“Ha, if only. She’ll hold it over my head through this lifetime and the next half-dozen or so more. For some unknown reason, she loves this… this thing.” She waved toward the car and turned away from it. “I don’t get how or why this happened.”
Jax pulled out his notebook. “When was the last time you saw the vehicle without the custom paint job?”
She gave him a withering glare. “Around thirteen hundred, maybe a few minutes after. I had driven over to the kennel to check on one of the new pups and to give Bella a treat.”
“Doc, she’s a seasoned working dog. Not a family pet.”
“That’s just it. I don’t think she wants to be one anymore. A working dog, that is.” She tugged at her ear like she was thinking carefully about her words. “I honestly feel she’s burned out and she misses you.”
He paused in writing his notes. “How’s that possible, when I spend every night at the kennel with her?”
“And how is she when you’re with her?” The doc cocked her brow.
“Fine. Responsive. Happy. Her tail wags and she doesn’t whine.”
“Uh-huh. And before the accident, how did she respond to training?”
Jax walked around the car, noting the damage, and thought about the weeks leading up to Bella getting hurt. “With me, she was fine. The perfect partner. With the new guy, not so much, but it takes time for her to trust new people.”
“That’s not how she’s trained, though.” Risa joined him on the other side of the Beast and sighed. “Did you know she lies in her kennel and cries after you leave in the morning?”
Yeah, he did.
Jax nodded at the car. “Did you see anyone hanging out around here?”
“No, the lot was mostly empty when I got back. I went straight inside and I wouldn’t have seen it now, except I walked one of my patients out.”
“Did you cut anyone off when you were driving around? Make a customer mad? Have you had any threats lately?” He ran through the possible motivations with her. There were no cameras on this parking lot. Dusting the car for prints would be pointless, as anyone could have touched it in passing. Most likely it had been someone the doc had pissed off or bored kids.
“No, not that I know of.” She looked around and turned her caramel-brown eyes on him. “I swear, I’m a nice person and don’t usually curse. Please, forgive me for my language when you showed up. It’s just that it’s been a very frustrating week.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“Ah, bloody hell. I’ve got to drive that embarrassment home and for the rest of the week.” She scratched at the words with her fingernail. “Do you think nail-polish remover will take the spray paint off, but not the actual paint?”
He would have chuckled if he hadn’t been afraid she’d get mad. Did she even realize she had cursed again? Probably not, based on how easily it had slipped passed those pretty pink lips. Not that he’d call her out. Plus it was kind of sexy, as her accent got heavier when she swore.
“Probably not. Why are you driving this instead of your SUV?” You couldn’t have paid him to drive the thing.
She walked over to the planter box in front of the clinic, sitting heavily on the edge and looking close to tears. Instead, she laughed. “It needs new tires, and my guy can’t get them in until Saturday. And why does it need four new tires, you ask? Because someone has it in for me and punctured them.”
His head shot up. “When was this, and where?”
“Yesterday or the night before, and it didn’t happen here on the base. It was at my house. So, no worries. It’s not your problem.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Of course I did. Just like this attack, there were no witnesses or reasons that I could think of. They felt teens were most likely responsible. But really, two random acts of vandalism in two days to the same person? It doesn’t feel random to me.”
He agreed with her.
Coincidences rarely happened, and he didn’t like it happening in his jurisdiction. Whether she realized it or not, she’d made an enemy. The questions were, who and why?
“Who knows where you live who also has base access?” he asked.
“Um… my best friend, Fiona. My boss, Dr. Lagasse, but he’s in Florida and sixty-five. I might have mentioned to a few clients that I live in Ledyard, although I know I haven’t given anyone my address. There’s Fiona’s ex-husband, whom I share a mutual hate with.”
“Is he stationed here?”
“Yes. Oh, wait, I just remembered the wanker is on his honeymoon this week.”
Jax choked on her choice of words, but kept his response to himself. “What about coworkers? Ex-coworkers? Ex-boyfriends or husbands of your own?”
“I’ve only been at the clinic for a couple of months and haven’t had anyone over yet. Too busy working. None of my previous coworkers were military and ‘no’ on the other. I don’t date military guys.”
He looked up from his notebook. Interesting, I wonder why. He tried to ignore the remark. It didn’t matter to him personally who she did or didn’t get involved with. A couple more months, and he’d be gone. The last thing he needed was the complication of a relationship.
“Could someone have mixed up your car, or you, with a roommate?” It was a legit question. Again, her personal life was none of his business, but he couldn’t help his curiosity.
“Morpheus is a bit mischievous, and goodness knows Athena and Eir have pissed off Old Man Gibbons a couple of times, but none of them had best be driving, as they don’t have licenses.” Her earlier anger had faded, as had the melancholy mood. Now her eyes sparked and the corners of her mouth tilted upward.
“How about ex-roommates of the two-legged kind?”
“None, and now that I’ve calmed down and thought this through, it has to just be a string of bad luck. But on the plus side, Mum will have to paint the Beast now.”
“There is that.” He liked her ability to find a silver lining. Most women he knew, especially his mom and sister, would still be ranting or crying.
