by Liliana Hart
Nothing.
Not a person in sight, but also no sign of a dog. She could hear it more clearly now, and it must have smelled her presence because it began to yip loudly. A high-pitched, plaintive yip. She stepped out from the relative protection of the barn, such as it was, and scanned the area.
There. Lily didn’t give thought to her safety as she rushed to the edge of a large ditch that looked like it had been dug by man, and not through any occurrence of nature.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no.” She slipped and slid down the bank and wanted to close her eyes. Wanted to erase the sight before her. At least four other dogs lay in the ditch, but they were so clearly beyond her help, she didn’t stop to check on them. She gritted her teeth as she ignored the flies that didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her invasion, and made her way to the dog whose eyes were trained on her. There was pain in those eyes, but also hope. Lily quickly took in the injured back leg. It had been shot, the wound festering and necrotic. The leg was hanging, unusable. She knew without further inspection she’d need to remove it.
“This is going to hurt a little, baby girl, but I’ll get you something to help with that soon.”
Lily’s hands worked quickly as she used her leash to make a makeshift muzzle for the dog. She didn’t seem aggressive so far, but when Lily went to move her there’d be a lot of pain. A dog in pain can always bite. That was a lesson Lily had learned early and learned well. If she ever forgot it, she had the faint scars of a bite on her left wrist to remind her. The cream-colored dog had the markings of Saluki and Greyhound in her genes, with long, darker hair on her ears and tail, and a short coat covering her body. She had a thicker body than those breeds, though, so she might also have some Lab or something else in her. It was common practice in the world of underground dog racing to breed Greyhounds with other dog breeds to take advantage of the speed of the Greyhound’s build, while making the mix sturdier to withstand the rigors of racing in empty fields. The dogs were called longdogs or lurchers, depending on the mix.
Lily used the thin button-up shirt she always wore over a tee at the office to tightly bind the leg. “Aren’t you sweet, honey girl? Maybe that’s what we’ll call you,” she crooned as the dog held remarkably still while Lily worked on her. “Honey,” she said.
She stood and looked at the ground rising up in front of her. She would need to climb out of the ditch first, then try to drag the dog up the side. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured, then stuck one foot into a divot in the mud wall in front of her and hoisted herself up and over the edge. The next part would suck for the dog. Royally suck. Lily laid on her stomach, shimmying forward as far as she could without falling into the hole again, and reached down toward Honey. She grasped her front legs, all the while keeping her focus on the soft trusting eyes of the incredible creature. She had to focus on that. If she focused on anything else, she’d see the dead eyes of the other animals in the pit. They had likely been tossed in here and shot. Honey was the only one who had held on long enough for Lily to have a shot at saving her.
She stumbled under the weight of the dog when she first lifted her, but once hoisted in her arms, it wasn’t so bad. Lily was strong and used to moving animals whose full weight hung limp under sedation. Sure, she typically had help, and didn’t have to walk half a mile, but she wasn’t about to leave Honey here and risk whoever had shot those dogs coming back to finish her off. Walking as quickly as she could, Lily cut back through the woods and out to the road. She needed to get Honey back to her clinic. She’d lose the leg, for sure. If Lily got lucky, though, maybe it wasn’t too late to save Honey’s life.
Chapter Two
Carter Jenkins pulled open the door to Winn Animal Clinic and smiled when he saw Bea Bishop at her usual post behind the reception desk. Like her sister, May, Bea brought a smile to the faces of most people who met her, and he knew she used her naturally mothering way whenever someone was upset or worried about a beloved pet. She’d used it on him a number of times when he’d brought Memphis in. The German Shorthaired Pointer who had been Carter’s hunting partner for the better part of ten years was declining bit by bit. Of course, someone would have to let the dog know that. Memphis was convinced he was still two years old, and that attitude led to a lot of twists, bumps, bruises… Well, overall, just trouble. Plain and simple.
