna asked.

  “Well, yeah.” Remington looked at Kai. “You met Memphis, right?”

  Kai looked pensive, shrugging. “Dunno, don’t remember.”

  Remington pointed to a girl with white-blonde hair in a black hoodie in the DJ booth at the front of the dance floor.

  “Oh! Yeah—yeah, I met her,” Kai said. “She’s the one that ended with all that shit coming down, right?” she asked, her tone softening.

  Remington and Quinn nodded, both looking pained. Kai was referring to Memphis’ confrontation with a cult that had been out to get her, a group that her mother had brought a five-year-old Memphis into before trying to marry her off to their “prophet” at the age of sixteen. Memphis had been caught and assaulted by members of the cult, including the prophet himself. Remington and Quinn, who were Memphis’ self-appointed protectors, had been desperate to get her back. In the end, help had come from a surprising source in the form of the California Attorney General Midnight Chevalier and some of her loyal former employees, all cops. It had been a rough time for all of them, but they’d managed to rescue Memphis and had arrested the prophet and all of his members who’d been involved in the assault.

  “She’s okay now, though, right?” Kai asked.

  “She’s doing a lot better,” Remington said.

  Kai nodded. “Good to hear.”

  It became evident over the next hour that Kai was very definitely good friends with Remington, and had obviously become friends with Wynter, Quinn, and Xandy during her time with the tour. Kai being an ex-Marine was also discussed, and how, like Remington, she was a reserve. Kashena, who was an ex-Marine herself, quickly bonded with Kai as well. Kai was an easy inclusion in the group. That was tested an hour later when she froze while looking toward the front door.

  “Ah hell…” Kai muttered, grimacing.

  “What?” Remington asked as she followed Kai’s gaze, then grimaced herself.

  “What?” Wynter said, looking between the two women.

  “The reason I don’t come here just walked in,” Kai said, her tone low. She glanced over at Remington. “I’m gonna go outside and smoke.”

  Remington nodded as her eyes tracked the blonde who had just walked into the club. She was almost as tall as Remington and Kai, at five foot seven inches. She had sharply cut cheek bones and ice-blue eyes. Sh
e also carried an air of superiority about her that apparently hadn’t abated since getting out of the Marines.

  “Who is that?” Wynter asked Remington.

  “Her name’s Kathy. She was a colonel in the Marines and Kai’s commanding officer at one point.”

  “And that’s why Kai is avoiding her?”

  “Kai’s avoiding her because she raked Kai’s heart over the coals so many times it’s not even funny,” Remington said. “And she knows Kai’s here—that’s who she’s looking for.”

  “How does she know she’s here?” Wynter asked.

  “She has friends that probably told her, but she comes here a lot, which is why Kai doesn’t usually… and she’s spotted her,” Remington said, seeing Kathy look toward the patio where Kai was smoking and already pacing. “Be right back.” She leaned down to kiss Wynter on the lips.

  Remington got out to the patio slightly ahead of Kathy and headed over to Kai. “Incoming,” she said with a pointed look.

  Kai turned around and glanced over Remington’s shoulder, rolling her eyes as she did and shaking her head.

  “Don’t let her fuck with you,” Remington said quietly.

  “Easier said than done.” Kai already looked like she was affected by Kathy’s presence.

  Remington grimaced, then turned to look at the former colonel. Her eyes narrowed as she walked past her and back into the bar.

  “Kai…” Kathy said, reaching out to touch her arm.

  “Don’t,” Kai said, shifting just out of Kathy’s reach.

  “Really? You’re going to be this petty now?”

  Kai looked back at her, her expression reflecting annoyance at the rebuke. She leaned back against the wall of the club, putting her foot up behind her casually, lifting her cigarette to her lips and taking a long drag. She blew it out a minute later, her eyes narrowing in the curl of the smoke.

  “My feelings always seem petty to you,” she said wryly. “I wonder why that is?”

  “That’s a bit of an over-generalization, don’t you think?” Kathy said condescendingly.