But he didn’t agree with Risa’s reasoning, and he didn’t like the idea of her being alone. What if these two attacks were just the beginning? What if the person, or persons, escalated the violence and went after her home or her, personally?
“I’m going to talk to the employees at the bowling alley and see if anyone saw anything suspicious. It might help if I came out to your place and took a look around.”
Her face froze, then lit up before turning serious. “Jax, that’s really nice of you, but it’s out of your jurisdiction. Plus, the local cops didn’t find anything. And since then the tow truck has been out, the dogs have run around the yard, and any evidence would be gone.”
He knew that, but it would answer his concerns about her safety. “The local boys aren’t trained the way I am.”
Chapter 4
Risa couldn’t believe she’d agreed to let Jax come over to her place. There was no point, other than self-torture. What had she been thinking? She hadn’t, and that was the problem.
She’d been fantasizing about those broad shoulders and amazing eyes.
She’d been dreaming about his sexy mouth on hers.
One minute she’d been ready to say no to his offer. She’d notify the locals and they could deal with the mess. She’d opened her mouth and different words had flown out. Which is why she’d left work on time and had been running around her house picking up the place before he arrived. No point in lowering his opinion of her any further. He already must think her a madwoman, raging about like a drunken sailor because of a little paint. She didn’t want him to think her a slob, too.
She finished tossing clothes in the bin, dusting, and vacuuming. Satisfied that the place looked presentable, she let the dogs back in. “Don’t go shaking your hair all over the place. I just cleaned, and we’re to have
company.”
Athena and Eir flopped onto their pillows and ignored her. Morpheus continued to snooze on the back of the couch, unconcerned with her wishes.
Some days she wondered what had she been thinking, getting all these animals.
Then she looked at their sweet faces and remembered: unconditional love.
A loud grumble from her stomach reminded her she’d skipped lunch—again—and she’d forgotten to take anything out for dinner—again. It was really a good thing her fur babies didn’t require home-cooked meals. A quick peek at her watch told her Jax wouldn’t be arriving for a bit, so she pulled out a frozen lasagna and pre-heated the oven. Once he was done looking for clues or whatever, she could offer him dinner as a thank-you.
It was the polite thing to do.
Uh-huh, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she found him spectacularly attractive and wanted to know more about him. Even if he was on her “no-way” list of men to date.
The phone rang at the same time as the oven dinged it was ready. She shoved in the casserole and lunged for her phone.
At Jax’s sweet, slow hello, she smiled.
“Did you get lost? It happens to a lot of people coming here the first time.”
“I’m still at the base.” The line went quiet for several moments. “It’s Bella. She’s taken a turn for the worse.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Risa didn’t bother asking what was wrong. She could find out when she arrived. She turned off the oven, grabbed her purse, and flew out the front door.
Luck was on her side. She sped through all green lights to arrive in record time. The petty officer on duty let her into the kennel.
She hurried past the other dogs to find Jax sitting cross-legged on the floor of Bella’s kennel. The pup had her head on his lap and appeared to be sleeping.
“What’s going on?” She whispered to keep the dog from waking.
“She won’t eat. Petty Officer Moore called me right before he left to tell me she hadn’t eaten breakfast, and every time he tried to take her out, she’d growl at him.”
“Did she eat after you arrived?”
“Nope, that’s the same dish from earlier. I even offered her a treat with no luck.” He ran his hand down the dog’s back over and over. “I don’t get it. She was doing really well last night and this morning when I left.”
“Did she growl at you when you entered?”
“No. She thumped her tail a little, but otherwise she’s just been laying here.”
“I’m going to come in there and check her out. She was fine this afternoon, and she ate the biscuit I gave her. It’s not unusual for a dog to skip a meal, especially if she isn’t getting a lot of exercise. But let’s just make sure everything else is normal.”
Slowly, she opened the door, murmuring to Bella as she entered the small space. If the dog felt threatened and attacked, there wasn’t a lot of space to escape. Risa wasn’t worried, though. She’d dealt with traumatized animals, rehabbed them, and trained service dogs. She felt more comfortable with four-legged creatures than she did with the two-legged variety.
“Hey Bella. How are you doing tonight, girl?”
Bella lifted her head and whined, her tail wagging. It was a good sign. Risa held out her hand and let the dog sniff. When Bella licked her, she knew it was okay to come in all the way. Risa scratched her ears and took her time moving her hand down Bella’s body. The dog flopped on her back for a tummy rub.
Risa looked at Jax, smirking.
“I swear, this isn’t how she was when I got here.”
Risa snorted and continued her examination. Dogs were a lot like kids. They could be as sick as, well, dogs, but the minute you brought them to the doctor, they acted like nothing was wrong. “Okay, Bella girl. Let’s see how that appetite’s doing.”
She nudged the bowl of food toward the dog. Bella sniffed at it, but didn’t eat. Risa dug a few nuggets out of the bowl and held out her hand. After a careful sniff, Bella lapped them off of Risa’s palm, then dug into her dish for more.
