Her Undercover Refuge

by Linda O. Johnston

  A silence—and Nella noted Scott back in the doorway, arms crossed. His good-looking face was marred by a curious scowl. Well, she’d tell him later about this call. Or maybe he’d figured it out if he’d been eavesdropping.

  “Okay,” Dan finally said. He didn’t sound particularly happy as he continued, “Look. I’ll bring Jon and come back up there this weekend, maybe stay longer this time so you and the other managers can give more insight into what we’ll need to do, okay?”

  “I think so. Just a sec.” Holding her phone off to the side, she approached Scott and quickly, in a low voice, conveyed that part of the call.

  Scott nodded. “Okay with me if it’s okay with you.”

  Nella’s turn to nod, and she got back on the phone. “Yes, it’s fine. But when you know when you’ll actually arrive, let me know and we’ll schedule the time, since we always schedule appointments with visitors—and that’s something you should know in case you do open a similar shelter. While you’re here, maybe we can figure out more things to demonstrate for you, okay?”

  “Sure.” And Dan ended the call.

  “Why are they coming?” Scott asked as they started walking outside along the usual dog pathway.

  “Because they want to learn more about how to start a shelter like this,” Nella told him, “but I’m not intending to go to L.A. to show them what I know.”

  “Good,” Scott said. “It’s easier to protect you here.”

  “Like I’m one of the staff members,” Nella grumbled. “But you’re right. And I appreciate it. I’m hoping it’s all over after that nasty car attack, but—”

  “But we can’t count on it,” Scott finished.

  Still, the rest of that Thursday went just fine, with staff members doing their usual thing of caring for the animals. That now included Denise, who’d jumped right in and joined the others. She appeared a lot more relaxed than when Nella had first met her. Of course, she was under the shelter’s protection now.

  Then there was a visit from a couple of managers of a pet shelter in a town twenty miles away. Coming straight into the reception room, where Nella joined Scott and Telma to meet them, they brought two dogs and a cat that they hoped Chance Animal Shelter would take in and find new homes for. They’d already been in touch with Scott, who’d scheduled their arrival, then took a quick look at the pets—and accepted them: Fräulein, a dachshund mix; Sheba, an Old English Sheepdog; and Silver, a small, gray feline.

  Things seemed quite normal for the rest of that day—and night, considering what had started to become normal for Nella and Scott. He stayed at the shelter in his apartment there, despite nothing going on at that moment, at least nothing that obviously required extra surveillance or protection. Although they had to remain constantly alert, of course. And Nella was happy to have him around. It wouldn’t last forever, but she would enjoy their spending time in her apartment as long as she could.

  She realized she was developing deep feelings for Scott—a bad idea. Did he feel the same? Who knew? They of course didn’t talk about such things. They were boss and employee and had already discussed that whatever they did was consensual—but it was all physical. Still, she would enjoy what she could while it lasted.

  Friday started out well, too. In fact, very well. After Scott and she met for breakfast—he had gone back to his home very early in the morning—he came outside while she walked Spike with some staffers, two of whom had newbies Sheba and Fräulein with them, and another had Jack. She then did a brief training class.

  When she was done, he came up to her and said, “I think it’s time for you to learn more about another aspect of being a manager—doing the official vetting process, both for potential staff members and for potential adopters.”

  “Yes!” Nella was delighted with the idea. It would give her even more insight into what they wanted in both kinds of situations.

  Telma and Camp rounded up some staff members to visit cats and other pets after they returned the dogs to their enclosures. As Nella followed Scott to the offices, the thought crossed her mind that what she was about to learn would be essential if she ever wanted to help start and run a place like this, like in L.A. to help Dan.

  She immediately erased the idea from her mind. That wasn’t on her agenda, and although she didn’t mind helping with advice, she had no intention of working directly with Dan to start his shelter. Or his buddy Jon, either. She had no idea how the two of them intended to share duties.

  Scott showed her the blank file format she would need to complete for each potential staff member, then the one for potential adopters. They discussed how to fill in the initial blanks, including, with staffers, their names, addresses, who had suggested the Chance Shelter to them, and what was the torment in their life that made such protective custody necessary.

  He went over with her some online sites they subscribed to for learning as much as possible about those people. Next was the list of questions to ask the authorities who had referred them here.

  After that was the beginning of vetting one of those people who had just recently gotten in touch. Scott told Nella to begin handling it herself. She was delighted. She found it fascinating.

  They soon broke for lunch, but though Nella, as always, enjoyed the group meal—including with Scott—she couldn’t wait to get back to the analysis she had just started.

  By midafternoon, she believed she had enough information to show Scott, who had gone back into his office, that the person they were analyzing did appear to fit their guidelines.

  She stood from behind her desk and started walking toward her office door—when her phone made its noise indicating a text message. She froze. Surely—well, it had been a great couple of days, but her first thought was that she had received yet another threat.

