by Lena Gregory
Debby laughed. “With plenty of love and proper training, he’ll grow up into a sweetheart. That said, I don’t think a Mastiff is what you’re looking for. They can be stubborn and difficult to train, not the right combination for a first-timer.”
The statement caught Gia off-guard. Was it that obvious she had no clue what she was doing? “How’d you know?”
She waved a hand. “Don’t look so shocked. Nothing supernatural, I assure you. Savannah told me she was bringing a friend by last week, and she mentioned you’ve never owned a dog before. Now let’s see if we can find you something a little less…”
“Yes. Definitely a little less.”
“I’m sure we can find something in between the two you’ve picked out so far.” Savannah winked, then headed off through the rows.
“Everything’s between the two I picked out so far.” She turned to Debby. “Do you have something that’s good with kids?”
Savannah gasped and stared at her, eyes wide.
“Oh, knock it off. A girl can hope.” She grinned. “Who knows? Dogs live more than ten years. Maybe in that time, I’ll come across Mr. Right.” Probably not, considering she’d most likely never trust another man, but a girl could fantasize. Besides she never thought she’d own a dog either. “Stranger things have happened.”
Savannah snorted and went back to looking at puppies.
“What do you think of this fella?” Debby held out a furry black puppy with white and rust-colored markings.
Gia petted the side of his head, as she’d seen Savannah do, and the little guy tilted his head into her hand and peered up at her, a plea for love beaming from his big, brown eyes. “Oh, my. He’s perfect.”
Debby handed him over and went to the computer.
He nuzzled against Gia, then dropped his head against her like a baby.
She petted the white fur on his belly, and he wrapped his paws around her wrist. “Oh, please tell me this boy doesn’t grow up to be Cujo.”
“Nope.” Debby pointed at the screen.
The first picture showed a full grown black dog with a strip of white between his eyes and down his nose, rust fur ringing his eyes, rust and white paws, and a white belly, a bigger version of the cutie lying there hugging her arm. The dog in the picture lay on the floor, a toddler snuggled up against him, using his side for a pillow. “What kind of dog is he?”
“A Bernese Mountain Dog. I think you should be able to handle him, though I do suggest training.”
“Oh, definitely. Do you know anywhere I can have him trained?”
“We offer classes here a few times a week. The information will be in the adoption packet along with everything else you’ll need to know.”
Hope flared. “You mean they come with an instruction manual of sorts?”
“Not exactly.” Debby grinned. “Want to take him out back and play with him.”
Savannah’s squeal was all the answer Debby needed.
She opened the back door and led them into a fenced pen.
Gia reluctantly set the pup down.
He immediately took off, bouncing around the pen, running this way and that. He grabbed a squeaky toy and brought it to Gia.
As she started to squat down, a chill raced up her spine. She stood and scanned the woods surrounding the clearing. Nothing she could see, but then again, the underbrush was extremely thick, and large trees provided more than ample hiding places. Should she go out front and get Leo?
The puppy stopped frolicking and stood beside her, alert and wary, but not barking or threatened, just watchful. Of course, he was just a baby, but still. He was probably just reacting to her getting spooked, not any impending sense of danger.
She lifted him back into her arms and hugged him close, desperate to get in out of the heat and whatever else might be out there. “What do I have to do?”
“You want him?” Debby asked.
“Yay.” Savannah clapped her hands together, then caught Gia’s gaze and froze. She frowned and looked around before leading Debby inside.
The pup nuzzled Gia’s neck, then licked her face.
With one final scan of the woods, she backed toward the door. Her imagination was probably just playing tricks on her. She wiped the sweat from her face. Either that, or it was heat stroke.
Chapter 8
“Now what?” Gia stood beside the car holding her wriggling new pup, on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.
Savannah patted the pup’s head. “Now we go to the pet supply store.”
“I don’t even know what I need.”
“Don’t worry about it. I do.”
Leo approached them, his grin stretching from ear to ear. “Will you look at him?”
Gia turned so he could pet her new pup. Hmm… He was going to need a name.
“He sure is a sweet little fella.”
“He is, isn’t he?” Should she say anything about the weird feeling she’d had out back? Most likely, her mind was just playing tricks on her. If Leo had seen anything out of the ordinary, surely he wouldn’t be standing there playing with a puppy. She shook off her unease.
Leo’s gaze darted around. He didn’t seem alarmed, or even concerned, just cautious. “So, where are we headed? Pet supply, I’m assuming?”
Why was it everyone seemed to know what to do but her? She was going to have to get better at this pet parent thing. “And I have to call the vet for an appointment. Do you know a good one?”
“We’ve been using Doc Ames forever. He’s the best. I’ll give him a call for you when we get back to the house,” Savannah offered, then opened the driver’s door, got in, and turned on the car.
“Thanks.” Gia waved to Leo, rounded the car, and slipped into the passenger side with her new bundle in her lap. The warm seat and stifling interior chased away some of the chill the incident in the yard had left her with. She started to buckle the seat belt, but burned her hand on the buckle. “Ouch.”
