Power Play (Portland Storm Book 16)

by Catherine Gayle

  “Good boy,” I said to him as I took off the leash, giving him a solid scratch behind his ears. “Let’s go check on your sisters, hmm?”

  Lola had let out a happy bark when we’d come through the front door, so I wasn’t worried that anything was wrong with either her or the kitten. Still, we headed up the stairs, Max in the lead. Lola rushed over to greet us, her tail wagging.

  I bent to scratch her behind the ears, too. “Everything okay with your baby?” I asked her.

  She barked again as if to answer. The kitten was curled up in a tiny ball in her basket, fast asleep. It was too soon to feed her again yet, and besides, I didn’t see any point in waking her if she was asleep. Really, I ought to take Lola for a walk now, while there was time before Phoebe’s next feeding, but the only thing I wanted to do was crawl back into bed and take a nap.

  “Can we do your walk in a little while, Lola?” I asked her. Not that I expected an answer. But she didn’t seem overly anxious to get out, so I decided to chance it. “Come on, guys. Let’s take a nap. We’ll go for a walk after the next time we feed your baby, hmm?”

  As soon as I crawled back under the blankets, the dogs both took that as their cue to join me in bed. Which was good, because I didn’t think I had enough energy to do anything else until I had another catnap.

  WHEN THE ALARM on my phone went off, I jerked awake so fast I almost banged my head against the headboard, surprising both Max and Lola. They let out barks of indignation, which made my head ache even more than it already was due to the crazy sleep schedule we were keeping.

  “Sorry, guys,” I muttered, dragging myself out of bed so I could fix Phoebe’s next bottle.

  She was hungry to the point of near desperation by the time I got the nipple in her mouth, her tiny, razor-sharp claws making mincemeat of my fingers in her panic. But soon the formula calmed her, and she happily drank it all down.

  I might need to start mixing her a bit more for each feeding. She was only a few days old, but she was already growing fast.

  Slightly bigger feedings spread out over a bit more time…wasn’t that what the people at the veterinarian’s office had said I’d have to do soon? I didn’t think they’d meant quite this soon, though. Probably in another week or so I could start to spread them out a bit.

  Still, if it meant I could get three hours of sleep in between feedings instead of only two, I was sold on the plan.

  Did human babies have to eat this often around the clock? I sure hoped not. If so, I might never get a decent night’s sleep again.

  After burping her, I cleaned out her bottle and readied a cloth to wipe her bottom while Max and Lola watched her try to shift herself around in the basket to find a warm, comfortable spot to doze. But now that I was up again and had a bit of time until the next feeding, I figured I should grab a bite to eat for myself and take Lola out for some exercise. Max could stay behind to supervise this time.

  “Don’t let her wander off,” I said to the dogs, not that I thought Phoebe could get very far on her own. Then I headed downstairs to forage in the kitchen.

  I found one of Riley’s protein bars in the pantry and grabbed a flavored Greek yogurt container from the fridge. Even the idea of trying to cook something in my current state of zombie-ness seemed like a horrifying prospect. Better to eat something I didn’t have to do more with than figure out how to open the container and hope I didn’t spill it all over myself.

  Once I’d cleaned up, I grabbed Lola’s leash and headed back up the stairs to snag her. “Come on, Lola. Let’s go for a walk.”

  She looked at me with pleading eyes and whimpered before going back to stare into Phoebe’s basket.

  “I know you don’t want to leave your baby. But Max will take good care of her for us while we’re gone.”

  And besides, I had no intention of letting her boredom get the better of her again so soon. I was not going to let this dog eat any more socks on my watch just because I wasn’t paying attention. We needed to get her out of the house so she could burn off some energy, and I wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  “Let’s go,” I repeated with more authority in my tone. “Now, Lola. Every mom needs a break from baby duty sometimes.”

  She grumbled, but she came over and allowed me to put the leash on her collar.

  “Good girl. We’ll be back soon. Max is a good kitten daddy, okay? Just like you’re a good kitten mama. We’ve all got to trust one another. Everyone has a part to play in raising this baby. Got it?”

