Dog Tags: A romance anthology featuring military and canine heroes

by Kate Kinsley

  “No. I’m sorry, I need all of you to leave the room,” Emma ordered as she hit a button. “Code red—”

  Alex herded everyone out the door to the elevators, dodging orderlies and nurses as they speed-walked into Kane’s room pushing a crash cart.

  “I don’t believe any of us want to leave the hospital right now. Could I convince you to join us, Saje, for a cup of coffee?” He glanced at her disheveled dirty clothes. “You never got a chance to wash your hands. We might be able to get you a set of scrubs—”

  “Thanks for the offer but I have a change of clothes.” Saje pointed to the public restrooms across from the elevators. “I’m just going to pop in here and clean up a little. I’ll meet you in the cafeteria.” She glanced back toward Kane’s room. “I don’t want to leave.”

  Alex slid Quin a glance. “Neither do we. We’ll wait for you here. Take your time.”

  Chapter Five

  Saje stepped into the ladies' room and cringed at her appearance in the mirror. She looked ten times worse than she’d imagined. If four years in the Navy public affairs office had taught her anything, it was how to be presentable quickly. That was one of the many reasons she carried such a huge bag. It practically contained her whole life.

  She changed clothes, scrubbed her face, and applied minimal makeup in record time. Saje nodded at herself in the mirror. Major transformation in under five minutes. Mentally, she shifted gears to professional.

  She expected the surprised looks on the men’s faces and got them. “I’m ready to go, Alex.” She shifted her attention to the other man. “I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t remember your name.”

  Quin gave a small smile and held out his hand. “In the middle of everything happening in that room, I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. I’m Quinlan Barrister, manager of the Guardian Center here in Dallas. Call me Quin. Kane works for me.”

  Once in the cafeteria, Alex had insisted on buying her some breakfast even though the two men only had coffee. In the same way she’d briefed her lieutenant in the public affairs office on a news story, Saje told the men everything about the night before from her perspective. Then she excitedly fired questions one right after the other

  “Did they put those boys in jail? Did they catch the rest of those kids? Did Kane…kill that young man?”

  “Several of the boys did go to jail. Some went to juvenile detention.” Quin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Regret filled his glance at Alex. “Kane put a serious hurt on the twenty-four-year-old with the gun. He was taken to the closest emergency room. As you know, Kane’s here because of his diabetes.”

  “At least the guy was an adult and Kane didn’t kill him.” Alex held Quin’s gaze. “Is there any chance this idiot’s going to try to go after Kane for assault?”

  Quin shook his head emphatically. “None. My contact in the district attorney’s office said he’s going to face multiple charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and a long list of other charges. The police told me he already has a rap sheet starting at age twelve. Children’s services are going to try to figure out if any of the others are already in the system. They’ll get them into foster homes if they can’t find the parents.”

  “What can we do to help?” Alex pinned Saje with a serious stare.

  Damn. She really hated to ask but she hated to go by herself back into those camps. Tomorrow, after some much-needed sleep, she was going to do whatever it took to get a concealed weapons permit. In the meantime, though, she had a job to do. “With Kane unable to join me, do you think…maybe…one of your off-duty men could go with me into the camps?”

  “Done.” Alex’s tone bore no hesitation.

  Wow. Concise. Direct. Thoughtful. Just like Kane. She hoped everything was going well for him upstairs but knew he was in the best hands possible.

  “What else?” Alex’s words severed her worried thoughts.

  Thinking fast, Saje suggested, “Volunteers are always needed. Kane brings several cases of bottled water when we come to the encampments. I’m not sure where he gets it or if he’s paying for it out of his pocket.”

  “Knowing Kane, he’s buying it,” Quin noted.

  “Until further notice, Guardian will donate one hundred cases of bottled water for each of your visits.” Alex turned his attention to Quin. “Charitable contribution. Send at least two men. One can handle the distribution while the other works with Saje.”

  She needed to add ‘protective’ to her list of attributes. SpecOps men were awesome.

