by Paige Tyler
“I do a lot of volunteer work at one of the nearby animal shelters,” she said. “I’m also on call to help out both Animal Services and the DPD Animal Cruelty Squad when they run into injured dogs.”
Whoa. A woman who spent her days taking care of dogs for a living, then did it during her spare time for free? That was definitely a woman Alex could appreciate.
“It’s pretty amazing that you give so much of your time to animal causes,” he said. “Getting called out at all hours of the day and night must be tough on your boyfriend, though.”
Lacey urged Tuffie over on her back, pressing carefully along one of the long scars that ran all the way from the base of her rib cage to the middle of her cute pink tummy.
“I don’t have a boyfriend right now,” she said, the corners of her mouth turning up. “My life is a little too busy for that at the moment.”
Bingo! Alex had already noticed she wasn’t wearing a ring. Now he knew she wasn’t seeing anyone. Could this get any better?
Lacey finished her inspection of Tuffie’s surgical scars, then rolled her back over and gave her an affectionate pat on the head.
“Everything looks great,” she announced.
Alex grinned. “Excellent.” He picked up Tuffie and set her on the floor. “I know you spend a lot of your off time volunteering, but I’d really love to take you out to dinner sometime.”
Lacey picked up Tuffie’s chart and made some notes as she walked around to his side of the exam table. Alex took a deep breath, taking in her scent. His nose wasn’t usually the best, but damn, she smelled good.
“I’d really love to, but I can’t.” She smiled up at him. “Like I said, my life is way too hectic right now. Thanks for asking, though.”
A sinking feeling like he’d never felt before settled in the pit of Alex’s stomach. Shit, it felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He cleared his throat, muttering something about it being no big deal, then quickly left the room with Tuffie. He did everything he could not to let anything show on his face, but on the inside, he was disappointed as hell. He was so bummed he barely remembered paying the receptionist, but since no one stopped him when he left, he supposed he must have.
Alex paused when he got to his pickup, still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. He looked down at Tuffie, but she seemed just as confused as he was. He’d never considered himself a smooth talker like Remy or some of the other guys in the Pack, but when he asked a woman out, he never got turned down. At least not since he’d gone through his change more than three years ago.
“Did I miss something?” he asked Tuffie. “She was flirting with me in there, wasn’t she?”
The pit bull mix didn’t say anything one way or the other, but the expression on her face seemed to indicate she agreed with him. Lacey Barton had been feeling him. The chemistry he’d been picking up on hadn’t been a figment of his imagination. None of that mattered though, because she’d shot him down without a moment’s hesitation. And damn, it stung like a son of a bitch.
Tuffie gave his hand a lick as he helped her into the backseat of his truck’s extended cab. “Thanks, girl, I appreciate it. Don’t worry about it. Dr. Barton’s probably a closet cat person.”
As he closed the door and climbed in the front, Tuffie’s brows rose, as if to say she seriously doubted it but that he could go ahead and believe it if it made him feel better.
Chapter 2
Lacey was wiping down the exam table when she felt eyes on her. She looked up to see Wendy Bell standing in the doorway. Since it was the middle of the day, Lacey would have known this was a work-related visit even if her dark-haired friend hadn’t been wearing her DPD uniform.
“I didn’t know you were here,” Lacey said. “Did you bring in another emergency?”
Wendy shook her head, her ponytail swinging back and forth. “Not really an emergency. I brought in a dehydrated rescue, but one of the vet techs put him on an IV a while ago. The little guy is going to be fine.”
Lacey breathed a sigh of relief. Even before Wendy had been assigned to the relatively new Animal Cruelty Squad, she’d brought in strays and the occasional injured dog or cat. Now that she was with ACS, there tended to be less of the former and more of the latter, with the injuries being much worse. In her line of work, Wendy had to deal with a lot of nasty people who treated animals like they were nothing but disposable forms of entertainment. It was nice to hear that this time the situation hadn’t involved some poor, horribly abused animal.
