Her Undercover Refuge

by Linda O. Johnston

  And when Dan had contacted Scott, saying he had a skilled, smart and dedicated police officer who herself needed not the kind of protection the shelter provided, but a new job away from Los Angeles, Scott had given Dan the go-ahead to tell that officer about the Chance Shelter and suggest she apply for a job here. And Scott liked Dan’s referral of Nella, plus he was one of the references she had supplied. Scott had talked to him again, as well as with her other references, grilling them quite a bit about Nella’s skills and trustworthiness without discussing the true nature of the shelter. She’d come out sounding really good, which was why he wanted to talk with her further. Maybe hire her.

  Since Scott wanted this shelter to continue growing, that meant having additional managerial staff—people to help protect not only the pets but also the staff members who came here needing new identities and new lives.

  And the way Nella had handled the appearance of Ann, who’d come looking for help, without knowing what the protocol was—well, Nella had acted pretty much as a trained member of the managerial staff would, since they, too, needed to introduce him first to any potential new residents without giving away the true mission of the shelter.

  “Before I get into your credentials—which look pretty good, by the way—I want to know why you decided to leave the LAPD and find another, less official job.”

  He watched as she took a deep breath, but her eyes didn’t leave his face. “I’ve always wanted to help people,” she said. “As many as possible. That’s why I became a cop.”

  “Me, too,” Scott tossed out there. “I’m still part of the Chance Police Department so I get it. But I repeat, why did you decide to leave your cop job?”

  “Because of a difficult experience I had there,” she blurted, perhaps louder than she’d intended. He noticed her lovely brown eyes tear up, but she blinked and continued to stare at him, as if challenging him to ask how.

  Which, of course, he did. “Tell me about it.”

  He wondered if she would go into a long tale about how she had been threatened as a cop. That, of course, happened, and it could definitely be scary.

  But hers wasn’t what he’d consider an ordinary tale.

  “Like I said, I’ve always wanted to help people. That caused me to volunteer for extra duties, like taking special training within a new LAPD Special Operations division. Reporting to others more senior than me, I wound up heading an excellent task force charged with rounding up a nasty gang responsible for killing innocent, nongang civilians in a bad area of L.A. And—”

  She hesitated, so he had to ask, “And what?”

  “And I lost a good friend, damn it!” She stood now as she glared down at him, as if angry with him for whatever had happened—or at least for making her talk about it.

  But what did she expect?

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Tell me about it.”

  He had a sense, from that continued glare, that she might just stomp out of the room and leave the shelter, leave Chance.

  But then she seemed to pull herself together.

  “Well, we succeeded. We brought down that horrific gang after a standoff in which several gang members were killed. But so was...so was my partner, Sergeant Lou Praffin.” She sank back into her chair, but she seemed to get hold of her emotions. “That only happened a few months ago. I was assigned a new partner and given some less dangerous tasks. And I can and would stay there. But—well, I wanted something different, in a place where I could still help people but away from where that all went down. Far away. Like here, in Chance. Although if this doesn’t work out, I’ll go back to my job there.” Her look at him now was challenging, as if she expected him to tell her she couldn’t do what would be expected of her here.

  But he had a feeling she could.

  More important, he felt she might be a very helpful addition to his managerial staff.

  “I get it,” Scott said. “And I can understand your wanting to distance yourself from such a difficult situation.”

  She seemed to study his face now, as if attempting to determine what he was thinking.

  He figured he could tell this lovely, damaged, yet apparently skilled cop—one who’d been chosen to head that special task force—what was on his mind.

  “So here’s what I’m thinking,” Scott continued. “I want to take you on a tour of this shelter, introduce you to some of our animals, staff and managers, not necessarily in that order. And then, if you get along with them the way I like, and you also think this could be a good choice for you, we’ll sit down and discuss a job offer. Sound okay to you?”

  “Sounds more than okay.” Nella’s tone suggested relief and maybe a touch of happiness. Plus, her smile seemed to erase all the negative and sad expressions he had seen earlier.

  And Scott realized that, if she did accept a position, he might have to be very careful. He found her attractive. Too attractive.

  But having any kind of relationship except a professional one with an employee—especially in a situation like this, where being fully observant and keeping others, both human and animals, safe were critical—couldn’t happen. It might result in some pretty severe damage to everyone.

  So, Scott would have to keep his feelings to himself. Even if his feelings for Nella strengthened over time. There was no other choice.

  Chapter 3

  Nella felt her shoulders slump in exhaustion. That interview, if that was what it had been, had made her think even more about Lou—her partner, her friend, her mentor—and she had been right there when he was shot by gang members attempting to flee.

  Now she felt as if she’d just relived her frantic effort to keep him alive, waiting for the EMTs while she attempted CPR on his damaged body. Furious with herself for not catching those gang members as they fled—but not wanting to leave Lou alone, perhaps to die. Which, of course, was what had happened.

