Worth the Risk (COBRA Securities Book 21)

by Velvet Vaughn

  As it did often, her gaze strayed to Quinn. He was so strong and sure. She didn’t think he even realized he was stroking Kilo as he talked. She was a sucker for a man who loved dogs.

  Rocky was leery of the newcomers. He’d bonded with Vanessa and Quinn. It would take time for him to feel comfortable around strangers or people in general. She’d make sure he was never scared again. She wanted to erase any bad memories from the beginning of his life and replace them with happy ones. He needed to know he was safe now.

  She jumped when the intercom pealed. Being wanted by the police had her on edge. Quinn told her to expect a delivery at any time. She checked the screen to see a van with the name of a local grocery store stenciled on the side. She pressed the button. “Hello?”

  “Delivery for Mr. Billings.”

  “From?”

  “What’s Your Warrior.”

  That was the code phrase BeBe indicated the person would use to confirm it was legit. Apparently, it was the newest Army slogan. Huh. She had no idea it changed.

  “I’ll buzz you in.”

  Pressing the button to unlock the gate, she waited by the door for the driver to arrive.

  “We’ve got this,” Quinn said, coming up behind her. Gage and Kaiya followed. “You should stay out of sight.”

  Oh, right, she was a wanted woman. She’d almost forgotten.

  Tears burned her eyes as she retreated to the downstairs bathroom. Her intentions had been good rescuing Rocky, and she didn’t regret it for a second, but now her entire world had crumbled around her. Not only was she wanted for murder, but her practice hung in the balance, and her best friend was injured, and she didn’t know how bad.

  Todd Morris had been a gangly teenager when he volunteered to work at her brand-new clinic. He’d been eager to learn and a hard worker. Plus, he was so good with the animals. He spent every day after school doing whatever odd jobs she assigned him. She came to rely on him and his sunny, positive attitude. One night, he knocked on her door, looking lost and broken. His parents kicked him out of the house when they found out he was gay. He’d been seventeen. Vanessa took him in and gave him a place to live. Though she was still working to build her practice, she paid for him to attend a local community college to earn his associate degree in animal science after graduating from high school. His outstanding grades, along with several scholarships, allowed him to transfer the credits to a nearby satellite campus of the University of Minnesota to earn his bachelor’s degree. His scholarship stipends and the salary she paid him allowed him to rent a small apartment halfway between school and her clinic.

  He was more than just an employee. He was her family, and it made her ill that she couldn’t be with him. He had to be scared and wondering why she wasn’t around, assuming he was conscious. She didn’t even know that detail, though she was pretty sure he wasn’t or else he’d have told the police she would never hurt him.

  Splashing water on her face, she patted it dry with a towel and returned to the kitchen. Quinn, Gage and Kaiya were finishing carrying several sacks of groceries inside. Once the driver left, she insisted on unpacking while they resumed their call. It would give her something to do to take her mind off Todd.

  The bags held a wide range of groceries, including fresh fruit and vegetables, other perishables like milk, eggs, cheese, and several frozen pizzas. When she found a loaf of garlic bread, she set aside ingredients to make meatballs and spaghetti.

  Tears gathered again when she came across a bag that held an impressive assortment of dog treats and toys. BeBe even included dog shampoo, a bottle of lime sulfur dip to treat Rocky’s mange and an e-collar, or Elizabethan collar, which prevented pets from licking at stitches after surgery. It would stop Rocky from tasting the dip after his bath. She hoped she could meet BeBe one day and hug her.

  The meatballs came together quickly, and she had them simmering in a pot with homemade sauce and spices. While they cooked, she headed to the back yard and called for Rocky. He came bounding over, looking as playful as she’d seen him. Kilo came too, and she offered him a treat. Lifting his head, he sniffed it and licked his lips, but he was so well-trained, he didn’t rip it from her hands as Rocky would have.

  “Kilo, treat.”

