Love's Taming (The Love's Series) (26 page)

Smiling, she answered, “Well, without a speaker on the phone or a PA system, yelling is the most effective, although not necessarily the most professional.”

“Hey, whatever works. By the way, I overheard Suzanne talking about you moving into a nice new house in the suburbs.”

“It is amazing! I’ve been cramped into that tiny apartment over the clinic for a couple of years now so to be able to move into a real house will be a dream come true.”

“You must have done all right on your student loans to be able to afford a house now.”

“Oh, I still have student loans, but I’ve been able to save a little.” Uncomfortable with discussing finances with a stranger, she didn’t elaborate that Shane was buying the house and that they had finally agreed that she would pay a portion of the mortgage. After a lengthy argument, of course.

“Well, it certainly gives me hope that I can afford a nice house sooner than I thought. You never know when a windfall will just drop in your lap though, do you?”

Annie was already walking back into the surgery room to get prepped for the next dental coming in so Carl had to hustle to get to his exam room client.

*     *     *

Shane listened in
as Matt took a phone call from an informant that they had been cultivating for a long time. Matt hung up with a smile on his face.

“We might just be gettin’ a break. It seems that we’ve been chasin’ down the wrong path, lookin’ for an animal pound bringin’ in the dogs. This guy thinks they may be brought in by a breeder.”

Shane leaned back in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “That doesn’t make any fuckin’ sense. Breeders get top dollar for their dogs. They’re not gonna sell them to drug dealers for nothin’. This guy’s got to be shittin’ you.”

“Not certified breeders, but puppy-mill kind of outfits. You know, those shit-holes where someone just breeds whatever the fuck they can and then tries to sell them. If the dealers have someone who is cheaply breeding dogs for them then they’ve got a ready supply. No records, never even been in a pound, so there is no tracing the dogs at all.”

Shane looked over to the side for a minute, his mind running over the new information.

Matt watched him carefully. Since Shane had talked to the department shrink and was firmly in relationship he seemed much calmer, but Matt could see the clouds pass across Shane’s intense gaze at times and he knew that Shane was remembering the darkness. “You okay, man?”

Shane’s eyes cut back to his partner’s. Sighing deeply, he said, “Yeah. When I was livin’ in the darkness, I swear I would almost start thinkin’ like them. Then I get out and realized how fucked up it all is.”

Shane had been to several appointments with the police psychiatrist and while he resisted at first, he actually found the man to be easy to talk to. He found that being able to talk about what all he had done while he was under, things that he could never have shared with Annie, helped alleviate the nightmares and flashbacks.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he and Matt went back to work trying to find all of the information on the illegal puppy-mills in the area.

*     *     *

“Doc, you’ve got
a consultation in room three,” Suzanne said as she walked back to the lab area.

“What’s the animal?”

“The lady didn’t have an animal with her. She just said she needed a consultation with you. Oh, and she asked for you by name so I couldn’t even send Dr. Ogden in.”

“That’s odd. In this neighborhood we don’t get too many clients wanting to check us out first,” she laughed. “I guess I had better make sure I make a good impression.”

Entering the examination room, she stuck out her hand as she said, “Hello, I’m Dr. Dona…” She stopped mid-sentence, staring at Rochelle.
Rocky. Shane’s Rocky.
Tall, blonde, lots of tits and ass, rocking a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Even casual she looked elegant.

The beautiful woman’s gaze roved quickly over Annie and she smiled tentatively as she approached her. “Dr. Donavan. Yes, I know who you are. I’m Roche…”

This time it was Annie that interrupted. “Rochelle. Rocky. Yes, I also know who you are.”

Rochelle glanced sideways for a second before bringing her eyes back to Annie’s. “I see.”

The two women stood staring at each other, the silence stretching between them as uncomfortable as an itchy sweater. Annie found herself wanting to shed the silence. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I have other patients to see.”

Rochelle seemed embarrassed as she said, “Yes, of course. Forgive me. I can’t contact Stoney…I mean Shane, anymore. I’m still trying to work on things. I wanted to tell you though that I think you may be in some danger. I don’t have anything concrete, just murmurings about a vet operating on a couple of the dogs.”

“I’m in danger?” Annie repeated, fear crawling from her stomach to her throat. “But I thought the drug dealers were all in jail.”

“Most of the group we were targeting are, but Dr. Donavan, there will always be others to take their place. And a few of the ones that were higher up are still free.” Shrugging Rochelle added, “That’s why I’ll always have a job, I suppose.”

“But I don’t know anything. I’m nobody.”

