Page 3 of Her Protective Biker
The officer squinted. “Wrench is the owner of the garage. He’s the guy with the beard and the ball cap. Ex Air Force mechanic, I think. Lucky is the guy holding the cigarette. He’s a mechanic, too.”
“And the third guy?” My heart rate picked up.
“That’s Moose. He’s newer around here. Joined the club from somewhere in Western Canada from what I hear. They are members of the Savage Kings MC, or affiliated with it anyway.”
“They aren’t dangerous, are they?”
He shrugged. “They’re more bark than bite as far as motorcycle clubs go. The best thing is they keep worse peopleout of Jackson Ridge. We work with them more than against them, but that doesn’t make them Goldilocks.”
“How would someone set up a dog fighting ring with the MC around?”
He shrugged. “If the MC didn’t know about them before, they do now.”
I nodded. “Let’s get these sweethearts inside and comfortable.”
I spent the rest of the day setting up a quiet spot for my new charges. Dogs were always trickier than cats since they didn’t use a litter box and needed more space. I didn’t want them outside overnight though. I’d have to spend the night with them here until they were less stressed. Then maybe I could take them home with me at night.
After a full medical evaluation and a good meal for all the dogs, I grabbed a blanket and started making the couch into a bed for myself. I hadn’t realized how late it was until I’d started yawning. I’d already missed my usual yoga class with Montana.
“Your creatures seem to be multiplying.”
I jumped at the voice and whirled towards the door. I’d left the door open to let the air in, otherwise the modular building tended to smell like cat butt. “Moose. Hi.” I pushed a wayward strand of hair out of my face.
“Bad time?”
I shook my head. “Just getting my new babies settled. The mama dog is Daisy and the pups are Dot, Freckles, Socks and the runt of the litter is Squirt.”
He rubbed a spot between his eyebrows then studied the dogs. Daisy was laying on a blanket and the pups were play fighting around the floor. “Did you pick the names?”
I smirked. “How did you know?”
“Lucky guess.” He glanced around, his eyes landing on the sign on the wall. “Snuggle Squad Rescue.”He raised an eyebrow and I beamed.
“Cute name right?”
“Yeah, real cute.” His words were dripping with sarcasm, but there was no malice there. He wanted to be annoyed with my fluffy little corner of the world, but I could see he was struggling.
“Did you come to adopt a cat? Peaches is available.” The cat in question appeared and started rubbing his big head against Moose’s ankle.
He scoffed, but didn’t try to stop him. “Very funny. Why were the cops here?”
Ah, so that was what this was about. “They brought the dogs. Confiscated them during a raid. Sounds like the people were trying to set up a dog fighting ring.”
He cursed. The muscle in his jaw clenched under his dark stubble.
“Luckily, these five passed my medical exam and don’t seem to have been hurt.”
“Your medical exam?”
I nodded. “Scrubs aren’t just for show. I’m a veterinarian.”
“So it’s Doctor Hannah then, is it?” He took a step forward with an unnecessary amount of swagger.
“Most of my patients don’t call me anything.”
“Doc it is.” He smiled at me. Not thetrying to scare me offgrimace of earlier but a genuine smile.
It changed his entire face. He was smoking hot to begin with, but it softened him a little. As much as possible for someone with a red eyed skull staring at me from the front of his neck.
