Joke's on You (SWAT Generation 2.0 Book 6)

by Lani Lynn Vale

  Ford rolled his eyes. “My wife is a nosey little thing, isn’t she?”

  Ford curled his arms around Ashe’s shoulders and pulled her into his body.

  Ashe tugged lightly on Ford’s beard.

  “Whatever,” she said. “I’m going to lunch. Are you coming with me?”

  “It’s only eight forty-five in the morning, Ashe,” Ford said. “You can’t go to lunch yet.”

  She gave him a brow raise. “Oh yeah? Why not?”

  “One, because it’s not even nine yet. Two, because you have things to do,” he said. “Three, because your uncle being the chief of police won’t save you from being fired.”

  That’s when we all burst out laughing.

  Being the chief of police’s niece would save her from being fired, and we all knew it.

  Chuckling at the two of them despite the bullshit David had just spouted, I pulled out my phone and placed a call to my woman.

  I wasn’t too worried when I didn’t get her to answer.

  My next call was to Laric.

  Yesterday, when Dillan had been determined to get the donuts decorated and her shop opened, I had time to speak with Laric.

  And I’d learned more about the dog.

  Bobo, short for Bobby Boy, had been a patrol dog for three years for the US Army.

  On his last deployment, Bobo hadn’t been treated all that well. His handler had neglected him, forced him to do his bidding, then tossed him away like trash for whomever to do whatever they wanted to him until he was needed again. Needless to say, Bobo has trust issues.

  Laric was trying to rehabilitate Bobo, but it looked like it might not be possible to save his life.

  “Laric.”

  “It’s Booth,” I said when he answered. “Why is my woman at a vet?”

  Laric chuckled, sounding tired. “I had to stop to use the bathroom yesterday before heading home. As I was reaching to clip on the leash to Bobo’s collar, he bolted. Ran right in front of a truck and got hit. They say he broke his right back leg. Possibly will need surgery on it if they can’t get it fixed up straight. The swelling is too severe right now.”

  My stomach clenched at the news.

  “Fuck, that sucks,” I said as I pinched the bridge of my nose. “They think he’s going to make it?”

  “He didn’t survive being tortured for a month just to die here,” Laric promised. “Your woman, I think, is visiting with him. They have him heavily sedated, so don’t worry.”

  I wasn’t worrying.

  Much.

  “Thanks,” I said. “And if you need anything, let us know.”

  Laric was silent for a long time. “I need to find Bobo a home. I don’t recommend you, so don’t think that’s my hope with this. He needs a home without a kid. Without other pets. You know anybody that would be able to handle a traumatized dog like him?”

  Just as he asked that, Malachi came out of the building behind me.

  He completely avoided me and headed to his truck.

  He saw a stray dog that liked to hang out around our dumpster and stopped.

  He whistled to it, and the dog came running.

  Malachi pulled out a piece of jerky from his pocket, unwrapped it, and tossed it to the dog.

  The dog caught it and bolted.

  “I think I might have someone in mind,” I said. “Let me talk to him and get back with you.”

  “10-4,” Laric said.

  Then he hung up.

  I shoved my phone in my pocket and jogged in Malachi’s direction, being sure to call his name before I got too close.

  Malachi was much like Bobo.

  He, like Bobo, had been captured and tortured while on deployment.

  Though he didn’t talk about it, everyone knew his story.

  Why?

  Because when he’d first come back, there’d been another man that had assumed his name in error.

  Luca Maldonado, who looked eerily similar to Malachi, had been in the same unit. They’d also been great friends.

  And when Luca was rescued, he’d had Malachi’s dog tags on him.

  Everyone had only assumed that it was him.

  Only, it wasn’t him.

  Luca was Luca, and not long after Luca realized that, Malachi had returned home, too.

  With his full memory intact, and haunted eyes that clearly showed he didn’t want to have those memories.

  “Malachi!” I called.

  Malachi paused in opening his truck door.

  He’d known that I was there, so there was no surprise in his face when I arrived at his truck.

  “Yeah?”

  “How would you feel about fostering a traumatized retired military working dog?”

  Ten minutes later, I was walking into a vet’s office with Malachi at my side.

  “Hello,” a sweet looking woman said from behind the desk. “May I help you?”

  I looked over at Malachi to see his face completely blank.

  The few times that I’d seen him with someone, that female hadn’t been cute, bubbly or sweet. Those adjectives completely described the woman behind the desk.

  “Yeah,” I said, glancing at Malachi who looked like he’d rather be walking out the door instead of conversing with the sweet girl. “My fiancée is here visiting a dog.”

  The girl blinked. “Oh! You’re Mr. Booth?”

  I nearly rolled my eyes. “Pena. My name is Booth Pena. Do you think you could show us to her? This is the dog’s new owner, Malachi.”

  The woman’s smile went magnificent, and if she wasn’t so fuckin’ young, she might actually be something I would’ve looked at once upon a time.

  Now that I had Dillan, though? She was just another attractive girl in a long line of attractive girls.

  “Oh, follow me!” she chirped, rounding the desk.

  That was when I saw that she was very heavily pregnant.

