Page 66 of Always Been Mine

Exhaling deeply, the vet said, “There was an exit wound above the scapula. To be sure, we did an x-ray and there were no signs of the bullet. There were some bone fragments we had to clean up.”

“Will he make a full recovery?”

“I’m optimistic, but it will be slow because of his age and there might be occasional pain for the rest of his life.”

Gabe nodded.

“We would like to keep him overnight for observation.” The vet scanned through Rhino’s chart. “He’s partially deaf and blind?”

“He was a military dog. Got caught in an IED blast.”

The vet’s face softened. “You have a tough boy, Mr. Sullivan.”

A lump lodged in Gabe’s throat. “Can I see him?”

“Sure. He’s heavily sedated though, but we’ve moved him into recovery.”

The vet nodded for him to follow her through the door.

A long stretch of hallway with smaller rooms on either side led to a sprawling facility with glass walls. Monitoring equipment was grouped around several surgical tables. Toward one corner were two additional glass-paned operating theaters, while another corner were sections separated by curtains.

A veterinary technician was laying Rhino on a table.

“We need to monitor his blood pressure and other vitals throughout the night,” the vet said.

A section of his fur was shaved above his shoulder, revealing the stitches holding together battered flesh. Gabe let the vet-tech finish getting Rhino settled in before he stepped close to the table.

“Take your time.” The vet drew the curtains closed.

His fingers gently threaded through Rhino’s fur. Gabe couldn’t believe in such a short time this creature had come to mean so much to him. His dog courageously protected the woman he loved. Gabe didn’t know how he deserved such loyalty and selfless love that Rhino had shown him. During the early days of his transition back to a normal life, Gabe would sit on the floor against the wall with his head on his linked arms resting on his knees as images of what he had seen and done haunted him. Rhino would poke his muzzle through his arms to rest his cold nose on his cheek, forcing Gabe to pet him. His dog wouldn’t let him wallow in his darkness. Rhino knew what he needed. Amazing what a simple connection could do, bring a human back from fucked-up man-made misery to experience the basic reason for being—love without exception, given without personal gain, selfless and innocent. Gabe scratched behind Rhino’s ears. “You did good, soldier.” He absolutely did, in more ways than one.

Gabe drove backto his neighborhood thirty minutes later. Travis called to inform him they had retrieved the bullet that had struck Rhino. Travis also acquired street surveillance footage of the abduction.

Pulling his truck right in front of his house, he watched Nate and Travis exit a black Escalade a couple of cars up. Gabe cut off the engine and got out of his vehicle. His eyes took in the trail of blood still visible on the pavement.

The two men jogged up to him.

“Hey,” Nate said. For the first time since Gabe had met the man there was no challenge or animosity in his eyes. Instead, there was sympathy and concern. “Sorry your dog got hurt, but I’m glad he’s fine.”

Gabe gave a slight nod. “Did the cops give you guys a hard time?”

“I know their chief of police and had them back off. They can’t sweep this under the rug forever, so if none of the alphabet agencies take over, they may come back to question you. BSI can take over the case if we can establish what happened to Beatrice impacts the security of our client.”

“Thanks for all you’ve done, man.”

Travis clapped one hand on his shoulder. “Listen, Gabe, I know we haven’t seen eye to eye since you came back, but Bee missing, trumps all the bullshit between us. We want her back as much as you do.”

“Thanks, man,” Gabe mumbled. He motioned them to follow him into the house as he strode up the walkway to the front stoop.

Unlocking the door, his eyes fell on Beatrice’s purse and other things, which reminded him that just a few hours ago, she had been here . . . safe.

His fists clenched at his sides as it took all he had to control his emotions. As if sensing his struggle, Nate said, “We’ll get her back.”

“I need to change out of these clothes,” Gabe muttered. His shirt and jeans were stained with Rhino’s blood. “You can set the laptop over there.” He wrote them his Wi-Fi password.

He took a quick shower and threw on a Henley and a fresh pair of jeans.

Nate and Travis were already studying the surveillance footage when he returned downstairs.

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