“I won’t take her anywhere until this is wrapped and those fuckers are behind bars or buried.”
The dog licks at my hand and I scratch behind its ear, absently letting my fingers do their own thing.
“After that, what will you do?” he prompts, and I know he’s not going to drop this.
“Take her home, if she’ll let me. I have some land, a house. Close to Agile’s headquarters.”
He nods, watches the dog as she leans into my touch. “Sounds like a good place for a dog.”
“It would be.”
The dog seems to know we’re talking about her. Tilting her head, she looks at me.
“I’m just worried, that I won’t be all that she needs. I mean she’ll have access to counseling and anything I can think of. But it’s the every day. The day-to-day when the demons in your mind come to hunt you.”
“She’s trained for that.” He nods toward the dog. “Emotional support. If you want her, she’s yours.”
My head snaps up.
“What are you talking about?”
“June’s an emotional support dog. I have a friend that trains them. I brought her here for the two of you.”
As if she knows we’re talking about her, her ears perk up, tail thumping against the floor.
“Jade will love her,” I reply, sounding far too emotional.
“You’re right. And what you can’t give Jade, the dog will. They can listen to the hardest things and not even flinch. You on the other hand will be planning revenge every single time she tells you someone hurt her, even if it was the clerk at the grocery store that bruised her avocados.”
“You’re right.”
Christ. I force a swallow that feels like glue and rocks.
“This will be good. I know a couple of guys from the teams that have their dogs. I can’t believe you thought of this. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I know where you are. Aria’s companion dog is with her right now.”
He pauses for a beat, watching the dog as she closes her eyes and leans into my touch.
After a pause, he says, “You might not know our story, but I was drugged and Aria was taken.”
I slowly look up at him. His share hangs between us, big as a ten-thousand pound boulder.
Two former SEALs who should never have this happen to them, but it did. No wonder Agile sent him.
“How did you cope with it?”
“Lots of sessions with a punching bag. Running my fucking legs off. Therapy. Hard conversations. Talking to other men just like you.”
“I feel so fucking guilty.”
He tips his head, “You always will. But you’ll build something afterward. Then you’ll stand in that place and know you’re giving her all you have to give.”
“I’m not letting her go.”
“Of course you’re not.”
That feels good. A line drawn. An admission. Even if Jade wants…