  When they returned to Kane’s room, he was awake and talking with Emma. Relief coated her worried heart.

  The nurse turned and gave the three of them a big smile. “Everything looks good. His blood sugar levels skyrocketed. The yoyo effect is expected after surgery, and given his injuries, another reason to keep him overnight.” She turned her attention back to Kane. “Do you think you can behave yourself, now? If so, I’ll let your friends stay.” When her attention went back to the three of them, her jaw dropped. “Darn, girl, you clean up good. And fast. He’s one lucky man to have a woman like you.”

  “But we—” Saje’s rebuttal was cut off.

  “Thanks, Emma.” Smiling broadly, Kane held his good hand out to her.

  She couldn’t just stand there so she went to his bedside and took his hand. He immediately intertwined their fingers. He shifted in the bed, wincing when he moved his upper arm. “Mr. Wolf, Mr. Barrister. I was going with Saje on my own time. I wasn’t going to let those punk kids steal from Mikey’s community. Then the guy pulled out the gun—”

  “Now that you’re awake, the police will come in and take your statement.” Quin walked over and laid his hand on Kane’s good shoulder. “From everything that we’ve heard, you did the right thing protecting all those people and getting the gun away from the gang leader.”

  Kane let out a long slow breath and eased his grip on Saje’s fingers. She realized then that he’d needed her strength to get him through facing his bosses. She liked that she could help him because he’d certainly helped her multiple times.

  Alex approached the bed. “Good job. I’ll be around for a few days so hopefully, I’ll see you back at Guardian soon. Call ops and someone will pick you up.”

  “I can take him home.” Saje suddenly realized she didn’t know where he lived. He’d always picked her up. Over the last few weeks, they’d covered hundreds of subjects, but he never talked about his home.

  He gave her a huge smile. “That’s okay, sweetie. I live at Guardian, someone on roving duty can take me home.”

  “You live in your office?” Saje knew he’d been homeless and pictured a mattress on the floor in the corner, or maybe he camped out on the couch. She could get him into one of the new programs. They provided apartments for veterans. She could do that for Kane. Her mind already started through the paperwork.

  All three men chuckled.

  “Guardian owns the entire building and two of the floors are apartments. Several of our men live there.” Alex explained.

  “I like living there. I have my own place but I’m among good friends. Several of us hang out together when we’re off duty.” Kane glanced at Quin. “They look out for me, even when I’m sleeping. Nighttime can be very dangerous for a type I diabetic.”

  “I have to confess, while you were in surgery, I did a lot of reading on the subject.” Saje pinned Quin with her gaze. “Does someone check his levels at night?”

  Quin grinned. “You bet. Kane had a really high-tech pump that tested his blood every five minutes. As long as we were within ten feet of him, our office phone could read his levels.” He smiled at Kane. “All the Dallas employees know what to do. If his levels fall below seventy, they’re required to wake him up and make sure he eats fruit followed by some kind of carbohydrate so he’s covered in the short-term and for the next few hours.”

  “And it’s been working.” Kane’s appreciative smile lit up his pale face. “I can only hope that I get
another pump like that one.”

  Alex brought the conversation back around. “If it’s not too much bother, Saje, would you bring Kane home? You might enjoy the tour of our facility. We have trained firearms instructors in case you decide to get a concealed carry license, which I strongly suggest if you’re going to continue working in those areas.”

  “We’ve been known to expedite CCLs,” Quin added. “We can take care of you.” He glanced at Alex and then to Saje before patting Kane’s shoulder. “It looks like you’re in good hands here and Alex has a lot to accomplish while in Dallas.”

  Alex and Quin started to say their goodbyes when Kane suddenly noticed Damnit. “Sir, you brought Ms. Katlin’s dog. Come here, Damnit.”

  Two large paws landed on the side of his bed.

