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Mad Dog
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“Kate, what’s wrong?”
Through sniffles and hiccuping sobs, Kate told him what had happened.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. What can I do to help?”
“Nothing. They’re going to run a bunch of tests, and then we’ll know more. I’ll be pretty busy handling the store for the next few days though. And I might need bail money.”
“Bail money? For what?”
“Because Luther is going to be there with me, and we stock quite a selection of items that could be used as weapons. I might not be responsible for my actions.”
Mad Dog stiffened. “Come again?”
Kate then proceeded to relay the conversation from the hospital room about the hardware store requiring a male presence. Personally, he didn’t agree. He knew plenty of strong, capable women and was fortunate enough to have been raised by one. But he also knew enough about small-town mentality to know that it was an issue for some.
He was more concerned with whom that male presence was.
“I’m not happy about it,” she told him. “But with my father in the hospital, I need to pick my battles.”
“I understand.” And he did. Sort of. That didn’t mean he was happy about it either.
“My biggest issue is the dogs. I’m going to be working even longer hours and spending as much time with my dad as possible.”
“What if I brought them up here for a couple of days? One less thing—or nine—for you to worry about.”
She sniffed. “You’d do that? Won’t they get in your way?”
“Not at all.” His trailer wasn’t huge, but it was big enough. Besides, he had a feeling once he told everyone about the situation, they’d want to keep the dogs in the main building. They had plenty of space, and someone was always around. Plus, in the few hours they’d been here, those dogs had managed to wrap everyone around their paws. “Want me to come down tonight?”
“No, but thanks for the offer.” She yawned. “I’m exhausted. I’m just going to head straight to bed.”
“Okay. If you need anything—and I mean, anything—you call me anytime.”
“What did I ever do without you?” she asked quietly, her voice thick from crying.
“I don’t know,” he told her, “but you’ve got me now, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“I think I’m falling in love with you, Mr. Sheppard.”
God, he hoped that was true and not just an in-the-moment, emotional response because he was definitely falling in love with her. In fact, he already had.
The words were right there, burning his tongue, but he held them back. He had a very specific idea of how and when he wanted to say those words to her for the first time.
“Good,” he said instead. “That means my plan is working.”
She laughed. “I can confirm.”
“Get some rest, Kate. I’ll be down in the morning to pick up the dogs.”
“Thank you. It’ll be a huge relief to know they’re being taken care of. Good night, Chris.”
“Good night, baby.”
“Chris?”
“Yeah?”
“I like when you call me baby,” she said softly and then disconnected the call.
~ * ~
The next morning, Mad Dog told everyone what had happened. As expected, they were very supportive and insisted on setting up a special place in the main building for the dogs.
He drove down into town and backed his truck into Kate’s driveway to make it easier to load, and then made his way across the street to the hardware store. The need to see her, to know that she was okay, was a tangible thing.
He spotted Kate on a ladder, changing a lightbulb. She turned when the bell sounded, announcing his arrival. Her tired, bloodshot eyes lit up when she saw him.
“Chris!”
The guy who emerged from the back wasn’t nearly as stoked to see him, and Mad Dog knew he was looking at Kate’s ex, Luther Renninger. It took all of a second, maybe less, for him to decide he didn’t like the guy. Not just because he was Kate’s ex, but also because one look was all it took to know Renninger was a shifty fucker.
Renninger’s eyes narrowed, and his features hardened as they sized each other up. He was five-ten, five-eleven, about one eighty, and looked to be in relatively good shape, which meant he did more than sit in an office, doing accounting all day. He was no match for a trained SEAL though. Mad Dog wondered if the guy’s hands were as smooth and polished as the rest of him.
Mad Dog turned his attention to Kate. “How’s your father?”
She stepped down the ladder and right into his arms. Pretty Boy didn’t like that. He glared at Mad Dog. Mad Dog glared right back over the top of Kate’s head.
