The Twin Contract (The Contract Series Book 1)
Page 23
Robbins scratched at the scruff on his neck. "We had Reed under surveillance for a few months for illegal gun trafficking. When we saw him entering several dogs into a fight. We alerted local authorities. The rest," Robins swept a hand behind him at the barn, "came to light when we geared up for the arrest."
Brianna returned to Jackson's side. "There's a Scott Williams on his way to take control of the dogs."
"And the cats?" Robins asked.
"If the bobcat is too domesticated to release into the wild, it'll stay at my place since I have a pen there for it. The cougars you said came in this week?"
"Yes, just yesterday. It's one of the primary reasons we went in today. We had no idea what Reed was about to do with the cats, and frankly, we didn't want to find out."
"Okay, well, if they can be re-introduced to the wild, we'll know in a few days. And the lion?"
Robins shrugged. "Hasn't moved."
"Show me," she said.
At that moment, Jackson saw an echo of Brianna's grandmother in her commanding air; the same glint in her eyes and tilt of her chin demanded attention. This was her element. Not the tea parties and social events but saving animals. Being the animals' advocate and caring for them when they couldn't. The same as Jackson did for humans that were taken advantage of or hurt.
Robins pointed to a younger man, his brown hair cut an inch from his scalp. SWAT stamped across the front of his uniform.
"This is Isaac, he'll escort you inside." Someone to the right called for Robins, and he waved to let them know he'd heard. "If you need anything else, just tell Isaac, and he'll handle it."
Jackson fell back and let Brianna and Isaac go in ahead of him. They passed several pens and empty cages before arriving at a large open room in the back. To the right piglets filled barely held together cages. The animals looked to be in bad shape with a lifeless look in most of their eyes while the others held a bone-deep panic. Callie was busy opening cages and placing them in sturdy crates next to her.
"Callie?" Brianna called, joining her friend.
"I've got this. Erica is with Derrick and Callen in the other barn handling the dogs and the coyotes."
"I called Scott, and he said he and his wife were on their way to help with the dogs."
"Good. We'll need it. Before you panic about the piglets, I talked to Roni up in Tennessee, and she's willing to take them. We only need to keep them until this weekend after you or Derrick examine them."
Brianna slapped her friend on the shoulder. "You're a godsend."
"' Course I am."
Callie never stopped working as she filled Brianna in on what they were transporting to the farm. "We have bunnies and these piglets. Seems they were using them to feed their fighters."
"Are there more in the back?" Brianna asked.
"No, these are the last."
"How many do we have altogether?"
"Ten piglets and fifteen rabbits. Like I said, Roni's taking the piglets to her sanctuary in Tennessee. The rabbits we'll be able to get adopted as soon as we socialize them again because they are adorable."
"They didn't put the rabbits or pigs into the ring?" Jackson asked, confused.
"Not that I know of." Callie's eyes filled with tears, but it was anger and not sadness that flashed in the green depths. "They apparently put their half-broken cages into the various pens when it was feeding time to watch the piglets suffer as the predators cracked open the box."
"Jesus. That's…" Jackson knew there was evil in the world, but he couldn't believe someone would be so heartless to hurt animals like that. If they needed to feed the fighters, slitting the piglets' throats before putting them in would have been humane. But these guys seemed to take a sick enjoyment out of cruelty.
"Sadistic." Callie snarled. "I hope when they get in their own cage, they're treated to a few rounds with some predators in there."
"Karma is a bitch, Callie, so I'm sure someone will teach those jerks a lesson." Brianna gave her friend a half hug. "We're going to the back to check the big cats."
Callie pulled herself together as she gently picked up the last piglet. "Derrick said the cats looked okay except the lion. And as he doesn't have a lot of experience handling the exotics, he went to check the other barn."
Jackson's brow arched. "There's another barn that's filled like this?"
