Ethan (The K9 Files Book 1)

There was just something about hospitals that Cinn hated. Maybe it was the antiseptic smell. Maybe it was the misery of everybody in the crowded emergency room, with crying children and an old couple who looked like their world had just been decimated.

She looked at Flynn. “I don’t need to be here, you know? Isn’t there a clinic I can go to?”

He gave a shout of laughter. “If you were an animal, I could take you to Louise. But you’re not.”

She sagged into her chair. “You know we could die in the waiting room?”

He nodded. “And it’s happened,” he admitted. “But I’ll make sure I get you attention well before that happens.”

The trouble was that, although she’d been shot, she wasn’t dying. Enough people were here who needed attention ahead of her.

Then her name was called. With Flynn’s help, she got up again and was led into a small cubicle. She sank onto the bed with relief. A nurse came in almost immediately. With Flynn explaining what had happened, the nurse cut off her T-shirt, leaving her yoga top underneath unharmed, and took a good look at the wound.

“We’ll have to phone the cops,” she said. “All bullet wounds must be reported. I’ll get the doctor, and he’ll examine you.”

Leaning against the raised upper portion of the hospital bed, she suddenly felt more tired than she could believe. “Where are my dogs?” she asked.

“I called them before I reached you,” he said. “When I saw you with Ethan, I took them back and locked them up in your yard.”

She sighed with relief. “I can’t believe I didn’t even notice.”

“The dogs know me,” he said. “It wasn’t a problem. We needed to get as many variables out of that scene as possible.”

She looked up at him and asked, “Did Anna come with you?”

“She went to your place after I told her the dogs were there and stayed to make sure the dogs had food and water and to calm them down.”

Cinn nodded. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner,” Flynn said. “I was on my way back from town when you called. I started freaking out and called Anna. By the time I got to you, Ethan had everything under control.”

“Not only was he there quickly, he went after the shooter,” she said in wonder. “I mean, I guess it’s not a great outcome for the shooter, but it’s the best outcome I could have wished for myself.”

“Understood,” Flynn said. “At least this way you don’t have to look behind you in the dark anymore.”

“Exactly. What I don’t know is why they targeted me.”

Flynn stepped forward, tilted her chin up and glared at her. “Why do you say you were targeted?”

She filled him in on the vehicle parked on the side of the road that came back later in the day. “I don’t know if it had something to do with the job Ethan went to help out the cops with.”

“Explain,” Flynn barked.

She rolled her eyes and gave him as much information as she knew. “I wondered if it had to do with his presence at my place. It’s the only reason I can think of for why they went after me.”

“But you went for a run. Do you think they followed you?”

She shrugged. “Honestly, I was pretty near the highway for a lot of the run anyway. It wouldn’t take much to keep track of me. And I was headed for the tree line, so, if they got there ahead of me, it was pretty easy to take a clean shot.”

“Yet they missed.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “I don’t think they missed as much as I tripped at the right moment. I had just come over a patch of really uneven ground and caught my foot on a rock and went down. As it was, it caught me in the shoulder instead of higher up, maybe. I don’t know. I twisted as I fell, and I didn’t move again.” She laughed. “He didn’t shoot my dogs. They came to me and just stayed there.”

“Which is normal behavior for dogs. They’ll often stay with a dying owner until either they are rescued or they die themselves.”

“That’s a terrible thought,” she said. “I’d hate to think of the animals sitting beside my cold body, waiting for me to get back up again.”

“Dogs are special animals that way. Cats on the other hand …”

She chuckled. “I love cats, but I have absolutely no illusions. They’re very much all about themselves.”

He grinned at that.

Just then the doctor walked in. “What’s this, young lady? You’ve been shot?” He poked and prodded her shoulder.

She tried desperately not to cry out, but his touch was not gentle.

“I have to get this X-rayed for any bone breaks,” he said. “It looks like it’s a fairly clean through-and-through shot. But I can’t be sure how much damage might have been done on the way. It looks like you’ve had a lucky escape though.”

He ordered her X-rays and said as he was about to step out, “We have to call the cops.”

Flynn was prepared. He handed over a card and told him about Sergeant Mendelsson and the commander they’d met at the crime scene.

The doctor nodded. “Good to know. I’ll give these men a call.” And he left.

The nurse came in with a wheelchair. They assisted Cinn into the chair, where she was wheeled up to X-ray.

Flynn stayed with her the whole time.

“You can leave, you know?” Cinn said.

He shook his head. “Anna would never let me live it down if I did.”

“I’m here. I’m not dying. I’m fine,” Cinn stated.

