Forever Found

by Allyson Charles

  She threw up her hands. “Seriously? We’re back to this?”

  “I’m not going to let the woman I love go break up a dog fight.”

  Brad held up his phone. “I texted Jerome. He says no one should go in until the police arrive.”

  Marla chewed on her lower lip. “Hoover could be…”

  Gabe covered her hand on the seat. “I’ll get him.”

  “We’ll get him.”

  “I guess we’re ignoring the cops now,” Brad muttered.

  Marla’s jaw was set. Gabe blew out a breath. He cupped the back of her neck and shook his head. “I’m sorry, babe. I can’t do it. Besides, your grandfather and his friend would kick my ass if you got into trouble because of me.”

  “I understand.” She gave him a tremulous smile.

  His shoulders sagged. “Thank God.”

  “You love me,” she said. “You want to make sure we have a lot of days ahead of us to be together.”

  “Exactly.” Damn, this relationship business was going to be a breeze. They were both rational individuals. She gave a bit here; he’d bend on something in the future. Easy.

  “You want us to face the good times and the bad together?”

  “Of course.”

  “And you’ll help me when I need it, protect me when there’s trouble, stand side-by-side to face it?”

  “Always.” He leaned in for a kiss, barely hearing Dax’s muttered, “Sucker.”

  Marla pulled back. “Then let’s go inside and get my dog.” She reached for her seatbelt and unbuckled it.

  Gabe pressed his lips together. He’d walked right into that one. He eyed the barn. It was mainly full of average people who had a disgusting hobby. Ninety-nine percent of them would be horrified at the thought of hurting a woman. He’d just have to make sure she got nowhere near the other one percent. “Fine,” he bit out. “But you are staying with Brad and Dax the whole time.”

  “And you think I’m the one she can wrap around her finger?” Dax snorted.

  Marla clapped her hands together and reached for the door handle. She jumped out, Maddie right behind her, and they marched around the van, heading for the barn. The headlights illuminated her long legs, highlighting angry-looking scratches that made Gabe’s blood boil all over again. Her flip-flops slapped against the gravel with righteous anger. Her hair was a knotted mess.

  Gabe shook his head. She looked like a wild woman, an accident victim, and an avenging angel all in one. Her appearance alone could probably stop the fight.

  “Are we letting her go alone?” Dax asked, his gaze fixed out the windscreen on her retreating form.

  Gabe shot him a disgusted look and jumped out of the van, jogging to catch up to her. His friends fell into step behind them. Maddie took point, her hackles raised, growling softly.

  The bouncer at the door stepped forward, and Gabe smiled grimly when he saw who it was. The man took in the motley crew advancing on him and his eyes went wide. “Moretti?” he asked, as if he couldn’t quite believe it.

  “Virgil. Nice to see you,” Gabe said.

  “It is?” Virgil and Marla asked.

  “Of course.” Hauling back, Gabe punched the man on the spot where jaw met neck. He dropped like a 300-pound sack of stones. Gabe shook the sting from his hand. “If I didn’t see him, I couldn’t have done that.”

  Maddie stepped close and nudged his sore hand. Then she turned and walked over the fallen man, planting her paws on his chest and hopping over. She paused at the door and looked over her shoulder, waiting for someone to open it for her.

  “Shall we?” Gabe held his hand out to Marla.

  She took it and stepped over Virgil, as well. She reached for the doorknob. “Let’s go get Hoover.”

  “Okay, I’ll go in first,” Gabe said. “Stay behind—”

  Marla yanked the door open and Maddie leapt through the opening. Marla slapped after her.

  Gabe shot out his hand to catch the closing door. “Unbelievable,” he muttered. Although it wasn’t. Marla flew through life, headlong. She was a whirlwind, a force of nature, and he’d have to stay on his toes if he didn’t want to get left behind. And he didn’t. He wanted everything life with Marla had to offer.

  He leapt into the barn and chased after his girls. Maddie’s black tail disappeared into a wall of legs. Marla pushed people aside to follow. Growls and snarls emerged from the center of the barn.