  Like, about to pop, shouldn’t be pregnant at all because she was so young, pregnant.

  Then again, I was one to talk.

  I’d had Asa when I was quite young, too.

  “This is the visitation room,” the woman said as she led us to the door. “Feel free to stay as long as you like. When you’re done, let us know and we’ll get him back to his kennel.”

  With that, she walked away, and didn’t look back.

  “Do you think she’s married?” Malachi asked curiously.

  I shrugged. “I didn’t see a ring. Why? You want to take her out on a date?”

  He looked at me with a roll of his eyes. “No, I was just thinking that she looked familiar. And I don’t know why. Thought maybe she was married to someone I know, because there’s no way in hell I would know some nineteen-year-old here any other way.”

  I snorted out a laugh and pushed through the door, coming to a stop when I heard Dillan reading a romance novel to the dog.

  “…his hands went to her face, and he leaned in close.” Dillan paused when she heard our entrance. “Uhhhhh.”

  I flashed her a grin.

  “So… whatcha reading?”

  She blushed profusely, and Malachi started to chuckle.

  “I heard a bit before we came inside. He was putting his hand down her pants,” Malachi teased.

  Dillan went even redder.

  “I…I was reading to the dog, okay?” She stood up, using the wall for support. “What are y’all doing here?”

  She tried to hide the dog using her body, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Don’t bother hiding him,” I said. “I already heard all about what happened from Laric.” I paused, gesturing at Malachi. “Meet Bobo’s new owner.”

  Dillan’s eyes widened, then she did a fist pump with the hand she had her phone in. “Score!”

  I grinned and tugged her toward me, pressing my mouth to hers for a quick kiss.

  Malachi moved closer to the dog and ran his hand down the dog’s face.

 
Bobo was a Belgian Malinois. He was all black with tan feet and face and had one ear that flopped forward toward his eye.

  Honestly, on the outside he didn’t look all that bad. He looked like a normal, everyday dog.

  On the inside, though…

  “He doesn’t look like a Bobo, does he?” Malachi asked.

  “No, he doesn’t,” I admitted. “Bobo is kind of a weird name,” I ended up saying. “I mean, why not just call him Bobby or Boy? Why Bobo?”

  Dillan looked up at me with a grin on her face.

  “Don’t you know, Booth? Men are weird,” Dillan teased, then looked over at Malachi. “You could always change his name.”

  Malachi shook his head.

  “The last dog I had was named Maxie,” Malachi said. “So I’m no stranger to a weird dog name.” He flashed a sad smile. “If you don’t mind, we’ll just keep Bobo. Plus, it might be confusing for him to change his name.”

  “Did Maxie die?” Dillan asked, leaning into me.

  I pulled her even farther against me and pressed my lips to the top of her head.

  There my girl was, showing her heart to another man.

  “Um, no.” He scrunched up his nose. “When I was in basic training, my parents were supposed to take care of him. Instead of doing that, they gave him to the Humane Society and left for Florida.”

  There was a long silence, and then Dillan’s outraged, “What?!”

  Malachi shrugged. “I’ve looked for him for a while now, but the Humane Society won’t share where the dog is or who bought the dog. It just fuckin’ sucks.”

  He pressed his palm down on Bobo’s head. “He doesn’t seem too mean right now.”

  Bobo’s eyes were open, but he just seemed like he was in that in-between state of sleepy and awake. One where he was just a lazy puppy that didn’t have any cares in the world.

  “They said that he has a broken right foot,” Dillan said. “Normally, they said that they would just give him some pain meds and calming medication to make him chill out. But Bobo was given the meds and was defiant. They didn’t think that it was safe for the staff. So they gave him the big guns.”

  Malachi grunted. “Can I get Laric’s number? I’d like to get to know him a little more, but I want to know what he went through before I make a plan of action.”

  I pulled out my phone and gave him the number.

  Malachi nodded and pocketed his phone.

  “I’m going to stay here for a bit and—” My phone rang, interrupting us.

  Seeing that it was my father, I immediately answered it.

  “Hi, Dad. Everything all right?” I asked.

  “Sure is.” He paused. “At least with Asa. I just got a call from the police station.”

  My stomach cramped.

  “Kerrie was released on bond just a few minutes ago,” Dad said. “He has an ankle monitor, and instructions to stay at least five hundred feet away from Dillan.”

  Bile rose up my throat.

  “How the fuck was he allowed out?” I asked stiffly. “I didn’t even know that he was being released from the hospital today, let alone getting in front of a judge, or I would’ve been there.”

  “My sentiments exactly.” Dad growled. “But he had a fuckin’ awesome lawyer. Plus, he has money that got him in with a judge before anybody here was made aware of the situation.”

  “Who bailed him out?” I asked curiously, trying to reel in the anger.

  “Dillan’s father.”

  I hissed in a breath. “Of fucking course he did.”

  “Yeah, it went a long way in the judge’s decision, I’m sure.” Dad sighed. “I just wanted to let you know. I’m taking your kid out to go see a movie. He hasn’t thrown up all day. And has eaten like a horse.”

  Relief at that news poured through me.

  “You’re taking him to a movie?” I asked, grinning now.

  “Fuck off.”