  They hadn’t been alone, naturally. Other members of their task force had been with them on this raid, including several who’d been really good backup, and some went after those gang members while Nella stayed with Lou. They’d caught quite a few, but Nella believed several were still out there, even now.

  And Lou was dead.

  She didn’t mention any of this while Scott made some phone calls, apparently to other shelter managers. She just sat there, forcing herself to smile as she waited.

  She studied his face, and not just because it was probably the best-looking face she’d ever seen on a guy.

  No, she appreciated his compassion as she’d spewed her difficult tale, and he hadn’t made a big deal about it. Acted professional. Treated her professionally.

  Which somehow made her feel damnably attracted to him.

  Well, even if she got the job and continued to feel this way, it wouldn’t matter. She, too, was a professional. She had already, as a cop, worked with guys she’d found attractive, but she’d kept that to herself.

  She certainly would do so with Scott, no matter what happened to her attempt to work here.

  If she got the job, she would be here helping people in need of new identities. She would be helping abandoned and needy pets, too. She could focus all her attention on them and not on her past.

  And certainly not on her admiration of Scott, which was inappropriate.

  She would force herself to—

  “Okay,” Scott said, rising. “I’ve warned everyone in the back, so you’ll get to meet some people and animals. The most important ones for you to meet as far as I’m concerned are our managers, and you’ve already met Telma. But it’s also important for you to meet more staff members we’re helping besides Bibi.”

  “I want to meet everyone,” Nella said, meaning it. “Animals included.”

  She liked how he nodded approvingly as he turned and walked toward the door. She rose and followed.

  The hallway was empty, as it had been befo
re. Scott gestured toward the first door across the hall and nearest the entry and said, “In there is a larger set of rooms that I hope will soon become our own veterinary clinic. I’m still looking for the right vet to help out.”

  “Having a vet on the premises sounds like a great idea,” Nella said.

  Scott then led her down the hall in the opposite direction from the entrance. The place was quiet, although Nella did hear sounds from beyond the doorway in the direction they were going. Nella saw several closed doors on both sides. She assumed at least some led into meeting rooms like the one she’d waited in and then spoken with Scott. They soon reached the end of the hall, and some dogs in the enclosures stood and greeted them.

  Scott reached into his pocket and pulled out a keycard. “All our managers have keycards that work at the front door and here and some other locations inside. If you’re hired, you can feel privileged once you get your keys.” He laughed slightly before turning and unlocking the large wooden door at this end of the hall.

  As it opened, Nella heard more noise, mostly dogs barking, with the sound of much quieter but caring human voices possibly responding to them.

  Just outside, Scott led her along a walkway between two concrete buildings that appeared three or four stories high. He pointed first to the one on the left. “That contains our eating area downstairs and residents’ apartments upstairs.” The other one held the managers’ offices, he told her.

  Beyond the walkway was an open area. The outdoor portion of the shelter had a concrete walkway down the center, with grass areas fronting additional buildings on either side. “Let’s try here first.” Scott led her through an unlocked doorway into one of those buildings.

  Inside were two rows of kennels enclosed by chain-link fencing, all containing dogs, some of which continued to bark.

  Two women and one man leaned into different kennel areas. Nella recognized one: Bibi, who saw her, too, and gestured for her to join her. Nella did so without asking Scott if that was okay.

  “I’d like you to meet Honey and Shupe.” Bibi pointed at the two dogs behind the fence nearest to her. One looked like a black Labrador retriever mix, and the other a Shetland sheepdog mix with lots of fur.

  “Which is which?” Nella asked, “and is it okay to pet them?”

  “Of course! They’re both lovable and need new homes.” Bibi reached in and scratched the Lab mix behind the ears. “This is Honey.”

  “Then this must be Shupe.” Nella began patting the furry head of the other dog between his ears.

  Meanwhile, Scott had gone to talk to the two other people, who also joined Nella and Bibi beside that enclosure, which looked clean and comfortable for its inhabitants, including fluffy beds, and water and food bowls on the concrete surface.

  “Nella, I’d like you to meet Campbell Green.” Scott gestured toward the man, who was in his twenties, shorter than Scott and with a full blond beard. “We call him Camp. He’s one of our managers.” Which his shirt also indicated. “Camp, this is Nella.”

  Since he was a manager, Nella assumed he was a law enforcement officer, too, or a former one.

  “Hi, Camp.” Nella reached out to shake Camp’s hand.

  His grip was strong. “Welcome. And—well, is this a permanent welcome?”

  “We’ll see,” Scott said, then gestured toward the other woman who’d joined them. “Nella, this is Darleen, one of our longest-term staff members.”

  In other words, she had been given a new identity and had lived here for a while in protective custody, maybe since this shelter had opened almost a year ago.

  “Good to meet you, Darleen,” Nella said.

  “You, too.” Darleen’s voice was soft yet curt. She didn’t look Nella straight in the eye but kept her gaze through her thick glasses downward. Darleen looked middle-aged, with her graying hair cut short and her face drawn and wrinkled.

