AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Perfect. Ricky’ll be here in about five minutes. He can start cleaning their area.”
Ricky Strickland, one of the kennel techs.
Lainie chewed her lip while she headed to the back area, where the dogs barked their greetings, ears perked, tongues hanging to the side of their mouths while furry hind ends wiggled with their joy at her presence.
A lump rose in her throat against her will. She cleared it away. “Hello, babies, don’t worry, you’ll all get a turn.” She made it to Rex and Tex’s cage and slipped inside. The brothers each weighed about twenty pounds and were a mixture of beagle and something she’d yet to figure out. She scratched Tex’s ears and he moved in closer. Rex nudged her hand and she laughed. “But you’re both cuties, right? You’ll find homes soon. I sure wish it could be with me.” Maybe one day when she had the time to devote to them. She already had the yard, but the work schedule just wasn’t pet-ownership friendly. Of course, the work schedule was her own fault, but ... one day.
She leashed them and led them out to the run where she released them, picked up two of the tennis balls from the bucket on the table, and tossed them.
Both dogs loved the game of fetch and right now, Lainie was grateful she was able to play it while she looped the incident in her mind. She now had no doubt the man had targeted her, but why?
“It’s not Adam,” she whispered.
But the scar...
But it still wasn’t possible.
Regardless, whoever he was, he was toying with her, scaring her on purpose. She took a seat in the chair next to the gate and rolled the key between her fingers. No way. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of being scared.
“Lainie? You ready to move on to the others yet?” Lainie looked up to find Candace standing at the door, then glanced at the dogs. Once she’d stopped throwing the balls, Rex and Tex had run their little hearts out, wrestling and playing with one another. They now lay under the shaded area, panting and happily tired.
Lainie lurched to her feet. “Right. Sorry.”
“You okay?”
The fact that everyone in her life felt compelled to ask that question spoke volumes. “I’ve got some personal stuff going on.” She rubbed her hands down her jean-covered hips. “And I have a weird request.”
“Okay.”
“Could I look at footage from the security cameras during your lunch break?”
Candace’s brow rose high enough to hide under her bangs. Then she frowned. “Yes, but is there a problem I should know about?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I want to see the footage. About ten minutes before you got here.”
“Do we need to call the police?”
“Not yet.”
“All right. Get the dogs back in the kennel and meet me in the office.”
“Thanks.”
Three minutes later, Lainie watched the black SUV creep up the drive, then park out of sight of the camera. Her vehicle was in plain view. Then the man from the truck walked into range of the camera and stood on the driver’s side of her vehicle. The sight she’d been greeted with when she’d rounded the building. They had their confrontation and he turned and left while she tried to keep it together.
“Who was that?” Candace asked. “That was kind of creepy.”
“No ‘kinda’ about it,” Lainie muttered. “It was super creepy.”
“Who is he?”
“I have no idea.” Because itwasn’tAdam.
“Well, he sure seems to know who you are.”
Yes, yes he did.
WHILE RIDING A DESKwasn’t exactly his favorite way to spend his working hours, James would be the first to admit it had its advantages. Especially when this particular desk was Cole’s couch. He’djust finished getting information on Nichelle Zachary and had moved on to Adam Williams.
