Curly (Hell's Handlers MC Florida Chapter 1)

Shit, she hadn’t meant to get so morose in her head. The past crept up on her every so often, no matter how much she valued her current life situation.

“You mean you’re about to waste another hour of your time,” Brooke grumbled. “They don’t give a shit about dead or injured dogs.” The last two dogs concerned citizens had brought to David’s clinic hadn’t survived. One had died on David’s operating table from internal bleeding while another hung on for a week before succumbing to a severe infection.

“Well, unfortunately, we don’t have too many other options.”

Brooke stood. “You said this guy was found near here, right?”

David flicked a green-eyed glance her way, then went back to adjusting the dog’s bandages. “Yeah. Just up the road, actually. Maybe a quarter mile.”

“Huh.” She wiped sweat off her brow. A little after seven a.m. and the morning sun had already heated the air to near ninety.

With narrowed eyes, David rose to his feet. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Ms. Williams?”

After tapping her finger against her lips, she pointed toward her backyard. “All three of the dogs were found bordering the farm, weren’t they?”

“The old Miller place? Right behind you?” he asked of the extensive farmland her property butted up to.

She snapped her fingers. “Yes, I can never remember who’d owned it. I’m pretty sure it’s been abandoned since before I moved in here.” The farm was about two hundred acres, and her property bordered the back. As far as she knew, there was a large barn and impressively sized farmhouse, but they were toward the front of the property, meaning she didn’t have a view of either from her house.

“It’s not abandoned anymore. I heard someone purchased the property about five months ago.” His pale skin flushed pink from the heat as it always did.

Her jaw dropped. “What?” She hadn’t seen anyone taking care of the overgrown property. “I’ve never seen anyone, and it’s still such a mess.”

David used the hem of his shirt to wipe his sweaty face. “Yeah, I don’t know much, just rumors from gossipy pet owners. Supposedly some guy who’s lived in the trailer park for several years purchased the land and moved in a few months ago. Don’t think he’s started farming anything yet. And I haven’t been called out to attend to any animals, so he’s either using another vet or doesn’t have any livestock. Word around town is the guy’s a bit of a loner and not the friendliest sort.”

Not the friendliest sort. That was David’s overly kind way of calling someone an asshole. His wife would have called it like it was, but then, Nancy had always been the saltier of the pair.

“Oh, my God, David!” She grabbed her friend’s arms as a daunting idea hit her. “Maybe he’s running a dog fighting ring out of there.” It made perfect sense. “The timing lines up, the location is isolated, and the dogs were all found near his property. We should go check it out.”

With a laugh, David shook his head. “Check it out? Brooke, take a breath. It’s not a bad theory, and I’ll mention it to the cops, but let’s leave the detective work up to the professionals, okay?”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded, barely hearing his words, as she released his arms and watched the sleeping dog’s belly rise and fall with each peaceful breath. Gnawing her lower lip, she allowed her mind to run wild with possibilities of who and what was happing on that farm. Eight years ago, Brooke learned to trust her gut in the most powerful way possible. Now, it was screaming at her that she was on to something. There was no way in hell she’d allow some violent asshole get away with hurting innocent dogs if she could help it.

“Brooke.” The warning in David’s tone yanked her from the rabbit hole her mind had jumped down.

“What?” she asked, shielding her eyes from the rising sun so she could see his scowl.

“Promise me you aren’t going to go all cowboy on me and charge over to that farm flinging accusations. Nance will blame me if she has to bail you out of jail.”

He knew her too well. “David?” She planted her hands on her hip and gave him her most harmless smile though he’d never buy it. “Do you really think that’s something I’d do?”

Laughing, he tugged the brim of his Tampa Bay Rays ballcap. “Don’t even try to pull that innocent crap with me. You don’t take shit from anyone. We both know storming that farm is exactly the type of thing you’d do.”

Actually, it wasn’t. First, she’d research anything and everything she could learn about the buyer, then she’d sneak over and snoop around until she uncovered something useful. Then, if her theory proved true, she’d lose her shit.