Chasing Her Tail (17 page)

God that smells so good
. As she eyed the steaks cooking on the grill, Bridget drooled.

She was finding that she was hungry all the time as a dog, especially for meat. Her feelings were different too. Although she still had human reasoning skills, she had to fight down a growing attachment to Hammer that bordered on slavish devotion. Surely that had to be a dog thing—she’d only known the guy for a couple days. She leaned against the object of her love, which conveniently also got her nose closer to the lovely, lovely steaks.

“Hammer!”

An adorable blonde woman came into the yard through the gate in the wooden privacy fence. She bounced over to Hammer and threw her arms around him. Bridget restrained the urge to bite the woman on the leg.

“Hey, Beth,” Hammer greeted, giving her a one-armed hug in return, his other hand occupied with the long grilling tongs.

Beth glanced down at Bridget and her face lit up. “You have a dog? You’ve been holding out on us! When did you get a dog? What’s his name—or is he a she?” She crouched down so she was face-to-muzzle with Bridget, only Hammer’s legs separating them. “Hey, beautiful.”

Beautiful? Okay, so maybe I won’t bite her leg.
She gave a tentative tail wag as she moved around Hammer toward Beth. Close up, the blonde was annoyingly cute, with wild curls and full lips. Jealousy began creeping back in but was forestalled by Beth scratching Bridget’s ears. It was really hard to hate someone, no matter how pretty, when that person was rubbing her ears. Bridget half-closed her eyes in bliss.

“Bridget,” Hammer said, and both Beth and Bridget looked up. “That’s her name.

Maybe. I’ve been calling her sweet pea.”

Beth gave Bridget one last pat and stood up, grinning at Hammer. “Sweet pea?” she repeated, laughter in her voice. Hammer flushed.

Knock it off,
Bridget thought,
or he’ll start calling me muttly again.

“Hey, Hammer.” A new voice, male this time, brought Bridget’s head around. Two men were walking toward them. One was tall and dark, with bright blue eyes and a cheerful grin, and the other was…whoa. Bridget realized her tail was wagging. Despite his scowl, the second man was gorgeous.

“Harry,” Hammer nodded at the taller of the two men. “How’s it going?”

Harry gave a heavy sigh, his eyes bright with amusement. “I’m just trying to keep these two in line. It’s a full-time job, I tell you.” Hammer laughed.

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The man next to Harry rolled his eyes. “Whatever, asshole,” he said, although his voice was fond. “You know— Hey!” he interrupted himself. “You have a dog!” He hurried over to Bridget and crouched down, offering a hand.

Just as she put her paw in his hand, she realized that he’d meant her to sniff it. He just grinned and Bridget almost fell over, he was so beautiful.

“Hey Ky, Hammer calls her sweet pea,” Beth told him, her voice still full of laughter, and Hammer reached over to lightly whack the back of her head.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Hammer grumbled but Ky ignored the banter, busy massaging Bridget’s neck and ears.

“Who’s the prettiest widdle sweetie pie,” Ky crooned.

Bridget couldn’t help herself. With a groan of ecstasy, she rolled over onto her back and offered her belly for scratching. She didn’t care how dog-like or undignified she was acting. If this pretty, pretty man wanted to rub her belly, who was she to argue?

She sighed with contentment as Ky obliged, still sweetly baby-talking.

The other three were silent until a snort made Bridget open one eye. Hammer, Beth and Harry were all staring down at them, their mouths open.

“Who is this and what did you do with Ky?” Hammer asked.

Ky looked up and his scowl returned. “Better watch the steaks, big guy. They’re burning.”

The steaks hadn’t burned, to Bridget’s regret. She had a feeling she would have gotten all of the charred grill rejects. She did fine food-wise, though. Between the four people slipping her food, she’d eaten the equivalent of three dinners. With a satisfied groan, she shifted over, careful not to move her head from Ky’s lap. He was sitting on the ground, his back propped against the trunk of a huge oak tree. Bridget was sprawled next to him and the other three were lounging on lawn chairs, talking casually.

Bridget eyed the visitors. She still hadn’t figured out who was with whom. Harry had the same affectionate, protective manner with both Ky and Beth, and Ky treated everyone except Bridget with the same brusque, foul-mouthed disdain, although his eyes grew narrow and hot when he thought no one was looking. The problem was that Bridget had caught him giving the same look to both Beth and Harry. As for Beth, she was openly affectionate to everyone, dispensing hugs indiscriminately, hanging off Harry’s arm one minute and leaning on Ky the next.