“You aren’t fixed up. You haven’t been cleared to leave. We don’t know if they’ll keep you overnight,”

She stayed silent after that. The X-rays were painful but livable. She was wheeled back to the little room in the emergency department, and they waited for the pictures.

Finally the doctor came in and said, “Good news. We’ll just stitch you up, give you some shots for the pain and a prescription for more painkillers. You should be good to go home. If you have more bleeding or any problems moving your arm or your fingers, you need to come back in immediately. Do you hear me?”

She nodded. But then she would have said anything to leave. Hospitals were definitely not her favorite place. After she was finally fixed up, stitches in place, the shoulder bandaged and her arm in a sling, it was all she could do to stand up.

Flynn held her other arm. “Are you sure you’re good to go home?”

She gave him a tired smile. “I won’t rest here. Home sounds much better.”

But he didn’t appear to be convinced.

“I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know about that,” he said.

Just then another voice entered the room. “She won’t be alone, so it’s all good.”

She turned to see Ethan smiling at her, releasing her hold on Flynn.

He came in, gently put an arm around her good side and gave her a hug. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Like I’ve been shot,” she said with a heavy sigh. “The painkiller is kicking in, but it’s making me woozy.”

“In that case, home to bed with you.” He looked at Flynn. “I can take her from here, if you’re okay with that.”

Flynn glanced at Cinn, then back at Ethan.

Cinn chuckled. “I’m fine, Flynn. It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” Flynn asked.

She reached out, gripped his fingers and whispered, “Yes, I’m sure. Feel free to check on me later today or tomorrow morning,” she said.

Flynn gave a clipped nod and said, “Count on it.” Then he turned and walked away.

With Ethan at her side, she made her way to the front reception area, where she took care of the insurance details, and afterward went outside to the parking lot. There she was helped into Ethan’s truck.

As she got in, she looked around, found no sign of Bella. “Where’s Bella?”

“She’s with the other dogs,” Ethan said. He stopped as an officer walked over. She wondered why he was there, but Ethan appeared comfortable with him. As long as nothing else had gone wrong …

The officer went around to Cinn’s side. “I came in with Ethan. Are you okay?”

She smiled and nodded. “I will be.”

He looked at her, assessing how healthy she was, and then said, “I do need to ask you some questions.”

Her heart sank. “Any chance you can do that tomorrow? The doctor gave me a heavy-duty pain shot, and I’m about to fall asleep.”

He smiled and said, “I’ll be there tomorrow morning.” He looked over at Ethan. “Okay, you’re good to take her back home.”

Ethan hopped in, then turned his head toward the officer. “Do you want us to give you a lift somewhere?”

The officer laughed and shook his head. “No. My ride is on the way.”

To Cinn’s relief, there were no other delays. Ethan backed up the big truck in the hospital parking lot and took her home.

It hurt him to see her in so much pain. She’d been given a pain shot, but it either hadn’t taken affect yet or wasn’t strong enough. That just added to his guilt. It had to be his arrival into her world that got her into trouble. Which meant someone from the drug property had seen him parked close to the property and had followed him back here. That just pissed him off even more. Now he had to find them and stop them. They could not be allowed to get away with shooting an innocent woman. If they wanted to pick a fight with him, then he was all for it. But it needed to be with him and not those he knew.

Especially not someone he was starting to care for. That alone made her special, as his heart had been empty for a long time. When he’d finally found a woman who made him stop in his tracks, like hell he would let anyone else take her away from him.

The question now was, was this over? Had the last man died? Or were there more to take his place?

His vote was, more men would be coming …

So he had to get to them first. The police had already raided the drug base but had obviously missed someone or many someones …

Ethan drove to her house and turned his truck so she was closest to the front door. He put the truck into Park, shut off the engine and raced around to her side, opening up the passenger door and helping her out. They could hear the dogs barking inside the house; then suddenly they raced out the doggy door and barked at the side of the house behind the fence.

As soon as they opened the front door, the dogs came barreling inside to greet them. Ethan brushed them back, giving the commands to calm down, but they were as untrained as any dog he’d ever seen.

She crouched, laughing, saying hi to the dogs but keeping herself from getting injured. “Don’t even bother trying. I’ve been gone for too long, and they know I’m hurt, so it only makes sense they need reassurance.”

He agreed, and, when she reached up for his hand, he helped her into the living room. “Now do you want to sit down?” he asked quietly. “Or do you want to go up to bed?”

“I’ll just sit in the living room for a moment,” she said, her voice faint. He watched as she stumbled to the couch. She collapsed and groaned as her shoulder was jolted hard. He gently reached a hand to the side of her cheek. “Take it easy. You’re home now.”

She nodded. “And damn glad of it too. I’ll need painkillers soon.”

