Cupid to the Rescue: A Tail-Wagging Valentine's Day Anthology

by Lisa Mondello

  Then the gun disappeared back into her purse, again with the smooth move of a professional. Alex kept forgetting that she’d been an elite soldier. A story that had come out after he’d had trouble waking her one time when she’d slept on her right ear.

  “I make my choices,” she was still browbeating Carlton. “Any man who interferes with them will answer to me first and your President tomorrow after he signs my treaty. “

  Carlton’s aristocratic affectations crumbled enough that he growled almost as dangerously as Ripper had.

  Alex knew he had to break the tableau if he wanted any chance of keeping his job. And if he was fired from the Service…Valentin belonged to the US government, not to him. That couldn’t be allowed to happen.

  “Ms. Larina,” he addressed her formally to try and get her out of soldier-mode. “You have an appointment with the Library of Congress librarian.”

  “Yes.” She blew out a hard breath, then tugged down her jacket to shift it into place.

  He’d have to tease her about acting like Captain Picard. Later.

  “Yes. Let us go.” She tugged the hem of her jacket again, making him smile. She spotted that and raised an eyebrow in question.

  He made a show of tugging his own vest into place.

  She glanced down at her hands. Then her smile said that Star Trek was something else they could enjoy together.

  Without another word, she turned and headed up the stairs.

  When he went to follow, Carlton ground out. “You’re relieved, Warren.”

  “Ko mne,” Tanya called without turning.

  Valentin had the decency to check in with him rather than just answering the Come command, literally To Me.

  Alex offered a shrug to Carlton that said it was his decision.

  Carlton was biting his tongue so hard that it had to hurt.

  He finally waved a hand to proceed.

  Alex signaled Valentin to run ahead and catch up with Tanya who’d kept climbing the stairs.

  Ripper raced by Alex a moment later.

  “Damn you to hell,” Carlton said as they started up the steps together. He might have added, “Lucky bastard.” But it was hard to tell.

  Heart of a Russian Bear Dog: Chapter 19

  Tanya was most of the way up the long flight of stairs when she noticed the change.

  Ripper trotted ahead, close beside Valentin as if looking for an opening to attack the larger dog.

  But between one step and the next, both dogs froze, but only for an instant.

  Then, in unison, Valentin swung left and Ripper to the right. Then they swung back into line in front of her. All of their attention was at the head of the stairs.

  “But there’s no one there, boys.”

  The dogs ignored her.

  They were on a scent.

  Might it be the same scent they’d chased out behind the coffee shop on—

  The next few moments happened so quickly, yet seemed to occur in such slow motion, that she could see every moment.

  Just as her foot hit the top step, Ripper leapt at a shadow in the archway.

  Halfway aloft, there was a sharp crack. It sounded like a gunshot…almost. But her training told her it was a Taser.

  Ripper dropped like… Yes, he’d been Tasered! His body gone completely limp.

  Valentin grabbed the shooter’s arm in his jaw and whipped it sideways. There was another sharp crack, this time of his bone breaking. The man screamed until Valentin threw him into one of the marble columns that supported the entry arch. He hit headfirst and dropped to the ground beside Ripper.

  That was the moment that Alex slammed into her from behind.

  He took her down with a roll that had him taking the hit of slamming onto the stone entryway. He continued the roll until she was lying face down on the cold granite and he was spread-eagled over her.

  There was a quick bark of gunfire.

  Alex jerked atop her.

  “Alex!” The scream ripped out of her. When she struggled to rise to see how badly he’d been hurt, he pushed her cheek down against the ground.

  “Stay still.”

  Then, directly in her line of sight, a man in jeans and a light jacket dropped to the ground just a meter away. He had two large, red stains on his chest.

  Blood. He’d been shot. Not Alex!

  Alex shifted. Not off her, but as if reaching…

  There was another crack of a firing Taser close by her good ear. He kept her pinned and she couldn’t turn to see the third body that hit the ground, but she could certainly hear it.

