Dog Tags: A romance anthology featuring military and canine heroes

by Kate Kinsley

  Alex looked the man up and down. “Are you feeling all right, Kane? You’re sweating. Are you feverish?”

  “No. It’s just fucking hot today.” Kane knew he’d snapped the reply. Changing his tone, he added, “I’m sorry, sir. After an episode in the hospital, all my systems are off for a while.”

  “Saje, would you mind if Alex and I accompanied you for the rest of your day?” Quin offered.

  The GQ surfer boy’s proposal pissed Kane off even more. He didn’t like the idea of such a good-looking unattached man guarding Saje for the next several hours.

  Alex put his hand on Kane’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to overextend yourself.” He pointed to the bandage on Kane’s bicep. “You’ve only been out of the hospital a few days. We don’t want you to have a relapse. We’ve got this.”

  Damnit nudged Kane’s knee again. Something deep inside him wanted to smack the dog away. What the hell was wrong with the mutt?

  Not wanting to argue with the boss and the boss’s boss, he knew what was good for him. “Thank you, sir. Take good care of my girl.”

  At that term of endearment, the woman he considered his scowled at him with such contempt he was glad that he was leaving.

  “I think it’s a good idea that you go home.” There was none of the usual warmth in her tone. “And don’t bother coming over or calling me tonight.” She turned her back on him and continue the interview.

  As he walked toward his truck, Damnit continued to nudge his knee. Even when Alex called the dog back, the large mutt followed him all the way to his truck. Kane fumbled getting the keys from his pocket. His fingertips had started to go numb.

  Turning the key over and listening to the engine start, Kane decided to sit there in the air conditioning and cool off for a few minutes with his eyes closed. When he opened them, everything seemed blurry.

  Fuck. His glucose levels were dropping.

  He quickly grabbed a bottle of warm juice from the pack he always carried in his truck and gulped it down. He finally got his finger pricked.

  His sight was so blurry he could barely read the meter. But since he could only see two digits, he knew he was in trouble. By rote, he found his injector and gave himself a shot. Leaning his head against the window, he closed his eyes. It wouldn’t take long to be effective.

  Ten minutes later, feeling a hundred times better but still a little woozy, Kane looked around. He’d driven there with Saje, but she wasn’t in the seat next to him. They were going to the homeless encampment a block away.

  That’s when he remembered feeling aggravated with her. He remembered grabbing her by the shoulders.

  Oh, Christ. Had he hurt her? His words had been harsh, he remembered, but had he injured her? Fuck, he hated this part of his ailment.

  He had to go find her. She was alone. Unprotected.

  Kane jumped out of the truck and ran back to the encampment. A quick look around and he found her curly red hair.

  What was Mr. Barrister doing with her?

  Damnit came running up to him and licked his hand. “Hey boy. Good to see you.” He kneeled so his face was level with the dog’s. “Where’s your master?”

  “Right here.” Alex looked him up and down as Kane stood.

  “Nice to see you, Mr. Wolf.” He held out his hand and Alex just stared at it.

  “Kane, we talked thirty minutes ago. Don’t you remember?”

  Kane’s shoulders dropped. “No, sir. I don’t.” He slowly shook his head side to side, then quickly added, “That happens when my glucose level drops.”

  “So, you don’t remember anything you said to either me or Quin?”

  All the blood drained from Kane’s face. “No, sir. I’m so sorry if I said something inappropriate or offensive.”

  Mr. Wolf grinned. “Not to me, but I think you have a lot of explaining to do to that little woman over there. That is, if she’ll let you within ten feet of her.”

  Oh, fuck. Kane pulled his hand over his now dry face. “Please tell me I didn’t fuck things up too bad with her.”

  Alex gave him a satirical grin. “I’m glad it’s you and not me who has to beg forgiveness. Katlin would have my balls if I’d talked to her that way.”

  Kane had to make amends, right then. “Mr. Wolf, sir, if you’ll excuse me, please. I believe I have some groveling to do.”

