Kyron (The K9 Files Book 15)
KYRON
The K9 Files, Book 15
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
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
Epilogue
About Jenner
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
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!
Kyron swore he wouldn’t work with dogs anymore, but, when Badger asks him to go home to Aspen and to track a missing War Dog, who is missing her left leg—as he is—Kyron can’t refuse. Even if it means seeing his brother and his wife again. Not that he had anything against them. Kyron just couldn’t deal with his parents. Finding the dog seems like the easiest part of returning to Aspen, until Kyron realizes a rescue run by a fascinating woman is the one that’s spotted the missing dog, … only the dog isn’t alone …
Miranda spends every waking moment working to keep her animals safe. Two jobs keeps them in food and shelter but not much more. Considering her miserable neighbor is always making complaints about her, she has considered moving, but it is too expensive to make that happen. She has seen a three-legged canine hanging around the back perimeter of her property and had been feeding it, quietly knowing it resembled the dog the neighbor had brought home, until it ran away.
She had no intention of letting her neighbor or anyone else know about the dog, hoping to coax it onto her property, where she could look after it properly. However, then Kyron showed up, searching for the animal, and things got really ugly …
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Prologue
Badger sat at his desk across from Kyron Edgewater, who stared at him, somewhat angered.
“You want me to go after a dog? Did you hear me say that I didn’t want to do K9 anymore?”
“I did. And her name is Beth.” Badger looked over at Erick, who sat beside him.
Erick picked up the argument. “We figured it’s one of the reasons that you probably need to do this. We know how much you love dogs. We know how much you love that part of your life. And we figure some trauma’s still there that you might need to heal.”
“But you’re not shrinks.” Kyron felt his temper spike. “And I didn’t sign up for therapy.”
“Maybe not, but, at the same time, I’d like to think that there’s room in your heart to help out another animal.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“She’s missing a leg, was injured, and retired out in Colorado.”
“So that sounds like what all of us are dealing with.” He made a hand motion at the three of them. He had two fake knee joints, a missing lower leg, some ribs, and a kidney. Well, bits and pieces were left of the kidney. “It is what it is.”
“Sure, and then somebody went to do a welfare check on Beth to make sure she was okay. At which point, the new owners admitted that she had gone missing sometime in the night a few months ago.”
He stopped and stared. “Why the hell would somebody steal the dog?”
“We’re not exactly sure,” Badger admitted. “They were having trouble with the dog. It was a little more aggressive than anticipated, and they didn’t know why. So, when she went missing, they weren’t too upset. They weren’t planning on telling anybody either. Nobody would have known except for the dog welfare check.”
“And so now what?”
“We want to make sure Beth is okay.”
“Obviously it’s not okay. It’s gone missing. If it was getting aggressive, you also know there’s a damn good chance that somebody took it out back and shot it.”
Badger winced at that. “I hope not. We’ve had really good luck finding these animals and giving them a much better life. But if Colorado isn’t a place you want to go and if Beth is one you can walk away from …”
Kyron frowned at Badger. “That’s a low blow.”
“Of course it is.” Badger half smiled. “We’re a little desperate here. We need people who can handle dogs.”
“Of course I can handle dogs. The reason I didn’t want to go back in the K9 unit is, I couldn’t handle the death.”
“And that’s justified,” Badger admitted. “Not to mention that you’re not the first person to bring up that point. I’m just looking for somebody to take a quick trip and to see if they can find Beth.”
“But it went missing months ago. You know there’ll be no sign of it.”
“Maybe not but we have to take a look, don’t we?”
He groaned. “And of course this isn’t a paid job, is it?”
“Would it make a difference to you if it was?”
“No.” He sighed. “Just that you want somebody who can find this dog and make sure she’s okay.” And yes the dog was already a she – a warm and precious female life.
“Yes, and we’ll cover the trip, and we’ll cover the hotels and any equipment you might need.” Badger studied him closely. “Are you okay with Colorado?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be okay with Colorado?” he asked in exasperation. “Aspen was my winter playground.”
“And how will you handle returning there in the wintertime, when you only have one leg?”
He glared at him. “Maybe I’ll pick up snowboarding and see how that works.”
“Maybe you should. For all we know, Beth’s been taken into Search and Rescue and is just fine.”
At that, Kyron shrugged. “You know that actually wouldn’t be a bad field for her.”
“Except for the missing leg.”
“Possibly.” He stared off in the distance. “Maybe a prosthetic could be made for her too.”
“Why don’t you go find Beth, then talk to Kat about that,” Badger suggested, “but only if you’re interested.”