  “I swear he’s grown since I saw him just a few months ago.” Kane petted his head and the dog licked his hand. He raised his gaze to Saje. “When Miss Katlin, she’s the other owner of Guardian Security, was traveling with Mr. Wolf, Damnit and I hung out for a few days. He’s such a good dog.” A few more long strokes over the soft hair before Kane instructed him to jump down.

  Saje wondered if she should get a dog. Maybe she could send it to be trained as a guard dog. With a huge dog at her side and a gun strapped on, she’d feel much safer doing her job. She made a mental note to see if the Veterans Administration would get her a dog.

  She then chastised herself for the thought. The VA couldn’t even afford to buy dogs for all the veterans suffering from amputations and PTSD. They certainly wouldn’t run right out and buy her a guard dog.

  “Goodbye, Saje. I’m sure we’ll see you soon.” Alex waved from the door.

  She was alone in the room with Kane. They’d been alone together several times but this felt different. A wave of heat radiated through her entire body, starting where her hand was captured in his. Once again, her fair skin betrayed her blush.

  He stared at her for what seemed like ten minutes, but she was sure it was only a few seconds.

  “I owe you a huge debt of thanks. I don’t remember much after I left you to hide behind the pylon, but I do recall you helping me sit down. And you tried to stop the bullet hole from bleeding.” It was a question as much as a statement.

  “I did what I could.” And damn, she wished she could have done more. Maybe there’d been a way to stop the boys from stealing his glucose pump. She’d played the scene over, time and again in her head and still didn’t know what would’ve happened if she’d let go of his arm to chase them away.

  “Did I try to kiss you?” Kane didn’t seem regretful as he stared at her mouth, waiting for an answer.

  “You were in no condition to do anything, least of all kiss.” And it was a hell of a time for him to decide he was interested in her that way.

  “So, is that why you kissed me?”

  Her eyebrows flew up. “You remember that?”

  He gave her that rare small smile. “I do now. I wasn’t sure if I dreamed it.” He pulled her closer, so she was only a few inches from his face.

  Her heartbeat thumped in her chest. She took short, shallow breaths. She hadn’t felt this excited about a man in a long time.

  Get a grip, girl. You’re no silly high school virgin. Own your feelings.

  “Yeah, I kissed you.” She leaned over the bed railing and brushed her lips over his. “It was something like that.” Pulling away, their noses nearly touching, lips less than an inch apart, she promised, “When you’re feeling better, we’ll try this again.”

  His good hand went to the back of her neck. “I’m feeling much better already.”

  Heat rushed through Saje when their lips met, and when his tongue invaded her mouth, she wanted more.

  “Time for pain meds.” Emma rattled the small plastic cup in her fingers. “These are going to knock you out for a while, Kane. You need to get some sleep. And speaking of sleep,” she turned her gaze to Saje, who was blushing from her chest to her cheeks. “You need some, too. He’ll still be here tomorrow.”

  Chapter Six

  Kane was so glad to be outside and even happier that Saje was right beside him. He was beginning to have serious feelings for the woman. When he first met her, he primarily felt protectiveness, but there was also a stirring that had lain dormant for several years. That’s why he’d insisted upon accompanying her to the homeless encampments.

  But after their intense make-out session when she brought him home from the hospital, he knew they both wanted more. They’d planned on visiting a few camps that day, grabbing supper somewhere other than a taco truck, then going to her apartment to watch TV. He hoped that was girl-code for get naked together.

  It had seemed like forever since their first kiss in the hospital. He’d spent several more days there than anticipated, thanks to a fever and a second operation to remove a hidden piece of the bullet.

  Any injury to his body fucked with his glucose levels. Thankfully, Emma caught it early when he skyrocketed to over five-hundred and the wound felt very hot. It took another few days to get him balanced once again.

  Mr. Wolf and Mr. Barrister stopped by every day to check on him, which he appreciated, but he liked to see Damnit even more. Kane had always loved big dogs, especially the pit bull he’d had back in Virginia Beach. That was before his wife convinced him she needed to live in Dallas closer to her sick mother…who wasn’t really sick.