“Resting comfortably,” Kate said, pulling away. “They’re still running tests. My mom’s with him. They’re waiting for the doctor to come around.”
Pretty Boy crossed the store and stood next to Kate in a clear message. “Do you need something?”
Kate sighed. “Chris, this is Luther Renninger. Luther, Chris Sheppard.”
Neither one of them extended a hand. Kate shifted uncomfortably.
“Right, well, let me get my keys, and I’ll help you get the dogs loaded. Luther, handle the register for a few, will you?”
“You watch the register. I’ll help with the dogs,” Pretty Boy said.
Mad Dog didn’t care for the way he’d spoken to Kate. She didn’t care for it much either, based on the way her lips turned downward.
“Luther—”
He reached out and grabbed Kate by the arm.
“Get off!” Kate said, trying to shrug out of his grasp.
Mad Dog was in his face a moment later. “You heard the woman. Get your fucking hand off her.”
He did, proving that he did have a working brain cell or two. Perhaps it was time to have a one-on-one convo with the guy.
“It’s all right, Kate.” Mad Dog leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. He could practically hear Renninger’s teeth grinding at the possessive gesture. Good.
Kate didn’t look happy about staying behind, but the sooner Mad Dog dealt with Pretty Boy, the better.
“They’ll be fine,” he reassured her, pretending he misunderstood her reluctance.
Her eyes softened.
There’s my girl.
“Thanks again for doing this.”
“Anything for you, Kate. You know that.”
Kate handed Mad Dog her house keys.
“After you,” he said to Renninger.
As Renninger stalked to the door, she said murmured, “Don’t kill him, okay?”
Mad Dog grinned and kissed her again—this time, on the lips—but made no promises.
He followed Renninger across the street and up Kate’s driveway.
When they got around to the back and out of sight of the store, Renninger said, “You need to back off before someone gets hurt.”
Oh, someone was going to get hurt all right, if he kept this shit up. The guy was no skinny number cruncher, but he was no match for a six-four, two-hundred-and-fifty-pounder with SEAL training.
Mad Dog’s upper lip curled in a snarl. “Care to elaborate on that?”
“You guys come into town, think you’re so fucking better than everyone else, take our women—”
Mad Dog barked out a laugh. Straight-up laughed because the guy was so ridiculous. “Really? Take your women?”
Renninger widened his stance, as if to make himself appear bigger. “Your methods might have worked with some, but it won’t with Kate. She’s got people who aren’t going to let her go so easily.”
Mad Dog wondered what Sam and Sandy would think of that statement. “Like you?”
“Damn right.”
“What Kate wants is the only thing I care about, and it looks to me like she’s made her choice.”
Renninger’s face turned beet red at the direct hit, but he rallied. “Kate’s confused; she doesn’t know what she wants. But her roots are strong. She’ll never turn her back on her family and friends.”
“No one’s asking her to.”
“Eventually, Kate will come to her senses, and when she does, it’ll be me she comes back to.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” he said because what else was there to say?
Renninger was a class-A douche with a warped sense of entitlement, and the guy was deliberately provoking him. As much as Mad Dog wanted to show him just how inadvisable that was, he really didn’t give a shit what Renninger thought. Plus, laying him out at this point would only exacerbate the situation between the town and Sanctuary.
“And if you ever lay another hand on Kate, I’ll make sure you never use yours again. Now, get the fuck out of my way.”
Renninger clamped his lips shut but didn’t make a move to leave. He couldn’t leave before Mad Dog without looking like a pussy, and he knew it.
Mad Dog used the keys Kate had given him to open the back door and took great pleasure in the enthusiastic greeting he received from Duke. He was even happier when Renninger moved toward Mama Dog and Duke growled out a low rumble of warning.
“Better let me handle the dogs.” He smirked. “You can carry those boxes outside and set them in the backseat.”
They managed to get the dogs and enough of their supplies loaded without Duke or Mad Dog doing bodily damage to douche boy. After he locked up, he opened the passenger door, so Duke could ride shotgun, and he went across the street to return Kate’s keys.