“Not for a while,” he said. “They gave you a shot in the hospital.

She speared him with a look that made him grin. He loved her spunk. She had a temper, and he could appreciate that. She also wasn’t shy about letting him know how she felt. Either happy or sad. Also good. She seemed to be balanced, honest and comfortable in her own skin. All good things in his book too. But he really liked the fact that she was full of life and doing something about the injustices in the world. Like her rescue work for the dogs. Sure, she took a lot of criticism for rescuing dogs in other parts of the world, but he’d been there, seen firsthand how bad the dogs had it in war-torn countries. He was happy someone was doing something to help.

Of course, she was easy on the eyes too. Her eyes were not quite a chocolate brown, not quite caramel in color either, but something like a toffee tone with gold flecks. Her lashes were long in a small pixie face, almost a heart shape. Which made him a fool for noticing. No, just lonely …

It had been a long time since he’d had a relationship or had even sat down with anybody he cared about. It seemed like he’d become a loner years ago, before he’d started working with the dogs. … But that had gotten worse after his accident, then losing his parents during his recovery … Losing Shep, his K9 partner he’d raised and trained for seven years, had been hard and had added a layer of loss. He’d worked with many other dogs, but Shep had been his partner. And they’d both gone into that mission, expecting the worst, and unfortunately this time they got it.

Shep hadn’t survived; Ethan had barely survived. Maybe he shouldn’t have …

Still, he had to deal with this nightmare and the woman slowly bringing him back to life.

“How about a cup of tea?” he asked.

She looked up at him gratefully. “That sounds great.” She patted the couch beside her, and Burglar hopped up. He snuggled close into her lap, while Midnight jumped up farther down. With both dogs now on the couch beside her, Ethan walked into the kitchen, filled the teakettle with water and put it on. He returned to the living room and said, “I’ll take the dogs out in a minute too. They likely need to go.”

She made a half murmur, and he took that as an agreement. He whistled for the dogs. They didn’t look too eager to leave her, but, when he opened the kitchen door, they came running. He stepped outside and walked them around the yard. She had fenced several acres, so there was lots of space for everyone. He could see the gates where she could have gone out for her run and was torn with the idea of returning to where she’d been shot.

Only he didn’t want to leave her alone. He walked around with the dogs, giving them a few minutes to play and to just calm down and relax after being boxed up for so long. When he found a ball on the ground, he picked it up and tossed it. Burglar took off after it. Midnight followed, so Ethan spent a good ten minutes, just throwing the ball and giving the dogs a chance to run. When he figured the teakettle was ready, he walked back inside to make a cup of tea. He carried the tea to Cinn, surprised to find she was still awake.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “How are the dogs?”

“They’re doing just fine,” he said as he held up the cup, still with the tea bag in it. “I couldn’t find a teapot. How do you like your tea?”

“A little bit of milk please,” she said, “and, if you bring me a saucer, I’ll take out the teabag when I’m done.”

He put the cup down, went into the kitchen to get the milk. Following her instructions, he added milk to her tea, then returned it to the fridge. Walking back, he placed the saucer within easy reach and sat beside her. “How are you feeling?”

She gave him a lopsided grin that was endearing itself to his heart very quickly. She was small yet valiant. He knew a lot of women would have completely freaked out after getting shot. “I hope it doesn’t stop you from wanting to run anymore,” he said.

She shook her head. “No, I’ve always loved to run. I just hadn’t expected to get attacked like that.”

“Well, I’m glad I got here as fast as I could,” he commented. “The last thing I wanted was for you to be a casualty in this war.”

“That’s what it feels like, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” he admitted. “The only way they could have connected you to me is either at the vet or by following me here. And that’s only possible if they saw me parked up above their place.”

“It’s a sad world when we have to worry about being followed.”

“Agreed,” he said with a faint smile. “And we still have to consider that someone might come after you again.”

She stood, and he went to help her, but she waved him away. “I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll be fine.”

He watched as she slowly shuffled down the hall to the bathroom, the dogs milling around her feet. That was the part of the canine relationship he missed, having the dogs always there, always concerned, always ready for every movement you make. Shep had been the same. Took a step for every step Ethan had taken. They’d been partners all the time, even when at home. A lot of people didn’t see who he was on the inside, and he didn’t take much time to show anyone. He would only open up with somebody who was special. Cinn had surprised him. Right from the beginning … He remembered the night he’d dropped by with Chinese food. Maybe he should do that again. She certainly shouldn’t be cooking for a few days. “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head as she stood at the bathroom doorway. “No, I’m not. All I need right now is rest.” She smiled, adding, “If you’re hungry, go ahead and find something. I doubt there’s much here, but you can have anything you find.”