  Heart of a Russian Bear Dog: Chapter 20

  Alex checked carefully before shifting off Tanya.

  When she tried to stand, he pushed her back down to sit on the top step. “I had to take you down pretty hard. Just give yourself a moment.”

  She nodded vaguely. He could see the adrenaline letdown shakes kick in, but she didn’t appear to be injured.

  Perp Number Three was still out with a pair of Taser leads that Alex had fired into his chest.

  Perp Number Two was dead on the ground with Carlton’s two bullets in his chest.

  Perp Number One was groaning awake after Valentin’s abuse.

  Alex handcuffed him, even with the shattered arm, then patted him down. The man wore flesh-toned gloves. When he forced open the man’s good hand, he spotted a small spray bottle, and froze.

  Novichok was all he could think. The Russians had tried to kill Sergei Skripal, a former spy, in the UK. They’d almost taken out him and his daughter. The poison had also nearly killed several of the investigators.

  Very carefully, he bagged the toxic nerve agent.

  Valentin stood poised to attack the man again as he groaned, coming to full consciousness.

  “Domoy!” he ordered.

  Valentin didn’t need him to point to know that he should Go Home to Tanya. It was only as Tanya was reaching out to embrace him that the risk sunk in. If any of the poison was on Valentin’s fur—

  “Sit, Valentin. Sidet’!” Valentin froze halfway between them and sat.

  Tanya reached out.

  “No! Don’t touch him!” She too froze, then looked at him in surprise.

  Alex checked to see what Carlton was doing. But he hadn’t moved. His FN P90 submachine gun was still clenched in his hands…with the safety off.

  Alex crossed to him, clicked the safety on, and then pushed the gun down until it rested once more against Carlton’s chest.

  “I—” Carlton blinked hard but looked like he was only halfway back. “I’ve never had to actually shoot someone before.”

  “I know. It’s hard. But you did the right thing.” Then he remembered what a long-ago partner had done for him. So, he just stopped to chat—in a normal tone—for a moment as if everything was fine and they hadn’t all three just almost died. “You get through it.”

  Carlton blinked at him.

  “I was in counterfeiting before I hit the Uniformed Division. One operation went down ugly. I had to take out two men and a woman. You’ll get the shakes later. Don’t worry. It’s normal.”

  “And you decided UD would be less dangerous?” Carlton was most of the way back. Took his hands off his weapon.

  “The Service decided that if I could do that, I belonged in Protection. That was a headache I didn’t want, so I managed to get on a dog team. And once I met Valentin…” he shrugged.

  Carlton nodded again, then spun around and spotted Ripper struggling to his feet. Carlton knelt and dragged his dog against his chest.

  Alex knelt with him. Carlton’s eyes were now focused…and surprisingly close to tears as he embraced Ripper.

  Carlton scanned around. He had to clear his throat again before he could speak, “So, what’ve we got?”

  Alex just held up the small spray bottle in the clear plastic bag.

  To his credit, it didn’t take him but a second before he froze exactly as Alex had.

  “Yeah, I know. It’s your detail. Call it in.�
�

  While Carlton was calling in a full team: agents, security, an ambulance, and a full hazmat team, Alex doublechecked Ripper.

  The dog had survived the human-sized jolt of electricity, but appeared otherwise unhurt. He’d wager the poor animal had a hell of a headache. At least he’d never touched the poisoner.

  Alex looked again at Valentin who appeared very frustrated at not being allowed to go to Tanya. There still could be poison on his fur.

  “Carlton, tell them to bring dog-grooming clippers, too. Big ones.”

  Heart of a Russian Bear Dog: Chapter 21

  The Rare Book Room at the Library of Congress wasn’t what she’d expected.

  Tanya had assumed it was the central room that sat beneath the great copper dome of the Thomas Jefferson Building with its circular reading desks arranged like a giant bullseye around the librarian’s central desk, multi-story mezzanines, and giant statuary of the Muses. It was always the room they showed in movies and it seemed very special.