“You should have stuck your head in.” Lacey tossed the disposable towel in the trash. “I was just giving a checkup to the cutest pit bull mix one of your DPD coworkers brought in—a guy from SWAT named Alex Trevino.”
“Oh, I stuck my head in,” Wendy said. “Just in time to hear you blow the guy off when he asked you out. Why would you turn down a hunk like that?”
Lacey laughed. Wendy was always on her about her love life—or lack thereof. “If you think he’s so cute, why don’t you go out with him?”
“Are you kidding me? I’d be all over that if I got the chance.” Wendy leaned against the doorjamb and folded her arms. “But that’s never going to happen. Alex Trevino only had eyes for you.”
Lacey fought the urge to roll her eyes. “That’s crazy! We just met. I won’t deny that he’s certainly cute, but if he was as into me as you seem to think, it’s probably because he’s like that with all the women he meets, just like every other guy out there.”
Wendy frowned. “You are way too young to be so cynical.”
“I’m not cynical. Just realistic.”
Her friend probably would have argued the point, but one of the vet techs stuck her head in the door. “Lacey we have an emergency coming in—a dog ate a pair of panty hose. I’m getting the OR prepped for you.”
“I’ll be right there,” Lacey told the vet tech, then turned to Wendy. “It looks like this discussion of my love life is going to have to wait until later.”
And while she wished it wasn’t because a dog had eaten a pair of panty hose, she was glad she didn’t have to listen to Wendy nag her about her lack of male companionship.
* * *
Kelsey was on the couch doing homework when Lacey walked into the two-bedroom apartment they shared. While the TV was on, the sound was so low you could barely hear it. Not that her sister was paying attention anyway. She was too focused on whatever was on her laptop. Around her, books and papers covered nearly every square inch of available space on both the couch and coffee table. Poor Kelsey looked like she was about to be eaten by the huge piles stacked around her. Lacey knew her sister had loaded up on extra courses this semester so she could finish her degree program at Regional Texas College early, but this was insane.
Before Lacey could say anything, a black lab mix trotted out from the back of the apartment and did excited laps around her feet.
“Hey, Leonardo! What have you been up to today?”
She laughed, petting him as he got busy checking out all the other scents she always came home covered in. He must have found one particularly interesting, because he spent a long time sniffing her right hand with blatant curiosity. When he was finally done, he gave her hand a lick, then headed into the kitchen to get some water. Over on the couch, her sister looked up from what she was doing.
“Hey, you’re home.” Kelsey set her laptop aside and waded out of the paperwork maze. “How long have you been standing there?”
“I just came in,” Lacey said, dropping her purse and tote bag in the entryway so she could give Kelsey a hug.
A few inches shorter than Lacey, Kelsey had shoulder-length blond hair and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. Even though Kelsey was twenty now and a sophomore in college, Lacey still thought of her as her baby sister. That was probably because Lacey had practically raised Kelsey since she was twelve, when their dad had bailed on
them and their mom had stopped caring about anyone and anything.
“Did you eat anything yet?” Lacey asked.
“No. There’s still half a pizza in the fridge from the other night, though. I was waiting for you to get home before I heated it up.”
Lacey doubted that. Her sister tended to get lost in her schoolwork—which Lacey supposed was a good thing—but she sometimes worried that if she didn’t check on Kelsey now and then, her sister wouldn’t eat at all. Lacey started to head into the kitchen to wash up and make a salad to go with the pizza only to stop when she caught sight of the television.
She blinked. “Since when do you watch the news?”
Kelsey looked up as she scooped dry dog food into Leo’s bowl. “I got a text from one of my friends telling me to turn it on. They’re talking about that missing girl who goes to RTC—Abigail Elliott. It has everyone on campus scared to death.”
Lacey didn’t blame them. Just thinking about the missing girl—and the fact that nobody knew what had happened to her—had Lacey freaked out too. And thankful as heck it wasn’t Kelsey.