The strangest part was that there didn’t seem to be any jealousy between the three.

With a contented sigh, she nudged Ky with her nose and he began absently rubbing her ears again. She was halfway to sleep when Hammer’s voice brought her to full alert.

“Can I ask you a question?” Hammer’s tone was unusually tentative, catching everyone’s attention, although the query had been addressed to Ky.

Ky shrugged, which Bridget assumed was a yes.

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“You still having dreams? Nightmares, I mean?”

Another shrug from Ky. Glancing up, Bridget saw that all expression had cleared from Ky’s face. She licked his hand and he looked down, his eyes softening as he gently tugged her ear.

“Why d’you ask? You having nightmares too, Hammer?” Harry asked, leaning forward, concern drawing his eyebrows together.

“No,” Hammer shook his head. “It definitely wasn’t a dream. This was real.”

“They feel like that sometimes. Like you’re fucking right there,” Ky said quietly, his gaze far away.

“Someone was,” Hammer muttered. Guilt shot through Bridget. Here was this great guy who’d helped her out, kept her safe, fed her food that wasn’t kibble and she repaid him by making him think he was crazy, or at least a burglary victim. What kind of awful person was she? Standing up, she walked over to Hammer and rested her head on his thigh, wishing she could explain, could apologize. He smiled at her and rubbed her ears.

“Call us,” Harry ordered. “When you wake up, if you need to talk, call us. I don’t care what time it is.”

“We’ll probably be up anyway, between my nightmares and this screamer in our bed.” Ky jerked a thumb at Beth, who sat up straight, spilling some of her beer in the process.

“Total T.M.I., Ky,” she hissed at him, her face red.

He stared at her blankly for a second and then grinned. “No, dummy—not
that
screaming. Screaming after a nightmare.”

“Ohh,” Beth settled back, her face still red, brushing at the splatters of beer on her jeans. “Guess I’m the one sharing too much information then. Sorry, Hammer.”

“No problem,” he told her, his voice strained, as if holding back laughter.

Beth looked around at the three men, who were carefully not looking at each other.

“Oh, go on. Get it out before you explode.”

The men burst into laughter, the sound filling the yard and floating through the crisp evening air. Bridget moved back to her original position next to Ky. This peace had a fragile feel, as if they were in a temporary lull before a storm. Bridget figured she might as well enjoy the calm while it lasted. She’d figure out how to explain things to Hammer in a way that didn’t bring his sanity—or hers—into question. Somehow.

As if on cue, the sound of the gate opening broke the short-lived peace. Bridget came to her feet as Micah entered the yard. When he saw the group, he hesitated.

Hammer stood up. “Sorry,” he told his visitors. “I’ll just be a few minutes.” Bridget followed him over to where Micah stood.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Micah said when Hammer drew near. “This won’t take long.”

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Hammer’s hand sought out Bridget’s head. She stood mostly behind him, using his bulk as cover, with her head curled around his leg. Micah gave her a mocking look, which she ignored.

“That’s okay,” Hammer told him. “I asked you to come by tonight. Did you bring some pictures or her vet record?”

Instead of answering, Micah asked, “Were you hoping to keep her?”

“Well, sure.” Hammer sounded as if he’d been thrown off guard by the question.

“Unless Ky wears me down.” At Micah’s questioning look, he explained, “My friends would love to have her too. I’m just joking though—I’d keep her.”

“You should.” At the words, Bridget stared at Micah. He looked different today without the false joviality. Now he just seemed tired and sad.

“I should keep her?” Hammer asked incredulously. “After all this, you’re just telling me to keep her?”

“Yeah. I’ve done some research. I know you’re ex-Army, now a P.I. and, as far as I can tell, a straight-up guy. You could take care of her. With you, she’d be safe.”

Hammer stared at him. “Never thought I’d need my whole résumé to get dog-care approval. What about your nephew?”

“He should never have done it in the first place,” Micah said, frowning.

“Done what?”

“Gotten a dog,” Micah amended.

Bridget had the urge to roll her eyes.
Or
made
me a dog.

“The only thing is, there’s another man who’s looking for her,” Micah explained urgently. “I need you to keep him away from her.”

“
Another
owner?” Hammer asked skeptically. “Popular dog.”