  She barked as if she’d understood me. Or maybe lack of sleep was starting to make me lose my mind and assume their barks meant anything other than woof woof.

  Once we were out of the house in the fresh air, she started cooperating a little better. It was good for both of us to get away for a bit, without the kitten’s schedule tying us down.

  When we arrived at the dog park, I took off her leash and let her run free for a few minutes. She wasn’t as active as she normally was, but that was probably for the best since she still had the stitches to worry about. I kept a close eye on her to be sure she didn’t start playing too rough with any of the other dogs, and I called her back before she tired herself out too much.

  “Did you have fun?” I asked, rubbing her ears while she put her front paws up on the bench next to me so I could reattach her leash.

  She let out a happy-sounding bark, which I chose to take as a resounding Yes.

  “Told you it’d do you good to get away from that kitten for a bit. You didn’t believe me, but I was right. Maybe next time you should listen to your mama, hmm?” Yeah, I sounded like a crazy person, talking to the dog as though she were a human and could understand me, but I didn’t care. I felt kind of like a crazy person, too, to be honest. Besides, stranger things had been known to happen than a dog understanding a human. And I’d undoubtedly be fine again once I was able to get a normal night’s sleep. I was sure of it.

  Only, when I went to grab the bag I thought I’d brought with me, it wasn’t there. Had I only thought I’d brought it on this trip? I knew I had it with me when I’d been out with Max because I’d taken my phone out a couple of times to check the time before shoving it back into the outer pocket. But had I brought it with me on the second trip out the door? I thought I had, but my brain was mush, so I couldn’t be sure.

  I must have left without it. Either way, it wasn’t here now, and I had my keys and phone in my pockets, which were all I really needed. With Lola leading the way, we started the short walk toward home.

  We’d barely turned the corner onto our street when Lola slowed down, acting wary rather than tired.

  “What’s wrong, girl?” I asked, not that I expected her to answer.

  I scanned the cars in their various driveways, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Most of the usual cars were in their normal places, and I didn’t see anyone out walking on the street who didn’t belong there.

  I couldn’t fathom what was bothering her, but she was still walking slower than normal, and then she came to a complete stop and started to whimper.

  “Come on,” I said, trying to get her moving again. “We’re almost home. Let’s get in the house and then you can take a nap with your baby, okay?”

  But she wouldn’t budge, no matter how much I tugged on her leash.

  “Lola!” I almost shouted, turning around to face her since I’d already walked several paces past her. “Let’s go. Walk with me, now.” I tugged hard on the leash, to no avail.

  She wasn’t looking at me, though. She was staring at something past me. Staring hard, as intently as I’d ever seen her stare at anything.

  Slowly, I turned around, suddenly nervous about what I might find.

  I barely saw him out of the corner of my eye, his arm reaching out toward me from behind as if to drag me to safety, before Lola flew at me, ripping the leash free from my hands in her furor, snarling and snapping like a dog intent to kill.

  I froze in absolute terror, totally unable to take
a breath.

  Only she didn’t bite me.

  She bit him.

  EVERYTHING HAPPENED FASTER than I could process it.

  One moment, I was trying to drag Lola home and the next she was snarling and biting the creepy man from the dog park.

  Biting like she meant to rip his throat out.

  Biting like she meant to kill.

  Blood was gushing from the human-and-canine pile, but I couldn’t tell if it was hers or his, or maybe even some of both. I couldn’t decide what to do, but already several of our neighbors were rushing from their houses to help. One of them hauled me back away from the scene while a few others tried to yank Lola off the man while still holding him down.

  “You all right?” the woman who’d pulled me away asked.

  “Lola saved me. She saved me,” I stuttered. And then I stumbled on a stray rock in the street, almost passing out. But now was not the time to faint because this was far from finished.

  “Come on over here,” she said, gently tugging me farther away from the pile at first and then giving me a solid heave when I didn’t budge, finally getting my feet to move beneath me. “Come here and sit down on the curb.”

