His Devious Angel (13 page)

Two more dogs were gone. As they went from place to place to pick up their brood, the story was the same and had Liam scratching his head. The common denominator happened to be obvious. They all lived within a mile of each other, in the rich district with homes where every dog’s worth more than tripled the norm.

“Nicky? How in the world did they capture him? He hates men and wouldn’t let a stranger anywhere near him. I don’t get it.” Sadie had become more upset with each dog-napping tale. Their day’s schedule had to be re-organized, and as she worked the cell phone to call her clients, he saw her hands shaking.

Poor doll! He hated to see her so distressed, but he couldn’t do anything until he contacted his mysterious apparition, who seemed to always be around when he didn’t need him and disappeared during times when he could use his help.

“No!” Shock took over her voice as she spoke into the phone.

Liam pulled over to the side of the street and shoved the gearshift into park.  “What?” As he watched Sadie’s eyes fill, he felt like a size eleven had just kicked him in the guts. “Breathe. Stop crying. Tell me.”

“Peppi! They took Peppi, my favorite of the bunch. He’s such a little trooper, and so affectionate.”

“Affectionate? He’s a sugar-cube. Licked me all over when I finally caught up with him the other day.” He used sarcasm on purpose to coax a smile, and it worked.

“I know he likes to run away, but he’s the smartest of the bunch. Learned how to count before the rest, and will fetch anything I throw for him. Oh, Liam. Will we ever see them again? What do people do with stolen dogs? Where do they take them?”

“Logic tells me that they either sell them or use them for breeding—like in puppy mills.”

“How horrible! Last night Stan, you remember Greta’s boyfriend, mentioned that he was a cop. Do you think he might be able to help us solve this mystery, or at least give us some direction on where to start?”

He coughed, and then prattled on as though he were in a sit-com trying to draw a laugh. “Oh, good idea! Now why didn’t I think of him?”

“I get it!” She chuckled. “That was who you had in mind earlier. I’ll call her and make arrangements for after work, see if they’re free. Maybe we can order in pizzas and discuss it over dinner?”

“Great. In the meantime, we’d better walk the rest of your mutts.”

She scrutinized his smile and eventually returned it. Glad to be able to ease her spirit without having to go into explanations, he breathed a sigh of relief. After all, how could a guy tell the girl who’d begun to mean way too much that he intended to pick the brains of his elusive guardian angel?

At their next stop, Liam waited in the van while Sadie approached the owner who waited at the gate with the dog sitting at the end of its flashy leash.

“Hey, Johnny? Angel? If you’re hovering around I’d appreciate a moment.”

“Hello, Mate. Just having a bit of a nap, I was. What can I do for you?”

Sure enough, there was the spitting image of Johnny Depp lounging in the back seat, head bolstered on his hand, elbow down on the seat.

“Sorry to disturb you.”
Liam could do sarcasm so well.

Shrugging nonchalantly, the angel yawned and answered,
“You’re having me on, right?”

Liam let his sigh last longer than usual and figured even an angel would get it. And it seemed he was right, by the cheeky grin he picked up through the rearview mirror.

“You want to know about the puppies?”

“Yes. The owners aren’t the only ones upset with their disappearance. Sadie is heartbroken, and I want to help. Only I have no idea where to start.”

As the phantom started to fade, he left behind the message,
“Stan is your man. He can find out what you need to know. And Liam, your first guess was right about puppy mills. And Oklahoma is a puppy mill Mecca. One more thing…follow the money.”

Just then Sadie approached the back door and waited for Liam to come and help her settle the golden retriever in his doggy seat. “Who were you talking to?”

“Me? I wasn’t talking to anyone.” Damn if his cheeks didn’t feel hot.

“Oh, I get it! You’re one of those weirdos who carry on conversations with themselves.” She giggled, and he loved the sound.

“You got me!” He winked in the wicked way he knew turned the girls on, guided her to her seat, and helped her inside.  

***

“So you think there’s a dog-theft ring branching out all over the city?”

Stan finished chewing his pizza and nodded. “Sure, we’ve been on to them for a while but haven’t been able to find out where they’re taking the dogs. As you know, the police department doesn’t get involved with this type of crime as much as we’d like to. There just isn’t enough manpower. But when it comes to the elite victims who’ve been hit recently, we’ve had to give up some time and start digging.”

Sadie, who listened to every word, spoke up before Liam. “And, what did they find?”

“We think it’s the Bradford brothers, mean-hearted sons of bitches—s’cuse my language—who are behind it all. They have high-class puppy boutiques and sell to the very rich.  Unfortunately, whenever the S.P.C.A. searched their breeding premises, everything seems in order. The dogs look well cared for and healthy, with veterinarians available and all their papers up to date.” He stood up to get another glass of wine, then returned to his seat and carried on with his explanation.

