Rising Storm (6 page)

"Lord have mercy," her grandfather whispered.

Katelyn wrapped a tight layer of gauze around the biggest wounds on the dog's neck and leg. She slowly flipped her over and saw the massive tears down her side.

"Here." She shoved the gauze into Marshall's hand. "Wrap that around her as best and tight as you can. Then we need to get her into your cruiser and get to the house as fast as we can. Sorry Nana, I'll need your kitchen table. I need to operate and close these wounds before she bleeds out. Papa, I need you to call all your farm workers and have anyone with a large or medium sized dog come to the house immediately to donate blood."

"I'll buy you a new table, Sweet Pea."

Her grandmother shot daggers at him. "As if I care about a stupid kitchen table. Just go and save that precious little dog."

Katelyn used every suture and every drop of local anesthetic she had. The dog had lost half of one ear and there would be a nasty scar that ran the length of the side of her neck. But, she was alive and awake. What surprised her more than the dog actually living was the fact that the dog showed no aggression. Most fighting dogs took months of rehabilitation and training to learn how to be loved and to give love. This little girl was just full of it. She was tentative, but so very sweet.

"Well, I think that does it. I'll take her to the clinic tomorrow morning. All she'll need is to be monitored, have her wounds cleaned, and then the stitches removed in ten days. She'll probably be fit for adoption after a round of antibiotics."

"I'm sorry, darlin', but I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Why not Papa?" She was tired and hurting. The last thing she wanted was to argue with her grandfather. But she didn't understand why he wouldn't let her treat this little dog.

"This sweet little thing is staying right here with me. I talked it over with your Nana, and we've agreed. Katelyn, meet Alice!"

Katelyn looked over to her grandmother who had tears in her eyes and to her grandfather, whose eyes were similarly misty and then to Alice who managed to find the strength to thump her tail and give her grandfather's hand a lick.

She was so happy she felt her eyes tear up. Her grandparents would give Alice all the love she needed to get over the trauma that happened to her. At the sound of Marshall clearing his throat she turned around to find him right behind her and looking very serious.

"Katelyn. I'm glad she's alright and even happier she has a good family now, but I need to talk to you…now."

Chapter Five

Marshall led the way out of the room and into the sitting room at the front of the house. Katelyn watched as he went over to the unlit fireplace and looked up at the antique rifle hanging on the wall.

"We have a problem," he said seriously to the rifle, but she was pretty sure it was meant for her.

"Duh just doesn't seem intellectual enough for me to say, but, duh." A problem with flashbacks to him naked in bed, her leaping behind cars to hide from him, and don't forget going hungry because he was always at the Café.

Marshall fought the urge to roll his eyes, it made him feel like such a girl. Instead he clenched his jaw and counted to ten as he watched her put her hands on her hips and stare him down. She had been amazing so far with Alice. Her long blonde hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail and sheer determination had set on her face.

Her normally bright blue eyes turned navy as she focused on saving Alice. When he looked at her he saw a beautiful and intelligent woman. Not the dumb blonde model he normally saw. Why? Why did he have to be so damn attracted to the one woman who drove him so nuts?

"Between what I saw tonight and the information your boyfriend gave me the other night about the dog he found," he paused. He hoped she’d deny it, but she kept her face void of expression and didn’t say a word. There's that ice princess he'd always known. "There’s no reason to act in theory anymore. There’s an obvious dog-fighting ring in my county, or at least around my county."

"It would seem so. Although, I'm not surprised. How much do you know about dog fighting, Sheriff?"

He ground his teeth together and blew out an agitated breath. Was she always so cold and indifferent? "Marshall. Call me Marshall. I think after sleeping together we can call each other by our first names, even if you were a coward and snuck out before breakfast."

Ah-ha! He finally got a reaction this time. Her eyes flashed with anger, a flush crept up her neck, and he smiled and rocked back on his heels when she shot him a look that would scare most men.