  Instead, Alex led her through that room and up a flight of stairs.

  Even after two days he still had a slight limp from a knee he’d twisted while taking the brunt of their fall.

  She shivered again at how close it had been.

  Novichok nerve agent. A single spray to her face and she’d be dead by now. That tiny bottle would be enough to kill hundreds.

  Though Russia had denied any involvement, the three men’s scorpion tattoos marked them as 25th Special Forces Brigade Spetsnaz. The surviving soldiers would probably never crack, but the CIA had whisked them away and she didn’t envy their future.

  President Zachary Thomas had invited the Russian ambassador to the signing of her treaty—despite it being between the US, Turkey, and Ukraine.

  And she’d been just close enough to hear the President whisper to him, “Don’t even think about asking for extradition or we might see how you like being sprayed with that shit. Tell your FSB that Moscow itself will deeply regret it the next time they bring a nerve agent into my country or attempt a murder on my soil.” He had paused for a long moment, then continued. “We will consider it a declaration of war.”

  It had taken her by surprise, until she understood that the President knew exactly who and who couldn’t overhear his threat. So had the Russian ambassador who had blanched white. He might hate her more now, but it was with good reason. The move had poisoned the Russian-American relationship even further as assuredly as if the Novichok had indeed been sprayed.

  Through the main part of the Library of Congress, they reached the head of the stairs and stepped through simple wooden double doors. On the other side was a vast space. Not brilliantly lit by sunlight like the Main Reading Room. Instead, the wide space was dim, without being dark. A crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling seemed to be the only adornment to the white walls framed by thick trimwork and accented by dark red carpet. The reading tables were simple wooden affairs and the chairs no fancier.

  It was as if the designer had said, “In the Rare Book Room, it is the only the books that matter.”

  Some books were on display, but most, she knew were kept in vaults below.

  They were guided to a table where a small book nestled in a v-shaped plexiglass form. It was open to the page Alex had requested. A librarian wearing white gloves stood nearby to turn to any other pages they requested.

  “How rare is this thing?” Alex whispered.

  The librarian cleared her throat gently. “Just last year, a copy in similar condition sold for five hundred and eighty-thousand dollars.”

  Tanya tucked her hands into her back pockets to make sure she resisted any urge to reach out and touch it.

  “Valentin,” Alex addressed his dog sitting next to them. “Stop shedding.” It was a funny joke, just barely.

  “Poor Valentin,” Tanya whispered. This room was definitely a place of whispers. He’d been fully shaved right there on the Library of Congress steps by two men in full bio-hazard suits. Subsequent tests showed that some of his fur had indeed been exposed to the Novichok. Probably not a lethal dose if she’d touched him, but she might have become very, very sick. His thick fur had protected him. Not anymore. Until he regrew his heavy double-layer coat, he only looked large instead of bear huge.

  It had been while Alex was squatting in front of Valentin and telling him what a good boy he was while being clipped, that she’d asked the question.

  “How did they know I’d be at here at this exact time?”

  Both Alex and Carlton had turned slowly to look at her, then at each other. Finally, all three of them had turned to look west to where the Ukrainian embassy stood. Tanya had followed her own agenda except on two occasions. Her original departure from the embassy, and her trip to the library of Congress.

  Ambassador Tomas Khomenko had indeed been a leftover from the Soviet era. In fact, it seemed that he’d been working with the new Russian Federation for most of his career. Perhaps even had a role in the success of the annexation of Crimea. After she’d alerted her father and they’d sent internal security to take him, Tomas Khomenko had shot himself.

  Just this morning, the Ukrainian President had called her—thankfully not a video call as she’d still been in Alex’s bed when she took the call. He partly wanted to congratulate her on the signing of the treaty, but also to offer her the position of Ambassador to the United States.

