Delta, p.1
Delta, page 1
DELTA
The K9 Files, Book 23
Dale Mayer
Books in This Series:
Ethan, Book 1
Pierce, Book 2
Zane, Book 3
Blaze, Book 4
Lucas, Book 5
Parker, Book 6
Carter, Book 7
Weston, Book 8
Greyson, Book 9
Rowan, Book 10
Caleb, Book 11
Kurt, Book 12
Tucker, Book 13
Harley, Book 14
Kyron, Book 15
Jenner, Book 16
Rhys, Book 17
Landon, Book 18
Harper, Book 19
Kascius, Book 20
Declan, Book 21
Bauer, Book 22
Delta, Book 23
Conall, Book 24
The K9 Files, Books 1–2
The K9 Files, Books 3–4
The K9 Files, Books 5–6
The K9 Files, Books 7–8
The K9 Files, Books 9–10
The K9 Files, Books 11–12
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
About Conall
Author’s Note
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
Welcome to the all new K9 Files series reconnecting readers with the unforgettable men from SEALs of Steel in a new series of action packed, page turning romantic suspense that fans have come to expect from USA TODAY Bestselling author Dale Mayer. Pssst… you’ll meet other favorite characters from SEALs of Honor and Heroes for Hire too!
Delta is always eager to help animals in need, especially when the request comes from Kat and Badger. Learning the animal is a retired K9 dog, now serving as a comfort animal for other injured dogs, Delta’s determination only increases. However, arriving in town, Delta’s contact has now vanished, and Delta discovers the War Dog is missing as well. Although Delta had looked forward to dinner with the woman he’d spoken to frequently on the phone, he now finds himself entangled in a disconcerting theory that extends beyond just one War Dog.
Rebecca has always had a soft spot for animals, and retired War Dog Gracie has effortlessly found a place in her heart. However, Rebecca’s attempts to adopt her from the center are consistently thwarted. As Rebecca seeks a solution, she stumbles upon something far more sinister, and soon realizes she is out of her depth.
All she can do is hope that Delta comes through for both her and Gracie … before it is too late.
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Prologue
Badger walked into the dining room, finding his wife, Kat, sorting papers into folders. He stopped, his hands on his hips, and stared at the documents, but, upside down, he couldn’t read clearly what they were.
When she looked up, she gave him a smile and said, “More work.”
“What kind of work?”
She chuckled. “Four more K9 files.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”
“Yes, they just came in this morning. Commander Cross did phone ahead of time, and he asked if we were up for it. Of course I said yes, and he was extremely grateful.”
Badger added, “We have had amazing successes in doing this War Dog work.”
“Commander Cross has also told several other people in his department how well we have done with it all. I guess we’ve made a name for ourselves, without expecting to.”
Badger rolled his eyes at that. “Not sure that’s a good thing.”
“Of course it is,” Kat said, with a laugh. “Anything that we do to help these animals and to give the department other options for helping these War Dogs is a good thing.” She tapped the file closest to her and then slid it toward him.
Badger shook his head. “We’re out of men.”
“Nope.” Kat laughed. “I know that you think so, but I also know that each dog has a rescue out there. And it’s important we find the right ones to pair up with each War Dog.”
“I agree,” Badger murmured, “but that doesn’t change the fact that we have nobody to call on for help right now.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” she said, as she slid the file to him again.
Badger looked down at the file and shrugged. “So, you have somebody in mind?”
“I do,” she murmured. “I was thinking about somebody I was working with today. Delta has consistent ankle problems, and I’ve seen him regularly over the last couple months. However, we think we’ve got his ankle joint sorted. He has a lot more weight on the outside of his right leg than he has on the inside.” Seeing the look on Badger’s face, she laughed. “That’s the technical stuff I’ve been dealing with for him. Just a pressure joint adjustment.”
Badger smirked. “So that would be good, if Delta’s ready.”
“It would be, and I was talking to him. He absolutely loves dogs and was considering doing canine training, potentially to work in the police department or a sheriff’s office or in some other capacity. And I mentioned how we had done all this work with the retired War Dogs coming out of the military, and he grew quite excited. He worked with several War Dogs while he was overseas and loved everything about it. He’s a big fan of the department and what they were doing. Hated to see any kind of animal mistreated. And was a big advocate for the animals. He did a lot of first aid work on them as well.”
“So he’s a vet?” Badger asked.
“No, but he was a vet assistant, before he went into the military. He was contemplating going to veterinarian school, but I think just the amount of years involved was a deterrent for him back then, and particularly now with his health. However, he’s getting better, and I would say he’s probably fully capable of doing something like these War Dog cases.”
