Honor and Protect

by Lori Ryan

  She nibbled on her bottom lip as she put a kitten back into its cage with a little scratch behind the ears. As she turned away from the kitten to scribble a few post-op notes in its record, she decided she should run over to Alton Crawford’s law firm to talk to Ryan. If she explained she and Carter weren’t really dating, he would understand, wouldn’t he?

  Lily’s phone rang, breaking the uncomfortable train of thought. “Hello,” she said after pulling it out of her scrubs pocket.

  “Lily? It’s Mary.”

  The other woman’s hushed tone sent a prickle of unease up her spine. “Um, hi, Mary. What’s up?”

  “I just talked to a few people who have heard about the dog-racing ring. They told me it’s set up like a rave. People get a text an hour before a race will start with the location. It’s always someplace new.”

  Lily actually felt her shoulders deflate. “So finding where they’re being held is next to impossible.”

  “Not necessarily,” Mary said. “I’m trying to find out the names of some of the people that attend. If we can find a name, we might get lucky and hear something about one of the races. Then we watch that person and follow them.” She was whispering again and Lily understood why. What she was talking about was crazy. Crazy dangerous. Crazy stupid. But she had to admit, it might be the only way to put an end to this thing. And it sounded like it could work. If they could get a name, and if they heard any rumors about a race taking place on a certain day. Those were big ifs.

  “Maybe,” Lily said, not wanting to commit just yet. “I guess see what you can find out. Carter is still trying on his end. Maybe he’ll be able to do something.”

  They had only just said their goodbyes when Carter walked into the back area of the clinic, making Lily jump. She hadn’t expected to see him today. He was on shift all day, so when he showed up in the clinic in the middle of the afternoon, her gut clenched. She hoped he hadn’t overheard her and Mary talking—he would no doubt flip if he thought she might follow someone to a dog race to gather evidence. She also had a feeling he wasn’t bringing her good news. His expression was too grim for that.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Can we go to your office, Lily?”

  She nodded and led the way, closing the door behind them.

  “We found another site where we think someone was racing dogs. I don’t know if it’s the same group, but I suspect it is. They’d already cleared out, but we found paraphernalia and evidence of racing. Evidence they’re keeping rabbits.”

  “Rabbits?”

  His jaw was tight when he answered her. “Bait, sweetheart. They use live bait for the races.”

  Lily put a hand to her chest as she listened to him, feeling sick over what she was hearing. What kind of monsters would set a pack of dogs after a live bunny like that?

  “Any injured dogs?” She knew he would have brought any injured ones to her, so she was essentially asking if they’d found any more dogs shot in cold blood.

  “No.” He shook his head and ran his hands up and down her arms as though trying to soften the blow. “None this time. I have a feeling they’re just moving from site to site quickly to keep one step ahead of us. It’s possible they know we’ve started checking abandoned properties.”

  His explanation matched Mary’s information—a new site for each race, the location texted to attendees at the last minute.

  “Unfortunately, it’s going to take time to catch them in the act, Lily. We don’t have the budget for a big undercover sting for something like this. It’s horrible, but this has to take a backseat.”

  Lily’s temper flared. “Dead animals don’t rank up there with, what, burglaries? What is it that’s pulling money away from finding some sick bastard who’s letting dogs tear live animals apart for sport?”

  He didn’t rise to her bait, and that ticked her off for a minute, too. She wanted to fight something, but he cut her argument short with his answer. “I’m sorry, Lil, but there have been a string of arsons on the other side of the county. A lot of resources are diverted there now. There are other crimes. We might not have the murder rate of bigger cities, but we do have our share of murders, assaults, things I can’t pull resources from. Maybe when John comes back next week, I can talk to him and he can help me make it work, but as of right now, I’m limited in what I can do.”

  She bit down on the inside of her cheeks to keep from crying or yelling or lashing out in some way. It wasn’t Carter’s fault and he was right. Arson is serious, and she was no idiot. She knew it could lead to death too easily if someone got caught in the crossfire. But she couldn’t stand the thought that there were dogs and rabbits out there being horribly mistreated. Who knew when they might decide to shoot another dog? Or hold a race and put rabbits through a horrific death for a night of gambling and so-called entertainment.

  She nodded at Carter, but couldn’t say anything. If she spoke, she’d end up crying in his arms, and she needed to keep it together to get through the rest of her day.

  He squeezed her arms and bent to meet her eyes. “You okay, Lily? I promise, I won’t give up. It’s just going to take some time.”

  She nodded again and found her voice. “Yeah. I know. I’ll be okay. At least Honey is out of their hands.”

  He grinned. “She’s doing great. You need to come over and see her soon,” he said and she smiled.

  “I will. I promise.”

  “I have to work the next two nights, but can I cook you dinner Wednesday night.” He brushed his mouth back and forth across her lips, teasing the answer he wanted from her.

  She sighed into his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes. Dinner sounds great.”

  He pulled back and melted her with one of those smiles he seemed to know she couldn’t deny. “So it’s a date?”

  She had to laugh at his raised brows and the challenge in his look. Another sigh. “Yes. It’s a date.”