  There hadn’t even been a moment to doubt. From Washington, DC, she’d have exceptional access to all of the political connections she would need, both foreign and American.

  And there was another reason.

  The moment she’d hung up the call, she’d thrown herself at Alex. She’d have to figure out how to tell Father and the President about him later.

  “Getting shaved. Hell of a birthday present,” Alex was still talking to Valentin much to the amusement of the patiently waiting rare-book librarian.

  “Birthday?”

  “Today is Saint Valentine’s Day. That’s his birthday. He’s having steak tonight but no candles—he eats those. Crayons too. He has this thing for wax.”

  “I’ll make sure to remember that.”

  At Alex’s happy smile that there’d be a reason for her to remember it in the future, Tanya slipped her hand into his.

  “Saint Valenteen’s Day,” she whispered after kissing him lightly. “Do you think he will mind sharing his day with us, Mishka?”

  Alex tightened his clasp on her hand and rested his other on Valentin’s head.

  “I don’t think your Little Bear or our Russian bear dog will mind at all, Ms. Tatyana Larina.”

  She couldn’t find it in herself to put much heat into the scowl she aimed his way.

  “Ko mne, Drakonchyk.” Come, my Little Dragon.

  The three of them leaned forward and Alex read the exposed passage aloud:

  And so Tatyana was her name,

  Nor by her sister's brilliancy

  Nor by her beauty she became

  The attraction of every eye.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  For more romance action-adventures with the dogs of the US Secret Service, bound into the White House Protection Force. Gobble up the first dog trilogy:

  Off the Leash – The newest member of the White House K-9 team must save the day. On her side: a clandestine librarian directing operations from the basement, the White House chocolatier, and a knee-high mutt with a nose for trouble.

  On Your Mark – The new driver of the Beast, the Presidential limo, must save the day with the assistance of a springer spaniel and his handsome dog handler.

  In the Weeds – The new boss of Marine One gets herself tangled up with the handler of the latest German shepherd to join the Presidential protection detail. With the help of the First Dog and the First Nanny what could possibly go wrong?

  Then seek out the brand-new trilogy, starting with Bethany Tucker and her German shepherd Trixie as they unwittingly join the White House Protection Force.

 
More on this series at: www.mlbuchman.com/white-house-protection-force

  About the Author

  USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestseller M. L. “Matt” Buchman has 60+ contemporary and military romance novels, as well as action-adventure thrillers. He’s also added 100 short stories and hours of audiobooks to the mix.

  Booklist says: 3x “Top 10 Romance of the Year” and among “The 20 Best Romantic Suspense Novels: Modern Masterpieces.” NPR and B&N say: “Best 5 Romance of the Year.” PW declares: “Tom Clancy fans open to a strong female lead will clamor for more.”

  A project manager with a geophysics degree, he’s designed and built houses, flown and jumped out of planes, solo-sailed a 50’ sailboat, and bicycled solo around the world…and he quilts. More at: www.mlbuchman.com.

  THE MATCHMAKER’S SECRET

  Make Me a Match

  Kay Lyons

  The Matchmaker’s Secret: Chapter 1

  Marsali Jones looked in the mirror and gave herself an affirming nod. The outfit she'd chosen screamed business, and so long as she didn't look at her debit account, she wouldn't scream at what she'd paid for it out of her carefully planned monthly budget. Coming across as a professional was a need, not a want. Right?

  The low heels, brown slacks, and rose-gold top paired exceedingly well with the Chanel jacket she'd purchased secondhand off of a resale site and perfected the image she'd worked to achieve over the last eight years. And now that her career was finally—finally!—taking off, well, a little splurge was okay.

  "Are you ready, Ms. Jones?"

  Marsali nodded and gave herself a final once-over in the mirror before following the headset-wearing associate from the green room to the wings of the nationally televised studio. Her nerves kicked up multiple levels and she inhaled, then counted slowly as she exhaled.