“Have you had to hand feed-her before?” she asked Jax, who looked gobsmacked.
“Never.”
“What about the others, like the guys on night duty?”
“I’m the one who feeds her breakfast before I go into work, and then I feed her dinner every night. The only time I haven’t been with her since the accident is during the day while I’m working, and then I usually come over during lunch.”
Risa sat back on her haunches, totally gobsmacked herself. “What about at night? Has the night watch had any problems with her before today?”
“I am the night watch.”
“You’ve been here every night, all night long, for the past ten days taking care of Bella?”
“Yep.” He looked down at the dog and back to Risa with a glimmer in his eyes. “She might belong to the Navy, but she’s my girl, my best friend. She’s saved my life a couple of times. There’s no way I’d leave her alone when she’s hurting. If she doesn’t pull out of this funk soon, they’re going to send her back to Texas for evaluation and retraining.”
Risa could see the heartbreak in his eyes, and her own heart broke with his.
“I might be able to help.”
“Tell me what to do.”
What she was about to suggest would break the rules. Something she bet a guy like Jackson Faraday didn’t take lightly.
“Bring her to my place.” He opened his mouth to object, and she laid a hand on his arm. “Let’s see how she does in a different environment, around dogs that still have a job to do, but a different sort of job.”
He scratched his chin and studied her. “What are you thinking, Doc?”
“She’s burned out on action and service.” Risa watched as Bella snuggled closer to Jax. “Plus, throw in separation anxiety. She’s gotten attached to you, and when you’re not around, she misses you.”
“Can you fix her?”
Good question. One she didn’t know the answer to. “Maybe. Let me evaluate her and then we can go from there.”
“Thanks. It’s stupid. I know I’m going to say good-bye to her someday—”
She reached out, squeezed his hand, and didn’t let go. “It’s not. It’s a sign of the kind of person you are: compassionate, caring, and kind of sexy.”
“Are you hitting on me, Doc?” His eyes sparked with interest or surprise. She wasn’t sure which.
“Of course not.” She sat back. “That would be unprofessional of me.”
“Would it compromise your morals, Doc, dating a patient?”
She laughed. “Probably, since all of my patients are four-legged and furry.”
“Then I’m guessing it’s that ‘no dating military’ rule of yours.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Kind of a shame.”
Oh boy. His touch sent the butterflies in her stomach into flight mode. All she wanted to do was lean into his touch instead of pulling back.
“It’s not personal.”
“It never is, Doc.”
His words said one thing, but the shrug, the casual way he leaned away from her, and the easy tone said another. Somewhere in Jax’s past, he’d been hurt, and she’d bet it had something to do with his military service. It was a hard life to lead, not just for those serving, but also for the women and men who loved them. Going months without seeing each other, facing life’s trials alone, and the ultimate—not knowing if they’d come home—was more than most could take.
“Do you mind if I hang around for a while? To monitor Bella’s mood,” she quickly clarified at his questioning look. The last thing she wanted him to know was that she was rethinking her own rule.
* * * *
Jax couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening than with a beautiful woman, even if it was
in a dog kennel. “Make yourself at home.”
She settled in across from him, leaning back against the concrete wall. The room was about six feet wide and her long, jean-clad legs ate up most of the space. She didn’t seem to mind sitting on the floor as she crossed her ankles and lazily ran her hand back and forth over Bella’s hindquarters.
“So why veterinary?” he asked.
Her smile was sweet and dreamy and made his heart skip. “Thought that was obvious with all my animals. How else would I afford their medical bills?”
The answer was flippant and not the whole truth, so he waited her out.
She shrugged and shifted her gaze. “My mum says I was destined from birth to be a vet. I don’t remember, but apparently my first animal rescue was an injured bird when I could barely walk.”
“And you’ve been saving animals ever since?”
“Pretty much. I moved on to cats, dogs, squirrels, and a baby skunk once. Mum wasn’t too happy about that one, although she didn’t complain about Petunia nearly as much as she did Tulip the Attack Parakeet. He was messy and noisy and bit a lot.” Her face lit up when she talked, and he was enthralled. “Plus, I pretty much prefer animals over people. So it seemed like the right career path.”
He couldn’t imagine this vibrant, outgoing, caring woman not liking someone or, for that matter, someone not liking her. But someone did. He’d be willing to bet his future job that both acts of vandalism hadn’t been coincidence.
“What’s wrong with people?” he asked. It wasn’t just about the case.
“It’s not that I don’t like them. I just like animals better.” She looked at Jax with those soft caramel-brown eyes, and every protective instinct in him came out. “Animals are honest and love unconditionally. If they don’t like you, you know it. They don’t play silly mind games and they’re loyal, even when a person doesn’t deserve it. Be there for them, and they’ll always be there for you.”
“When you put it that way, I get it. Still, not all people are bad.” He nudged her leg with the toe of his boot.
“There are a few, like those who are willing to spend the night in a kennel to comfort a dog that isn’t even his.” She nudged him back. “So tell me, why military police? Why not something with more action?”
A Hero to Love Page 5