"Oh yeah, one with the dogs and a couple of coyotes. Derrick said one coyote is in bad shape. Has a mangled paw that's become infected. He thinks it will need to be put down. But the rest are fine, just aggressive. We'll want to take the second coyote with us as Derrick isn't sure if it's aggressive or if it's gone feral being trapped. So we don't want Scott to have it. But the other dogs Scott's taking."
Jackson knew putting an animal down hit Brianna hard when she flinched. He laced their fingers together, offering her comfort.
Turning to Isaac, she asked, "Where're the cats?"
"This way." He led them beyond the piglets, to another room. Not quite as large as the previous, this one was separated into five sections with floor to ceiling bars that looked like a replica of an old west jail.
"Who's Scott?" Jackson asked.
"He's another vet that helps when we need it. He has his own practice in Talladega, which is why I called him. His wife was in the army training K-9s when they met. When she got out, it seemed natural for her to re-home last chance dogs. Usually, they get them from the pound, the ones that are on death row." Brianna rubbed her temple. "But she'll take these types as well."
"But why do you need Scott to help with the lion? You have Erica and Callen—"
"Who is still in training. We need someone who can evaluate and do the actual procedures."
"Got it." Jackson stepped back so Brianna could do her job.
A cougar paced on their right between them, and what looked to be a cub cowered behind the cougar. The bobcat sat in the back of his cell, cleaning itself seemingly not bothered by them. But it was the lion that held center stage, straight ahead of Jackson.
The mane was covered with straw as he lay on his side, his chest barely moving. Jackson drew closer to the gorgeous beast. "What did they do to him?" he asked, coming to stand well away from the cage, but close enough to see the golden eyes as they blinked in and out of focus.
"I don't know. Probably tried to fight him based on the claw marks on his side." Brianna pointed to the bloody lesions Jackson had missed while lost in the golden gaze.
It was painful just looking at them. Sympathy for the poor thing twined into Jackson, mixing with the rage that kept wanting to overtake him. "I hope the asshole that did this gets put away for a long time."
"He will be. Robbins made sure everything was in order before we moved," Isaac said, coming to rest next to Jackson. "We got not only the man who ran this operation but two others as well. And your girlfriend is right, I think the asshole tried to fight this big guy."
"Probably didn't work, the lion's old. So he could fight, but if he's been in a zoo or a circus, most of his instincts will be muted." Another voice joined them.
Turning, Jackson and Isaac both reached for their weapons until Brianna smiled. "Scott, glad you could make it." Her eyes darted behind him. "Where's Diana?"
"Me too. Diana's with Derrick and the dogs." The tall black man grinned broadly and bent over to hug Brianna. "Now, let's see if this beast can be saved."
"This is my boyfriend, Jackson. And that's Isaac, he was part of the takedown group." Brianna pointed to each of them before returning her attention to Scott. "So you think the lion's from a zoo?"
"No, none are missing. Diana did some digging while I drove. It might be a circus, but they have to account for any missing animals. Though we have one in Mississippi claiming they put down an older male that acted aggressively."
As Brianna filled Scott in on what she knew, Scott pulled a syringe out and began prepping it.
Isaac tipped his head to one of the empty cells. "How about we wait in there until they need us?"
"Black, okay with you?"
"Two, please, Brianna hasn't had any either."
"I'll go get some, be back in a few."
"We'll be here." Jackson drew his weapon as the lion shifted before Scott injected it. Within a few minutes, the golden eyes slid closed, and the panting breath seemed to even out.
"Jackson, can you help us? We need to move him out of here, the straw's filthy," Brianna said.
Hesitantly Jackson placed his gun back in its holster, then joined them. Praying his obituary wouldn't read killed by a lion, he helped them lift the limp form and carry it to a set of doors he'd missed seeing. Jackson couldn't believe he was touching an actual lion. If his hands were free, he would pinch himself. It took a good bit of shuffling as they left through a side door closer to the cages. Scott's truck was parked closest to the barn, so they carried the animal to it.
Scott's truck mirrored Brianna's with a camper attached to the back. Just as they set the beast gently on the exam table, Erica hopped up the stairs to help Scott and Brianna clean the various cuts.
