Page 24 of Dragon in Boots

“Jac! Let me out!” Dash yelled from the other room.

“Just ignore him,” Jac said to Sammy, the vet tending to Heebie’s leg. Sammy was an older, salt-of-the-earth woman who’d earned her stripes working for several zoos before opening her practice about fifteen years ago. She mostly dealt with farm animals these days but was always gracious with her time and cost structure when it came to the sanctuary.

“Welp,” Sammy said, “if you got that man in a cage, I know it’s for a dang good reason.”

“Yup.” Jac watched Sammy finish setting the leg while Heebie lay there doped up. “How long do you think it’ll take for the bone to heal?”

“Kittens are very resilient, but figure on at least six weeks. Then we’ll see.”

“Thank you so much, Sammy. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Sammy grabbed her things and put them into her leather backpack. Her mobile vet RV out front had everything from an X-ray machine to surgical equipment, so this was an easy call in comparison to what she usually dealt with.

“You could try paying your bills on time, but I know things are tough for the sanctuary right now.”

Jac groaned. “Thank you. I’m working on getting everything caught up.”

“No problem. You just give Larry a big hug for me. Such a tall stud that one.”

Jac smiled. Larry the giraffe had a thing for Sammy, always bending his neck all the way down to give her a full-body lick when she did his checkups.

“I will.”

The two walked out together, passing Dash’s cage as Sammy headed toward the exit. She stopped and gave Dash a look.

“Boy, if you’re going to piss off a woman, next time make sure she doesn’t carry a tranquilizer gun.” She laughed. “Or deal with large carnivorous animals.”

“This is kidnapping. And now you’re an accessory,” he snarled.

“Silence, beast,” Jac said. “Or I’ll go get Maynard.”

“Who the fuck is Maynard?” Dash asked.

Sammy laughed and headed for the door. “See ya, Jac.”

“See ya!” Jac said.

“Who’s Maynard? Your other male prisoner?” Dash asked.

“He’s our resident Gila monster. Came to us with a rare fungal disease. He’s all better now, but given how poisonous he is, we couldn’t afford to pay the tens of thousands of dollars it would take to ship him home to his natural habitat.”

“What kind of place is this?” Dash asked.

“It’s Salome Hufferman’s Animal Treatment Sanctuary.”

“SHATS. Seems fitting. Does Salome know you keep men here, too?” he asked bitterly.

“She passed away about six years ago. I took over.”

“How unshatty of you,” he said flatly, unimpressed.

“Well, all right then. I need to check on a few of the animals, but when I get back, you and I are going to talk.”

“It’s a little late for talking.” His blue eyes narrowed.

“Right there. That’s the problem. How can I let you go when I’m convinced you’ll hurt me?”

“I’m a male stripper, Jac, not an assassin.”

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