“Hey there, Carter. I didn’t think you had an appointment today,” Bea said, glancing at her desk. The office had used paper calendars for scheduling when Dr. Winn was in charge. Now that the new Dr. Winn—the blonde-haired, brown-eyed girl who made Carter think of that song anytime she smiled his way—was in charge, they were moving everything to computers. Carter had heard she would be expanding the space soon, too, building a kennel to offer boarding and grooming. He wasn’t sure how that would go over. Most of the town was made up of good old boys who’d just as soon leave out a big bowl of food and water and put the dog in the yard when they went on a trip, but he hoped it worked out for her. If for no other reason than he’d get to keep looking at those eyes and seeing if he could get her to aim that smile his way.
“No appointment, Bea,” he said with a smile as he crossed to her desk. He glanced at the hallway behind her, hoping to spot Dr. Winn. “I’m just picking up Memphis’s meds. I called last week about his heartworm pills, but haven’t been able to get here until now.”
“I bet you’re busy. Is Sheriff Davies getting ready for his wedding? He must be fixin’ to take off pretty soon, I guess.” As she spoke, she opened a cabinet and pulled out a small bag with his receipt already stapled to it. That was another thing Lily Winn had put into place. She kept a credit card on file so her staff could get things ready in advance. It wasn’t exactly how the town of Evers was used to doing things, and Carter would bet she’d had some pushback on it, but it worked for his schedule when he was busy.
Carter couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face at the mention of his boss. He’d watched tough-as-nails Sheriff John Davies take call after call about flower choices, cake flavors, and a disaster with bridesmaids’ dresses that had been ordered in the wrong color over the last six months. Carter had to admit, he’d had more than a few laughs over it. “He’s officially on vacation starting today. Katelyn convinced him to take almost a week off leading up to the wedding so they could get things ready, and then another ten days after the wedding for their honeymoon.”
“Ah, yes,” Bea laughed. “The glamping trip. I heard about that. What I haven’t quite figured out—” she leaned in, although Carter wasn’t exactly sure who she was afraid might hear them, “—is what glamping is.”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “It’s not the kind of camping I’m used to, that’s for sure.” Carter and his brothers had been raised in Evers by a father who believed in teaching his sons to live off the land. Before he was ten years old, Carter could follow almost any animal track, catch fish from a river with his bare hands or a rod he’d made himself out of whatever he could find in the woods, and hunt with either a rifle or a bow. If forced to, he could live in the woods, relying on nothing but the land for food and shelter.
He continued on, answering Bea’s question. “It’s glamorous camping—oversized tents with queen-sized beds and satin sheets. Cabins with outdoor showers built into the side of a mountain. That kind of thing.”
Bea shook her head. “Then why camp at all?” There was laughter but also a little bewilderment in her tone.
“You got me,” he answered with a shake of his own head, but a little part of him thought if a gorgeous woman had fallen for him the way Katelyn had fallen for John, he’d probably happily sleep in any cabin she suggested.
“Well, now, I suppose with John off on his honeymoon, you’ll be taking over for him?”
Carter nodded, and answered with a “yes, ma’am,” but no more. He was still a bit uncomfortable with his recent promotion to Chief Deputy Sheriff. He was prouder than hell, but it somehow seemed a little too much like bragging to speak of it.<
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“Then you’re just who I need to speak to.”
Carter’s head whipped around at the sound of a voice he’d recognize anywhere, only it sounded different right now. Lily Winn’s usual melodious, kind tone—the one that always seemed warm and gentle, even as it seemed to effortlessly heat his blood—was missing. In its place was anger. An anger that matched the hands-on-hips posture she’d just taken in the hallway behind Bea. She looked less put together than she usually did. Not that she was one of those women who needed to doll herself up with fancy clothes and a protective layer of crap on her face. Lily always looked fresh-faced and casual, like she was ready for a hard day’s work. He liked that about her. But right now, she looked like she’d just run a marathon. She had one of those little surgical caps on her head—images of puppies played along its edge, because she never seemed to wear anything that was plain and boring—but there were a few tendrils of hair slipping out.
