“I’m not surprised.” Lyn dropped her hands to her sides. “It’d be weird for you to be back here if Ky or any of the guys thought there was a continued threat.”
Sophie sighed. “Mrs. Seong saw us come in before dawn. She was here before noon with enough food to feed an army. Said I shouldn’t worry about groceries the first day I’m back from the dead.”
Elisa raised her eyebrows, then glanced around the wreck of Sophie’s apartment. “To be fair, if one hadn’t known what was going on and caught a look at this a couple of nights ago, thinking you must’ve died is a plausible conclusion.”
“I wish I’d been able to tell her I was going, but there wasn’t time.” And it hadn’t been safe. Anyone in contact with Sophie had been in danger and Mrs. Seong didn’t live within the protective influence of David Cruz or Alex Rojas or the police. “I don’t know how I’ll make it up to her. She might never trust me again.”
“I’d say she was happy to see you home.” Elisa wandered into the kitchen area and surveyed the array of casserole dishes across the counter and on the stovetop. “What is all this?”
“Why don’t we eat first, then we’ll pick a room to start cleaning?” Sophie waved her hand toward the breakfast table, still sitting in the living room by the sofa. It was the only relatively uncluttered surface in the place. “Dishes are clean in the dishwasher. I ran it as soon as I got in this morning.”
“Okay, come tell me what all this is. It smells like heaven.” Elisa had a plate out and was peering under covers at the contents of the dishes.
Lyn joined Sophie as she gimped her way over to the kitchen area.
“Here, you’ll need a rice bowl and a soup bowl, too. Trust me.” Sophie snagged the appropriate items out of the dishwasher and handed them to Elisa. “The pot on the stove has tteokguk. It’s a Korean rice cake soup usually made for New Year. It’s simple and tasty with bits of beef brisket and savory seaweed. Just be careful and only take a small amount. The rice cakes are super filling, and I swear they expand in your stomach. I love it, though, and make it when no one is around to judge me for having it in the middle of the year. I guess Mrs. Seong figured it’d be a nice treat.”
Lyn shrugged. “Or maybe she meant it as a new beginning. That woman is deeper than she wants to let on. I’ve only run into her once or twice, but I’ve always thought she uses her absent-minded chatter with a level of shrewdness bordering on masterful.”
Sophie stopped to consider. “You’re not wrong, and I kind of want to be her when I grow up.”
Assent all around.
“So what are these?” Elisa waved a skewer loaded with long cylinders coated in a brilliant orange-red, spicy-looking sauce.
Sophie smiled. “Tteok-pokki. More rice cakes, different shape, spicy sauce. I like mine super spicy. The rice cakes have a sort of bounce to their chewiness.”
Elisa’s eyebrows rose. “A bounce? Okay. Should be interesting.”
She set the skewer on her plate and lifted the lid to another huge casserole. Sophie inhaled the flavorful, spicy, sour scent and sighed happily. “Kimchi fried rice.”
Lyn chuckled. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was going to be a carb-loading kind of day. Move along, I want to try all of this, too.”
The three of them dished up their portions and juggled their way to the breakfast table. After the first few bites in silence, Lyn rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. “Oh, this is good. All of it.”
“Mmm,” Elisa agreed, waving a long-handled spoon.
“Told you so.” Sophie managed to actually form words around a mouthful of kimchi fried rice. “None of it is technically served together, but this makes me so happy.”
They all nodded.
Lyn swallowed and tapped her spoon against her plate. “I’m guessing we should dive into your bedroom first. You need a place to sleep.”
Elisa was watching Sophie intently. “Unless you plan to sleep at the kennels.”
Ah. Sophie shook her head. “No.”
“Did things not work out?” Elisa’s voice was gentle, sympathetic.
“They did, actually.” Sophie took a huge spoonful of her tteokguk and chewed slowly, savoring the beef and burst of salty seaweed in contrast to the soft and chewy rice cake. “The T-shirts came in handy. And we were good together. Really good.”