“Everything okay?” Kate asked, her eyes briefly following Renninger as he stormed in behind Mad Dog and went right into the back.
“It’s all good,” Mad Dog reassured her.
“Really?”
He smiled. “We talked.”
Her lips quirked. “Talked, huh?”
“Yep.” He leaned in for a kiss as he pressed the keys into her hand. “Remember what I said. Anything. Anytime. I’m here, got it?”
“Got it.”
“Call me later.”
“I will. And, Chris? Thanks.”
Mad Dog went back to his truck and slid in. Duke stared across the street at Handelmann’s and growled low in his throat.
“I don’t like it either,” Mad Dog told him. “But Kate probably wouldn’t be happy with us if we turned him into dog food.”
Mad Dog still wasn’t happy about leaving Kate, but there was little he could do about it, short of parking his ass in the store with her. If Renninger were smart, he’d take Mad Dog’s message to heart. If he wasn’t, well, the next time, Mad Dog wouldn’t be as forgiving.
Once he was back at Sanctuary, it didn’t take long to get the dogs situated. Mad Dog snapped a picture and sent it to Kate, knowing she was worried.
Kate: Thanks. *smiley face* They look happy.
Mad Dog: They’re in good hands. Stop worrying. Any word on your dad?
Kate: Nothing yet. Still waiting. Super busy today. Everyone’s coming in to ask about Dad. Call you later?
Mad Dog: You got it, baby.
Kate: *smiley face blowing a kiss*
“How’s Kate’s dad?” Sam asked, bringing in a fresh bowl of water for the dogs.
“Still waiting to hear.”
She nodded. “It’s nerve-racking. They do the tests, but no one will tell you anything until the doctor decides to show.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
She shrugged. “My grandparents had their share of health issues, so I can relate.”
“You okay here?”
“Yeah, got it covered. Sandy’s here. Plus, Steve and Heff are just down the hall if we need them. Go on. Doc’s waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
Mad Dog set a course for the war room. He and Doc had plans to do some underground exploration, which would be a welcome distraction. After loading up on tech, they headed out, taking the snowmobiles since most of the locations on their list were off-road.
Rather than go to the Paxton entrance, where he’d been with Kate, they scouted out other possible entry/exit points, using the maps and software Cage had created with his digital wizardry. After four hours, they were able to cross two possible access locations from their list. One looked as if it had been deliberately closed with the use of explosives; the debris pattern hadn’t been made by anything natural. The other held initial promise, but that changed when they discovered a cave-in that prevented them from going any farther after a few hundred yards.
Cage and Church were out, too, but they were working from the inside out, using Paxton as their starting point and mapping the way. Progress was slow. The mines were a labyrinth with tunnels branching off every couple hundred feet, frozen in time. They discovered more evidence that someone had been using the tunnels recently as well as a possible entry/exit point that was conveniently located in the general vicinity of the weekend-warrior compound.
“Some sections have been shored up recently with pressure-treated lumber and I-beams,” Church reported.
“Not to mention, crates of supplies,” Cage added, “as well as generators and enough fuel to power them for months.”
“Preppers?” Smoke guessed.
“Who else?” said Heff. “I guess that explains why we haven’t seen a lot of activity above ground lately.”
“Has Kate said anything to you?” Church asked, looking Mad Dog’s way.
“About the preppers? No. Why?”
“Because, along with the crates, we found shipping slips. At least some of those shipments are being ordered through Handelmann’s business account.”
“So? I told you I saw Jerry Petraski picking up big orders the two times I was there. It makes sense that Eric Handelmann would place the order and pass the discount on to a longtime customer.”
“Maybe,” Church said, but he didn’t look convinced. “In any case, I want you to go into those shored-up sections with Cage tomorrow and take a look around. You know more about creating an underground hidey-hole than any of us.”
Mad Dog nodded. “Will do.”