"Here," Isaac passed two cups to Jackson.
"Thanks, man." Sipping the coffee, the two watched the team in the camper work.
"This is surreal."
"Tell me about it. I knew Brianna had a wildlife sanctuary, but this is the first time I've seen her in action."
Isaac grunted. "Third, for me. She helped with a ring we busted last year that was selling endangered species. Took an elephant in that time."
Jackson sputtered his coffee, going down the wrong way. After a coughing fit, he shook his head. "I didn't see an elephant."
"That's because she's in a zoo in Canada now," Brianna said, proving that she was good at multi-tasking.
"You know your girlfriend's gonna keep the lion," Isaac said, lowering his voice as he and Jackson watched Brianna coo over the massive animal.
"I know." Jackson groaned.
Isaac clapped a hand on Jackson's shoulder. "I'm going to be on the lookout for your obituary. Mauled by Leo the Lion."
Really, couldn't Brianna have named the kitty anything else? Like Badass or Harley or anything but Leo.
But when Brianna tossed a joy-filled smile Jackson's way, he gave in to the inevitable. His woman might not have any imagination with naming her animals, but she more than made up for it with her big heart that loved them all. A heart big enough to love a grumpy sheriff's deputy with a lot of rough edges and not a lot of trust.
Chapter Thirteen
Jackson held Brianna as she slept sprawled half across his chest, her leg thrown over the lower half of his body. Usually, being pinned with no escape made him feel trapped, but with her, he cherished her soft weight cradled safely to him. He had no idea if it was minutes or hours later as she woke. She never woke slowly; instead, she went from sleep to alert. Quiet at first, as if searching the darkness for enemies before she would emerge from her nest of warmth and security.
This morning, however, she jolted upright with a happy squeal and sprang on him.
"Oomph," he whimpered as he caught her before she could damage him with her bounces. "Careful, I'm naked here."
Her fingers immediately cupped his cock, bringing it from slumber to hardness in seconds. Then she was shifting under the covers, and the wet heat of her mouth surrounded him.
"Jesus, hon." He fumbled in the nightstand and grabbed one of the last remaining condoms. "Got to resupply."
"Later," she said, snatching the foil wrapper from his hand and sheathing him. Then she was impaled on him, and he lost all thought as he watched the woman he loved, take her pleasure from him. Seeing her so uninhibited, he knew he wouldn't last long. He dug his fingers into her thighs as she rose and fell above him. Her slender fingers plucking and cupping her breasts and her dark, hungry gaze never leaving his as she found her peak. Her neck arched, and her pink lips opened on a half-scream as he found his own release in her tight body before she dropped across him.
He enjoyed holding her. And then she bounded out of bed and danced across the room toward the bathroom. "Get back here," he grumbled. "If you have that much energy, I've not done my job."
She froze and swung around to face him. The fierce frown on gave Jackson pause.
"Job? You consider us making love a job?"
He flopped back onto his pillow. "No."
"That's what you said."
"It's too early, Bri, and you just sucked all the blood I needed for my brain to work out of my dick. Why don't you come back to bed, and I'll show you it is definitely not a chore to make love to you." Jackson patted himself on the back for even being able to string that coherent logic together. The huff and stomp of Brianna's retreating feet told him she wasn't buying what he was selling. Growling, he shoved the blankets off him and rolled out of bed. "Dammit. Too fucking early for this shit." Stumbling into his underwear and a pair of sleep pants, he opened the door. "I'm sorry I said making love was a job."
Her form was blurry from the steam of the shower. She opened the glass door and smiled. "Forgiven."
He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Why are you in here showering?"
"Because today is the last day I have to play that horrible role. It's the last day I'll ever have to answer to Briony. And it's the last day I'll ever have to attend an event where Christopher is invited." She squealed happily in the shower and tried to shuffle into a happy dance, but her foot slipped on the tile. If Jackson had been a second lower, she would have plummeted to the bottom of the fiberglass enclosure, breaking her head open. She sputtered as the water slapped her in the face.