"As I was saying, Sheriff, I’ve seen all different levels of dog fighting in my life. Before I made a name for myself as a model, I had to do some more extreme shoots to get known. One of the shots was this editorial about gangs and I was posed in the middle of South Chicago. Young men would use dogs and dog fighting as a way to climb the gang ladder. The more fearsome the dog, the more status the owner got."

"So, it's just a status symbol?"

"On that level, yes. Then there's the polar opposite. The ones with money. They are the professionals. That's the highest level of fighting. It's extremely organized and extremely dangerous. They hire out poor and struggling models for more than modeling. They call them hostesses, but I don't even know if you could call them prostitutes. My roommate was hired as a server for one of these and when she came back she had nightmares for months. She had been groped and assaulted, witnessed drug and weapons trading and then actually saw a night of dog fighting. She had to go to therapy."

"It's that bad?"

"On that level, yes. It's ruthless. But, this reminds me more of what I saw when I was at veterinarian school in Auburn. They're kind of in the middle of the levels. They are way more organized and have more money than the gangs, but they don't have as much as the professionals. They are usually regional as opposed to international, like the professionals are. So, this ring here could be made up of fighters from Keeneston and the surrounding counties."

"I just don't get it. I have never thought of killing a dog as a means of status. I’ve seen a lot of things during wartime, but most of my men saved dogs. They certainly didn't kill them for sport or popularity." Marshall remembered several of his men giving what little food they had on them to dogs who would follow them as they trekked across the mountains.

"These bastards see their dogs as warriors, gladiators who, with every win, increase their standing in the community. But, the more realistic reason is money. Gambling is huge at every level of fighting. Winners can win big, from a couple hundred dollars to a couple hundred thousand dollars."

Marshall thought about it for a minute. This gave him a really good place to start. Katelyn had been helpful and he had been an ass to embarrass her about their night together. It just really irritated him that it seemed to mean more to him than to her. But, he should apologize and they should talk about that night. They needed to clear the air.

"Thank you. That gives me a place to start the investigation. Look, Katelyn, I also wanted to talk to you alone so that we…"

"Katelyn, dear, this nice young man came to check on me and then asked about you."

Marshall watched as Mrs. Wyatt walked through the door. Who was this nice young man? The second his black polished loafer came through the door, Marshall knew who it was. Son of a… he balled his hands into fists and narrowed his eyes.

"Ahmed."

"Marshall."

He watched as Ahmed came into the room and his eyes similarly narrowed. So, it must be true. Katelyn was dating Ahmed.

"Hello, Ahmed. It's so nice of you to come check on us."

"Anytime. It is my pleasure."

Crap. Ahmed smiled, he actually smiled. He was playing dirty. Marshall knew he had lost when a silly little smile came across Katelyn's face and for a minute she didn't look like the ice princess he was used to.

"I'm sorry, what where you going to say, Sheriff?" The silly smile left her face as she turned to him.

"Nothing. It's not important. Goodbye."

He walked out of the room with anger boiling in his stomach. Good riddance. It wasn't like he was competing for her or anything. He didn't want a snobby silver spoon ice princess. Even as he told himself that, there was a part of him that knew he was lying.

Katelyn turned from where she had watched Marshall stalk out the door. That man infuriated her more than any other man she knew, and that was saying a lot. Ahmed was still standing near her and she felt his strength radiating off of him. He had smiled at her and she had gone goofy for a minute.

He was a handsome man in a dark and mysterious sort of way. His black hair was cut straight across the nape of his neck. It was a little longer on top, which he kept slicked back. He had a perpetual five o'clock shadow that made him simultaneously sexier and more dangerous.

His black suit was impeccable. Under that black suit, he was thick and strong in a way you develop from working hard your whole life. But, that smile is what melted her. His normally tight lips and serious face transformed in those few seconds he smiled at her. For those brief seconds, he looked soft and caring.

Here was a man the total opposite of Marshall. He was trustworthy, loyal, secure, and he obviously cared about her and her family. This was the type of man she needed to be thinking about, not Marshall.