  Having been given the magical words, he gingerly grasped the strip from her hand and began chewing. She told him she’d be back for him soon. Rocky looked disgruntled that Kilo got a snack, and he didn’t. She picked him up and carried him into the bathroom. When he spotted the tub, he balked. He’d already suffered through a couple of baths and had decided he didn’t like them one bit. After a few minutes of rebellion, he resigned himself to his fate. He’d gained a little weight, but he was still too thin. She wanted to do a full work-up to assess his medical condition, but that would have to wait until she could go back to her clinic. For now, she’d just feed him and love him.

  After toweling him off, she found a hairdryer in a drawer and turned it to the lowest setting. Rocky tried to chomp at the blast of air, so she playfully blew it around his face. She loved seeing him happy. Once he was dry, she diluted the mange dip with water, poured it over his back and rubbed it in. He kept trying to swivel his head to see what she was doing. She snapped the plastic e-collar around his neck, much to his chagrin. He shook his head, trying to dislodge it.

  “Who’s a handsome dog? You are, Rocky. Yes, you are.” He clearly didn’t believe her. “You deserve a treat for being such a good boy. Come-on. I bet you’ve never tried bacon before.”

  Rocky shot out the door when she opened it. She moped up the water and then followed. He was nowhere to be seen.

  One down, one to go.

  It would be a bigger challenge getting Kilo into the tub. He weighed a solid seventy-five or eighty pounds. If she let him walk inside, she’d have to clean the floors. Holding out her arms, she told him to jump, and he did, slapping his paws over her shoulders to hang on. She grasped him and half-walked, half-waddled to the bathroom. His cleansing went smoothly, and once she finished, he licked her face and trotted out the door.

  The dogs might be clean now, but they’d transferred all of their dirt to the T-shirt and sweats she found in the closet attached to the master suite. She needed another shower and would have to borrow more clothes. Before she headed upstairs, she stirred the sauce. It simmered nicely.

  Her bath was a quick one since she didn’t need to wash her hair. She wasn’t sure if someone currently lived in the house, but the closet was stocked with a variety of men’s and women’s apparel. She selected black yoga pants and a soft sweatshirt to wear. She’d need to do more laundry before they left. A pair of flip-flops fit perfectly when she slid her feet inside. They were more comfortable to wear around the house than her hiking boots.

  When she returned, Quinn met her in the kitchen.

  “Something smells delicious.”

  “I’m making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.”

  “My favorite,” he hummed as he sniffed the sauce, his eyes closing in ecstasy. “Do I have to share?”

  “I made enough to feed an army.”

  “I’m an army of one, babe,” he teased and then sobered. “I’ve got some information to share with you.”

  “Okay.” She grabbed some treats for Rocky since he’d disappeared and followed Quinn to the living room. Kilo had crashed by the sliding glass doors leading to the deck. “Has anyone seen Rocky?”

  “I think he’s behind the couch,” Kaiya whispered with a smile.

  She found him and coaxed him out with a bacon-flavored treat. “He’s embarrassed about his collar,” she told them. He downed the strip in two gulps and then looked to her for more. “This is the last one.” He snatched it from her and chomped greedily.

  “Thanks for giving Kilo a bath,” Quinn said. “I should’ve done that as soon as we arrived.”

  “It was no problem. He’s such a good dog.” Zipping the snack bag closed, she placed it on the bar that separated the living room from the kitchen and too
k a seat on the sofa beside Kaiya. Quinn and Gage were seated in recliners.

  Quinn leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “My office was able to find out about Todd.”

  Fear gripped Vanessa, and her lungs refilled too rapidly. By Quinn’s tone, she knew the news wasn’t good. She was right.

  “There’s no easy way to tell you, so I’m just going to lay it all out. He’s currently in a coma in critical condition. He was beaten severely and suffered several broken bones and internal injuries including a collapsed lung, damaged spleen and a concussion, all from a baseball bat.”

  The room started to spin. Kaiya scooted closer and placed a comforting hand on her arm. She was afraid to ask because she feared she already knew the answer. “The bat was found in my clinic?”

  “Yes.”

  “It was a gift from a major league baseball player,” she told them woodenly. “We cared for his dog after she was hit by a car. The bat was on display on a wall.”