  Kane started the apology ten feet away. “Saje, sweetie, I am so sorry for whatever I said. My glucose levels were dropping, and I can become an angry monster. I say things that I don’t mean. The worst part is, I don’t remember much about it. Can you please forgive me? I can’t promise you it’ll never happen again, and I understand if you don’t want to be around someone like me.”

  Saje said something quietly to the man she was talking to then stepped away, but not toward him. “Do you mean I’m going to see this Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde transition again?”

  He wasn’t going to lie to her. She meant too much to him. “Probably. If you decide to stick around.”

  After staring at him for several long minutes, he saw the forgiveness in her eyes. “Besides going from a kind, wonderful man to raging asshole, what else do I need to look for?”

  “Things will be better once I get a pump again,” he reassured her.

  She tilted her head slightly to the side. “Do you have difficulty with your memory afterward?”

  “I usually don’t remember what I did or said during the time my glucose levels are dropping.” He hoped that answered her question.

  “I mean, like, now. Do you have a problem keeping up with the conversation?” She said the words slower and she moved a fraction of an inch closer.

  “After I start to recover, my head can be a little fuzzy for a few hours.” Did he need to go into detail explaining this to her? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mr. Wolf and Mr. Quinn. Perhaps a complete explanation was needed. Maybe then he wouldn’t be in such big trouble.

  “Your body runs on sugar and knows when it needs more. When I have a pump, it constantly tests and feeds my body insulin as needed.” Glancing around, he was pleased that he had their attention. “In times like this, without a pump, sometimes I don’t realize what’s happening. My body doesn’t tell me that it’s hungry because it’s already started shutting down certain mental functions, trying to preserve enough sugar to keep my heart and lungs running. The biggest problem with diabetes type I is that there’s no pain. I don’t feel hungry, yet I’m literally starving to death.”

  “If you don’t get insulin soon enough…can it…can it kill you?” Her voice broke on the last words.

  “Oh, yes.” Kane watched for her reaction.

  Saje ran toward him and threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. “You can’t die on me. I just found you.”

  “I think we’ve had enough for today,” Alex announced. “Kane was right, it’s hot as hell out here.”

  “Kane, how about if I drive your truck back to Guardian’s garage?” Quin looked at them, still wrapped in each other’s arms. “What if the two of you ride back with Alex in the company SUV?”

  Kane tilted his head downward and kissed Saje’s temple. “You okay with that, sweetie?”

  “As long as I can be with you.” She looked up at him and whispered. “Forever.” She went up on tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss. “I just wish there was some warning sign, like the beep my phone makes when I have a new text.”

  “As far as I know, nobody’s invented that yet.” Kane stepped back but immediately took Saje’s hand.

  Damnit trotted over and licked their joined hands. Kane ran his free hand all the way down his back. “Come on, boy. I hope you don’t mind sharing the backseat with us.”

  “He can sit in the far back.” Alex opened up the back of the vehicle and commanded, “Dammit, load.”

  Just as Kane and Saje got settled, Damnit stuck his head over the seat.

  “How do you feel about dogs?” Kane wanted one badly. He’d talk to Quin about that poss
ibility. Damnit had free range of the Guardian facilities. Maybe it could be a Dallas Guardian dog. Or maybe he could keep one at Saje’s place.

  She smiled as she petted the huge head hanging between them. “I’ve been thinking about getting one. I need a guard dog.”

  Their kiss sealed the deal. They were going to get a dog.

  Chapter Seven

  As Alex slid between the soft tan sheets of the huge king-size bed, alone in the penthouse apartment, he opened the app on his phone that showed him Katlin was in Tajikistan. Or maybe that was Kyrgyzstan. Or Uzbekistan? Who knew in that part of the world? Lines drawn on maps by politicians meant nothing to people who’d been fighting for over two thousand years.

  He closed his eyes and sent a small prayer heavenward, asking to protect Katlin and her team since he wasn’t there as her backup this time.

  The da-thump, da-thump, da-thump of her heartbeat coming through the speaker helped him fall asleep.

  Staccato thud, thud, thud, thud as his boot hit the hardpacked sand.

