“What’s wrong, buddy?” Chains put his hand on the husky’s back.
Thor whined then stepped back, his body swaying as if he was dizzy. Chains looked down at the vomit on the floor and stiffened: there was a fair amount of blood in it.
“Fuck,” he whispered. He cut his gaze over to Thor who lay on his side, his bright eyes dull and glassy.
“How is he?” Lila asked as she bent down and stroked the dog’s fur.
“Not good. Stay with him—I’ll be right back.” Chains ran from the room and sprinted up the steps two at a time. He rifled through a drawer in the nightstand until he pulled out the card his retired veterinarian had given him four months before. He quickly tapped in the number as he walked down the stairs. By the time he was back at his pet’s side, Chains had secured an appointment with the animal clinic right away.
“Come on, buddy,” he said as he gingerly picked up the big dog and walked to his car.
Lila, Ruby, Jigger, Razor, and the two prospects—Ink and Vegas—followed behind. Jigger and Razor pushed down the back seat, then Ruby and Lila spread a blanket over it. Ink and Vegas helped Chains lay Thor on top of it.
“You want me to go with you to help out?” Jigger asked.
“Yeah,” Chains said. His mouth was dry like sand, and sweat formed along his hairline.
They drove in silence as Chains maneuvered the SUV through traffic. He kept glancing behind his shoulder to make sure Thor was okay, but the dog’s breathing was labored and his eyes were shut.
I just gotta get him to the clinic in time. Chains pushed the thought that Thor could die out of his head. Thor had been a puppy when Chains found him shivering in a window well one cold January night seven years before. He had been at one of his lowest points after having caught his fellow brother and best friend, Crossbones, fucking Krystal. After that, everything was a blur: beating the shit out of Crossbones, kicking his cheating wife out on her ass, the club’s decision to throw Crossbones out of the Night Rebels, and his family’s smug faces when he’d told them he and Krystal had split.
And then a ball of fur had come into his life, and the only thing that mattered was saving the little guy. From that moment on they’d become fast friends, and Thor was always by his side.
He glanced back at the dog and clenched his jaw—the taste of blood pungent. Thor wheezed as he struggled to breathe.
“He’s gonna make it, bro. I know it,” Jigger said.
Chains nodded.
He just fuckin’ has to.
Chapter Three
“They’re here, Dr. Stanford,” Christina said, standing in the doorway.
Autumn looked away from the computer screen and smiled at the veterinarian tech. “Have the owner bring his dog to Room Three. I’ll be there in a fast minute.”
“Will do.” The tech turned around and her ginger-brown hair swung around her shoulders before she disappeared down the hall.
Autumn rolled her shoulders back and stood up from the chair. She raised her arms above her head and stretched, then slipped on her white lab coat and headed out of the office.
When she entered the examining room, she saw a large Siberian lying on a multi-colored blanket on top of the steel table. Beside the dog was a tall man with tattoos running up and down well-defined arms. He wore a white T-shirt and black jeans, both of which fit him like a second skin.
Then he turned around and her pulse raced. A close-cropped beard accentuated his firm jaw. Her gaze quickly ran over his muscular chest, tapered waist, and narrow hips. But it was his eyes that held her—the kind that could easily distract a woman. They were the brown shades of acorns, just bright enough to shine in the shadows. When she looked into them, a shiver of golden light raced down her spine.
“Are you the doc?” His voice was husky baritone—sensuous and commanding.
Dragging her gaze from his, Autumn looked at the Siberian. “Yes. How long has he been this listless?” she asked, walking over to the table.
“Since he ate some of these on our hike in Chaco Canyon a couple of hours ago.” He pulled something out of his pocket and opened his hand.
The slight distraction from before evaporated immediately when she saw several orange-yellow berries lining his palm.
“Those are American climbing bittersweet. Did you actually see him eat them?”
“No, but he was chewing something when I found him. There were a bunch of these on vines around the trees, so I’m pretty sure they’re what he was eatin’.”