  As Carter walked away, Lily watched him, pulling her phone out when he’d made it through the lobby and out the front door.

  See if you can get a name. She hit send and waited for Mary to reply with an okay before pocketing it again. Just because Carter’s hands were tied didn’t mean she and Mary couldn’t do all they could to stop the people responsible for this. If she could get him the proof he needed, he could take action.

  9

  When Mary called two days later to say she had a lead, Lily swallowed down the naysaying in her head. Carter had been clear. He needed evidence that rabbits were being killed, and more importantly, that gambling was taking place. He’d told her that the gambling was what would most likely lead to a successful prosecution. It was the more serious of the crimes being committed.

  It sickened her to think that gambling might take precedence over the inhumane treatment of animals, but she could at least take action to make sure these people were stopped. So Lily didn’t hesitate. Well, not for very long, anyway. Mary couldn’t slip into one of the races without being noticed. People around here knew her, and they knew she lived for rescuing dogs. It wouldn’t be safe for Mary.

  But not many people in town knew Lily yet. If she threw her hair up under a hat and put on heavy makeup and a tight miniskirt, no one would peg her as the town veterinarian. So it was, that four hours later, she found herself at a roadside bar fifteen minutes outside of town. Not a place she would normally go, and not a place where she felt remotely safe. She tugged again at her skirt while she avoided the attentions of yet another guy in a dirty shirt with bad hair and teeth. Unfortunately, she couldn’t leave. She was waiting for the man nursing a beer in the corner to get a text. Mary had told her Sonny Daigle was supposedly one of the most frequent attendees of the underground dog races. She’d heard this from a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy, and so on. Mary swore to Lily that this was good information, and a race was taking place tonight.

  So when Sonny looked at his phone, then tossed a few bills on the bar and walked out, Lily did the same. She got in her ca
r and followed him out of the lot. When Mary called a few minutes into the drive, Lily told her which way she was headed, then kept her focus on not being spotted while keeping up with Sonny. Mary called again a few minutes later, but she ignored the call. Tailing a suspect wasn’t exactly something she had experience with, and it turned out it wasn’t easy. At least not with her blood pounding in her veins and her palms so sweaty she thought the wheel might slip out of her grasp.

  She followed him another ten minutes outside of town, all the while arguing with herself over just how stupid this actually was. Because, now that she was out in the dark alone, she recognized the immense stupidity of what she was doing. Her body seemed to recognize it, too. Everything in her screamed to turn around. To go back. Her palms were sweating and her heart felt like it would explode any minute. As a doctor, she knew it could beat that fast and not explode, but rational thought had abandoned her around the time she walked into that bar.

  Around the fifteen-minute mark Lily began to feel truly panicked. It was also around that time that a truck came up behind her. The truck was only behind her for a minute before its high beams began to blind her through the rearview mirror and she could swear it was inching closer and closer to her bumper. So when Sonny’s car turned off on a side road, Lily didn’t have the nerve to follow. She kept going straight, planning to drive farther up the road to turn around and head back to her house. She couldn’t do this. Just plain didn’t have the guts to walk in there. As much as she’d hoped to get pictures or video of the people in charge, and evidence of gambling taking place, she just wasn’t brave enough.

  The truck stopped in front of the turn-off, looking for all the world as though it might follow her. Lily lost all ability to breathe. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and kept her eyes on the rearview mirror as she felt the first sign of tears in her eyes. This was beyond stupid. It was foolish and dangerous and she was an idiot for thinking she could do what the police couldn’t do.

  When the truck turned slowly down the road Sonny had gone down, she took a gulp of air, her hands shaking as she kept going straight. Forget pulling a U-turn to get home. There was no way she was going anywhere near that turn-off again. If she kept going, she’d hit another road that would take her around to the highway. She could take that home. It would take a lot longer to get home than turning back, but she could deal with that. Eyeing her rearview mirror the whole way home, Lily prayed she wouldn’t see the truck or Sonny’s car again.

  10

  Lily’s hands shook as she unlocked her front door. That had to be one of the dumbest things she’d almost done in a long time. Okay, ever.

  “Evvvvverrrr,” she said to herself as she bolted the door shut behind her. But at least it was over and she hadn’t done it, hadn’t ended up in a spot she couldn’t get herself out of.

  She walked into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of wine from the top shelf of her pantry. She wasn’t a big drinker, but a time like this called for something to settle herself. Since she had a feeling she’d spew a shot of whiskey across the room if she ever tried to down one, she was going with wine. Wine would work. As she poured herself a glass, she thought about calling Carter. She should let him know where the race was happening. He’d said he didn’t have the budget for a big investigation, but maybe he could send someone over there to check things out. Maybe they could send someone in plainclothes, or whatever you called it.

  She chewed on her lower lip for a minute trying to decide if she should just text him the location or what. He’d be ticked. Well, ticked didn’t begin to describe it. Furious, was more like it. But if that meant getting those animals away from criminals who would shoot them at the drop of a hat, it was worth Carter’s wrath, right?

