Badger looked up, grinned, and said, “Kat insisted. Otherwise I leave my shit everywhere.”
Kurt laughed, sat down on the nearest chair, and said, “What did you want to see me about?”
“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard about the War Dogs that we’ve been dealing with,” he said, one eyebrow lifted as he looked at Kurt.
Kurt nodded. “Yeah, heard something about it. You’re almost done with those, aren’t you?”
“Nope, not happening apparently,” he said. “We’ve got another half dozen here anyway. I haven’t even counted them but was trying to finish off the original files. And this is the last of them,” he said. “When the department went to check up on it, the adoptees admitted that they had only done the adoption for the husband’s brother because he’d really, really wanted it. But, when they followed up with the brother, he had taken off, and the dog was nowhere to be found.”
“And now?”
“We found the brother. He’s in jail.”
“Wow,” he said, “so where the hell is the dog?”
“The brother has no idea, says that the dog never adjusted well to being there, and wasn’t exactly friendly, so he didn’t really give a shit.”
“Great, and what did he do?”
“He gave her to a trucker.”
“Well, that’s still not necessarily bad news,” he said. “A trucker would probably enjoy the dog and keep her on long hauls.”
“Yep, until he got to Kentucky,” he said. “And he lost the dog.”
“Okay,” Kurt said, slowly getting an idea. “And that’s why you’re asking me?”
“Well, Kentucky is your home state, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he said. “But how long ago was the dog lost there?”
“We were given the file awhile ago,” he said. “And we did look at all these, and we found no good leads on any of them. So we weren’t in too much of a panic to put too many man-hours in this direction. We’ve done the best footwork we can, but this is the oldest one we’ve got.”
“So that’s a really cold case for me to look after,” he said, reaching for the file. He opened it up to a picture of a completely golden not-quite-shepherd-looking Malinois. “So definitely female,” he said, guessing from the size.
“Yes, she’s female. She’s fixed. She was an excellent War Dog. She was an IED-sniffing, bomb-sniffing dog, and she was really good at sniffing out the enemy’s weapons in hidden corners. She’s an expert at hiding herself and has done a ton of outdoor training. Her name is Sabine.”
“In other words, she’ll see the world as her enemy. She won’t know who to trust, and she spent these last weeks living on her own.”
“Maybe,” he said, “and I know you think the department was derelict in not getting into this earlier, but we did contact several people that we know throughout the state of Kentucky where the trucker was, where Sabine was last seen, and yesterday we got a tip, saying that somebody had seen a dog looking just like this one at a truck stop.”
“Would it be likely that she’d still be there?”
“The only thing we could think of is it’s the last place that she had human contact. And remember. She’s five, and she’s spent quite a bit of time with people.”
“And was the tip a good tip or a bad tip?”
“That’s where the problem comes in,” he said. “The tipster said that Sabine was trying to attack people. They’d called animal control, but so far nobody had seen Sabine since.”
“I’m on my way,” he said, jumping to his feet, clutching the file.
“Wait,” Badger said. “We can’t pay for this. We’ll cover your expenses, but there’s no wages.”
“That’s fine,” he said. “Any dog that’s been through military training deserves a few good years afterward. It sounds like she’s been given a short shrift this time.”
“It happens,” Badger said, “hopefully not too often. Do you have any K9 training?”
“Maybe not like you mean,” he said, “but I’ve certainly been around dogs all my life. My dad bred them. At least when he was sober enough. My foster families usually had them, for easier assimilation, yada, yada.”
“Good enough,” he said, “this one could be dangerous.”
“She could be,” he said, “but maybe it’s about time somebody went to find her, intending to rescue her,” he said, “instead of capturing her.” And with that, Kurt walked out.
This concludes Book 11 of The K9 Files: Caleb.
Read about Kurt: The K9 Files, Book 12
The K9 Files: Kurt (Book #12)
Welcome to the all new K9 Files series reconnecting readers with the unforgettable men from SEALs of Steel in a new series of action packed, page turning romantic suspense that fans have come to expect from USA TODAY Bestselling author Dale Mayer. Pssst… you’ll meet other favorite characters from SEALs of Honor and Heroes for Hire too!
Being a badass growing up had been fine for a while, but Kurt knew his life had to change. His best option? The US Navy. Thirteen years later a serendipitous request from Badger to check out reports of a missing War Dog hidden in the bushes and attacking people sends Kurt to the very place he couldn’t wait to get out of.
When Kurt chose the navy over Laurie Ann so long ago, he left her with a gift she’d fought long and hard to keep. Plus she didn’t give up on her dream of becoming a doctor. When Kurt returns, it’s hard not to see the same person she’d loved in this older version. Yet the town has a long memory, and at least one person isn’t willing to see who Kurt is now.
But, as always, he’s a trouble magnet. Was he capable of handling the nightmare they were in, or would he leave, just like he had last time?
Find Book 12 here!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Caleb: The K9 Files, Book 11! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
I love to hear from readers, and you can contact me at my website: www.dalemayer.com or at my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter or follow me on BookBub. And if you are interested in joining Dale Mayer’s Reader Group, here is the Facebook sign up page.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
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About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).