“That was a long surgery, Doc,” Bea said, using the same nickname for Lily that she’d used for Lily’s grandfather over the years. Carter had to bury images of him and Lily playing doctor anytime Bea said it.
“It was,” Lily said, eyes still glittering with anger. Those eyes were pinned to him as though the anger were aimed his way.
“Surgery?” he asked, figuring he might as well try to figure out why he was in the hot seat. She’d said something about needing to speak to him as the Chief Deputy Sheriff. He kept his face open and neutral, waiting for her to let him know what was going on.
“Yes. Emergency amputation. I just had to take the leg of a dog that was shot by scum who were using her for underground racing. She was the lucky one. There were four others who didn’t make it. My guess is they weren’t running as fast as their dirtbag owners would like them to anymore, or maybe they were trying to breed them and they weren’t producing. Who knows? It doesn’t matter why. What matters is they were thrown out like trash in the bottom of a ditch.”
Carter could see the emotion brimming beneath the mask of anger on her face. She was quickly shifting from anger to despair and he had a feeling she might be crying if she weren’t so furious. He didn’t blame her. What she was describing was horrific. He glanced over his shoulder at the waiting room, happy to see it empty, and nodded toward her office door down the hall.
“Why don’t we go somewhere quiet and you can tell me what’s going on?”
As Carter listened to Lily tell him about searching for evidence of underground dog racing, he had to clench his teeth against the urge to reach out and shake the woman. What was she thinking, going off on her own like that? Underground dog racing wasn’t illegal in Texas, but the gambling that went with it was. They also often used a live animal lure, which was illegal in Texas. It was hard to prove, though, so unfortunately it wasn’t something that was prosecuted very often.
“Lily,” he said as calmly as he could under the circumstances. “What were you thinking? You could have been hurt. Or worse. These aren’t exactly the nicest people. Rabbit running is a nasty business. You can’t just run off half-cocked and take matters into your own hands.”
He knew it was a mistake as soon as he said the words, but there wasn’t any taking them back. Her eyes flashed at him again, as fury coursed through her little frame. Well, she could rage at him all she wanted. He was right. She was wrong. There was no denying it.
He was shocked when she stood, shoving herself up from her desk abruptly. “Follow me.”
She was halfway out the door before he followed, shaking his head. Didn’t she get it? This wasn’t a game she could just stop playing when things got too hot.
Lily stopped in front of a wall made up of four small cages across the top, three medium ones in the center, and two large on the bottom. The bottom right-hand cage held a medium-sized dog, clearly still groggy from surgery. Layers of colorful bandages covered her hind end where Lily had had to remove the leg, and he could see that an area much larger had been shaved. He couldn’t imagine the size of the wound left beneath the wraps. The dog opened her eyes and gave a very soft flap of the end of her tail, but other than that showed no acknowledgement that they were there.
“This is what’s happening to these dogs, Deputy Jenkins. If I hadn’t gone out there today, Honey would have died a horrible drawn-out death. Four others didn’t make it. Who knows how many other dogs those barbarians have and what they’re doing to them.”
He didn’t explain to her that underground dog racing was rarely prosecuted. Nor did he look very long at the sweet, trusting eyes of the dog before him. Instead, he looked at the hope and belief in the eyes of the woman next to him. She believed in him, believed he could and would do something to stop this.
She was right that whoever had done this had broken the law by shooting the dogs. If he could manage to link anyone back to the crime, that is. It was a state felony to kill an animal like that. If they were using live bait or gambling during the races—which, ironically, he could damned near put money on—those were another set of crimes all together. The issue was getting any kind of proof. He couldn’t really justify spending state funds on ballistics and fingerprint testing for an animal cruelty case, when they were so underfunded for things like murder and rape.
Carter bit back a sigh and shook his head. “Promise me you won’t go back out there. That you’ll leave this to me.”