  “So, they probably didn’t go in with the intent to harm Todd,” Gage speculated. “Otherwise, they’d have brought a weapon.”

  “Does Todd usually work late?” Kaiya asked.

  When the clinic was constructed, she added a room for when a vet tech needed to spend the night in the case of a post-operative or critical care patient. It included comfy sofas, a television, a kitchenette, bunk beds and a bathroom. Todd spent the night there often, and there were three other techs she called when necessary. “All the time. We both do.”

  “He most likely surprised them, and they improvised with the bat,” Quinn surmised. “We found out more about the deputy. Garner was shot once in the head and twice in the heart. The headshot was COD or cause of death. The other two shots were fired post-mortem, and the police recovered the bullets. Here’s what’s interesting. They didn’t find the bullet that killed him.”

  An image flashed in her mind of another man shot in the head. It seemed too much of a coincidence. A scenario started to play around in her mind, one that was almost too disturbing to contemplate. But what if... “Could Reggie Garner be the man whose murder I witnessed?”

  Quinn nodded. “That was my thinking, too.”

  She plopped back against the cushions, revulsion rolling around in her belly. “That means they dug him up and transported him to the clinic to frame me.” Unbelievable. “He should’ve been covered with dirt.”

  “They thought of that, too. Garner was found in a shallow grave beside the building.”

  Wow, they were good.

  “They might be good, but we’re better,” Quinn stated, reading her thoughts.

  “Do the police seriously think I did this?”

  “You’re their top suspect, especially since you disappeared. I’ll be honest with you. They’re itching to close the case since it involved one of their own.”

  She glanced from Quinn to Gage to Kaiya and back to Quinn. “Should I turn myself in?”

  “No,” they chimed in unison. Good. She didn’t want to do it, knowing she’d probably have to spend time behind bars.

  “We need to figure out what’s going on first,” Quinn insisted. “If Garner is the man you witnessed being killed, he worked in the sheriff’s department. We don’t know if others in the law enforcement community are involved.”

  “We think they staged this to draw you out,” Gage explained.

  And if she turned herself in, she was doing precisely what they wanted.

  “Also, they might be trying to tarnish your credibility,” Kaiya suggested. “When you tell your side of the story, it will be your word against theirs.”

  She looked to Quinn for answers. “So, what next?”

  “Several current COBRA Securities agents are former FBI. We’re going to track down a local contact we can trust, and then we’ll take him or her to the underground bunker. I doubt it’s still in use, but there should be ample evidence to verify your story.”

  “If Reggie Garner is the man you witnessed being killed and buried,” Kaiya said, “they should be able to find traces of his, uh, brain matter and possibly the bullet. It won’t match your gun, so that might be enough to convince the police of your innocence.”

  “There’s just one problem,” Quinn pointed out.

  “Only one?” Vanessa deadpanned.

  He acknowledged her remark with a tilt of his head. “It rained buckets for days. Any bodily fluids and tissues probably washed away by now. The bullet, too.”

  “Well, that sucks,” Kaiya griped.

  Vanessa totally agreed. “I need to go with you to show the FBI agent where they buried him in case the forensic team can scrape together DNA.”

  “No.” There was no give in the tone of Quinn’s voice. “You stay here in the safe house with the dogs. I know about where it happened. I can lead them there.”

  She wanted to argue, but they were the professionals, not her. She’d defer to their expertise.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Quinn couldn’t muffle the groan of pleasure from escaping as he dug into the pile of spaghetti on his plate. He hadn’t been lying when he told Vanessa it was his favorite meal. He wasn’t sure he’d ever tasted a more delicious meatball in his life. She’d even toasted garlic bread and added a salad with fresh vegetables. It was the best meal he’d eaten in months. Hell, years. Judging by how Gage shoveled it into his mouth, he felt the same way. Even Kaiya was enthusiastically clearing her plate.

  Rocky was supremely intrigued with the tantalizing scents and tried his best to climb Quinn’s leg to inspect his plate. Kilo was trained not to beg, but even he looked tempted. He knew world-class cooking when he smelled it.