Lyn and Elisa waited.
“But I’ve wanted us to break the friendship barrier for so long, I didn’t stop to think about what it would mean when we started talking about the things I’d been wondering all these years. The stuff friends don’t need to talk about.”
Lyn nodded then. “The things lovers need out in the open to figure out where their relationship is going.”
Sophie nodded. Now it seemed so obvious. But then, Elisa and Lyn had been through the hard part of starting a serious relationship. And theirs hadn’t failed to launch. “It was me. I needed to know why he left town right after high school. And I couldn’t accept his reason.”
Neither Elisa nor Lyn asked what Brandon’s reason had been. They respected that privacy.
Elisa nibbled on the end of a tteok-pokki. “What do you want to do now?”
Sophie smiled, trembling a little. Oh, she’d been afraid her friends would dig too deep or question her decision. She’d worried they’d judge. After all, Brandon was their friend, too. This, though, was friendship.
If she’d decided to go into hiding, to let everyone think she’d died, she’d have left these people behind. And she couldn’t imagine life without them.
“I want to get this apartment organized.” Sophie focused on her soup. “Once I’m not looking at the wreckage, maybe I can deal with the way someone decided to destroy my life. They didn’t succeed. And, actually, it was a kick in the pants I needed. I’ll make some big changes.”
“Yeah?” Lyn smiled, approving. “Are the big changes the kind you’re ready to talk about?”
“I’m not going to look for another full-time job as an accountant.” Sophie pressed her lips together. “I’m more than capable of establishing a small individual business and doing accounting locally. That’ll provide me with a solid income to live here and save money up for what I really want to do.”
Elisa gasped. “The bed-and-breakfast.”
Sophie nodded.
Elisa squealed.
Lyn put her spoon down and gave her a slow clap. “Excellent. So is this a six-month plan or a one-year plan?”
Sophie considered. “It’s more of a three-year plan, possibly five. But I think it could be a three-year if I’m really careful with my budgeting and very smart about the property I buy.”
She’d dreamt about it for as long as she could remember. She’d researched the establishment and management. She’d visited more B&Bs than she could count. She knew the business.
“I’m not sure where yet, but I’m going to make it happen.” She smiled at her friends. “Until then, this is going to be my home office, and I’m going to go independent.”
Lyn gathered up empty plates. “Well, then, we’ll get started with the cleaning. We can snack again in a few hours.”
“Let’s get to it.” Sophie stood and limped toward the kitchen. She had a plan. Her life was going to be happier, especially because she was going to follow her dreams and really do things because they were her aspirations and not what somebody else thought they should be. These were good things, and she was looking forward to having her friends nearby as she built her life for herself.
Mostly.
Tesseract emerged from the bedroom and decided to climb onto Sophie’s medical boot for a ride.
“Sophie.” Lyn’s voice was calm. “There’s a feline attached to your leg.”
“This is Tesseract. I adopted her.”
Elisa giggled. “And you named a cat that why?”
“It was a random line of thought.”
* * *
His office needed cleaning. Forte considered getting up to go get a broom and some supplies, but that would requi
re climbing over Haydn, currently parked on the floor by his feet and not actually in the dog bed thoughtfully provided. The vet in Virginia had released Haydn over to the care of the vet they kept on retainer at Hope’s Crossing Kennels, so Haydn was being monitored carefully right there on premises.
“You know, that bed is there for you. I don’t plan to take a nap in it come mid-afternoon.” Though now that he’d thought of it, it didn’t sound like a bad idea.
He was exhausted. Haydn was wiped out. Sophie was…not here. And if texts from Lyn and Elisa were to be believed, all three women were doing some massive cleaning of their own. He had no idea where Sophie was finding the energy.
Or maybe his initiative had fizzled out once he’d gotten home. Instead of catching up on the status of the kennels, he’d been in his office, brooding.
His phone rang and he came to his feet. “Forte.”
