Page 13

The dog was lying calmly on the floor of George’s kitchen with Axe a few feet away, watching his girlfriend intently, his right ear flopped over. Junior sat next to him, one arm over the dog’s back, as if to reassure him.

George, a retired LAPD dog trainer, wore a smile almost as wide as Mike’s had been. “I told you.” He stroked the side of Saber’s face. “That’s going to be a hell of a litter. You know I’ve already had a dozen inquiries for her next pups. Not sure how people found out we were breeding her with your boy, Axe, but I’ve had calls from as far as Australia. Even got retired SEALs sniffing around.”

“Not surprising,” said Ali. “She’s a beautiful dog, and a legend in the LAPD.” She took a razor and syringes from her medical bag. “I’ll take some blood to make sure everything is on track. She’s in fantastic condition.”

Junior and Axe watched closely as she worked. Saber didn’t make a sound, and soon she had two vials of blood boxed and ready to send off to the lab.

“What’s your take on a due date, Doc?” asked George.

“I think your estimate is pretty much smack on. Looks like they hit it off on the first date. Although I didn’t see them…” she shot the former police officer a wink.

“I did,” said Junior. “That’s when I knew Axe loved her. He was giving her a big hug.”

Ali suppressed a laugh. “OK, so we know it happened on the first date. That means she’s due in about three weeks. I’ll get those bloods in, and we’ll be back in a few days to check on her.”

“Thanks, Ali. Did you want a coffee or a juice for the boy?”

She shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, George, but I’ve got an appointment I need to get back for.”

“No problems. We’ll be seeing you in no time.” He led them out of the house to where Ali’s car was parked in the drive. “Thanks for checking in on my girl.”

“George, she’s part of the family, now.” Ali opened the car door for Junior and Axe and noticed the dog wasn’t with them.

“Mommy is Axe staying with his girlfriend?” asked Junior.

“He can. If that’s what you want to do?” said George.

“I guess that’s up to Axe,” said Ali.

On command, the dog appeared at the doorway and paused with a concerned look on his face.

“Axe, do you want to stay?”

The former SEAL working dog glanced over his shoulder and let out a bark. Saber responded from inside with a bark of her own. Then, Axe, almost reluctantly, trotted across to the car and jumped inside.

“It’s OK, Axe, you can stay if you want,” said Junior.

He whined, lay, and placed his head in Junior’s lap.

“Well, I guess that’s your answer,” said George.

“There’s a lot of history with these two.”

“I know, Mike filled me in. You know, Malinois are a lot like Wookies, they take their life debts seriously.”

Ali laughed. “I’m going to tell Mike that one. He’s a bit of a Star Wars geek.”

George winked. “Most of us are. I’ll see you next week.”

Chapter Five

“How’s your sister doing? I haven’t seen her in weeks,” said Jenny as she and Ali sat at their favorite cafe, the Spanner Shop. She was drinking a double decaf latte on the rocks with a squirt of caramel.

“Leonie got that new job. She’s back at work after five years of being a stay-at-home mom,” said Ali as her coffee arrived.

“Oh, that’s fantastic. I’ll have to give her a call to congratulate her. Is Steve looking after the girls?”

Ali nodded. “Yeah, they started school this year. He’s doing pick up and drop off for the next few weeks while she settles in.”