He glared at him. “You know I’m interested. You also know there’s no way in hell I’ll leave that dog in trouble.”
“That’s what we figured,” Badger noted in satisfaction. “Still, it’s your choice.”
“Meaning, you know I would go.” Kyron got up and walked outside. He stopped, took a deep breath, and he knew that he was in for headache and heartache.
Every time it seemed like he got around dogs, it was just bad news. Th
ey either got killed, taken away, injured, or something bad happened.
But this one was already injured, the other part of his brain argued. Maybe, this time, it’ll go better for both of you.
He doubted it. But he was a sucker for anyone in trouble. Especially a dog. “Hang on, Beth. I’m on my way.”
Chapter 1
Kyron stepped out of the airport, shouldered his bag to a different position that didn’t press on some of the scar tissue around his ribs, then turned to look around. He’d left a message but hadn’t heard back from Allen. Absolutely no guarantee his brother would even be here. Kyron hadn’t talked to his brother in, well, let’s just say a long time. A vehicle drove up, honking its horn. They used to be good friends, but Allen hadn’t agreed with Kyron’s decision to go into the navy so long ago.
Allen had gone into local law enforcement, and that was something that Kyron didn’t have a problem with at all, but that wasn’t what Kyron wanted for himself. They kept in touch at first but had drifted apart. After a couple bouts of brotherly rivalry had hit, they never seemed to really talk after that.
He looked over at the vehicle honking again and realized it was Allen. Kyron walked forward, threw his duffel bag in the back of the pickup, and hopped up into the front seat.
Allen shot him a hard look and then pulled out into the traffic.
“What’s that look for?” Kyron asked.
“I was just assessing your walk.”
“I’m walking just fine,” he replied in a calm voice.
“You’d be walking better if you had both legs.”
“Well, that won’t change,” he murmured, “so it’s a dead conversation.”
His brother shrugged. “Considering my partner just lost his leg on the job, I guess that’s a fair assessment.”
Kyron looked over at him. “Conrad?”
“Yeah, car accident, high-speed chase. Conrad ended up whipped out and pinned behind a power pole, and the leg couldn’t be saved.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kyron said sincerely.
“Me too. I think his wife is more torn up about it than Conrad is. Although I’m not sure reality has set in for him.”
“It takes a long time,” Kyron stated. “You put on this good front and a happy face and say, ‘Hey, it’s only one leg.’ Then you believe it’ll all be better—until you wake up in the morning and try to go to the bathroom and end up flat on your face because you forgot you are missing a leg.”
Allen looked at him, startled. “Never thought about things like that.”
“He’ll adjust, the same as I did.”
The two brothers didn’t say anything for a long time.
“So, in that very short text of yours, you didn’t mention why you were coming to Aspen,” Allen stated. “It would be lovely to think it was to see me and Sandra, but I highly doubt that’s what is on your mind.”
“Let’s just say, it’s good timing for a chance to combine two things with one,” he replied.
“Which also means that you wouldn’t be coming for a visit if you didn’t have this other purpose.”
“Well, I didn’t have a whole lot of purpose otherwise,” he shared. “Don’t worry. I’m not planning on sticking around as a deadbeat brother, and the visit would have happened eventually either way,” he admitted finally to himself and to his brother. “I just wasn’t sure when or how.”
“You pick up a phone, and you book a ticket, and you make it happen,” Allen stated. “You know that we would have come to you anytime over the last couple years.”
“Yeah, you probably would have,” he agreed. “But it’s only now that I’m really somebody worth talking to.” Allen didn’t say anything for a long moment. And Kyron appreciated that.
“I gather the anger was pretty rough.”
“You could say that.” Kyron paused. “I lost my career, along with my leg and my best friend,” he noted, his voice low. “You tend to either get over it really easily, or it takes you a hell of a long time to let it go.”
“I think you got over it just fine,” Allen added briefly. “You’re at least talking to us now, so I take that as a positive sign. I do know some guys, some veterans, who have a huge hate for the world around them.”
“And a lot of guys don’t,” Kyron countered quietly. “I needed to get to the point where I became one of the ones who don’t have that hate.” He knew his brother would understand, especially being in law enforcement. They took risks every day of their lives, and sometimes the risks were just a little bit worse than others.
“I’m sorry about your career.”
“Well, I could have had a desk job, if I wanted it.”
At that, Allen snorted. “You and me both would have the same attitude about that.”