“Did he vomit?”
“About forty-five minutes later and there was blood in it. What the fuck’s going on with him?”
She glanced up and saw the worry etched all over his face, and she offered him a small smile. “The fruit from this plant makes humans have a stomach ache and diarrhea, but for dogs it’s poisonous. It’s good that you brought him in right away. What’s your dog’s name?”
“Thor. I’m Chains.”
“And I’m Dr. Stanford. I guess we started backward.” Another smile. His gaze bored into hers and she looked away. “Thor’s suffering from hematemesis or, simply put, vomiting blood. I’m glad you thought to bring in the berries since it helps me isolate the cause of his hematemesis.”
“Can you help him?” Chains stroked his pet repeatedly as he spoke.
“I’ll do my best. The first thing I need to do is give him an activated charcoal. That’ll help to prevent further absorption of the poison into his body. Do you know how many berries he ate?”
“No idea. Fuck, I shouldn’t have let him wander off, but we go there a lot and it’s never been a problem.”
Autumn opened one of the cupboards and took out what she needed, then pulled on a pair of gloves. “Don’t blame yourself—dogs are notorious for ingesting a lot of things.”
“He’s never done this before. I should’ve given him a damn treat before we went.”
Autumn smiled. “Again, don’t beat yourself up over this. Did you want to stay while I begin treatment?”
“Yeah, of course. I’m here for the whole fuckin’ nine yards.”
A soft knock on the door made Autumn look up. “Come in.”
Mary entered and quickly came over to the table. The nurse had a silver tray filled with syringes, tubes, gauze, and surgical tape. Autumn told her what needed to be done at that moment, then Mary put the tray down on the counter, walked around the table, and stood beside Chains.
“If you could help us hold him down while I administer the charcoal, that would be great,” Autumn said to him. He tilted his head and placed both hands on top of Thor’s body.
“After we wait for a bit, I’m going to do a gastric lavage, which is basically an internal washing.”
“What’s that for?” The fine lines in his tanned forehead deepened.
“To directly wash any residual poison from Thor’s stomach. It’s a highly effective way to remove a toxin from the stomach before the body ingests the element.”
“What do you have to do for that?” he asked.
“I’ll put a tube filled with water into Thor’s stomach to flush his system. Diuretic drugs will enhance the secretion of the substance through the urinary tract.”
“That doesn’t sound too comfortable.”
“I’ll have to administer an anesthetic, but before I do that, I’m going to run blood work and some other diagnostic tests. Once we begin the procedure, you’ll have to wait in the lobby. It won’t take more than thirty minutes, and I’ll come out and get you once it’s done.”
“All this shit from eating just a few berries?” Chains ran his fingers through his hair.
“A few poisonous berries.” She stroked the dog’s soft fur. “Thor has a very good chance of recovery. I just need you to let me do my job, okay? Time is really of the essence.”
“Yeah, okay … sure.”
“Great. While Mary draws blood, let’s go to my office and we’ll go over the paperwork.”
An hour later, Autumn called Chains into
the recovery room, then rushed out to examine another patient.
The clinic had three veterinarians on staff, two nurses, four techs, and two receptionists. Ever since Autumn had graduated from veterinary school, it had been her dream to own a clinic, and when the opportunity to buy a retiring vet’s practice arose, she jumped at it and moved from Denver to Alina.
“Chains is asking for you,” Mary said as Autumn finished up with an ailing Persian cat. “I still can’t get him to tell me his last name. He’s a bit odd, don’t you think?”
Autumn chuckled. “I suppose we’re all odd in some way. I think it’s sweet that this tough-looking guy adores his dog—you can see it in his eyes.”
“I wasn’t paying that close attention to him.” The older nurse moved away from the doorway. “I’m just wondering why he doesn’t want us to know his real name. I highly doubt any mother would name her son Chains.”