  She sipped her wine and looked at her phone sitting on the counter. Maybe she could have Mary call him or text him? But would he listen to Mary or ignore her? If the information came from Lily, wouldn’t he be more likely to believe her and get someone out there right away?

  Lily picked up her phone and tapped the screen, watching it come alive.

  She put it down again. Sipped her wine. Picked the phone up. Put it down.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  She damn near jumped out of her skin at the sound of the knock on her front door. Frozen in place for a moment, she wondered if someone might have followed her home. That was silly, though. She had watched her rearview mirror the whole ride. If someone had followed her, she would have seen them. Right?

  She went to the front door and looked through the peephole, letting out her breath when she saw who it was. In the background, she heard her phone ringing, but she ignored it for the time being. Swinging the door open, she smiled at Ryan Crawford. She wasn’t overly fond of the man, but somehow having someone with her right now seemed like a good idea. The house felt too empty. Too isolated. And she was too on edge.

  “Hey, Ryan, what are you doing here?”

  Relief flipped to shock when he stepped inside, shoving her into the house with one arm. He slammed the door shut behind him.

  Lily didn’t see the first blow coming—only felt the pain shoot through the side of her face as she fell back onto the couch. His face had gone from smiling and easygoing to ugly in the blink of an eye. Confusion and fear battled in her mind as Ryan loomed over her. Why had she ever thought he was short? He seemed to have gained inches and pounds somehow. Not to mention a whole lot of muscle and fists the size of dumbbells.

  “Did you tell anyone, Lily?”

  She shook her head and knew she was crying when she felt the sting of tears on her cheek. It burned, but the look in his eye told her he could do a lot worse. Cold rushed through her, but confusion came right alongside it. “Tell anyone what? I don’t—”

  He kneeled down in front of her, his eyes cold and hard and insanely at odds with the man she’d met in the past. She frantically tried to think of anything she could use to defend herself, but there was nothing. She didn’t keep a weapon of any kind in the house, and she couldn’t hope to match his strength. Her mind spun. Until he stopped it with one sentence.

  “You’re going to die tonight, Lily.” He didn’t bat an eye as he said it. Just looked at her as though the statement was completely normal, and that made her believe he meant it all the more. “Before that happens, I need to know if you told anyone the location of the dog race tonight. My dad needs to know if we have to clear the damned place out after your little stunt.”

  “What?” His dad? Nothing about this made any sense. And no matter how many times she shook her head, she couldn’t seem to get the pieces to fall into place. Her phone rang again, sounding much too far away.

  Ryan’s meaty fist gripped her hair and twisted, wrenching her scalp. She raised her hands to relieve the pain, to try to stop him, but there was nothing she could do as he pulled her off the couch, dragging her through the house. “Let’s go see who that is, shall we, Lily?”

  11

  Carter tried to quell the anger in his gut as he pulled in every available deputy he could to raid the underground racing ring. No, that wasn’t right. If he was honest with himself, it wasn’t anger. It was fear. Fear for Lily. Fear he wouldn’t be good enough to save her. He’d be damned if he’d let fear stop him, so he was stoking the anger instead.

  When Mary Greene had called him in tears and told him Lily had followed Sonny Daigle out to one of the rural farm roads, he’d begun a crazed circuit from livid to terrified and back again. He’d cross checked the area with his list of abandoned properties and narrowed in on her probably location quickly. If he got her out of there safely, he’d wring her neck. Then he’d kiss the ever-loving daylights out of the woman. Then wring her neck again.

  Because the other bit of information Mary had imparted was that Lily wasn’t answering her phone. She’d been unresponsive for over twenty-five minutes before Mary called Carter. There was nothing about that situation that could be good. Not a damned thing.

  He scrambled to cross-reference
the location with the list of abandoned properties he’d been working his way through and wasn’t surprised when the one property out that way turned out to be a property the bank was in the process of seizing. The lawyer handling the case for the bank? Alton Crawford. Carter’s gut had been right. Alton’s interest in Honey had seemed off from the get-go.

  An hour later, when they’d completed the raid, some would say the results were positive. Only one deputy had been injured, and his injuries were minor; they had seized thirty-five dogs and ten rabbits; and had detained Jenk Wilson and Alton Crawford. But they couldn’t find Lily anywhere. Much as he’d like to say he was staying calm and working through the problem, Carter had to admit, he felt like he might lose it any second. He had half a mind to drag Alton Crawford off into the woods to talk to him one-on-one. Carter had never crossed the line in his work before, but he was preparing to blast right on through it. Because losing Lily was not an option.

  “Boss.”

  Carter didn’t bother to correct Deputy Widen, even though he felt nothing like a boss at the moment. He felt lost. He turned to the man addressing him and waited.

  Widen nodded when he saw he had Carter’s attention and leaned close. “We threatened to take a few of the spectators in for illegal gambling if they didn’t talk. No one saw Lily. There are very few women here, so I think they would have spotted her. A couple of them said Alton’s son, Ryan, was here earlier and hauled ass out of the place after a lot of shouting between Ryan and Alton and Jenk. Said they started the races late because of it.”