  She pressed a bottle of water into my hands, but I couldn’t drink. I couldn’t do anything but stare. And shake. And wonder.

  Lola was still snarling and snapping, not caring who she hurt in the bargain because she still wasn’t done with the man who’d tried to seize me from behind. Another man ran down the street and joined the others, finally hauling Lola off my would-be attacker. Once she was out of the pile, he dragged her away by her leash and held her back—which was no easy task since she was still all fired up—while the other two kept the man who’d started it all down on the ground.

  “Yeah, we need an officer,” the woman next to me said into her cell phone. “A man tried to grab my neighbor while she was out walking her dog. No idea what he intended to do once he had her, but he’s no good. The dog saved her for long enough that some of us from the neighborhood could intervene. They’ve got him down on the ground now, and the dog’s off him, but this son of a bitch needs to be behind bars. You should maybe send a paramedic, too,” she added, almost as an afterthought. “That dog got him pretty good. Serves the son of a bitch right, trying to grab a woman like he did.”

  There was still such a ruckus coming from the pile of humans, and Lola was barking so loudly, that we attracted more of a crowd in no time. Several other dogs and owners from the dog park came over, and a couple of them bent down beside Lola and started petting her, praising her, trying to calm her down while still more joined the group surrounding my attacker.

  “She’s my sister-in-law,” the guy shouted from the bottom of the pile. “I was just saying hello.”

  Oh, God. Riley’s brother. Could that really be him?

  I didn’t even know his brother’s name. I’d certainly never seen him before. Riley didn’t talk about his family much. Neither of us liked to talk about our families, our childhoods. We mainly focused on the here and now.

  But if it was him…why? Why would he do this?

  “If you want to say hello, you say hello, you don’t try to sneak up behind a woman and grab her,” one of the men holding him down said.

  My heart hammered nonstop, so hard and fast it might puncture the wall of my ribs soon. I felt dizzy. So dizzy. Thank goodness they’d made me sit, because even now I thought I might fall over and faint.

  The woman next to me ended her call and turned to me. “Cops’ll be here in a minute. That piece of shit really your brother-in-law?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never met my husband’s brother. They aren’t exactly on speaking terms since he and my husband’s former fiancée had an affair.”

  “Piece of shit’s too good a name for him, then.”

  Lola still wouldn’t calm down, no matter how many people tried to soothe her. I caught one man’s eye and waved my hand for them to bring her to me. He nodded and spoke to the group trying to subdue her for a moment, and then they brought her to my side.

  She whimpered and nudged her nose against my hand until I started petting her.

  “It’s all right, Lola. You did good. Such a good girl.” I scratched her behind the ears, but she was still anxious, pacing, wanting to get back over to the man she’d attacked. So she could finish him off? Or did she just want to make sure he couldn’t get to me?

  Either way, I needed her here by my side, not over there with him. There were plenty of men surrounding him now, holding him down and making sure he couldn’t get to me or my dog. She had blood on her muzzle from where she’d bitten him, and I saw more blood on the fur of her belly.

  I stroked my hand down her back, trying to soothe her. “Sit down, Lola. I think you ripped your stitches. You’ve got to be still now, okay?”

  “She’s a pretty awesome dog for protecting you that way,” the woman said next to me. “I saw it from my living room. Couldn’t believe my eyes. I was already about to call the cops because I didn’t like the looks of that guy and how he was skulking around the neighborhood, but your dog was on the ball. She didn’t mess around.”

  Pretty awesome didn’t even begin to cover it.

  Lola was amazing.

  I nodded, too choked up to speak as reality set in and the adrenaline wore off. A flood of tears started pouring down my cheeks.

  I scratched Lola’s ears again, and then I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her as well as I could with that stupid cone in the way.

  Lola licked my cheek, a big, wet, slobbery kiss that was the best thing ever.

  “She’s a hero,” I got out on a sob.

  “Damn right, she is,” one of the men nearby said, and most of the others in the growing crowd murmured assent.