“I don’t know … some parents give their kids some pretty crazy names. Frank Zappa named his daughter Moon Unit and the name Semaj cracked the top 1000 names for boys in 1999—it’s James spelled backward.”
Mary clucked her tongue. “Well, I think he’s hiding something, but you seem to be taken with him.”
Autumn’s jaw muscle tightened and irritation pricked the back of her neck. “Please ask Dr. Jenkins to take my walk-in appointment in Room Four.” Shoving her hands in the pockets of her lab coat, she strode over to the recovery room.
I’m certainly not taken with him. That’s just nonsense … Mary’s full of it.
When she opened the door, Chains was leaning over Thor, whispering into the dog’s ear while he stroked his side over and over. For some reason, the sight of this very masculine man soothing his dog struck her as incredibly sexy. As if sensing her presence, Chains looked over his shoulder and his gaze locked on hers for a half second, then slowly moved down her body.
Autumn cleared her throat and walked over. “How’re you holding up?” she asked.
His eyes lingered on her breasts and then her lips before meeting her gaze again. “Okay. Is Thor good now?”
Feeling uncomfortable with his undisguised scrutiny of her, Autumn took a pen from her pocket and fiddled with it while walking to the other side of the table. “He’s doing better than when he came in. I’m pretty sure he’s out of the danger zone.” She ran her hand over the waking dog and looked at Chains, faking nonchalance. “But I’d like to keep him here for a day or two to monitor his condition. I’ll hook up an IV for fluid therapy to make sure he’s well hydrated and that the electrolyte levels are where they should be.”
“Yeah … do what you think is best.”
“You can come and visit him while he’s here if you’d like to.”
Chains nodded, his gaze fixed on her face. “So, you’re the one who bought Doc Nelson’s practice.”
“Yes. I’m assuming he was Thor’s vet.”
“Yeah, he was until he retired, then I went to Doc Eisenberg. He’s the one who gave me your card when he retired about four months ago. I didn’t figure a chick owned the clinic.”
A small smile danced across her lips. “Believe it or not, us chicks comprise more than fifty percent of the student body in veterinary schools.”
Chains’s eyes didn’t waver from her face. Autumn’s breath whooshed out of her lungs as she felt her heart rate increase under his intense gaze.
“Don’t take offense—I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“None taken,” she said, trying to keep her voice casual as she turned away from his stare. “If you don’t have any questions, I have other patients I need to check on. One of the techs—Christina—will be in shortly. Thor’s vitals look strong, but he’ll be a little woozy until the anesthetic completely wears off.” Autumn’s lips turned up.
“You got a damn pretty smile, Doc.” His voice had lowered, giving his words an intimacy that made her insides tingle.
She let out a small, nervous laugh. “Thank you. Let Christina know if you have questions.” Autumn rushed across the room, stumbling over her feet as she grabbed for the doorknob. Behind her, Chains chuckled, a deep vibration that echoed in her ear.
She leaned against the wall in the hallway, trying to steady her breathing while chastising herself on acting so ridiculously. Yes, Chains was a ruggedly handsome man, but she’d seen other good-looking men before. The image of Travis Krichmar came to mind. The thirty-two-year-old single dad made her female staff swoon every time he brought his golden retriever, Casey, into the clinic. Autumn thought he was an attractive, physically fit man who could easily be a model. But I’ve never acted like this around him … or any guy for that matter. She grimaced. Especially a client. She shook her head slightly. It must be the upcoming wedding. I’m just nervous. Yeah, that’s it. I know it.
“Are you all right?” Mark Jenkins asked.
Autumn nodded. “Yes. I was just feeling a little warm, that’s all. I’ll have to check the thermostat. How did you fare with the cat in Room Four?”
“Fine. The little guy had a thorn in one of his paws. It’s all good now.”
“Thanks for handling that for me.”
Mark smiled. “No problem.”
Autumn pushed away from the wall, then slowly walked back to her office.
An hour later she was sitting behind her desk, reviewing the lab results for a Jack Russell terrier when Christina poked her head inside the door.