“Gotta be careful when you first get in, especially if the car’s been sitting in the hot sun.”
Savannah adjusted the air conditioning vents, buckled her seat belt, and shifted into reverse, then paused. “Everything okay?”
Gia forced a smile. “Sure, why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know. You seemed a little creeped out back there.”
She didn’t want to worry her friend, but at the same time, she did want her to be careful. “I get a weird sensation sometimes, like someone is watching me, but when I turn around, no one is there. I’m sure it’s nothing, but—”
Without a word, Savannah shifted into park and got out.
“Hey, where are you—”
She slammed the door behind her and stalked toward Leo’s car. After leaning into the window and talking to him for a minute, she returned to the car.
“What was that all about?”
“Leo’s there for a reason. Obviously, Hunt thinks you might be in danger, or he wouldn’t have someone keeping an eye on you. You have to tell him everything, or he can’t protect you.” Her voice held a bit of reproach, and Gia didn’t bother to argue. Savannah was probably right.
She started down the narrow dirt driveway.
“So, what do you think I should name him?” Gia held his face between her hands and scratched beneath his ears.
Savannah glanced at the puppy before she hit the turn signal and pulled out onto the two-lane road. “He looks like a bear cub.”
“Kind of.”
“How about Grizzly?”
Gia studied the pup’s features, his round body, his chunky paws, those huge brown eyes. “I don’t know. He doesn’t seem like a Grizzly to me. More like a teddy bear.”
“So, how about Teddy?”
It still didn’t seem quite right. She remembered how he’d stilled in the pen when she’d gotten ner
vous. He’d stood so straight, so proud. Protective. She could almost imagine him standing with his hands on his hips, his cape billowing in the wind behind him. Of course, since arriving in central Florida, she hadn’t even witnessed enough of a breeze to ripple his cape, but still… “How about a superhero name?”
Savannah laughed. “The only superheroes I know are Batman and Superman, and I doubt you want to open your back door and yell either of those.” She was quiet for a moment. “Oh, and Thor. And I only know Thor because Chris Hemsworth played him in those movies, and mmm…mmm did that boy look fine with long hair.”
“Honey, that boy looks fine with anything.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
Gia laughed with her. It had been too long since she’d experienced the simple joy of being with a friend, laughing, being silly. Her recent short jaunts to Florida had been filled with nothing but work…and fear of both the unknown and the known. She shook off the darkness trying to encroach on her happiness. “Thor it is, then.”
When Savannah didn’t respond, Gia tore her gaze from her puppy and glanced over at her.
Savannah’s gaze darted between the rear view and the side view mirrors, with an occasional glance at the road in front of her. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, her bottom lip held between her teeth, tight enough to draw a spot of blood.
Gia whirled around. The seatbelt tightened against her chest, jerking her to a halt. She sat back, then turned slowly to look over her shoulder. Thankfully, the seatbelt released her. “What’s wrong?”
“See the white car coming up behind Leo?”
A white car barreled up the rural road, not slowing at all as it approached the back of the patrol car. “Yeah.”
“Sit back, and hold on to the puppy.”
Gia tightened her hold. Eyes glued to the mirror on her side, she watched the car continue until it was so close to Leo its hood disappeared behind the patrol car.
Leo held something in front of his mouth. Calling for backup? Maybe. They’d better arrive in a hurry.
She couldn’t make out the driver of the white car at all, not even enough to tell if it was a man or a woman.
The car jerked suddenly to the left and whipped around Leo’s car as if he was standing still.
Leo hit the lights and siren.
But the driver continued on the wrong side of the road as they rounded a curve. If he moved even an inch to the right, he’d side swipe them and push them off the road into the swampy underbrush.
Gia hoped the water wasn’t too deep. And that there were no alligators lurking nearby.
Savannah kept the car straight, her hands rock steady on the wheel.
Gia’s hands trembled violently as she hugged Thor closer and made soothing sounds.
When the car finally pulled even with theirs, Savannah’s profile reflected back at them from the darkly tinted windows.
Savannah slammed on the brakes.
The other car rocketed past as Leo’s brakes screeched behind them.
Savannah pulled toward the grassy shoulder, slid a little on a strip of loose gravel, then stopped abruptly.
The patrol car skidded to a stop beside them, narrowly avoiding their back bumper.
Thor whimpered in her arms, and she loosened her hold. “I’m sorry, boy. Are you okay?”
Savannah blew out a breath and lowered her forehead onto the steering wheel without releasing her white-knuckled death grip.
A knock on the driver’s side window made both of them jump. Leo whipped open the door. “Are you all right?”
Gia nodded. “He’s getting away. Why aren’t you going after him?”
“My job is to protect you. Period. There are other officers up ahead who will hopefully be able to stop him. Are either of you hurt?”
“No. I don’t think so.” She examined Thor, but he seemed okay.
“I’m fine, just a little shaken.” Savannah’s usually tan, glowing face had paled. Lines creased her brow. “Is the pup okay?”
Thor looked back and forth between them. He appeared more confused than anything. “I think he’s fine. But we have to bring him back.”
