Page 8 of Rescued By the Rebel

I laugh. and he tells me about some of the food he ate when he was in the military.

“What branch were you?” I ask as we clean up.

“Navy. I was a SEAL.”

“Did you like it?”

“Sure. It felt good. Until I was shot.”

“Oh my gosh!” I gasp, and he smiles.

“It’s fine. I’m fine, but it ended my military career.”

“What do you do now?” I ask as I help him load the dishwasher.

“I’m a consultant. I was the technology guy when I was in the service. I did coms and basically anything that had to do with a computer or satellite. When I got out, I started my own company. Usually it’s law enforcement or other security outfits. They come here to the training facilities and we run them through some programs and help train other operations on handling that stuff.”

“That’s cool,” I say honestly, and he nods.

“I have a place here in town, and people come from all over to go through it.”

I smother a yawn and then wince.

“Sorry! I don’t think your job is boring or anything,” I rush to say, and he laughs.

“No worries. I’m sure you’re tired after today.”

I nod, and he closes the dishwasher.

“Let’s head to bed.”

I nod and follow him up the stairs.

“Good night, Winnie. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Night, Aldis.”

I give him one last smile before I head into my bedroom. Two cats have taken up residence on my luggage, and I smile as I slip into bed.

Tomorrow I’ll figure out what to do with the cats, and I’ll do my best to bury my feelings for Aldis.

Tomorrow, I promise myself, as my eyes fall closed and I fall asleep.

FIVE

Aldis

I wake before Winnie the next morning. Well, that’s not necessarily true since I never really went to bed. I was too wound up, my mind racing with thoughts of Winnie finally being in my house, with possibilities of who could be behind the attacks, and with different ways to keep my girl safe.

I already called Triton, Chance, and Drak and gave them a rundown of what happened. They’re going to meet me at the sanctuary in a few minutes to survey the damage and figure out what to do now.

I sneak out into the hallway and pause to listen. I can hear a few cats meowing in the room next door, but there are no sounds coming from Winnie’s room so I continue downstairs and out the front door. I make sure to lock it behind me and glance around as I head over to my bike.

I hop on and take off down the driveway. The ride to Furry Haven is quick, and when I pull up, the place is quiet. I let out a low whistle when I see the damage from the fire in the daylight.

The building is almost completely rubble. There are twisted, half-melted metal bars poking up here and there. The rest is just ash, charred wood, and what I’m guessing is burned cat toys and litter.

The sound of motorcycles cuts through the quiet morning, and I turn as my three friends pull in and park next to my motorcycle.

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