“It’s Beckhorn.” The voice on the other end was brisk with a hint of a drawl. “Got news. First part is quick. It’s an update on the adoption process for Haydn. Figured I’d call you direct instead of e-mail.”
“Ah.” Forte did step over Haydn as he decided he wanted to be out from behind his desk for this news.
“Family of Haydn’s former handler doesn’t have the means to provide a stable environment for him. No one has the time to spend on his physical therapy or even maintaining his training.” Beckhorn paused. “If he were older, calmer, it might be a reasonable fit, but Haydn is still active and ready to work.”
And had proved he could. Forte didn’t argue the point, though. He’d given Beckhorn a report on Haydn’s activities, including the altercation last night. He’d had to. Technically, Haydn didn’t belong to Hope’s Crossing Kennels. He belonged to the US government, and Beckhorn was responsible. Getting Haydn shot hadn’t been something he could hide and still expect a relationship with the Air Force dog training program at Lackland.
“Not going to lie. No one is going to praise your work with Haydn, considering recent events. But your history with dogs is to be considered. And these were extenuating circumstances.” Beckhorn cleared his throat. “The situation being what it was, an exemplary working relationship was demonstrated despite the injury sustained by Haydn. Final decision is to allow you to adopt him, on the condition of regular health checks and reports on his well-being.”
Forte tilted his face toward the ceiling, glad not to have to fight to keep his dog. “I appreciate the trust.”
Beckhorn chuckled. “You’re a good dog man, Forte. You, Rojas, and Cruz provide quality training. We had to conduct a serious investigation into your most recent report but, as I said, extenuating circumstances.”
Forte grunted. “Sa was a solid referral. Thank you for sending him our way, too.”
Sa had been a huge help in recent events, and all things considered, Forte planned to maintain a positive working relationship with Sa’s squad. Forte still didn’t plan to take on any private contracts, but he felt the need to build up his network. Even though the immediate danger had passed for Sophie and the contract for her life was no longer out there, the company that’d taken the contract was aware of its failure. Never a good way to end a situation.
But he and Cruz and Rojas had plans to mitigate the issue. They were going to make sure Sophie could build her life the way she wanted it, and the rest of their loved ones could go on living theirs.
“Glad the referral worked out.” Beckhorn let out a gusty sigh. “Actually, are you planning on expanding your operations any?”
Forte turned to look at Haydn, who’d rolled onto his back and started snoring. “How many military working dogs do you need?”
“Actually, I’ve got some experienced handlers coming out of active duty looking for work. Some of them would make good trainers, but I can only hire so many directly.” Beckhorn headed up the dog training program at Lackland Air Force Base. He tended to keep in touch with his students.
Ah. Forte considered the concept. “I’ve got room to expand conservatively. Depends on the demand for well-trained dogs from year to year. I’d be open to meeting with a few.”
“Good. Would want to see these handlers become trainers with your kind of professionalism.”
Haydn yawned in his sleep. His jaws remained partially open and his tongue hung out one side of his mouth. The big dog passed gas. Yeah. Hope’s Crossing Kennels. Professional polish and dignity all around the place.
Forte stepped out of his office. Rather, he’d been literally gassed out. “I might expand the training we do here.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a need for military working dogs, for sure. I plan to extend into search and rescue training, too.” Forte had been considering it over the past year, actually. “And there’s also a need for service dogs to work with soldiers after they’ve come home. We’ve got at least three examples now of dogs who’re doing veterans a hell of a lot of good in life after active duty.”
Beckhorn made a sound of approval. “You considering training up service dogs for PTSD?”
“PTSD, yeah.” Forte had more in mind, though. “And wounded veterans in need of a service dog to help with a physical disability. There’s a lot of room to evolve over time. I’m thinking that kind of work would require more handlers staying here at the kennels for a certain amount of time to meet the dogs. I’ll be developing specialized training for each pair based on the need and the dog personality.”
There was a lot to define in his idea. It was a broad scope and there’d be research to do into the financial aspect. He would be looking for grants for the project, most likely.