As they ate, Lacey asked Kelsey how her nursing classes were going, but her sister was more interested in hearing about whether anything interesting had happened at the veterinary clinic. Lacey considered telling her about the dog with the appetite for panty hose but decided that was not exactly something that should be shared at the dinner table.
“A cop asked me out on a date,” she said instead.
Kelsey choked on her diet soda, which led to a coughing fit that made Lacey wonder why she’d even brought up the SWAT cop in the first place. Yeah, Alex Trevino had been cute. Okay, more than cute. Actually, he was possibly the most attractive man she’d ever met. He had to be at least six foot four, and that tight T-shirt he had on showed off the kind of muscles that you usually only expected to see on a marble statue carved by one of the great masters in Italy.
Then there was his face. That strong jaw covered with the barest hint of scruff and those high cheekbones to go along with a pair of beautiful brown eyes and sensual mouth—they all fit together perfectly. The more she thought of him, the more she realized that attractive wasn’t the right word, either. He was gorgeous.
In her experience, guys who were that good-looking were usually full of themselves, but Alex seemed like he was a pretty humble and down-to-earth person. And the way he cared about Tuffie made him seem like an absolute dream.
Lacey caught herself before she let out a loud, heartfelt sigh. Good Lord, she needed to get ahold of herself. She wasn’t the kind of woman who went gaga over a guy, yet she’d practically swooned over Alex the moment he’d walked in.
On the other side of the table, Kelsey got her coughing fit under control, then took another sip of soda to clear her throat.
“You okay?” Lacey asked.
Her sister waved her hand. “Forget about that. You’re going out on a date?”
Lacey scowled. “You don’t have to sound so shocked. It’s not like I don’t go out.”
Kelsey leaned back and gave her a look that said someone was full of crap—and it wasn’t her. “Sure you do. I think the last time was when I was a junior in high school.”
Lacey opened her mouth to deny it, but then realized she couldn’t, because her sister was right. Crap, had it really been that long since she’d gone out?
“So, where are you going on your date?” Kelsey asked excitedly.
“Whoa! I never said I was going on a date with the guy.” Lacey picked up her slice of pizza. “You asked me if anything interesting had happened today, and I said a cop asked me out.”
Kelsey looked confused. “Why aren’t you going out with him? Was he an asshole or something?”
“No! He was really nice.”
“Then what’s the big deal?”
Lacey shrugged and took a bite of pizza, chewing slowly. “I just started this new job. I need to focus on work right now.”
Kelsey snorted. “Seriously? You’re too busy making a good impression at the new office to go out on even one date?”
Lacey tried not to let her sister’s words get to her. She loved Kelsey to no end, but the girl had a seriously naïve outlook on life. That was Lacey’s fault, of course. She’d done her best to shelter Kelsey from all the crap that had happened after their dad had left. Looking back now, she realized she hadn’t done Kelsey any favors. By shielding her sister from the harsh realities of life, Kelsey had grown up thinking there was no reason you couldn’t have your cake and eat it too.
“Life is all about priorities, Kelsey, and right now, my priority is you and my new job. There’ll be time for guys later.”
Kelsey made a face and chomped down on her pizza. Not that Kelsey needed to say anything to make her position clear. There wasn’t anything Lacey could say to change her sister’s mind, so she didn’t bother to try. She was just glad that Kelsey still lived at home, was too young to drink, and was more focused on college than on boys. As naive as her sister could sometimes be, it terrified Lacey to think what Kelsey might get into if she lived on campus with all the alcohol, guys, and parties. Lacey wouldn’t even be able to sleep at night.
As the silence stretched out between them over the dinner table, Lacey wished again that she hadn’t mentioned Alex. Meeting him had been nothing more than a chance encounter. Tuffie wasn’t her regular patient, so it wasn’t like she was ever going to see the man again.
She wasn’t sure why that bummed her out so much.
