Page 10 of Sheltering Instinct

Goose was filming so their team could assess the event in slow motion that night at their hotel.

Levi didn’t hear Pete’s attack command, but after years of this kind of work, Levi could sense the disturbance in the atmosphere as the K9 thundered toward him.

Casper launched himself into the air, and as he flew by, he lowered his jaw to bite down on Levi’s arm. The points of Casper’s teeth punctured his skin even through the heavy padding. The velocity spun Levi around, throwing him off balance.

Casper got him down.

With jaws clamped into place, Casper violently shook his head while leaning back onto his haunches. With that steady forward drag, it was hard for Levi to scramble his feet underneath him. Finally able to stand, Casper dangled from Levi’s forearm.

Jaws locked, Casper’s powerful neck twisted back and forth. Levi could feel the muscles in his shoulder lock up to stabilize that arm.

Fifty pounds of dog. Two hundred plus pounds of man. It wasn’t a fair fight. Not even close.

That doggo was a beast.

Levi lifted the training baton in his free hand and simulated what a target might do if they defended themselves.

Casper was undaunted.

Levi had waited to see how long Casper would go before he gave up. But time passed, and nothing changed in their fight dynamic other than Levi's face-planting a second time and the ensuing Casper drag and shake.

Next test: What would happen if Levi changed things up and went from aggressor to capitulation?

Levi pressed his face protectively into the grass. He lay there rock-still as Casper continued the assault.

Pete called Casper off, and Casper was having none of it.

From the way his arm was getting jerked backward, Levi surmised that Casper was being dragged bodily away.

Casper’s full focus was on demolishing Levi’s arm.

Levi thought if he weren’t in this suit, he’d lose the limb.

In the field, the target wouldn’t have protection. Did they want the person mauled? Maybe, on a rare occasion, but for most of the Cerberus assignments, nah.

And did they want a dog that wasn’t under voice command? Absolutely not.

Still face down, Levi heard the sizzling zap of electricity. Some trainers use a shock to catch the dog's attention and refocus them on commands. Although, there was always the risk that the dog would turn his prey drive onto the unprotected trainer.

A moment later, Casper released.

Levi rolled slowly, making sure Pete had a hand in Casper’s collar before he exposed his face. Tomorrow, he’d be bruised and sore.

Reaper reached out a hand to help hoist Levi back on his feet. “I think we can move on to Diabla now. I’ve seen what Ineed to from Casper. An amazing athlete, just not a good fit for our needs.”

Levi caught Reaper’s gaze, and Reaper lifted a questioning brow. Did Levi agree?

Panting heavily from the exertion of that fight, Levi offered a thumbs up as Pete and Casper moved back over the horizon where they’d first appeared.

Conroy indicated the picnic table. “Levi, leave the suit out here, and we’ll put it away later.” With a gesture toward the building, he set off walking. “Good to get a better read on what you boys are after. You’ve seen a bite. How about we start Diabla at the wall? You can see how well she can search out a scent. I’ll take you to the observation room for starters. And then, if you’d like, we can hide you out in the woods so she can track you from a scent source.”

As Levi pulled the gear off, he knew that Diabla was going to be a fail.

What Levi needed was a K9 trained by someone he knew and trusted with the job. It was then that Levi thought about his friend Enrico, who was down in southern Africa training dogs to help stop rhino poaching. Enrico was a master at the craft of tactical K9 training.

And in their last conversation, he’d said something about needing to sell his favorite dog, Mojo.

Levi would give Enrico a call when he got back to the hotel to ask why Mojo had to leave his job at the game preserve.

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