“Sounds like you’ve got big plans for the future.” Beckhorn laughed. “Just make sure you maintain your current work, too. It’s hard to find trainers of your caliber to work with, and we’ll continue to need dogs from your facility.”
Forte chuckled. “We’re not changing direction. This is definitely an expansion.”
“Good. Sounds like things are going well for you and yours.”
“Maybe.” Forte sobered.
There was still a shady feeling nagging at him when it came to Sophie. He’d been poking at it all day, chewing on his thoughts about her. He could be bitter. He didn’t want to be the man who couldn’t take no for an answer. And he was fairly certain her answer to him and their relationship had been a solid “no.”
But his gut kept twisting, and he kept looking out the window. There was still an issue. He needed to tie up the loose ends or Sophie wouldn’t have the chance to live her life.
Without him.
Didn’t matter if he was there as her lover or as her friend. He wasn’t even sure he’d be welcome as the latter. But he’d be there on the sidelines, making sure she was okay.
Right now, she wasn’t.
It was time to see to it that she and anyone else close to Hope’s Crossing Kennels now or in the future would be safe from this particular threat.
Plans in place.
Go time.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Forte had been waiting for exactly twenty minutes. In a suit. He’d opted not to sit because every chair in the reception area was the soft kind that swallowed a person if they sat back into it. And he was not in the mood to relax into any kind of comfort at the moment.
Of course, the trendy, modern decor of this office building wasn’t meant to put a person at ease. It was a lure, intended to draw people inside and intimidate them once they were stuck waiting.
“Mr. Forte, what brings you to our offices?”
Forte smiled. The man facing him had the voice he’d spoken to over the phone. But this wasn’t the man in charge. “Mr. Zerta. Do you do all the recruiting for your organization, or do you divvy up the duties with others?”
His host tugged on the edge of his suit jacket. “This is still a relatively small private organization. I’m solely responsible for the recruiting at the current time.”
“Ah.” Forte nodded, then waited. He let the silence set
tle around them with an awkward weight. He could be a patient man.
Zerta cleared his throat. “I do apologize for the security procedures, but I’m sure you must be used to being searched for weapons.”
It’d been a thorough pat down in addition to walking through a weapons-detection unit. They’d been looking for surveillance equipment on his person. They hadn’t found any.
“I can understand the need for precautions.” Forte kept his expression amiable. He was there to deliver a message and see what the reaction might be.
This wasn’t the man he needed the reaction from, though.
“Why don’t we step into my office and we can discuss our offer?” Zerta gestured to a room completely walled in glass.
It was a fish bowl, basically. Forte made a mental note again to be happy he didn’t have an office job requiring him to come to work day in and day out in this sort of environment. Hell, wearing a suit today was irritating enough, and he wasn’t even strapped with uncomfortable surveillance equipment underneath his dress shirt.
Keeping pace next to him, Haydn didn’t seem to be bothered by his surroundings. Then again, the dog didn’t have to wear a suit.
The man offered him a seat with his back to the main portion of the office and the entrance. Forte took the indicated seat but set it so he could be positioned at an angle to have a better view of who might be approaching from behind. Haydn’s presence sitting next to him helped ease the tension of being vulnerable with nothing but glass at his back.
“As you know, Mr. Forte, we’d be very interested to add you to our team here at Labs-Anders Corporation.” Zerta sat behind his desk and began typing at a Bluetooth keyboard. After a moment, he turned a monitor to face Forte. “We’ve a proposal assembled for you, including a structured compensation package to use as a basis for each contract you accept as part of our organization.”
Forte only half listened. There were people walking past in the hallways. Some turned and glanced his way with the same curiosity anyone might have working in the same environment day in and day out. Those people just wanted to catch a glimpse of the new face. But there were a few, no more than two or three, who walked by at a measured pace and looked him up and down. They weren’t surprised, and their interest was sharper than idle curiosity. Those were the men and woman he was there to get a look at. Or more specifically, when he looked at them, so did Haydn.
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