* * *
Alex leaned against the wall outside the training classroom at the SWAT compound along with Max, Brooks, and two other members of the team, Hale Delaney and Zane Kendrick, when Remy jogged down the hallway. His hair was a mess, and he was tucking in his T-shirt as he ran.
“Am I late? Did Khaki start the training session yet?” Remy asked as he slid to a stop beside them.
“You’re good. Training is running late.” Alex jerked his head toward the door. “Khaki’s over in the admin building with Everly and Jayna, helping them figure out the seating arrangement for the engagement party.”
Remy frowned. “Cooper and Everly are going to have a seating chart for an engagement party. Seriously?”
Alex nodded as Remy combed his dark blond hair back with his fingers. He and the team’s armorer, Trevor McCall, tended to keep their hair a little longer than most of the other guys on the team, insisting women liked to run their fingers through it.
“I’m not even going to bother asking if you overslept or got stuck in traffic,” Brooks said in his deep voice. “She smells familiar. Who is she?”
Remy grinned as he got his hair under control. “Vivian O’Neil. She felt bad about not waiting for me to get finished with that drug surveillance thing and made it up to me last night.”
Alex shook his head. His nose told him that Remy had been with a woman last night, but unlike Brooks, she hadn’t smelled familiar to him at all. That was likely why Gage and Xander had wanted him to take part in another one of Khaki’s scent memorization exercises. She’d been putting a lot of effort into helping them identify different scents as well as hold on to those scents for long periods of time. Khaki’s amazing nose was a new asset to the team, and Gage wanted her to try to help develop the same ability in the rest of them. Alex wasn’t holding out much luck. His nose was okay but certainly nothing to write home about. And while Khaki’s training was helping, he doubted it would ever really get his sense of smell to significantly improve.
But Gage had decided this training was a priority, so they were doing it. And with their drug task force duties on temporary hold at the moment, now was a good time for it.
The tests conducted on the drugs taken off the dealers they’d caught the other night had confirmed the stuff was definitely fireball. Even better, after serving warrants on the three dealers’ residences, narcotics had recovered
more than two hundred bags of the nasty stuff. Rodriguez was hoping they’d not only gotten the dangerous drug off the streets but had also arrested the people responsible for making it. Until the lawyers sorted this out though, they weren’t going to know for sure.
Beside Alex, Remy glanced at his watch. “Any idea why it’s taking Everly so long to come up with a simple seating chart? I mean, it’s just a party, right?”
“Yeah, but I heard Everly say that she wants her family spread out among the tables so they’re not all sitting around talking among themselves in French the whole night,” Max said.
“That might be difficult, considering Everly’s dad and brothers hate werewolves,” Brooks pointed out. “Or at least they did up until a couple months ago.”
Remy considered that. “I guess it’s more complicated than I thought. But that’s pretty much our extended werewolf pack in a nutshell—complicated.”
Alex snorted. That was one hell of an understatement. It was kind of crazy really. For a long time, the SWAT team had been a pack of alpha males, working hard, playing harder, sweating and bleeding for each other and the city of Dallas. There’d been the occasional girlfriend among the guys, but for reasons they’d only recently started to understand, none of those relationships had ever worked out.
Everything had changed a year ago when Gage had met Mackenzie Stone, a reporter who’d been close to exposing their werewolf secret to the world until she and Gage realized they were each other’s soul mates.
Up until then, few members of the Pack had even heard of the fairy-tale concept of The One, yet here was their alpha falling hard for a woman within a week of meeting her. Having a human know their secret had taken a little while to get used to, but it had turned out okay. Mac was seriously cool, and no one could begrudge Gage the happiness he’d found.
About the time everyone had gotten comfortable with the idea of having Mac around, Khaki Blake had joined the team and thrown them all for another loop. The new SWAT officer was also an alpha like the rest of them and as completely capable of kicking ass as any guy on the team. Alex and his teammates had been so psyched to find out female werewolves existed that they’d completely missed the part where Xander fell for Khaki.