  Bullets rained around him.

  He gave the order, “No prisoners.” His team would kill every last enemy.

  Red tracers illuminated the small ravine.

  Rat-tat-tat. Rat-tat-tat. He no longer felt the recoil in his shoulder from the three short bursts.

  Urgent.

  He had to get to Ty. They’d been ambu—

  Woof

  Damnit?

  He wasn’t there with them in Afghanistan.

  Woof, woof

  Alex instantly awakened.

  Damnit was pawing at him.

  “What’s the matter, boy? Do you have to go out?” Alex was sure he’d taken him out just before he’d gone to bed. Damnit licked his sweaty face.

  The dog worked his muzzle under Alex’s hand, forcing him to pet the soft short hair. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream, too?”

  As Alex caught his breath and slowed his heart rate, he realized that he hadn’t finished the dream. It had been the dream, the one he seemed to have over and over again as though his mind wouldn’t leave it alone.

  Damnit had awakened him just before the worst part, thank God.

  Alex got up and wiped the sweat off his body with a towel. Since the sheets were soaked on his half of the bed, he crawled in on her side, missing Kat even more. Damnit put his paws on the side of the bed as though asking permission. He wondered if she allowed the big puppy on the bed when she was alone.

  What the hell. Alex rarely was able to go back to sleep after the dream. “All right.” he patted the bed. “You can come up.”

  Damnit leaped onto the bed and snuggled next to Alex’s back. To his surprise, he fell asleep quickly and waked the next morning refreshed. Usually, the dream wiped him out emotionally. All too often, if Alex did get back to sleep, he’d fall right back into the dream where he left off.

  None of that happened.

  After their morning routine, Alex placed a call to Damnit’s trainer. “Hey, Tanner, this is Alex Wolf. Do you have a minute?”

  “If you need me to take Damnit, I have room for him now. The trainer from the facility that burned was able to complete the training of several dogs and move them into their new homes.”

  Alex stroked the dog from his ears to his tail. “No. I think we’re doing just fine. I’ll keep him with me, but I have a question. Did you train Damnit to be a real service dog?”

  There was a long pause on the other end before the man in Virginia answered the question. “Katlin paid me to train her dog to the basic commands, but you know what my wife does for a living, right?”

  Tanner’s wife, Bailey, worked for the VA certifying PTSD in veterans and arranging for trained dogs. That’s how they’d met. “Of course, Bailey and Kat have been friends for years.”

  “Katlin is unaware of the fact that she’s starting to show signs of mild PTSD already. Since Damnit spends so much time here at the kennel, Bailey had me train him with those skills.”

  “What exactly does Damnit do to help her?” Alex was actually asking for himself as well.

  “Petting Damnit helps calm her. He’s also trained to walk on her left side because she doesn’t like to have anything near her shooting hand.” Tanner chuckled. “I doubt you’ve noticed it, but she even carries her purse on her left shoulder unless her gun is in there. If she’s standing in a line, she hates to have people on her right, so Damnit stands there, or he’ll sit and watch the people around her.”

  “He sat on my heels looking at the people in line behind me at the airport,” Alex confessed.

  “You don’t like people coming up behind you, do you?” Tanner was right on the mark. So was Damnit.

  “Is he trained for nightmares?” Alex almost hated to admit the weakness.

  “Most definitely. Katlin had a really bad one when Bailey spent the night in her D.C. condo a few years ago. My wife had a hell of a time waking her up, so I trained Damnit to get in her face and bark. He’ll also jump on the bed and sleep with her if allowed.”

  Alex let out a heavy breath. That explained so much. He wondered if he should get a dog for himself and have Tanner train it. He’d bet Damnit would like a little friend. Just then, the dog worked his way under Alex’s hand. He automatically started petting the big pup.

  He didn’t need a dog. He already had one.

  Kane popped into his mind. “Can a dog be trained to detect fluctuations in sugar levels?”