  “What’s the plan here?” Brad stood next to him, rolling onto his toes for a better look.

  “Dax, look for a water supply. If you can find a hose nearby, grab it. Water works best to stop dogs from fighting.” He turned to Brad. “Please stick by Marla. I need to find Hoover and my cousin. I don’t want to worry about her.”

  Both men nodded and took off in different directions. Gabe pushed through the ring of spectators to the center. A pit bull and a German Shephard were locked in battle. Blood spattered the hay covering the ground. Two handlers circled the dogs, heavy batons in their hands, ready to control the animals.

  Gabe scanned the inner circle. His cousin stood next to a man in an expensive coat, laughing at something he said. He caught sight of Gabe, and the smile faded. He muttered something to the high roller and turned on his heel, heading out the back.

  Gabe darted across the opening, startling a handler. The man stepped into his path. Gabe lowered his shoulder and ran it into the guy’s abdomen. He kept running as the man fell back. The end of his baton flew up and caught Gabe in the mouth. Gabe ignored the sting and pushed through the crowd on the other side. He pounded to the back door and shot through.

  Jethro was twenty paces ahead of him, swinging a large backpack onto one shoulder. He pointed a pistol at Gabe.

  Gabe stumbled to a stop, chest heaving. “What are you doing, Jethro? It’s over.”

  “God damn you, Gabe.” He took a step back. “You couldn’t let me have this one thing. I was getting out of here. With the money in this bag I have enough to set me and Celia up for a long time.”

  “No amount of money is worth what you’ve done.” Gabe slowly advanced. He heard a bark to his right, and he swung his head. A row of cages lined the back wall of the barn.

  Maddie ran from the building and bee-lined it to one of the cages. She whined and pawed the mesh wire. The dog inside yipped.

  Gabe blew out a long breath. Hoov was okay. He turned back to his cousin. “I can’t believe it took me so long to see it. Celia’s daughter, you said she wore a uniform. I thought you meant she was in private school, but she’s a Ranger Scout, isn’t she? And you bought thirty boxes of cookies to help support her.”

  “I couldn’t leave them at home. Pop would have eaten them all.”

  “And what kind of car does Celia drive? A Camry?”

  “What? Yeah. Why?”

  Marla stumbled out the door, yanking her arm free from Brad. She and Brad stilled when they saw the gun pointed at Gabe.

  “It’s okay.” Gabe raised his hands. “Everyone, stay calm. My cousin made some mistakes tonight, but he knows it’s over.”

  “Go to hell,” Jethro said. Sirens sounded faintly, growing louder. Jethro swung his head back and forth, his hand trembling.

  Gabe slid sideways, putting his body between the gun and Marla. His pulse raced. His cousin was coming to the point of no return. Gabe needed to end this now, before the cops showed up and forced Jethro’s hand.

  He opened his mouth, but never got the chance to speak. Maddie raced over the dirt, her jeweled collar jangling, long ears streaming behind her, and launched herself at Jethro. Her mouth encircled his arm, and he went down screaming.

  “It’s not loaded! I swear! Tell your dog the gun’s not loaded!”

  Marla rushed to the cages and pulled Hoover out. She held him up to the faint light and checked his body over. “I don’t think he’s hurt.”r />
  Jethro stumbled to one foot, tried to stand, and Maddie wrestled him back down. “Ow! Ow! Ow!” his cousin shrieked.

  Brad ambled over to Marla. “What about the rest of them? I think I heard someone inside say this was the first fight. We might have gotten lucky.”

  “Mother of God, get this poodle off of me!”

  Gabe peeked in the other cages. Another bait dog. Two more fighters. All looked unharmed. “The dogs inside will need a lot of attention. But hopefully we’ll get out of this without any fatalities. We got here in time.” He wrapped his arm around Marla’s waist.

  “No, dog, not there!” Jethro gave a high-pitched squeal and curled into a tight ball on the ground, moaning. Maddie grabbed his pant leg and started dragging.

  Dax trotted around the side of the barn, lugging a hose. He stretched it but couldn’t reach past the cages. “I don’t know the range on this thing. But hosing the dogs down worked inside. Should I aim for Maddie?”

