Page 19 of Tough Justice

She nodded then licked her lips, sucking her full lower lip between her teeth.

Next, Deck adjusted one of the side straps at her waist. Her incredibly tiny waist. He managed to secure one side, but as he tightened down the other, his hand inadvertently brushed the side of her breast. “Uh, sorry.” He cleared his throat.

“No problem.” A faint blush crept up her neck just above the vest. “I’ll get my bag.”

He watched her return to her car then unlock the trunk and lean over. The movement tugged up her shirt, exposing several inches of smooth, bare lower back. She pulled out a classic, black doctor’s bag then slammed the trunk closed and walked back over.

Deck kneeled on the pavement to finish strapping on Thor’s booties. “I didn’t know they actually made those old-fashioned bags anymore.”

“They do.” She patted the bag affectionately. “Most doctors prefer something trendier, but my dad gave me this when I graduated from medical school. I’ve been using it ever since. In case of emergencies, I keep it fully stocked at all times.” To prove her point, she set the bag down just inside the Interceptor’s bed and unclipped the metal lock. “Including naloxone.”

Deck counted at least four boxes of naloxone auto-injectors. He had to give her credit. “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”

“That it is.” She held out her hand to Thor, who raised his paw. As she inspected the protective bootie, Thor nuzzled her cheek then licked it. A smile lit her face, one bright enough to make him jealous. His dog had a major crush on Tori Sampson.

Deck took in the rest of the meds filling Tori’s medical bag, many of which were pain meds. Like the ones his sister got addicted to. “Tell me something, Doc.” He still wasn’t completely convinced she’d appreciate it if he called her Tori. “You seem pretty passionate about helping to stop opioid overdoses. Why do you give people opioids in the first place?”

She snapped the bag shut. “Because they don’t always lead to addiction. Opioids have a valuable place in medicine. Pain management being the first. Have you ever been in such incredible pain that you would have done anything to end it?”

“No,” he said flatly, doing his damnedest not to launch into an all-out war with her again. “And that’s exactly how some people get addicted in the first place.” Marianne had. His sister was just a kid. She hadn’t deserved to die, nor did anyone just because they were led down the one-way road to addiction.

“I—” she began.

“You guys all set?” Evan strolled over with Blue, his German shepherd K-9.

“Just about,” Deck said, grateful for the interruption although curious what Tori had been about to say.

Thor and Blue began sniffing, snorting, then strutting around each other with their tails high in the air.

“He’s beautiful,” she said as she watched Thor and Blue perform their habitual greeting. She peered closer at Evan’s dog. “Are his eyes blue? How unusual.”

“It’s a genetic variation,” Evan said. “If it weren’t for his eyes, he would have been a show dog, but it’s considered a disqualifying trait. Sit, Blue. Shake hands with the lady.”

Blue obediently sat then held up his paw. Thor did the same, trying to horn in on Blue’s attention.

Without missing a beat, Tori took both dogs’ paws, one in each hand, shaking them. “Nice to meet you, Blue,” she said to Evan’s dog, and to Thor, “Always a pleasure.”

The dogs’ tails wagged enthusiastically, whipping back and forth on the pavement. People tended to say dogs were good judges of character, when in reality, Blue and Thor were probably only responding to her subtle gestures and the tone of her voice. Still, the message to the dogs was clear: she liked them.

“You should have been a veterinarian,” Evan observed.

“I almost was. For a while there, it was fifty-fifty which way my medical career would go, homo sapiens or critters. Humans won out by a very small margin.” She stood and looked around the parking lot. “Is your friend, Brett, coming with us on this warrant?”

At her use of the word us, Evan caught Deck’s eye, his brows hitting his hairline.

“No.” Although Deck sure wished he was. Blaze was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and arson dog, but he was also one of the hardest hitting takedown K-9s Deck had ever seen. “He had to drive to Colorado Springs to look into all those fires popping up down there.”

“Said he’d be back in time for foosball at Mick’s later in the week,” Evan said.

“Sounds good. Let’s roll.” Deck whistled then punched his arm in the air, making a twisting motion with his finger, indicating the wagon train was leaving the station. He opened the passenger door for her then went around to Thor’s door. His dog leaped in with ease, his big body quivering with excitement. Thor knew the drill. Work time was a heartbeat away.

As one, nearly a dozen state and federal vehicles followed Deck from the parking lot en route to the Five Points section of Denver.

At the first traffic light, he hit the strobes and slowed at the intersection. The last thing he wanted was to get rammed broadside on the way to a warrant. The rest of the cavalry hit their strobes so they could stay with him.

“Can Thor really breathe in this?” Tori reached for the K-9 mask he’d placed on the console. Hearing his name, Thor stuck his head through the opening over their shoulders. As Tori examined the mask, she sifted her fingers through the fur on Thor’s neck.

“Wouldn’t use it if he couldn’t. We’ll stop a mile from the location to put on all our protective gear, including Thor’s mask.” When she returned the mask to the dashboard, her hand shook slightly. “Nervous?”