  She was right. This one said:

  Enough. I left you alone for a while—after I chose not to hit you with the car—but you’re still there. It’s nearly time. You’re nearly dead. Get out now, and I’ll back off. But if not, not only will you die, but I’ll first tell the world what that damned shelter is all about and make sure the people your residents are hiding from know where they are. And then? Who knows? An explosion?

  Nella gasped. Another threat against her—and worse. A threat against all the people being protected here, and even the animals.

  But she’d hoped that whoever had it in for her wouldn’t harm anyone else.

  Now she had to assume the increased threat was true.

  It was time for her to leave—unless she could determine a way to truly protect Chance Animal Shelter.

  But this was something she absolutely had to show Scott, maybe go with him to the police station again. In any event, the local cops needed to see it. The entire shelter could be horribly affected. She ran into his office.

  On the phone, he looked up at her quizzically. He immediately said goodbye to whoever he’d been talking with and hung up. Obviously her panic was showing.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. Nella handed him her phone, and he scowled as he read it. “Damn, I was waiting for the next shoe to drop, and here it is. Sit down.” He waved at the chairs on the other side of his desk. “I was just talking to Vince anyway, and now I’ll call him back. We were discussing the situation, questioning the few days of nothing after those nasty threats and what might happen next. Now we know.”

  “But—Okay, Scott.” Nella stood in front of a chair but didn’t sit down. “I really think it’s time for me to—”

  “Move back to L.A.? Where we can’t protect you?”

  “Where I can, in a backward way, protect you and the shelter. If that person will let the world know what this shelter is all about, and even possibly blow this place up, I can’t stay.”

  Scott stood and walked around the desk. He handed Nella her phone back, and she noted his other fist was clenched. “Can you be absolutely sure leavin
g will help? We don’t know who it is, or what the actual agenda is, or why. And even if you leave, who knows whether it’ll end the threat to your life?” He stepped even closer and put his arms around her. “It’s time for us to concentrate even more on figuring this out—with you here, helping. And staying safe.”

  “But—”

  He pulled her closer. “No buts. Got it?” He bent and gave her a short but sensual kiss. “We’re together on this and the shelter.”

  Nella wasn’t about to cave—but she also knew she’d better not tell Scott that at the moment. “Okay,” she said. “But—”

  “I said no buts.” Scott kissed her again.

  And of course Nella participated gladly despite continuing to shiver. But she also figured she would be able to exit the shelter with support and even protection if she left with Dan and Jon when they visited that weekend.

  * * *

  Scott called Vince immediately. Fortunately, Nella sat down and watched him. If she’d left, he would have had to go with her. He wasn’t about to let her out of his sight, not even this late in the day on a Friday.

  Would she really attempt to move back to L.A., and on her own? That was exactly what the monster apparently wanted—where he could control or kill her.

  She needed to stay here. Period.

  And in case she didn’t get it, that was part of what he said in his conversation with Vince.

  “Hey,” he said when Vince answered the phone. Scott continued to stare at Nella as he told Vince about this latest threat. “Whoever it is said they’d not only tell the world about all our residents in protective custody but this entire shelter, too, and its purpose. And maybe even blow it up.”

  “You’re kidding.” Scott had put Vince’s call on Speaker so Nella could hear, too, and he watched her wince at Vince’s yelled response. “Okay, I’ve pulled back the patrols around there slightly but I’ll increase them again, including unmarked cars. I’ll also get our K-9 team and others to patrol the entire area on foot even more. But that’s not going to prevent whoever it is from blaring out the covert stuff on social media and otherwise. What do you think we should do?”

  Before he could answer, Nella said, “Hi, Vince. I’m here, too. I—I think I ought to just leave town. Maybe not go to L.A., though. Just...well, figure out a way to disappear, kind of like our staff members do when they come here.”

  Scott wanted to jump across the desk and grab her. Shake her. Somehow instill some sense into her.

  But Vince responded first. “No way,” he said, his voice even louder. “You’d still be giving the suspect just what he—or she—wants. Or close to it. With no assurance of silence or your safety. No, you stay there. You got it? The Chance PD will do all we can to help you and your shelter—without you losing your life.”

  Yay, Vince, Scott thought. He reacted just the way Scott hoped he would.

  “And I’m sure you and the rest of your detective team will beef up your research and resources so we can find this suspect immediately, right?” Scott asked.

  “Right.”

  “I appreciate that,” Nella said. “And maybe you can aim more resources toward your efforts, but you’ve already been trying to find whoever it is.”

  Scott had been watching her face, and at the moment she seemed expressionless. Her tone was calm and cool.

  And she didn’t look into his eyes.

  “We’ll just try harder,” Vince said.

  “Well, thank you.” But Nella didn’t sound convinced.

  Scott couldn’t blame her.

  Vince and he finished the conversation after a quick rundown of what the Chance PD would start doing the next day, besides keeping an eye on the shelter that night. Plus, they would have their tech staff start searching all social media sources to see if the Chance Animal Shelter was mentioned—and outed.