"No dancing in the shower." He shouldn't even have to make that proclamation, but apparently, his girlfriend had lost all sense.
"Right. I'll dance down the stairs."
"No!" Jackson shouted as he shut the glass door to keep the shower from flooding the floor.
Not that he succeeded as he realized his clothes were soaked. Sighing, he pulled everything off and tossed them in the corner before grabbing a towel and drying off. Then he mopped up the water on the tiles, so Brianna didn't break her neck when she got out of the shower.
"I'm going to make breakfast," he called, knowing if he joined her, they wouldn't get anything done. With it being Saturday, the animals needed tending.
"Kay, I'll be down in a few." She stuck her head out of the door again. "And tonight after the anniversary party, we're celebrating me being free."
He kissed her before stepping away from temptation. "That's a party I'll love to attend."
She chuckled as she ducked back into the shower, and he went back to her bedroom to grab more clean clothes. Most of his clothing had migrated to here the past week as it was easier for him to crash in between Brianna's social engagements and his job. It was best to be in one place so he could catch a bit of shut-eye.
His wallet, cell phone, and keys were in a rainbow-colored bowl on the dresser. The Bright silver key Brianna had given him last weekend glinted in the overhead light as he flipped it on to find his socks. He realized the shirt Brianna soaked with water was his last clean t-shirt and groaned. Laundry had been last on his to-do list, and the rest of his clothes were thirty minutes away. Standing, he scratched his chest. Shirtless it was then, and he headed downstairs, hoping Brianna remembered to set the timer on the coffee.
The coffee's aroma led him like a pathway to heaven as Jackson followed it into the kitchen to pour himself a cup. As he woke, he mulled over the last week and winced in guilt. Between the events Brianna was required to attend, Christopher showing up to all of them, and Jackson working in between, he realized he had lost his temper several times during the week.
"What're you thinking so hard about?" Brianna asked as she bumped him away from the coffee pot.
Jackson scrubbed a hand over his face. "I owe you and several co-workers an apolog
y."
Brianna jerked around her mouth open in shock. "Why would you think that? If anything I owe you a thank you for saving me from Christopher—"
"Hell, no," Jackson snarled and then uttered a muffled curse at his abrupt tone. "Sorry. It's just…" He faltered, trying to come up with the words. "I've been churlish as Ray would say."
Brianna laughed as she turned back to fix her own cup of coffee. "Snappy would be a better word, but in your defense, you did not sign up to escort me to a whole ton of social events while doing your job too."
"Touché, but I chose to do both, and I knew Christopher would push my buttons." Jackson's head-space was screwed up as he had to catch himself even now from calling Brianna, Briony. He knew who she was, but with all the events piled on top of his bone-deep exhaustion, his mind kept reverting to his parents' teachings.
It didn't help that he had chanted continuously Briony over and over in his head the last week so as not to mess anything up with Brianna's contract.
"Those look silky," Jackson said, pulling out eggs and bacon to start on breakfast and to distract himself from Brianna dressed in the lilac-colored satin pajama set.
Pink flooded her face. "No sexy time. We need to eat then see if Vince needs any help cleaning out the barns."
Jackson groaned. He wanted to peel those pajamas off of her and tumble her back into bed, not do chores. "Fine, but after—"
"You can have me in the shower before we have to get ready for tonight."
His mind immediately pictured water flowing over Brianna's dips and curves, and his mouth watered in anticipation.
"How about omelets this morning? Is that okay?" she asked, her head buried in the fridge and her enticing ass raised in the air. Distracted, Jackson didn't answer. "Hello? Jackson, is that okay?"
"Oh," he cleared his throat. "Yes, I'll eat pretty much anything. Except for anchovies … oh and pineapple pizza, because that's just all kinds of wrong."
She laughed, standing she held bell peppers, onions, and cheese, expertly closing the fridge with her hip, she juggled the ingredients dumping them on the counter. "Go sit at the table and let me get this done, you're too much of a distraction without your shirt." Her fingers rubbed his chest, and Jackson shivered.