  “Personally, I’m enjoying the show.” Brad crossed his arms over his chest. “But the cops are here. It’s probably best if we stop her.”

  “No hose.” Marla curled into Gabe’s side. “Maddie! Come here, girl.”

  The poodle dropped Jethro’s pant leg and trotted over. She stood in front of them and shook her entire body, her poofy hair bouncing.

  Gabe grinned. “You really are one badass poodle.”

  Cops began to fill the yard. Brad strolled over to Jerome, pointed out the gun next to Jethro. His cousin’s moans still filled the air.

  Marla dropped to her knees and hugged Maddie. Hoov and Maddie sniffed and licked and whined at each other.

  Gabe ran his hand down Marla’s hair, tugging at the tail. “I don’t think you have to worry about your dogs not getting along anymore. They’re family now.”

  She looked up at him and beamed her thousand-watt smile. “I know. Isn’t it the best?”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “I swear, I spend more on steak for your bruises than I do for the dogs and me.” Marla pressed the cut of sirloin to Gabe’s puffy lower lip. He lounged back on her sofa, and she tucked her feet up beneath her butt and curled her body next to his.

  She pressed her nose to his throat and inhaled deeply. Bliss. Gabe had showered at her place and smelled like her favorite body wash.

  Maddie rolled over on the attached chaise and stretched. She rested her paw on Gabe’s thigh and went back to sleep.

  “It’s not like it’s going to waste.” Gabe shifted the steak and then stroked Maddie’s leg. “Your dogs eat like kings after every beating.”

  Hoover leapt up next to Maddie, dropping a stuffed sock next to his new hero.

  Marla picked Hoov up and plopped him on Gabe’s stomach. She scratched behind his ear and blinked back the wave of emotion that crashed through her. There were a hundred different ways that night could have gone bad. Hoov crawled up Gabe’s chest and Marla kissed his nose. But here she was, cozy in her fleece-lined sweats in front of a roaring fire, a half-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table in front of her, curled up with her dogs. And Gabe.

  She trailed her finger over the stubble darkening his jaw. “I’m sorry about your cousin,” she said quietly. “Watching him get hauled off in a police cruiser must have been difficult.”

  “After what he did to you, and to all those dogs, it wasn’t hard at all.” He was quiet a moment. “It’s my uncle I feel some pity for. When I called and told him his son had been arrested, was facing years in prison, he…he sounded broken.”

  “Broken things can be fixed.” She rested her head on his chest and stared at her girl. How far had Maddie come, from a scared abused puppy, to a reserved dog, to the one curled up next to Gabe now? How far had Marla come? And Gabe…. She grinned. Well, he was getting there. Though if he didn’t move another inch she’d still love him. They were all works-in-progress.

  A thought occurred to her and she jerked her head up to glare at Gabe. “Hey, you blamed me for tipping off the fight organizers with my flyers. It was you, flapping your lips to your cousin.”

  Gabe pulled the steak off his face and tossed it on the coffee table. “Didn’t I already apologize for that one? I mean, there’s really only so many ‘I’m sorries’ that a guy can say.”

  “Hmm.” She settled back next to him.

  Hoov curled into a ball, his small body rising and falling on Gabe’s chest. Gabe rested his hand on her lower back and rubbed a small circle through her sweatshirt. Sleep dragged at her eyelids. It had been a long night. Jerome had been kind enough to allow her to give her statement the next day, but they’d spent hours at Forever Friends while Gabe checked out all the dogs. Her eyelids dragged down.

  “You never said it back.”

  Marla blinked awake. “What?”

  Gabe ran his fingers through her hair, combing out the damp strands. “In the van. All night. I’ve been waiting for you to say it back.” He cleared his throat. “Guys like to hear those words sometimes, too.”

  Raising her head to look at him, Marla arched an eyebrow. “Do they now? I thought you’d prefer if I show you.” She kissed the base of his throat and let her hands roam across his shoulder. She hoped she’d never be too tired to show Gabe just what he meant to her.