“What?” Leo and Savannah said in unison.
“How can I keep him when he is in danger just by being close to me?” she screamed, half hysterical. “Everyone is. Everyone who comes near me.” No matter what Hunt said about family, she couldn’t continue to endanger the people she loved.
“All right. Calm down.” Leo lifted his hands as if in surrender, but the look of sheer panic in his eyes gave him away. He’d obviously never dealt with a hysterical woman before.
“Calm down? Calm down? Seriously? That’s the best you can do?”
He’d also never read the top ten list of things never to say to a hysterical woman.
“Uhh…” He glanced at Savannah, but she sat staring open-mouthed at Gia. He wasn’t going to get any help there.
The crunch of tires against gravel saved him having to come up with anything better as an olive-green jeep pulled over behind them. Hunt climbed out and strode toward them.
Savannah dove from the car, practically knocking Leo out of the way, and ran to Hunt. She threw her arms around his waist.
Gia climbed out of the car and watched them, stifling the small surge of envy that started to flare. She’d never had siblings or even cousins. Her mother had died when she was young, and her father had tossed her out the day she graduated high school. She’d never had someone who cared enough to wait up until she got home. Never had someone who’d book a flight only hours after not hearing from her. Until Savannah.
Hunt hugged Savannah close, staring hard at Gia over her head.
Gia started toward them. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she made no move to wipe them away. She owed both an apology, and afterward, she’d head back to New York where she belonged. These people didn’t deserve what she’d brought on them. Neither did the innocent puppy in her arms.
When she almost reached them, she stopped.
Hunt opened one arm and gestured her toward him.
Crying softly, she slid into his embrace beside Savannah, cradling Thor between them.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
She nodded against his chest. “Just scared.”
“All right.” He set them both back and examined them. Apparently satisfied they weren’t lying about being hurt, he propped his hands on his hips. “Who wants to tell me what happened?”
“It’s my fault. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause all this trouble,” Gia said.
He held up a hand to stem the nervous rush of words. “We have no way to know this had anything to do with you. It could just as easily have been a reckless driver. Someone who drank a little too much or took Daddy’s car for a joyride.”
She met his stare without flinching. “You don’t believe that.”
“No. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
“But it’s also not likely.”
He pursed his lips. “No. It’s not likely.”
“Did they catch him?” She already knew the answer. No way would Hunt be standing on the side of the road chatting with them if they had a suspect in custody.
“They already found the car abandoned in a bar parking lot a few miles up the road. A rental.”
“Can you find out who rented it?”
“Maybe. If they were stupid enough to use their real ID.”
Gia sighed. They all knew how likely that was. Not very. “So what now?”
“Now, Leo takes Savannah home, and I take you to the pet supply store.”
“Hunt, I can’t ask you to—”
“You didn’t ask. I offered. Now, get what you need from Savannah’s car, and I’ll have a deputy pick it up and drive it home for her.”
She wanted to argue on princip
le alone. Who did he think he was, flipping orders like she was one of his men? Then again, she was grateful for his help, and Savannah wouldn’t agree to go home if it meant leaving Gia alone. So she’d do as he’d ordered. This time. But he’d better not get too used to it. “Will you be all right, Savannah?”
“I’ll be fine.” She smiled, but tears still swam in her blue eyes. “Nothing a hot bath and a cup of tea won’t fix.”
“It was a good thing you were driving.” With public transportation in New York readily available at all hours, Gia had never had much need to drive. She’d learned to drive in high school and gotten her driver’s license, but she didn’t have a lot of experience. They probably would have wound up in the swampy ditch at the side of the road or wrapped around a tree if she’d been behind the wheel. She hugged Savannah. “Thank you.”
“I’ll meet up with you later.” She petted Thor’s head, then retrieved her bag from the car and handed Leo her keys. When she turned and saw Gia still watching her, she waved, before climbing into Leo’s car.
Gia waved back, then spun on Hunt and pinned him with a glare meant to intimidate.
If the cocky smirk on his face was any indication, her death stare only amused him.
“Look, Detective Quinn, I understand what you said before, about family and all, and I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t keep doing this. I don’t know about you, and I don’t have the experience you have with family, but I don’t put the people I love in danger.” She turned and walked away from him, hugging Thor closer and scanning the empty stretch of road for any more threats. Let him think about that for a bit, because she was going to distance herself from Savannah, no matter what Detective Tall, Dark, and Sexy thought.
She leaned into the car and grabbed her bag and the envelope with Thor’s paperwork. She had no choice but to go with him, unless she wanted to walk, which didn’t appeal at all, but it was time to lay down some ground rules. She stood and slammed the door, then turned and ran straight into a rock-hard chest.
No trace of amusement lingered in Hunt’s hard expression. “You look, Ms. Morelli, Savannah is already in danger. If this incident was related to your troubles, the perpetrator already knows about Savannah, and she may or may not be a target. You can’t change that. What you can do, is work with me to end this as quickly as possible. That will solve everything, and you and Savannah will both be out of danger. All right?”