  Proving how incredible she was, Vanessa scooped meatballs into two bowls and cut them up for the dogs. They both inhaled the food as soon as she placed the dish in front of them. There was no way they could’ve tasted it.

  He insisted on cleaning up, and Gage helped. Vanessa and Kaiya retreated to the living room with the dogs. Laughter drifted to him as he loaded silverware into the dishwasher. He was glad they were getting along. It warmed his heart to see her fitting in with his friends. He knew Hillary would love her. He could see her clicking with everyone inside the compound, even Morgana, and she was a tough nut to crack. The thought of taking her to bed every night and waking up next to him did strange things to his heart.

  “Quinn.”

  He shook his head. “What was that?”

  Gage smiled at him knowingly. “I asked how you lost your watch. You glossed over that detail when you retold the story.”

  “Oh. Sorry. I was going through different scenarios in my head.” Gage’s smirk told him he didn’t believe his excuse. Smart man. “The first night when we were running through the woods, Vanessa was still feeling the effects of the drugs. She stumbled and almost fell off a cliff or a bluff. It was too dark to see for sure. All I know was that there was no land beneath her feet. I grabbed her arm to catch her, and, in the struggle, it came off.”

  Gage’s cell buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Sawyer. I’ll put him on speaker.” Sawyer Oldham was a former FBI agent. “Hey Sawyer, I’ve got Quinn here with me.”

  “Hey, guys. I just got off the phone with Cayleigh Copeland from the Minnesota Field Office. We used to work together, and I’ve known her for years. She’s intelligent, hardworking, and honest, and she’s agreed to look into your case off the record.”

  “You trust her?” Quinn asked.

  “With my life.”

  “Your recommendation is all I need,” Quinn said.

  “I explained the urgency of the situation. She can be there first thing in the morning.”

  “That’s perfect. We’ve already lost time on this. We need to clear Vanessa’s name as soon as possible.”

  “She can help. Give me a call if you need anything. I can fly up there to assist.”

  “Will do. Thanks.”

  Gage disconnected and slipped the phone in his pocket while Quinn added detergent to the dishwas
her and started the cycle. Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the counter. “If Agent Copeland arrives early, I’d like to take her to the cabin. We’ll flip a coin to see which one of you goes with and which one stays here. I don’t want to leave Vanessa unprotected until we end this.”

  Gage nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Quinn brought up something he’d been mulling over dinner. “Vanessa is worried about her assistant, Todd. I’d go to the hospital and check on him, but if Dodge and his men are staking out his room, they’d recognize me.”

  “I can go,” Gage offered. “I can be his cousin from out of town, checking on his condition.”

  “You don’t mind?” Quinn was the senior agent, but he didn’t want to order him to go since it wasn’t part of the job. It was more of a favor to him and Vanessa. That Gage offered proved, he was not only a team player but considerate as well.

  “Not at all.”

  #

  Vanessa enjoyed talking to Kaiya. The woman had a razor-sharp wit that kept Vanessa entertained and took her mind off her plight and Todd. She thought that was probably Kaiya’s intention, and she appreciated the gesture. Like Quinn, she was easy to talk to, and they shared several interests. If they lived closer, they’d definitely be besties.

  “Quinn has a list of people wanting to adopt the dogs that don’t make the cut as a service animal,” Kaiya told her. “I’m one of the newer agents, so my name’s pretty far down, but I visit the training center as often as possible. When I volunteered to help take the dogs to the vet, Quinn’s girlfriend told me about someone who had boxer pups for sale, and they’re adorable, but I’ve got my heart set on a Belgian Malinois like Kilo. Vanessa? Do you feel okay? You paled all of a sudden.”

  No, she didn’t feel okay. Her entire world just came crashing down. Quinn had a girlfriend? He never said anything, and after what they shared, she’d just assumed he was unattached. She felt sick. “I’m good,” she managed, feeling nowhere close to okay. She would not ask Kaiya about the other woman in his life. The two-timing bastard owed her an explanation. “So, Quinn has a girlfriend?” Damn her traitorous mouth.