“I don’t have any facts for sure,” Rochelle added. “I just wanted to warn you to be careful.” Looking speculatively, she continued, “And I wouldn’t say you’re nobody. I always wondered if any woman could tame the wild Stoney.”

Licking her lips, Annie drew herself up and stared into Rochelle’s eyes. “I won’t discuss Shane with you.”

Rochelle’s eyes softened. “Oh, Dr. Donavan, you misunderstand me. I know he’s yours. I knew that the night you saw us together. He was torn up about what you saw and what you thought. I’ve never seen him like that. I knew then that he loved you.” Sighing while picking her purse up from the counter, she slung it over her shoulder as she prepared to leave. “Please be safe, Dr. Donavan. And thank you.”

She passed Annie as she opened the examination room door, turning only to say, “Thank you for loving him.”

Rochelle walked briskly out of the room and collided into Carl. He reached out to grab her arms so that she would not fall.

“I’m so sorry,” he exclaimed as he steadied her, scanning her from head to toe, staring intently.

“I’m fine. Actually it was my fault for not checking the hall first,” she said staring at him intently.

Flashing his smile, he couldn’t help but add, “Well, if I have to run over a client, I am certainly glad it was one so beautiful.”

Laughing, Rochelle glanced back at Annie before heading out of the door. Annie, still in shock over the visit, didn’t hear Carl when he first asked about the client.

“Annie,” he repeated. “Who is she? She didn’t have a pet with her.”

“Oh, just a potential client. I think she just wanted to check me out,” she answered cryptically.

“Well, if she does choose us, make sure I get her next appointment!”

*     *     *

“You have got
to be shittin’ me!” Shane growled.

Annie, giving him a minute to control himself, held her phone against her shoulder while she gave the cats a treat. Knowing that she needed to let Shane know about Rochelle’s visit, she had excused herself from the clinic and ran back up to the apartment. Stepping over Sarge and his food bowl, she managed to get the cats fed.

“Of all the goddamn, fuckin’ moves she coulda made, that one really rips it!”

“Honey, I know you’re mad, but you haven’t let me tell you what all she said. She didn’t come by to start trouble between us. She came to warn me.”

She could hear him speaking to someone in the background. “Yeah, goddamn Rocky came by the clinic to visit Annie. Got no fuckin’ clue but that shit doesn’t fly.”
He must be talking to Matt.

“Babe, what was she warning you about?”

“She said that she thought I might not be safe. She said she just heard rumblings about a vet who had operated on some dogs and she thought of me.”

“Goddamn it! If she’s got intel, she sure the fuck knows she shouldn’t be bringin’ that shit to your doorstep. Babe, listen to me. I’m sending some cruisers to go by the clinic and I’m calling Tony to make sure they have you on their radar. That other shit, I’m shuttin’ it down right now.”

Annie started to tell him not to do anything rash, but she knew he was going to do whatever he had to do. “Shane, please be safe. For me, please.”

His angry voice softened. “Sunshine don’t worry. I’ll see you tonight. And baby?”

“Yeah?”

“Just one more week and we can be in our house. Keep thinkin’ of that.”

Smiling for the first time since her meeting with Rochelle, Annie relaxed. “I know, honey. I can’t wait.”

*     *     *

The bar was
dingy, beer spills on the table from the night before were still sticky. The lighting was dim, so only the most sober of patrons would have even noticed the condition of the tables. Shane sat on one side of the booth looking at the woman on the other side, pissed at what she had done and yet pleased that he felt no residual attraction to her at all.

Rochelle held up her hand, “I know what you’re going to say. I didn’t think you’d want a meeting so I did the next best thing and went straight to the person I thought needed warning.”

“You didn’t think I’d want to know? You didn’t think I’d need to get things set up to protect her? You didn’t think that showin’ up at the clinic in broad daylight was a problem? You just didn’t fuckin’ think and now you’ve brought all this shit right to my woman’s doorstep!”

Rochelle sat in silence for a moment staring at him. Sighing while shaking her head, she agreed. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Stoney.”

“I’m not Stoney, Rochelle. You gotta get it through your head. My fuckin’ name is Shane.”

Jerking back, she pursed her lips before going on. “I get it, but for a year you were Stoney to me. And I was your Rocky. Yeah, that’s right Shane. I was yours. I just made the mistake of thinking you were mine also.” Taking a big breath she continued, “And I was wrong today. I should have called it in or reported to my contact. Hell, I could have even called you. I don’t know…I just…wanted to see her. I wanted to the see the woman that finally tamed you. And when I did, I realized that I had nothing against her. I could see it in her eyes that she was yours.”