“Well, that’s the thing.” Kyron sent a brief smile in his brother’s direction. “It’s been pretty tough, and I just couldn’t see myself at a desk job. Some guys can adapt and do well, but I couldn’t see myself in that role.”
“And yet,” Allen noted, “you used to be in a K9 unit.”
“I was, and I walked away from that just before the accident.”
His brother looked startled. “You didn’t tell us that.”
“No.”
“And why didn’t you?”
“Because we had four dogs die,” Kyron snapped. “One mission went bad, real bad, and I just decided that I’d had enough of the deaths.”
“And yet you didn’t retire.”
“No, I didn’t, but I probably should have. Hindsight. It’s awesome if hindsight actually had the ability to change anything,” he stated. “But when you can’t change things, it just makes you feel like an idiot for not having seen the signs ahead of time.”
“That’s terrible.” Allen shook his head. “I hadn’t ever considered it that way.”
“And, honest to God, it could be so much worse,” Kyron added.
“It could be, yes,” Allen agreed. “I could be driving to your funeral right now, instead of driving you back home.”
“I appreciate the lift, by the way.”
“And I hope you’re staying with us.” When Kyron hesitated at that, Allen shook his head. “Don’t be stubborn. We haven’t had a chance to see you in a couple years. You damn near died on us, and you know how much we want to see you.” He looked over at him. “By the way, Sandra’s pregnant.”
He looked at his brother in shock. “Seriously?”
Allen gave him a pleased smile. “Yeah, I know. We didn’t think it would happen. The doctors even told us it wasn’t likely to happen, but, hey, it did. So, what we’re trying to do is keep her calm, quiet, and not have anything go wrong. It’s considered a high-risk pregnancy, and we all know how that can go. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep that part of the conversation out of the house though.” Allen shot a glance at his brother. “We always have too much of that worry in the back of our minds.”
“How far along is she?”
“She’s seven months already.”
“Wow, but that also means, if something did go wrong now, you’re at the point where the baby could survive, right?”
“That’s what we’re counting on. She’s been off work since we found out, just trying to be as careful as she can,” he noted quietly.
“How is she doing mentally?”
His brother nodded. “Much better now. The miscarriage a couple years ago hit her really badly, and she was in a really depressed state. I had trouble getting her to eat. She didn’t care about anything, and she lost weight, too much weight.”
“She doesn’t have any to lose to begin with.”
“No, and it’s been a struggle to get her to put on enough to make it through the pregnancy. Honestly, we’re pretty stoked that she’s at seven months and that things are still looking solid.”
“I’m sure you are,” he replied. “Any idea what it is?”
“It’s a boy.” Allen grinned.
“Holy cow.” Kyron sat back, staring
at his brother. “You’ll actually have a son.”
“I know. I know. I’m pretty excited.”
And he was; Kyron could tell from the proud look on his face. “Well, let’s hope everything goes well for these last couple months.”
“We’re doing our best to keep everything calm and quiet.”
“Then it’s better if I go to a hotel, isn’t it?” Kyron asked. “The last thing I want to do is upset the apple cart.”
“And how would having you home upset the apple cart?” Allen asked, frowning. “If you went to a hotel, it would make her all worried that she’d done something wrong.”
“Yeah, that’s a Sandra thing, isn’t it?” Kyron rubbed his temples. He didn’t know what to do. He thought that maybe he could stay with his brother, although Badger had specifically said they would cover the expenses. Yet hotels here were really expensive, and there wasn’t any need for it, as Kyron had family here. Also, if he didn’t have to spend as much money, then Badger could use it to help other dogs, which was always part of his thought process.
“Yeah, to some degree. Listen,” his brother continued. “I would appreciate it if you did stay, and, hey, if it looks like it’ll be stressful, I’d have no problem asking you to leave.”
Kyron snorted at that. “Bro, you’ve never had a problem telling me exactly what you thought.” An awkward silence followed for a moment.
Then Allen finally spoke. “I’ve wondered if you still held that against me.”
“Trying not to.” Kyron shrugged. “It was great that you got to make your life choices and have everybody’s support, but I just couldn’t go that route.”
“Yeah.” Allen nodded. “I’ve thought about that a lot over the years, and I have to admit that is something I regret. Your parents do too.”
“You mean, our parents?” he corrected, with a wry tone.
He winced at that. “Yeah. Listen. I know they supported me becoming a cop because that’s what our father was as well. So, to them, I was following in his footsteps.”
“And I was following in Granddad’s footsteps, but, because they were on outs with him, they chose to be on the outs with me,” Kyron replied quietly.