  A minute or two later, a few cop cars pulled up, followed by the requested ambulance. The officers got out. Two of them started taking statements from all the parties involved and the witnesses while the others went with the paramedics to deal with Riley’s brother, who was still bleeding freely but didn’t seem in any danger of dying if the blue streak he was cursing was any indication.

  Good. I didn’t want him to die, and I definitely didn’t want Lola to be responsible for it if he did. He was still Riley’s brother, and the thought of something like that being on his conscience didn’t sit well with me.

  The officer who sat down to speak with me eyed Lola for a moment. “That dog looks familiar. She on Instagram or something? Twitter? YouTube? I could swear I’ve seen video of her before.”

  “This is Lola,” the neighbor lady said. “Riley Jezek’s dog. You know, the player from the Storm? Max and Lola? They’ve got that behind-the-scenes show on the Internet. She’s been on it a few times.”

  He grinned. “Oh, I know that show. Eye of the Storm, right? The swimming dogs?”

  “That’s her!”

  “Yeah, I know who Lola is. You’re famous already, aren’t you, sugar?” He scratched her ears, and her tail thumped wildly. “You’re about to get a whole lot more famous now. Because you’re not just cute. You’re a hero.”

  “YOUR DOGS WERE already well known before this, due to being featured on Eye of the Storm so frequently, but now Lola’s being lauded as a hero,” one unfamiliar reporter said, while what felt like hundreds of cameras and mics were shoved in my face, the bright glare of lights blinding me so I couldn’t make him out. “How does it feel to have so much attention surrounding her?”

  We’d just won a game against the Sharks, guaranteeing ourselves home ice throughout the playoffs, but no one seemed to want to talk about the game or the playoffs or anything to do with hockey.

  They wanted to talk about my dog coming to Mackenzie’s rescue when my crackpot brother had tried to attack her.

  This was the biggest crowd of cameras we’d been subjected to all season long, but I supposed it would be good practice for us heading into the playoffs.

  At least the focus was no longer on my injury, though. I
’d gladly talk about my wife and my dog over myself any day. I couldn’t wait to get home again to see Mackenzie, my dogs, and our kitten.

  My family.

  Fuck, I missed them, and I hated that I hadn’t been there to protect Mackenzie from my whack-a-doodle brother.

  But Lola had been there. Lola had saved the day.

  “Lola is a hero,” I said. “And I’m not saying that just because she protected my wife and our unborn baby, either. She’s adopted an orphaned kitten, too. Apparently she thinks she needs to be a mommy and isn’t too happy I had her spayed when she was a puppy. No one tell her the kitten’s going to grow up to be a cat. Maybe Lola won’t notice that her baby’s the wrong species.”

  The sea of reporters laughed, but even though I’d cracked a joke at the end, I was dead serious. My dog was a fucking rock star.

  As soon as I got home, I intended to give her the best belly rub of her life and all the treats she could ever dream of. I was going to spoil that dog so fucking rotten she wouldn’t know what hit her.

  “In all seriousness, though,” I said, “I’m just glad Lola was there. And I’m glad some of my neighbors were out in their yards and can act as witnesses for the legal side of things so there shouldn’t be any problems. Dog attacks often lead to the dogs being put down or at least being forced into a muzzle when they’re out in public, so I’m so grateful that my neighbors quickly came forward with the truth of what happened, and it isn’t just my wife’s word against my brother’s. Lola was protecting her mama. She’s fiercely loyal, a truth my brother learned the hard way. Maybe he thought that since she was the smaller of my two dogs and had just had surgery, she wouldn’t be any threat to him. I don’t know what he was thinking. I don’t know why he would do something like that to begin with. I have no idea what goes on in Colby’s head, to be honest.”

  And when you added in the fact that he’d been high as a kite that day, there was even less likelihood of understanding my nut-job of a brother’s thought process. I doubted he would have done anything of the sort if he’d been clean, but how could I know? I hadn’t ever understood much about him, not even when we’d been kids.