  This was the same bitch who left him while he was deployed—three house payments behind, his truck days away from repossession, and she’d given away his dog when he came home medically discharged and dependent on insulin shots.

  Then he’d lost everything.

  Thankfully, he’d run into Gwen Shaw, now O’Neil, an Army nurse he’d known from the forward operating base in Afghanistan. She’d been handing out leftover food when they recognized each other. Their chance meeting had truly been a godsend. She stored his needles and insulin at the restaurant she managed and in exchange he mopped the floors every night. Through her, he’d been offered the job at Guardian Security.

  If it hadn’t been for Mikey and his big heart, showing him the ropes of living on the street, he would surely have died in a place very much like the one he was escorting Saje through.

  Kane started to breathe in deeply, needing to get back the euphoria he’d felt when they first started their journey that morning. Instead, the smell of rotting food and body odor aggravated him.

  As they walked through the third homeless camp that day, Saje stopped to talk to several men. He’d heard the questions a hundred times and didn’t bother to listen anymore. Either they were veterans, or they weren’t. If they were, that meant she had to take even more time with each man.

  Kane rubbed his fingers, irritated by multiple sticks so he could test his blood levels. He hated having to do that, but the pump company had asked him to test a new device. Of course, it wasn’t ready yet. He’d get it in about a week. In the meantime, he was back to finger pricks and old-fashioned testing.

  Pulling out a handkerchief, something he learned to carry when first diagnosed, he wiped his sweating brow. He fucking hated Dallas summers. He pulled a bottle of water from his backpack and drank the whole thing in one go. Then he had to piss so bad he could hardly hold it.

  “Saje, sweetie, are you going to be okay if I leave you here for a few minutes? I’m going to walk to the far end.” Kane had instructed her when they first got started about in-camp bathroom protocol.

  The smile she gave him should have warmed his heart, but instead, it seemed like simple agreement. “No problem. I’m sure former Marine Sergeant Kincaid will defend me.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The man who looked to be in his fifties, but Kane knew that he was probably late thirties. Street life wasn’t easy. “You don’t have to worry none about her, Mr. Kane. I won’t let nothin’ happen to her.”

  Without a second thought for Saje’s safety, Kane wandered to the farthest, and smelliest, part of the encampment where the dirt was
soaked with urine.

  When Kane was five feet away, he snapped at Saje “Aren’t you finished yet? This asshole doesn’t deserve any more of your attention.”

  Round green eyes flashed at him. “You know this part of the interview takes about fifteen minutes. I have to record as much information as possible to verify his enlistment.” She sighed and turned her attention back to the fucking jarhead.

  In that ever-so-sweet tone, she apologized. “I’m terribly sorry, Sergeant Kincaid. I have twelve more questions if you can just bear with me.”

  “No problem, pretty lady.” His smile looked as though he hadn’t brushed his teeth in years. “I appreciate you tryin’ to help me.” His glare shot daggers at Kane. “Not many people care anymore, least of all about people like me.”

  “We’re going to do what we can to help you get back on your feet.” She asked the man the next question as Kane shook his head and paced away.

  Kane was over this whole ordeal. With the damp handkerchief, he once again wiped the sweat off his face and the back of his neck. The fucking heat was getting to him, so he downed another bottle of water.

  He was done baking in the sun.

  Striding over to Saje, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up from the makeshift stool the supposed sergeant gave her. “Time to go,” he announced.

  She spun around and put her hands on her hips. “If you want to go, go ahead and leave. You don’t have to be here. I do. This is my job.”

  He squeezed her shoulders. “Don’t get all bitchy on me. I’m here on my own time to protect you.”

  She jerked out of his grasp. “If you’re going to be like this, I don’t need you here insulting my clients.”

  His hand dropped to his side and onto a soft head. Damnit whimpered and nuzzled him. He automatically petted the dog, but when the animal head-butted his knee, Kane yelled, “What the fuck is with you?”

  “Looks like we arrived just in time to relieve you from guard duty,” Quin said as he stepped next to Kane.