"How are you doing? Your grandmother told me about you saving little Alice." His smooth voice enveloped her as he moved toward her.

"Tired. And worried about all the dogs we didn't save. Nana said there were lots of them."

"I want you to take some of my men. I worry about you and your family. My men will keep you safe."

Katelyn moved over to the couch and sat down. She gestured for him to have a seat and felt the cushion dip as he sat down, bringing her slightly closer to him.

"I'm more worried about these dogs than I am about myself. The place was so bad, Ahmed. There was so much blood. What those poor dogs went through."

"I know. In my life I have seen many such fights unfortunately."

"You have?" she asked, surprised someone so sensitive to dogs would ever be present at such a violent event.

""Yes. I was hunting down a brutal man named Sergei and discovered the world of dog fighting. I never found him, but unfortunately I had to learn about this world he is a part of.

"There is a group of men and some women that fight these dogs on a large, international level. These fights are hard to find, but if you have the right contacts you can get in. I have had to find them before because of the other dealings that go on at fights. The weapons’ trade mostly. It is horrific what they do. They would never think of fighting to the death themselves, but it is okay for them to do it to an animal. Cowards are what they are. Cowards who think they are gods."

"There’s so much more to you, isn't there?"

"There's only one way to find out," he said as his voice lowered seductively."There is?"

"Come to dinner with me."

Katelyn felt the catch in her breath. Dinner with Ahmed? Yes, please!

"I'd love to. But I also need to check on Zoti." Did her voice sound breathy?

"Perfect. I’d like to see him too."

"Let me just go tell Nana that I won't be here for dinner. I'll meet you out front?"

"I'll go get the car." And then he smiled again.

It took her a couple of minutes to realize he had left the room already. She shook her head and walked out through the door and down the hallway toward her grandfather's office.

"Yes! You heard right." Nana's voice floated into the hallway. "She's going on a date with him!"

Katelyn hurried into the office and found her grandpa on the couch with Alice wrapped in a blanket on his lap, sound asleep.

"I know! I can't believe it either."

She looked around the room and saw Nana standing at a side table with the phone to her ear.

"Nana!"

"Gotta go, Lily. We'll talk more later." She hung up the phone and turned innocently around. "Yes, dear?"

"As if you didn't already know, Ahmed and I are going out to dinner tonight."

"That's lovely, dear. Have a good time." Her grandmother smiled serenely as if she didn't just get caught gossiping.

"Call me if Alice needs me."

Her grandfather just nodded and went back to petting Alice's head. She was sure the second she left the house her grandmother would be back on the phone telling the whole town her granddaughter finally had a date.

Ahmed was waiting beside a brand new black Mercedes SUV with the passenger door open. The setting sun cast a warm glow about Ahmed as she walked towards him. She hadn't been on a date for almost two years. She had simply been too busy with wrapping up school and starting her own clinic.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes. I believe I'm finally ready," she smiled as she got into the car.

Katelyn took the stethoscope out of her ears and smiled. Ahmed was watching her closely as she finished up the exam on Zoticus. She and the rest of the girls had been calling him Zoti. It had taken a lot of work on their behalf, but he was starting to realize he wasn't in danger anymore. He didn't growl when they came to the run to feed him or give him his medicine. In fact, he had even allowed them to pet him.

Zoti wagged his tail just a little when she patted him on his hip before standing up to put away her instruments.

"He looks really good. I believe he's going to make it. I gave him some more antibiotics and a little more pain medication. He should be able to go home soon. Do you know what you’re going to do with him?"

"Zoticus's new home is all ready for him. I bought a nice dog bed until he's strong enough to jump up onto the bed and couch. I have already hired a personal trainer to help me train him and to help him get over the memories I know he will suffer from. In time, I hope for him to be a normal, happy, and loved dog that will enjoy the rest of his life."

Katelyn's heart warmed as she watched Ahmed slowly pet Zoti's head. The dog looked up at Ahmed adoringly. In the dog's mind this man was his savior and she bet Zoti would spend the rest of his life thanking Ahmed for it.