Badger nodded. “Lots of years to invest in becoming a veterinarian, and Delta, with his military service, is now probably already in his late twenties or early thirties, right?”
“Delta’s thirty-four, not married, not engaged, doesn’t have any attachments.”
Badger’s eyebrows went up at that.
She nodded. “Of course I guess he had somebody, but she broke up with him when he was deployed.” Badger frowned at that. She agreed. “I know that you and I have a hard time with that. However, a lot of people have been through that experience, and it hasn’t stopped them. Delta’s moving forward with his life.”
Badger asked, “And did he say he would like to do something like this?”
Kat nodded. “I told him that, at the moment, we didn’t have a War Dog file, but I would consider him, if I got one.” Again she motioned at the table and the file she kept sliding toward Badger. “And that would be the file.”
“And why this file? Why would Delta be the right man for this job? What about this case screams Delta to you?”
Kat nodded, as she pulled her chair away from the dining room table to situate it closer to Badger, where she relaxed, facing him. “Yes, Delta Granger is the man for this file.”
“And that’s his real name?”
“Yes, that’s his real name.”
“Okay, and what about this War Dog?” Badger asked.
“What matters is this dog was used as a comfort dog for the injured War Dogs.”
He pulled out a dining room chair, sat down across from her, and studied her features. “Seriously? I didn’t even know something like that was possible.”
“It is, and it’s not common, but it should be common in a vet clinic. If you have injured animals, another animal—particularly one of the same species—can often give comfort to the injured ones. There was a military veterinarian on staff who used several comfort dogs to help with the injured animals. So this War Dog, now a comfort dog, whose name is Gracie, was one of those. She was injured, and she’s missing her back leg and some of her tail, plus the muscles in between are damaged.” Kat looked at her own missing limb.
Badger couldn’t help but stare down at his as well. “I can’t even imagine what the pain would be for a dog to go through that. … Of course, that would make Gracie one of ours.”
Kat chuckled. “It absolutely would.”
“Well, I’m game if you and Delta are,” he murmured. “You’re a better determinant of character than I am.”
“I’m not sure that is true,” she murmured. “I might have luck in pairing relationships, but not to the extent you do.” She picked up her phone. “I’ll call him. He was just here earlier today. In fact, you’ve met him. Remember the guy who did the patio stonework at Jager’s?”
Badger smiled. “He did good work.”
Kat chuckled, holding the phone to her ear. “He did do great work,” she said, listening to it ring. “Delta, it’s Kat. Can you come over tomorrow? Let’s talk about something we might have available.” She smiled, looking at Badger. “The file just came in. … That would be great. Thank you.” She smiled as she ended the call. “He’s coming tomorrow.”
“Perfect,” Badger murmured. “Now what’s up for tonight?”
She lau
He grabbed her hand, giving it a kiss. “With you, I’m game for anything.”
Chapter 1
Delta Granger decided that a road trip was in order when his destination was a small town, probably with no airport at all. It would entail a few hours, but it would be easier to have his vehicle than it would be to fly and then deal with a rental. Besides, he was more than ready for a chance to get out and about. He needed time away. After multiple conversations over the phone with Rebecca to discuss Gracie, the War Dog turned comfort dog, Delta decided this was a perfect escape.
He eventually arrived outside the K9 training center. This private company provided for both the training and medical needs of these dogs for later placement within the military or police and sheriffs’ departments, or even at banks and other locations that hired security guards. As he parked in the huge parking lot, he was amazed at the sheer size of the building. He understood a rehab center was also attached, which was fascinating to consider. The fact that he was coming in to evaluate Gracie’s position here, as a retired War Dog, currently working as a comfort dog for other War Dogs after surgery, just blew him away.
Yet he absolutely loved the concept. Just like everybody else, when a War Dog was injured and hurt, they needed comfort too, and another dog—usually another animal of the same species as them—seemed to calm them down and to give them that extra ability to detach from what was happening around them and to adapt a little better. Any animal that could adapt better always healed faster, so that made a lot of sense to Delta.
As he stepped out of his SUV, his ankle kinked. Not really his ankle but the same pin joint that Kat was having trouble with. He looked down at his leg and shook it out. Not that it would help, but it made him feel better. He took a couple steps, wincing as the joint didn’t work as well as it should have, impacting his stump. “Damn it,” he muttered. “I should have gone in for another adjustment before I left.”
He slowly made his way into the building and the front desk in the lobby. When he walked in, the woman at the reception desk looked up at him, but, instead of smiling, she frowned.
He studied her features for a moment and then asked, “Am I interrupting something?”
“I don’t know,” she replied briskly. “What do you want?”
He looked down at his phone. “I came to see … Rebecca.”
“She’s busy.” The woman dropped her gaze to her computer. as if the conversation were over.