  If he was consistent, the jerk who’d put them into this mess would again give Nella a day or so to comply before continuing his battle against her.

  Not that Scott would allow her to leave, of course.

  For now, Nella stood and left Scott’s office, heading downstairs. So did he.

  During what was left of the afternoon, he watched as she interacted with staff members as usual, along with dogs they worked with. She kept Spike by her side.

  But would that skilled, senior K-9 be able to help her if, in fact, the intimidator did show up and try to kill Nella? Maybe, but it would depend on how the act was attempted.

  Of course Scott encouraged Nella to keep the dog with them at dinner, and, later, when Nella retreated to her apartment.

  Scott joined her there later, as usual, to be with her during the night. But he felt not only hurt, but damned angry, when Nella wouldn’t let him stay.

  “I need to be by myself,” she told him. “And—well, you need to understand that I will make my decisions by myself, too. I want to protect the shelter and its residents—and managers—the best way I can. Tonight, I’ll consider what to do next, whether I stay here as you want, or leave. Thanks for trying to protect me your way. But I need to think this through on my own.”

  And with that, she gently closed the door in his face.

  Chapter 23

  Nella missed Scott that night. Terribly.

  And not just the sex.

  She loved having him around to talk to. To discuss the shelter and where it was going, the new arrivals—both human and pets—the adoptions, the existing staff members and managers, and... Well, she missed talking to him about everything.

  And, darn it all, she missed his protective spirit. She couldn’t help feeling extremely concerned—for herself, and for the shelter and its residents. Scott always paid attention. He also somehow helped to calm her and make her believe, at least on some level, that things would be okay. That she would be okay.

  When she got up in the morning even earlier than usual, showered and prepared to go downstairs to walk dogs and work on more training lessons, she missed him even more. She felt as if the perpetrator was hanging around outside, ready to hurt her.

  And had maybe already endangered the residents by making their location and backgrounds public.

  Could that person find the secret information about the individual staff members? If so, how?

  He or she knew about the shelter and its purpose, so maybe they had unlimited resources.

  “What am I going to do, Spike?” Nella asked as she prepared to leave the apartment. The wonderful K-9 had been with her all night, sleeping on a blanket on the floor. Now the shepherd looked up at her and gave a little whine, as if trying to respond to her question.

  Before she unlocked the apartment door, her phone made its text noise. She froze. Another threat? Had the person already started telling the world about this shelter and its people?

  Was Nella about to get shot as she opened the door?

  The last was the least likely, considering the shelter’s security and the police patrols. But even so...

  Nella swallowed as she pulled her phone out and looked at the text. And relaxed a little. The message was from Dan. He and Jon were running late and would be at the shelter that afternoon. They would be at the shelter around two o’clock and had booked a hotel room for that night. Two in the afternoon seemed to be a good time for them.

  A silly thought crossed Nella’s mind. Could they be the ones issuing the threats? Did they want her to return to L.A. that much, to help them open their new shelter?

  Ridiculous. For one thing, they wanted to open a similar shelter, which wouldn’t work if they publicized this one’s purpose to the world. For another, she was their friend and former coworker. Threaten her life? Why?

  Still, she would find a way to question them without seeming to on their arrival. And she recognized that, though she doubted it was the case with them, she considered everyone a potential suspect.

/>   As usual when Nella reached the center of the shelter, she saw several residents out on their morning dog walk. She joined them with Spike, greeted them all warmly and gave the dogs quick pats. Then, they all walked until it was time for breakfast.

  Nella saw Scott outside during the walking time, but he didn’t greet her, just watched—as if surveilling the place for any obvious danger. Which he probably was.

  His ignoring her hurt, but it wasn’t unexpected after her attitude last night.

  At breakfast, he sat down with Telma and Camp, who were already at the shelter and had begun to eat. Scott didn’t invite Nella to join them, but there were several free seats near them, and she was, after all, a manager, too.

  She took a chair beside Telma, not Scott, and Spike settled down at her feet. She’d already fed him the regular dog food breakfast that the other dogs got—but she’d picked up some extra toast from the buffet table that she could break into little pieces and feed a small amount to him.

  Scott did say good morning as she sat down, as did the others, and he continued to stare as if to see if she had cracked yet.

  Well, she hadn’t. Not exactly. But she did ask, glancing toward Camp and Telma, “Do they know?”

  Both nodded before Scott could say anything.

  “Nothing’s going to happen,” Camp said between gritted teeth.

  “Not on our watch,” Telma agreed.

  But how could they be so sure—especially about whether the shelter and its purpose would remain secret?

  Well, Nella told herself, she couldn’t be positive, either, even if she left. But...whoever it was appeared to be focused on getting her out of there, which made her continue to believe it was a loose gang member seeking revenge.

  On her, though. Not on everyone else.

  Which meant she had to leave, at least for a while, to attempt to save this place and everyone here.

  It might be serendipitous that Dan and Jon were coming that day, since she could use her desire to help them as her excuse to leave the shelter—although Scott, of course, would know better.