  He stilled her hand, keeping his warm one on top of it. “Can’t I have both?”

  The vulnerability in his voice tugged at her heart. The time for teasing was over. “I love you, Gabe. You’re an incredible man, and I will count myself lucky for every day I have with you.”

  He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose and then her lips. “Then you’re going to be feeling lucky for a good long while.”

  She hoped so. But as this was serious-time, there was something else she had to get out there. “Gabe?”

  He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Hmm?”

  “Before we start getting too far ahead of ourselves, I feel I need to point out that I’m older than you.”

  He scored her throat with his teeth. “I know, you dirty cougar. Shame on you, seducing an innocent.”

  Rolling her eyes, she smacked his shoulder. “If you’re thinking long-term—”

  “Which I am.”

  “—which you are, you need to think about your long-term desires.” She sucked in a deep breath, trying to ignore the delightful things he was doing to her ear. “There comes a point where it’s harder for a woman to give a man certain things.” He kept nibbling, and she rolled back, wedging herself against the sofa. “Like children. If kids are a deal-breaker for you—”

  “They’re not.” Gabe pulled back and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. His eyebrows drew together. “I mean, I think I want them sometime in the not-too-distant future. But if you can’t have them, we’ll deal with it. Together. I just want you. Besides, as someone who works for an animal shelter knows, adoption is a wonderful thing.”

  Her heart performed a drum solo in her chest. She grabbed the sides of his head and planted her mouth on his. The kiss was crushing, consuming, and she wanted it to last forever.

  It ended with Gabe’s muffled groan of pain.

  “Oh, crap.” Marla hissed in a breath. “I’m sorry. I forgot about your fat lip.”

  He patted his lip and winced. “Don’t be. As my getting bruised seems to be a thing, we’re going to have to learn to work around it.” He cradled the back of her head and nudged her nose with his. He nuzzled his way across her jaw and down her throat, using nothing but teeth and tongue.

  Tingles started at the back of her neck and swept down her spine. She shuddered. “I think we can make this work.”

  His lips curved against her skin. “You bet your ass we will.”

  Read on for an excerpt from the next Forever Friends novel, coming soon!

  FOREVER WILD

  Dax Cannon never thought trouble would appear in such
an unassuming package. But with his vast experience in stirring it up or sniffing it out, he really should have known better.

  She wore a paisley kerchief tank top. The triangle hem fluttered around her waist. Dax didn’t see her face as she hurried past, but the cascade of soft curls tumbling down her back was enough to capture his attention. They looked so silky, Dax’s palms itched to reach out and touch them. Her hair was a rich mahogany near the roots, growing lighter until the blond tips disappeared into the sunlight. Her bare, tawny arms were long and slender, and the tips of the fingers on her right hand were stained blue. She had a black backpack tossed over one shoulder, and it bounced off of her pert behind with each step she took as she jaywalked across the street.

  Unbidden, his feet turned to follow. Dax stepped onto Decatur Street, and a mule brayed a foot from his left ear. Heart thumping, he leapt back onto the sidewalk.

  He shook his head and patted the animal’s rump as it trotted past. “What a dumb ass,” he muttered, and he wasn’t talking about the mule. When the tourist carriage passed, the woman with the long curls was gone.

  He sighed. Well, no matter. He wasn’t in New Orleans for a vacation. He’d left Crook County, Michigan, only two days ago. Two days, one thousand miles, four tanks of gas, and more fast food restaurants than he could count. And now he would make the return trip at the same exhausting pace. But the eight at-risk dogs he’d picked up from the local pound were heading to Forever Friends, the no-kill shelter he volunteered for in Michigan. They were safe, and that made the trip worth every headache.

  A gust of wind rippled the green awning of Café Du Monde. An elderly woman in front of the café grabbed for her scarf, but it blew off her shoulders. Caught in the breeze, it drifted up and up and wrapped itself around a light post.

  Dax jogged over to her. “I’ll get that for you, ma’am. If you’ll just hold my bags …” He waited until she cupped the two bags of baked goods with wrinkled fingers.