1
Kiernan
“You little fucker,” I growled.
I should’ve known this dog would give me hell when I spotted him at the shelter. He fooled me. All alone, curled up in the corner, as his brothers and sisters played together in the center of the large pen. I thought he was being excluded. With one little look from his large puppy eyes, he stole the heart right out of my damn chest, and I knew he was the dog for me. I had grand ideas about taking him everywhere with me. He’d be my constant companion; I’d just load him up in my truck. He’d hop in with nothing more than a short whistle, and we’d hit the road as our favorite country music played through the speakers. I had dreams of training him so he could assist me out in the field. He’d be my running partner and would bring a little noise into my life, instead of the quietness that I came home to every night.
Sure, I didn’t ask Roman if he’d be cool with a dog hanging out at the office of MarxMen, but I knew he’d accept it once Pepper Jack turned those amber eyes on him. Or least once Caden met him and convinced his dad to let him wander around the office. Roman had trouble saying no to his kid.
If Pepper Jack hadn’t peed on Roman’s couch before I had a chance to introduce them, it would’ve worked.
Probably.
Maybe.
At this moment, I definitely knew Pepper Jack would cause me trouble. He sat on his hind legs and pulled against the leash, refusing to go inside the vet clinic. He’d never been here before, so I had no idea how he knew he wouldn’t like it. And this damn dog was giving me a run for my money. I could bench press hundreds of pounds and run miles without breaking much of a sweat, but here I was, panting and sweating while fighting with a puppy that weighed less than fifty pounds. This dog had turned my entire life into a chaotic mess.
A line of people and their pets were behind us, waiting to get inside, but it didn’t bother Pepper Jack one bit. The woman behind me huffed and tapped her foot against the concrete sidewalk while glaring at me. I clenched my jaw. “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath and bent down to scoop up Pepper Jack. He flopped on his back while in my arms and stretched out until his legs were completely straight. I turned sideways, waddling through the door, so I wouldn’t hurt him, but he reached out, hooked a paw on the doorway, and held on for a second. I was out of breath by the time I marched up to the front desk, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face. “Hi. How are you? I have an appointment at two.”
“What’s this little guy’s name?”
“Pepper Jack Brooks.” As I said his name, his head lolled to the side and his tongue fell out of his mouth, and I swore he was smiling. The woman behind the counter gushed over him as I held back my eye roll. Of course he would act this way in front of the vet staff. Pepper Jack’s smile grew as each vet tech stepped up to rub behind his spotted ears. The huge, wide smile is something pit bulls are known for, but the white speckled spots all over his tan fur aren’t. The animal rescue didn’t know what he was mixed with. His litter had been dropped at the door in the middle of the night.
I juggled him in my arms as I snagged the tablet from the receptionist. I set Pepper Jack on the ground. He curled into a ball and fell asleep as soon as his eyes closed, letting out a loud snore that scared the nearby cat. He hissed from inside his carrier, but Pepper Jack didn’t even flinch in his slumber. He ignored all other animals. The first time I took him to the dog park, he did the same thing he’d done with his brothers and sisters: sat in the corner and ignored the others. A woman brought her dog over to introduce him, and Pepper Jack stuck his snout in the air, refusing to make eye contact.
He didn’t growl.
He didn’t lunge.
He wasn’t aggressive with other dogs or cats, but he damn sure wasn’t friendly with them either. I was pretty sure in his mind he was the only dog on the planet. At least the only one that mattered. The king of his own little world.
I kept one eye on my snoozing dog while I filled out the vet’s forms. I wouldn’t put it past him to use the restroom in the front lobby to mark his territory in front of the other pets and owners.
“Pepper Jack.” The vet tech called for us from an open doorway. He popped up and walked alongside me easily as I rose from the bench, and I released a sigh of relief. From one moment to the next, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get. For the first two nights, he’d been docile, sweet, and the best copilot. Day three, it had all turned to shit. I woke to a living room full of couch fluff, and the one surviving cushion was occupied by him. His front legs were crossed and his chin was tilted in the air as he stared at me, challenging me. Before that moment, I would’ve laughed at anyone who said a dog could smirk, but I swear Pepper Jack was smirking as he surveyed the damage.
So here I was for a wellness visit, vaccines, and an assessment to join in on the class the vet offers. It covers everything from basic training to obedience to behavioral issues. According to my sources, these classes are the best Austin has to offer.
“Hi, I’m Alicia. I’ll be assisting Dr. Conroy today.” Alicia took the leash from my hand and guided Pepper Jack onto the scale. I rolled my eyes when the measly number popped up on the screen. How in the hell had he given me so much trouble as we were coming in? He trotted by her side into the exam room, not giving her a lick of trouble, immediately following orders, all with a wagging tail. If he kept this up, they wouldn’t believe that I wanted behavior training.
Alicia took Pepper Jack’s temperature, checked his paws and tail, and ran her hands down his body while asking me a few questions. She marked a few things on a tablet. “Dr. Conroy will be right in.”
“Thank you, Alicia,” I said.
I tugged my phone from my pocket, connected to a VPN, and logged into MarxMen’s secure network to look at the afternoon update on our current accounts. Roman had started MarxMen in Nashville fresh out of the army, and I’d joined him, standing by his side while it grew and when we’d moved it to Austin after he’d reunited with Harper. It had expanded a lot in the past several years. It had gone from focusing on security to taking on anything from security detail jobs, to patterning with the police department, to tracing criminal activity, to legal hacking for companies. Well, mostly legal hacking. I’d tackled a lot of the bother so Roman could spend time with Harper and their son. Now they had another kid on the way. I didn’t have anything to go home to, so I could pull the all-night shifts and take the business trips to secure contracts.
I locked my screen, immediately severing the connection, as the latch popped and the door swung open. I leaned to the side to deposit my phone back in my pocket to focus completely on Pepper Jack’s appointment. My gaze shot up as I heard a soft gasp. My gaze locked with deep brown eyes that were wide open with shock. I scanned her face. As part of the training drilled into me during my army days, I observed every nook, cranny, and person inside every room I walked into. I’d never had trouble with women. I wasn’t an idiot. I noticed when women stared at me. In fact, I liked it.
I saw their expressions. Appreciation. Lust. Curiosity. Outright shock was a new one though. I wiped a hand over my face. Was there a piece of the burrito I had scarfed down at lunch hanging from my chin? I glanced down at my shirt, making sure Hudson hadn’t switched my shirt at the gym and given me something scandalous or some shit. That fucker liked his jokes more than anyone else.