  Then he hung up.

  My dad didn’t do movies.

  Apparently, that was for anyone that wasn’t his five-year-old grandson.

  Dillan, having heard everything at my side, had stiffened until she was as cuddly as a wooden board.

  I hung up the phone and shoved it into my pocket.

  “He’s out?” she cursed. “Now what?”

  “Now,” I said. “We let my dad watch Asa. You don’t go home at all by yourself. And when you leave the house, you always have someone with you.”

  She growled.

  “What is it?” Malachi asked in concern.

  “Kerrie is out on bail.” Dillan rubbed at her neck tenderly.

  Malachi’s eyes went to her neck, then to her eyes, before coming to me.

  “If I can help, I’m there,” he said. “If you need me to drive her to and from work, or sit with her while she’s at work…”

  “My dad says he’s under house arrest and has an ankle monitor,” I grumbled. “I think as long as we know where Kerrie is at all times, and we’re highly cautious that she’s never alone, then her doing her own thing really shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

  Dillan scoffed. “How long until he has the court hearing that’ll send him to jail?”

  I didn’t know the answer to that, but you could bet your ass that I would be finding out.

  Chapter 13

  Let’s wear pajamas, make stuff, and watch Hallmark Christmas movies.

  -Dillan to Delanie

  Dillan

  “I’m not even going to call him back,” I found myself saying. “I refuse.”

  My dad had called while I was in the shower, and neither Booth nor I had realized it until over an hour later.

  Now he was wanting me to call him back, and I didn’t want to.

  “You got another call while you were drying your hair.” Booth changed the subject. “That one was from the health department again today. An old employee said that she went to collect her final check and found some inappropriately stored old food items in the kitchen.”

  I stared at him blankly. “I wasn’t even open today.”

  “That’s what I told him. He said that the employee sounded disgruntled, so he wanted to let me know that there may be a cause for concern,” he said.

  “Moshe.” I sighed. “I wonder if she’s the one that reported me to the health department that first time.”

  “I was thinking that as well,” he murmured. “You ready for bed?”

  “I’m ready to get in bed,” I admitted. “But I want to finish my book.”

  His lips twitched. “Can you read while I watch television?”

  I moved until my mouth was as close to his as I could get it. He was too tall, though. He would have to come down the last few inches for our lips to connect. Which he did when he realized what I was waiting for.

  Our lips connected, and he pulled back only to come back for more.

  “What was that for?” he asked when I pulled away completely.

  “I need a reason to kiss you?” I asked curiously.

  He shook his head. “No. Not at all. But normally you don’t smile the entire time.”

  I shrugged. “I’m happy.”

  He eyed me skeptically.

  “Despite everything that is going on in my life, I really am,” I told him.

  He winked, then moved, wrapping his arms around my lower thighs, and lifting me up until my breasts were level with his eyes. Then he was carrying me into the bedroom.

  “I’m happy, too, you know,” he murmured as he walked.

  I wrapped my hands around his head and sifted my fingers through the small amount of hair that’d grown on his head in the weeks that we’d been together.

  “You’re not scared?” I asked.

  He deposited me on the bed, then pushed me until I was on my back.

  He followed me down, leaning over me while planting two fists on either side of my hips.

  “I’m terrified,” he said. “I’m s
cared that one day you’re going to wake up and realize that my life is too much for you. I’m worried that this vomiting thing that Asa has is going to be detrimental to him. I’m also extremely worried that you’re going to walk out of this house without me and that Kerrie’s going to catch you and finish the job.” He paused, his eyes searching my face. “But, for right now, I’m really happy. Everyone’s safe and accounted for. You’re here, in my bed. And that’s everything that I ever wanted since the moment I first saw you.”

  I smoothed my hands up and down his forearms.

  “I’ll move in with you,” I said.

  His eyes widened.

  “And I’ll be super, duper careful if and when I leave the house. I’ll never do it alone until Kerrie’s behind bars again,” I continued.

  His lips twitched.

  “Also, I love you.”

  His eyes practically melted into warm pools of liquid happiness.

  “I love you, too,” he admitted. “More than I ever realized.” He licked his lips. “I’m going to ask you to marry me.”

  I laughed. “You’re going to?”

  He nodded.

  “Then why are you telling me this before you actually do?” I wondered.

  He looked deep into my eyes, then shrugged. The beast.

  “Because I can.” He jerked himself up and gestured for me to move.

  “Now, scoot over to the other side of the bed. The Rangers are playing, and I want to watch the last few innings,” he muttered.

  Giggling, I did just that.

  An hour later, as I was lying in bed next to Booth, who was cussing at the television, I squirmed.

  I was reading a really good book.

  And when I say a good book, I meant that there was a ton of sex in it, and I was at a really, really good part.

  My eyes flicked over to Booth to see if he’d noticed, then back to my book.

  My face flushed lightly in embarrassment.

  I was reading something that was super-hot, and he had no freakin’ clue.

  I bit my lip and practically devoured the scene, licking my lips in anticipation of the next move.

  I was so caught up in the book that I didn’t realize that Booth was moving to get ready for bed until he was up and flipping out the lights as he went.