“No,” Micah shook his head. “He’s not her owner and he can
never
be. This is a bad guy. He’s been trying to get Bridget from us for days now. You have to promise to protect her from him.”

“Who is this ‘bad guy’?” Hammer asked. Bridget could tell he still thought Micah was crazy.

“His name’s Bart Carlson,” Micah told him.

What?

“What?” Hammer’s voice had gone from indulging the crazy person to focused interest.

Micah looked at him sharply. “Bart Carlson. Why? Do you know him?”

Hammer gave a short laugh. “Know
of
him, more like. Hard not to—he’s a big name in the city and this town is right next door. What’s his interest in the dog?”

“She’s a…rare breed and he’s a collector,” Micah half-explained. “He’s cruel and can never get his hands on Bridget. Can you promise to protect her?”

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Hammer shook his head slowly. “I have to tell you that every time I talk to you, man, you sound a little nuttier.”

With a short laugh and a shrug, Micah said, “Yeah, I figured. Don’t really care, as long as you promise to keep Bridget safe.”

After a short pause, Hammer nodded. “Fine. I’ll do that.”

“Thank you.” The amount of relief in Micah’s voice erased the last shreds of suspicion in Bridget’s mind. She stepped forward to nudge Micah’s hand. He crouched down, taking her head in his hands. “You need to be careful, you hear me?”

Yes.
The memory of the men at the hospital and the two breaking into her house sobered her.

“You really need to stop talking to the dog,” Hammer sighed. “At least while other people are around. Why don’t you come sit down? Have a beer.”

“No thanks.” Micah stood up, glancing over to Hammer’s guests. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Hammer told him. “C’mon.”

He walked over to the other three with Micah reluctantly trailing behind. Hammer introduced Ky, Beth and Harry and then raised an eyebrow at Micah. After a second of hesitation, Micah told them his name—his real name, to Bridget’s surprise.

After a few more minutes of casual chitchat, Harry stood up and stretched. “Not to sound old but we have to get home to bed. It’s almost a two-hour drive and I’m opening the gym tomorrow. Plus Ky has class at eight.”

Beth hugged Hammer. “Bye, Hammer. Next time, we’ll cook for you.”

“Translation,” Ky corrected. “I’ll cook. These two are hopeless around food. Unless they’re eating it.”

“I wouldn’t say—” Beth started, looking offended, but Ky interrupted her.

“Hopeless,” he repeated.

When she opened her mouth to say something else, Ky cut her off again, this time by kissing her, short but hard. When he raised his head, Beth looked dazed.

“What?” she said and Ky grinned smugly.

“C’mon you two,” Harry said. Although he was smiling, his eyes were hot from watching the kiss. He shook Hammer’s hand, using his grip to pull him into a rough man-hug.

The other two had to drag Ky away from Bridget.

“We’ve got to get our own dog,” Harry said as they left. “Otherwise, Ky’s going to steal Hammer’s.”

“Fuck yeah,” Ky agreed as the gate closed behind them.

Hammer and Micah settled into lawn chairs. Hoping for an ear rub, Bridget sat next to Hammer and nudged his hand. He smiled at her and obliged.

Micah gave her a mocking grin. “Enjoying yourself, Bridget?”

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Bastard. And yes.

“Seriously, Micah,” Hammer warned him. “You have to tone down the crazy.”

Micah just smiled at him with an expression as sweet as Sam’s. Bridget watched, jealousy thick in her stomach. She wasn’t quite sure which man she was coveting but she knew she didn’t like this development. She’d already been dumped by Micah—she really didn’t want to repeat that with Hammer.

When Hammer got up to get more beer, Micah waited until he was in the house and out of earshot before turning to Bridget.

“Stick close to this guy,” he told her, low-voiced and fast. “I’m not sure how much help he’ll be if Carlson’s guys shoot a tranq dart in his ass but he’ll protect you more than I ever could. In the meantime, I’m trying to find—”

Micah broke off as Hammer emerged from the house with a couple uncapped bottles of beer. He offered one to Micah, who accepted it with a nod of thanks. Instead of retaking his seat from earlier across from Micah, Hammer sat next to him.

“So tell me about this Bart Carlson,” Hammer requested genially enough, although a thread of steely command ran through the words. Bridget could sense both of the men’s tension, a combination of attraction and something else. Whatever it was made Bridget’s heart pump faster. She lay down, feigning calm.