“You’ll do something about it?” she countered, squaring off, hands going back to her hips.
“Yeah, I’ll do something about it.” He didn’t know what, but he would. He was in charge of the county for almost three weeks. He’d damned well make sure to do all he could to put a stop to the racing, but more importantly, to be sure Lily didn’t get hurt trying to take care of it on her own. Not on his watch. “I’ll take care of it, Lily.”
For a brief second, Carter let himself play out the fantasy that had been tickling the edges of his mind since he’d first met Lily Winn. In his mind’s eye, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, gently easing that strong, gorgeous body into his to see if they fit. He knew they would. They’d fit together perfectly. He didn’t know why he knew it, but he did. Once he had her pressed thigh to thigh, hip to hip, and chest to chest against him, he’d frame that sweet face with his hands and delve into the mouth that always seemed to tantalize and tease.
When she opened to him, he’d nibble at her plump lips. He’d do all he could to elicit a moan from her, knowing he’d be primed with need for her in the blink of an eye.
Then her hand was on his arm, and Carter had to shake himself out of the stupor he’d dropped into. She wasn’t living the same fantasy he was. In fact, her touch was all business. It was clinical as she patted him on the arm and thanked him, calling him Deputy Jenkins instead of Carter. Because that’s what he was to her. An official. Someone whose help she needed. Nothing more. He’d do well to remember that. But damn, that fantasy was hard as hell to resist.
He cleared his throat. “No problem. I’ll look into it.”
Chapter Three
Carter paused at Berta Silver’s desk in the building that housed the sheriff’s office in downtown Evers. Berta was indispensable to the office. She ran things, acted as dispatcher much of the time, and generally kept all of them in check. She was also able to get any information they needed faster than most of the deputies could.
“Berta, can you see if you can find a list of ranch or farm properties that are empty or abandoned? Maybe properties facing foreclosure? Anything isolated with a lot of land.” Lily had given him the location of the property where she’d found the dogs. He’d already gone out there with Danny Widen, another deputy, and found the dogs in the ditch, as Lily had described. There’d been little else there. They found two broken dog crates and a couple of muzzles that had apparently been left behind as well. Both of those things could point to either racing or fighting. The dogs weren’t the typical breeds used for fighting, so his guess was racing. Illegal rabbit running—letting dogs loose to
run after a rabbit in a field and bet on which one caught it first—was pretty big in the area. Unfortunately, they didn’t find anything that could substantiate an arrest for gambling, much less help identify who was using the dogs.
He and Danny had taken pictures of the dogs in the pit and collected the remains, but there wasn’t going to be a budget for running a ballistics match against the bullets in the carcasses. Sad as it was, the county just didn’t have the means for that type of thing when so much had to go to investigating and prosecuting crimes against people.
Berta picked up a pen and jotted a note. “Sure thing, boss.”
Carter winced. “I think we can forego the boss title, seeing as this is temporary.” She only laughed at him and went right on as though he hadn’t said anything.
“Whatever you say, boss. Looking for anything in particular, other than isolated and likely empty?”
“That’s all I’ve got for now.”
“Heard from John yet? He getting tired of playing house and itching to be back at work?” Berta chuckled at her own humor. Not many could accuse the sheriff of playing house, but Berta could get away with it.
Carter shook his head, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Last I heard, he was happily double-checking flower orders and picking up tuxes.”
She huffed out what he supposed was meant to be laughter. “I never thought Sheriff Davies would be trussed up in a tux voluntarily, much less dealing with flowers and frou-frou wedding plans.”
Carter forced a smile, but the pang of envy he felt made the smile taste bitter on his lips. “Love’ll do that to a man, Berta. Love’ll do it.”
As he walked away, his mind flashed to the tempting veterinarian who seemed completely oblivious to him. Well, oblivious as far as his feelings went. He’d have to see what he could do to change that. Carter had never been a man to sit and hope for things to go his way, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to rely on hope with Lily.