  “Certainly. We call them DADs, Diabetic Alert Dog. They take a little bit more training because they have to be matched to the owner.” Tanner went on to explain, “The dog has to learn what his master smells like when he’s normal and alert, and when he smells ketones, which means his sugar level is changing. Like I said, it just takes a little longer and there’s a lot of training time spent directly with the owner. Why, do you know someone who’s diabetic?”

  Alex grinned. “I most certainly do. Can you start working on a DAD for me right away?”

  “Consider it done. Is this a veteran’s dog or civilian?”

  “Veteran. Why? Do you think Bailey might be able to VA certify him?” Alex had originally thought Guardian would pay for the dog and training, but if he got it done through the VA that would be even better.

  “I’ll talk to Bailey and see what she can do. There’ a fifteen-month-old Labrador Retriever that came to us after the fire. He has his basics down solid and that breed is known for a keen nose. I’ll be in touch.”

  Chapter Eight

  Seven months later . . .

  “Mr. Wolf, I can’t thank you enough for allowing Saje to come with me on this temporary assignment. We’re both excited to use some of my downtime and see all the sites in Washington D.C.” Kane looked down at where his fingers were intertwined with hers. He rolled her hand from side to side, staring at the matching diamond and wedding ring. He’d been surprised when Mr. Barrister informed him that Saje should go if she could get the time off.

  “This worked out perfect for a honeymoon, too. With my condition, it’s hard to travel, or should I say it’s hard to travel commercial. That jet service is pretty slick. Traveling with the boss has its perks.”

  Mr. Wolf glanced over at Mr. Barrister, who was riding shotgun. “You were uniquely qualified for the special project.”

  “About that, sir. Now that I’m here, can you give me some more details?” Kane was very curious because his boss hadn’t been forthcoming, claiming he was going to wait for Mr. Wolf to tell him about it.

  As they headed into the city, Mr. Wolf explained, “This project is a bit unusual. For the next two weeks, you’ll live in the visitor’s apartment at Guardian and be trained by the best in the business.”

  “All Guardian Centers look exactly alike,” Quin explained. “Saje, I’m sorry to throw you into a facility filled with men, but at least the apartment is one of the largest. I hope you’ll be comfortable.”

  “This is so much nicer than a hotel room.” Saje wore a huge smile as she w
andered through the larger-than-expected apartment. Kane didn’t know if the Dallas center had one that size as well.

  “Your instructor is already here,” Mr. Barrister announced from the open door. “Saje, why don’t you join us for the introductory session?”

  “Oh, I don’t want to impose.” His new bride looked up at him with wary eyes.

  At his boss’s grin, Kane knew she needed to come with them.

  Hand-in-hand, they walked into a classroom, similar to the ones in Dallas.

  “Oh, what a beautiful dog.” Saje immediately went to the Labrador Retriever but stopped short, glancing down at the red and black vest. “May I pet your dog, or is he working?”

  “You may pet him, but he’s not my dog.” The man smiled at her, then moved his gaze to Kane. “He’s your diabetic alert dog.”

  Kane had to blink back tears of happiness as he strode to Alex and Quin, embracing them both. “No one... Ever…” Fuck. Kane couldn’t finish a sentence.

  He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, getting his emotions under control. “First, you take me off the streets, you give me a new home, a new job, a new life…and now…” He looked at his beautiful wife with her arm around the stoic dog, tears streaming over her adorable freckles and dripping off her jaw. She was a mess, but damn, he loved her. “And now…thank you just isn’t adequate.”

  “But it’s more than enough.” Alex nodded toward the trainer and dog. “You have a lot of work to do over the next two weeks before you can take him home. And before you ask, yes, we expect you to bring him to work. ”

  His feet didn’t want to move. Maybe this was a dream. It happened when his levels started to drop, he’d confuse dream and reality.

  “Kane, why don’t you come over here and meet Agni. His name means from fire. We thought that was appropriate, given he came to us after his kennels burned. It has another meaning, which is similar to phoenix, signifying a new life arising from the ashes.”

  He found himself on his knees, holding his new wife, and Agni, the first addition to their family. Kane had thought his life with Guardian was the best, then he’d found Saje and believed his life was full. Agni had given them all a new life.