“Yeah, I’m sure she is, but … I’m here anyway.”
“That’s nice.” She sat back, studying him. “And what’s your business here?”
“I’ll discuss that with Rebecca,” he stated, giving her the same brisk responses he was getting.
“I told you, she’s busy.”
“That’s interesting,” he murmured. “I’ll just make a note here that the company is uncooperative. It’ll get back to the war department soon enough, though I might as well file the report right away.”
Immediately she froze and asked, “What are you talking about?”
“None of your business,” he declared, as he turned to head back out again.
His attempt at a smooth exit was marred by his inability to make that turn as easily as he should have. He kicked his leg out again, looked down, and then frowned, but he took several more steps, with more of a limp than he wanted.
She called out to him, “What are you doing here?”
“None of your business,” he repeated. “I told you who I needed to see. That’s as much as I’m telling you.”
And, with that, he stepped out of the building and headed toward his car. He was the most amiable of people, if he got cooperation, however, when he was served up an attitude, you could bet his own mirrored what he was getting. He didn’t have any reason to be upset at the receptionist, but neither did she with him, so they were left in a stalemate.
Back at his vehicle, he slowly got in his car, watching the performance of that ankle, then quickly sent a text to Kat. Arrived. Uncooperative. Front reception stated Rebecca is busy and would pass on the message. Haven’t found this Rebecca person. Ankle not functioning great.
He got back a sad face emoji with a quick note, saying the new part wasn’t in yet but hopefully soon.
He nodded in understanding. Kat was one of the few people he knew of who custom-designed prosthetics to fit what was needed because, where prosthetics were concerned, every person had a special, unique circumstance. There was no one-size, one-part-fits-all concept, so she was constantly creating new parts for various people. Then she had to get them made, even though she was a hell of a good machinist herself.
As Kat would say, time had demanded it, but these parts also had to be made of a special material. So she now had experts she worked with to create most of them.
Delta managed to get his leg back into the car, shut the door, and turned on the engine. As he backed out of his parking spot, he found an older woman standing there, her arms across her chest, glaring at him. He wasn’t sure what the hell was going on with this place, but some serious attitude issues were evident. He stopped his car, turned off the engine, and watched to see what she would do.
She walked closer to him and leaned in to speak with him. “I understand there’s a problem.”
“When somebody can’t walk inside and get a civil response from your front desk clerk, I would say that you’re the ones with the problem.”
She shook her head. “We’ve had some issues.”
“Yeah? Well, I guess you’ll probably continue to have issues, with that attitude.”
Again she glared at him. “What is it you want?”
“To speak with Rebecca.” When her expression cleared slightly, he wondered if that’s who this lady was.
“She’s not here right now,” she stated in a calmer tone.
“That would have been nice to know up front. Too bad your receptionist didn’t say that instead of just pissing me off.”
She frowned. “That’s not what she told me happened.”
“Of course not. Why am I not surprised?” He snorted. “No point in even speaking with you either.”
“She mentioned something about the war department.” Her gaze was intense.
“Yeah, what about it?” he asked, refusing to give an inch. She frowned again. He waited but got no response. “You stated Rebecca’s not here, so when is she coming back?”
She hesitated and then shrugged. “Honestly, we’re not sure.”
“What do you mean, you’re not sure?” he asked in exasperation.
She looked around, as if to see if anybody were listening, and then continued. “Look. We’ve had some problems, potentially serious problems. I don’t know if you’re part of the problem, part of the solution, or neither. However, I know that Rebecca is in the midst of the problem.”
He shook his head at that. “I don’t even know what the hell that means. I came to talk to her about Gracie.”
At that, she stared at him in astonishment. “Gracie? The comfort dog?”
“Yes, the retired War Dog,” he snapped. “What is so hard to swallow about that?”
“But she’s not here.”
“I know that,” he replied patiently. “That’s why I came to talk to Rebecca.” This unidentified woman shook her head, and he could see that she had no clue what he was even talking about. “Is Rebecca coming back or not? And, if she is, when is that likely to be? A straight answer, please—”
“I don’t know,” she said. Then she sighed, looking defeated. “The cops have been here all morning, and we’re all on edge.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Rebecca’s disappeared. We don’t know why or how.”
“What do you mean by disappeared?”
She shook her head. “Rebecca didn’t show up for work today.”
“And you were expecting her?” he asked.
“Yes, we were expecting her,” she confirmed, looking at him shrewdly. “She was due in early, like early-early. She didn’t show up. I called her but got no response, which is also very unusual.” Then she frowned and added, “I shouldn’t even be talking to you about this.”
“Actually you probably should,” he declared. “Now I need to know exactly what’s going on.”