“Thor’s resting real well. I just changed his IV bag. Did you need me to stay the night to monitor him?”
“No, I’ll stay for a while. Rodney has the nightshift, so he’ll be at the clinic tonight. Lauren will be here as well.”
Christina wrinkled her nose. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but Lauren’s just plain weird. I don’t really trust her.”
Concern washed over Autumn. “Why do you say that? Have you seen her mistreat the animals?”
Christina shook her head. “No, not at all. I actually think she relates way better to them than to people. I just meant that she always wears black and never talks or tries to mingle with any of us. I’m always suspicious of people who aren’t social. I don’t know … she’s just strange.”
“She is a bit of a loner, but so was I when I was growing up. She’s only twenty and probably still trying to figure out her place in life.” Autumn laughed. “At thirty-one, I’m still trying to figure out certain things about me. What’s important here is that she’s great with the animals.”
“I know. I wish she were more like Rodney. He’s super friendly. He definitely makes us laugh.”
“He’s pretty social.” To the point of being annoying. Autumn glanced back at the computer screen. “Did Chains leave?”
“Who?” Christina said.
She looked up. “Thor’s owner—did he leave?”
“Is that his name? He never answered me when I’d asked him earlier. Yeah, he left with another guy about twenty minutes ago.”
A thread of disappointment wove through her, which irritated the hell out of her.
“He’s pretty cute.” Christina giggled. “I like bad boys, but I’d be too afraid to go out with one.”
Autumn nodded then turned back to the computer screen. “Can you please bring me the X-rays for Daisy—the Siamese?”
“Uh … sure,” Christina said before walking away.
Autumn stared at the monitor for a long while, then pinched the bridge of her nose and returned to her work.
By the time she had seen her last patient and turned the lock on the front door, smoky purple clouds had absorbed the last of the sun’s rays. She strolled down the hallway to the back room and walked inside to check on Thor, and Oscar—a pit bull who was also recuperating in the clinic after minor surgery.
“How’re they doing?” she asked Rodney.
The vet tech stood up from a chair that he’d placed between the two beds. “Good. Mrs. Shively’s been calling every half hour to check up on Oscar. I told her she could come in and spe
nd the night if she wanted to.”
“Is she going to?” Autumn asked as she skimmed over the charts for both dogs.
“No, she said she’ll just keep calling throughout the night.” He chuckled.
She slipped on a pair of gloves, then walked over to the dogs and checked their IV bags. Thor cracked his eyes open a bit, then licked her hand when she reached over to check one of the monitors hooked up to him.
“You’re a beautiful dog,” she said under her breath before turning her attention to the pit bull. “And you’re a real cutie.” She swiped her hand over the black dog’s side.
“You look beat,” Rodney said.
“I am. It’s been a long day.” Autumn smiled.
“And night. You were here until the early hours of the morning with Oscar. You should go home and get some rest. Dr. Jenkins is on call, so if something comes up, I’ll give him a buzz.”
Autumn nodded in agreement as she pulled off the gloves and discarded them in the trash can; then, she turned away from the table and walked to the door. Hesitating, she looked over her shoulder at Rodney. “If something changes with Thor, give me a call in addition to Dr. Jenkins, okay?”
The vet tech’s eyes widened slightly. “Uh … yeah … sure.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.” Autumn strode out into the hallway and went to her office. She swapped out the white lab coat for a black wool peacoat, then slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder and walked out of the clinic.
It was a lovely fall night: cool, crisp, and clear. She tilted her head back and stared at the twinkling stars in the dark sky, mentally connecting them together like she used to do when she was a young girl. One of her favorite childhood games besides word searches had been connecting the dots, and on warm summer nights, she and her friends would lie on a blanket in her parents’ front yard and try to make shapes out of the stars by connecting them.
“I haven’t thought about that in years,” she muttered under her breath as she tore her gaze away from the inky canvas and fished out the ringing phone from her handbag.
Chains Page 3
