Page 6 of Sheltering Instinct

“I see.” Reaper was casting his gaze around the complex before refocusing on Conroy. “So maybe you’d share an outline of your training philosophy?”

“Our training philosophy is to find out what the dog likes to do best and hone that down to a sharpened tool.”

Reaper gave a slow nod. “Okay, then we’d like to tour your facilities and training grounds.”

“Yep. How about we go around back?” Conroy turned to Levi as they set off walking. “Levi, you’re the one looking for a K9 partner, right? Or are you all looking to expand the Cerberus kennel?” He swung his gaze back to Reaper and Goose. “If you like what you see today—"

“I’m looking for the right partner,” Levi cut the guy off.

Conroy had the hungry look of someone who thought he might have a big fish on his line, and supper was all but assured.

What Reaper and Goose decided was none of Levi’s business.

Levi was hard-focused on making the right partner choice.

The dog by his side was going to be one of the most significant relationships of his life—a battle buddy to go through everything headed their way.

In the field, a K9 made up for Levi’s human deficits with the ability to sniff out dangers, use its keen hearing and eyesight, and the ability to bring to bear around two hundred and forty pounds of bite strength that launched when the bad guy made the wrong twitch.

And that K9 had better be trained to know just what that twitch looked like.

Beyond the training, Levi was looking for a dog of his heart, one where they could be of one mind, a buddy system of mutual support and care.

Everyone on the Cerberus team said that Levi would know when he found the right dog just like he’d know when he found the right girl.

Unfortunately, Levi had found the right girl, Tess. He knew they were meant for each other the first time he looked across the park and saw her with her hand out, seeming to gather the air, then rubbing her fingers with her eyes looking skyward. There was something magical about that moment. About her.

Levi had asked her out, and from the get-go, they fit together like hand in glove. With Tess, Levi had felt seen and loved in a way that was so deep and held so much conviction that it lived in his cells.

Tess was his everything all the way up to the Dear John letter that was handed to him while he was deployed.

“I’m engaged to marry Abraham. I’m so sorry.”

Levi must have read that one sentence over a thousand times, trying to get it to make sense.

That Tess would love Abraham was a no-brainer. Levi would have found it odd for her not to. When Tess and he went to Ghana for Mama Ya’s funeral, Levi met Abraham and extend his gratitude. When they were together, Levi hadn’t been jealous or concerned. He had no sense that Abraham was competition. Back then, Levi had only felt gratitude toward a man who had, at great peril and sacrifice, saved Tess.

That Tess ended up married to Abraham instead of him was unfathomable. He still couldn’t believe it after all these years.

Given his history, Levi was a might cautious about trusting his gut when it came to a connection.

Physical strain and bodily pain from doing his job felt good in Levi’s system.

The emotional kind? Not so much.

Thoughts of Tess brought back a picture of her that he’d long treasured. Tess was looking over her shoulder, smiling, with her eyes soft with love for him.

Ah, there was the sharp stab of her hook still caught in his chest.

There was the drag that he always felt when she came to mind.

Levi never gave in to that sensation; he wouldn’t stalk her social media, wouldn’t ring her up out of the blue, but it sure would be nice if he could cut that cord.

It was a great miracle that he’d experienced a woman like that in his life.

And she was the sole reason he’d never let himself get into a situation like that again.

Yeah, except for the brotherhood he formed on the Teams, Levi found keeping emotional enmeshment at arm’s length was best. That strategy kept his head in the game. Kept him pointed in the right direction without distractions.

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