Joke's on You (SWAT Generation 2.0 6)

“It’s my secret weapon,” I found myself saying. “I found it on Amazon. Here’s the video.”

Dax holding the present in his hand, he watched the demonstration video on Amazon that a customer had posted in his review, and nearly gagged.

“There’s no fuckin’ way in the world I’m suckin’ my kid’s snot out with this,” Dax said as he held the offending object up in his hands.

I laughed and slapped him on the back.

“Dax, my man,” I said teasingly. “You’ll find that there’s a lot of fuckin’ shit that you’ll do when it comes to your baby. Trust me.”

***

I pressed redial, and the phone went to voicemail.

Again.

Rolling my eyes, I headed for home.

“What’s that smile on your face for?” Malachi asked as he walked to his motorcycle.

I gestured to my phone.

“Going to voicemail,” I said. “She must be at the vet again.”

Malachi chuckled as he threw his leg over the bike.

“Guess I’ll see you there. They took him off the medication today that kept him sleepy. I’m headed there now to make sure he won’t bite my face off before I take him home,” he said.

I saluted him. “I’ll see you there, then.”

The moment that I pulled into the parking lot of the vet’s office, I saw her car, just like I thought that I would.

Malachi got off the bike next to me and we walked inside together.

I grinned at the night attendant who’d been letting my girl slip in here after hours. Hopefully when I wouldn’t know.

She smiled back and waved me in.

While Dillan had been doing her creeping around, hiding and sneaking, I’d been doing the same thing.

Me and Bobo had come to an understanding.

One that would hopefully mean he’d get the chance he deserved.

Bobo was a tough sell, though. Each time that we visited, he was still his growly self, even in his ‘calmed’ state.

I just plain didn’t trust the dog.

He was intelligent, protective, and overall a really good dog.

But I just couldn’t trust him with my kid. Wouldn’t.

Which made me thankful that Malachi had agreed to take him in. I knew he’d be treated well, and Bobo would get the life he deserved.

The next two minutes were sort of a blur.

“Mr. Malachi, I have a few concerns I’d like to speak with you about,” the chick called.

Malachi, who was obviously going to have to talk to the girl, waved me on.

I went, winding my way down the long hallway that led to the back rooms.

I turned the corner and frowned when I saw a kennel door open.

My eyes were scanning the area at once.

On the left there were the kennels, lined up in a long line. Concrete on the sides. Wire fencing on the fronts. And on the other side of the hallway was a long line of windows where there was an operating room, a showering station, as well as an exam table.

Something shifting caught my eye, and I slowly dragged my head toward the opposite direction just as I rounded the kennel’s entrance.

I walked to it, thinking that they were putting Bobo back in his kennel for the night, and nearly died right then and there when an iron bar came swinging right at my head the moment I ducked my head around the cage.

Stupid, amateur thing to do.

I knew better.

Abruptly, I fell to my hands and knees, stunned by a blow to the head.

The moment that I was down, I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision.

But only ended up making it worse when the blood started to leak down over my forehead and into my eyes.

I moved, sitting up, and hastily wiped at my eyes.

“Stay put, little doggie,” Kerrie’s nasty voice said.

That’s when I heard the gate slam closed and realized that I’d made an even bigger mistake.

I swallowed hard.

How had he gotten out without me knowing?

The fuckin’ cops that I spoke with said that the monitor was tamper proof! Not to mention I hadn’t gotten a single alarm that Kerrie had left his humble abode.

Confusion tinging my features, I forced my body to move toward the cage’s door, only to find it solidly shut.

I stood up, using the chain links for purchase, and practically dragged myself upward so I could see over the half cinder block wall with the panel of windows above it.

What I saw nearly dropped me back to my knees.

Dillan, her phone in her hand, had her hands up high as she pleaded with Kerrie, who was walking toward her with purpose in every stride.

Dillan’s back hit the wall just as Kerrie walked past Bobo, who was laying out on the exam table, looking ragged but awake.

Kerrie paused to press his gun against the dog’s head, but just when he was about to pull the trigger, the dog jerked.

One second, he was lying on his side, and the next the dog was falling off the other side of the exam table.