  Even more than with Bibi, or even Ann, Nella wondered what had gone on in Darleen’s prior life to bring her here—and also why she was still here. Because of her attitude? If so, what was that about? Nella’s understanding was that the shelter’s goal was for the people it helped generally to only stay for a few months while getting used to their new identities, and to receive assistance in getting over their fears. The shelter also ensured that whoever had been harming them before didn’t know where they were, whether or not those perps were in police custody since they might not remain there.

  She might be wrong, of course. She didn’t know a whole lot about the facility or how it worked—not yet, at least.

  But if she was right, she gave the place more silent applause if they treated each situation, each needy person, individually. As they apparently did, at least with Darleen.

  Nella had an urge to help this sad woman. For now, she said, “I assume, since you work here, that you’re an animal lover.” Which wasn’t necessarily the case, although people who hated pets wouldn’t last long here. “Which is your favorite?”

  Darleen’s face lit up, and Nella felt delighted she had done something to ease her apparent pain, even momentarily. “That’s definitely Pebbles. She’s a Maltipoo, we think.”

  A combination Maltese and poodle, Nella thought. A small dog, and probably cute. “Fun,” she said. “Could you introduce me?”

  “Of course. She’s down here.”

  Darleen led Nella along the center path between the two rows of enclosures containing lots of dogs eager to be noticed, to the one at the end where several toy dogs leaped at the chain-link fencing. Although Nella liked dogs, she didn’t do well at identifying most breeds, or breeds contained in mixes, though that might have to change if she started working here. She wasn’t sure which was the Maltipoo, but figured Darleen would let her know.

  She noticed that Bibi and Camp followed them. Where was Scott?

  Had she done something to make him back off observing—and possibly hiring—her?

  Or was she worrying too much?

  When they reached the enclosure, Darleen unhooked the gate, then, clearly careful not to let any dogs out, edged inside and picked up a little canine—a reddish-white one with wide Maltese black eyes and curly poodle fur, if Nella was right. When Darleen returned to the gate, Nella helped her get outside again without allowing any of the excited small dogs to follow her.

  “This is Pebbles.” Darleen snuggled the dog closely against her. “She’s been here about a month. When she got here, she was so scrawny, and her fur was all matted. From what we gathered from neighbors, the person who’d owned her never let her inside the house, hardly ever paid attention to her—and didn’t feed her much, either. Fortunately, one of those neighbors called us and—well, thanks to Scott, we were able to save her.”

  Although Nella was aware that Chance had an animal services department, she wondered if this shelter could take on a similar role sometimes. Maybe so. Especially if its director was able to simply go in and save an abused dog.

  Or maybe it hadn’t been simple at all. She hoped to learn more soon.

  And she had a feeling that Darleen empathized with this little pup. Nella hoped she would also learn about the situation Darleen escaped from to move in here. At least she had seen that dogs, or at least this one, helped to lighten Darleen’s mood around strangers, and maybe other people, too.

  “Would you like to meet some of the other dogs?” Bibi asked.

  Nella glanced toward Camp. What would this manager want to happen now?

  What would she want to happen now in a similar situation if she became a manager?

  “I’d always love to meet more dogs,” she responded. “And I’d also like to hear your system for finding them new homes.”

  “We’ll talk about that later.” Scott’s voice from behind her startled Nella. Where had he been?

  Was sneaking up on conversations his norm?

  But she wasn’t going t
o ask him—especially when he gestured to her to follow him.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “To finish your interview.”

  Which made Nella wave to the others, the manager, staff members and dogs, as she strode up to Scott and joined him while he left the kennel area, heading back inside the building where they had talked before.

  * * *

  Scott had gone into the back of one of the kennel areas where he wouldn’t be particularly noticeable. He’d sat on the concrete floor petting a couple of medium-sized pups as he observed Nella briefly to see how she got along with both the people and the dogs there.

  She clearly gave a damn.

  He liked that. In fact, for having just met her, he realized he liked a lot about her.

  He had intentionally requested that one of the staff members present be Darleen, who still had a lot of emotional issues, especially when she met a new person. Nella’s asking her about her favorite dog had been a perfect way to get Darleen to focus on something other than her own fears, at least for a short while.

  Nella clearly had empathy and knowledge about how to help people.

  Now Scott led her back to the room they’d occupied before. “If you want more coffee, I’ll ask Bibi to get it,” he told Nella as he gestured for her to sit in the same seat she had occupied before.

  “No, thanks. I’m fine. Or at least I will be after you tell me poor Darleen’s background.” Nella stared at Scott as if attempting to extract the story from his brain.

  He lifted his eyebrows, hoping his amusement didn’t show. “We’re here to finish your interview.”

  “I know, but what you tell me about Darleen will help me decide if this is the kind of place I want to work.”

  He hadn’t thought that was in question, but he figured her inquiry was her way of attempting to get him to do what she wanted.

  He liked that attitude.

  “Okay,” he said. “Short version.”

  He explained quickly that Darleen’s parents had passed away when she was a teen, and she had married in college, possibly to have some family in her life.