Page 18 of Keyoni & Sage
Sage
Keyoni was back with Kaiser.
“His stomach’s fucked up again,” he explained. “I don’t know what’s going on. One minute, he’s fine. The next, he can’t keep nothing down.”
“How long’s it been going on this time?” I freed my stethoscope from around my neck.
“I noticed it when I got up for work. He was fine yesterday. You saw him.”
Keyoni stayed in my apartment for almost an hour. He got a text from his daughter at the same time Lanique and Cauvey decided to return home.
“Yeah, I did.” I patted the exam table. “Come on, Kaiser.”
He didn’t move until Keyoni issued the command. “He only listens to me.”
“And Keturah,” I added, seeing it for myself yesterday.
“Sometimes,” he replied with reluctance. “He’s not supposed to…but she’s around a lot, so?—”
“You don’t have to explain.” I couldn’t care less who Kaiser answered to. My main objective was to get him feeling better. “Can you get him to lay on the table for me?” Kaiser struggled with commands. His noticeable lethargy had me concerned, andwhen I checked his heart rate, my concern grew stronger. It was faster than normal. Combined with his gums starting to go pale, I feared Kaiser’s problem had to do with something he ingested. “I wanna do some bloodwork.”
Keyoni agreed for me to do anything I needed, which extended his wait longer than normal. I saw a few more patients before the results of Kaiser’s test came back. When they did, I wasn’t surprised.
“Rat poison?” Keyoni asked, furrowing his brows. “Somebody poisoned my dog?”
“I can’t say that for sure,” I offered honestly. “I don’t know how or why, but Kaiser definitely has rat poison in his system.” I looked over at Kaiser lying motionless on the table, his eyes followed every step I took. “I think we caught it early, but it doesn’t mean Kaiser is out of the woods just yet. I’d like to keep Kaiser at least overnight. He needs to be on IV fluids and vitamin K therapy?—”
“Whatever you need to do,” Keyoni agreed. “Whatever it takes to get him back to feeling better, do it.”
I nodded. “Very well, then. I’ll have my assistant bring in the required paperwork and make sure you have the after-hours number to call and check on?—”
“Nah, I wantyournumber.”
I choked on my words, eventually managing to spit out, “Hunh?”
“I want your number,” he said again. “Kaiser ain’t just any dog. He’s an officer.” Keyoni pushed up out of his seat. “And my partner. As his handler, I should be able to call the person in charge of his care directly.”
“My personal number though?”
“Mmhmm. That’s the best way to get a hold of you, right?” He pulled out his phone, rounding the exam table. “Or would it be easier if I just show up?”
Show up!
I recited my number instead. He called me and my phone buzzed in my pocket.
“I don’t make a habit of giving out my number,” I said firmly.
“Me either.” He nodded toward my pocket. “But now you got mine too.”
The way he looked at me sparked a tingle in my core. I broke the gaze, feeling guilty about the thoughts filling my head. His gesture was innocent. He was worried about Kaiser, nothing more. So it was only right for me to shift the conversation back to the important matter at hand.
“Kaiser will be fine. We’ll take good care of him.” I rubbed Kaiser’s lowered head. “The staff is preparing an area for him in the back right now?—”
“I want to see it. Show me.”
“We only allow staff back there?—”
“Make an exception…for an officer.”