“Thing is—they have a never-ending supply of puppies. Must be from outside this state. And we can’t get the other officials to care very much about following up on that paperwork. The local humane society has helped some, but they can’t trespass and so their hands are tied. Let me tell you, it’s damn frustrating.”

Liam asked, “If you knew which state to look in, would it help?”

“Depends on their laws. Why? Do you have an idea?”

“Oklahoma.”

“Man! That would be the worst possibility. It’s the perfect location for dishonest dog breeders. Without proper state regulations, they’re rampant with puppy mills. What made you select that area?”

“Just a bit of info I picked up from a friend who had some inside knowledge. He said to follow the money.”

Stan’s expression took on a look of interest. He pulled out his cell, got to his feet, and excused himself.

Liam checked Sadie to see how she was taking in the disturbing discussion. She looked so downhearted. An ache began forming in his chest and promised to choke him if he didn’t do something.

Greta shot him a wink and rose to clear the table. “I think we’ll leave you guys now, cause Hotshot promised to take me to a movie tonight and it’s my turn to choose. Chick flick, here we come.”

As Stan flipped his phone closed, she slipped her arm through his and led him towards the back door.

“Whaddaya mean chick flick? No way!” He stopped and turned to where Liam and Sadie lounged on the couch. “I’ll get back to you if I hear anything.”

As soon as the bickerers closed the patio screen, Liam gently slapped at Sadie’s hand to stop her picking at the pepperoni left on the piece of pizza she’d nearly demolished without eating a bite.  She threw it onto the plate and set the plate on the table, then leaned back.

All he had to do was turn his head. Her face was so close he could feel her breath. He did so, but slowly, so as not to scare her. Then he watched as her eyes grew larger in the most beautiful face he’d ever seen. Expecting her to move away, he was glad when she didn’t. But he could have sworn she’d turned to stone. Not a flicker, or a blink, nothing.

Earlier, he’d noticed that for once she’d used some kind of fancy pins to control her hair, but he didn’t like to see the golden curls pulled back and squashed. Angling his fingers, he plucked them out and watched the mass settle around her rosy cheeks. She still hadn’t moved.

Then he reached over and slid his hands underneath the softness and caressed her neck. Her eyes closed and a sigh of pure bliss escaped while he manipulated. Her muscles slackened and her body became limp under his ministrations.

This time, he couldn’t pull away without tasting her. His body had already given him hell for the last trick he’d pulled. He’d had no sleep and no reprieve from imagining how she’d taste. Well he was about to find out.

***

God, the man was dense. Would he never get to it? Sadie didn’t know how much longer she could hold out without mewing like a cat in heat. His lips were so close that his hot breath inflamed her already scattered senses.

His first touch released the moan and that seemed to act like a signal. One moment she was angled toward him while he held her head cradled in his big, gentle hands, and the next he’d whipped her around and she was lying across his body while his lips drained every spark of life-giving breath out of her.

Somehow she’d known he’d be able to kiss. That he’d be well versed in that particular method of seduction. But what he did to her went way beyond anything she could ever imagine. She was on fire. Heat scorched like a rope of fire throughout her body and then pooled between her legs—wet, devastating heat. Heat that turned her bones to mush and had her moving restlessly, seeking, aching for release from the ecstasy he'd started. One thing was for certain; whatever the devil wanted to do to her, she was ready and more than willing.

The first touch of his hands on her skin and her thoughts screamed “halleluiah.” Then as he stroked his way to where her breasts peaked and cupped her fullness. It felt wonderful. The warmth of his fingers caressing, plucking, and then caressing again forced more of those distracting explosions down below.

All the while he touched, he also kissed, and she found it difficult to concentrate on his lips. He’d changed from tongue-in-mouth plundering to soft, lip-biting, tongue-sucking torment. She loved it. When his lips moved to her neck and her t-shirt got in the way, she was more that happy to help him remove the obstruction. And when he took off her bra, it only seemed sensible.

Snuggled back against his rapidly moving chest and hearing the ragged sighs he couldn’t hide, she became aware that their lovemaking affected him just as strongly.
I'm getting to him.
Good!

Just knowing he was equally affected gave her the strength to pull back and undo the buttons on his shirt. She glanced up to see him watching her fingers and then he looked right at her. Hot pools of lust had always seemed such a corny phrase in a trashy novel, but it described the look in his eyes perfectly. Her fingers stopped, and so did her heart.

His didn't. It vibrated. It actually moved around in the pocket that her hand lay against. A frustrated moan broke through her daze as he reached under her fingers to pull out his cell phone. That's what finally broke her trance. Her head flopped forward, and if the scream she heard inside could be let loose, he'd have a fairly good idea of just how demented she felt.

"It's Angelo. I have to answer it," he said in a harsh whisper, as he cradled her body by wrapping one arm around her and rubbing her back. He listened for a few seconds and then spoke the words that put paid to Sadie's fantasies.

"We'll be right there." He stabbed the off button and threw it on the coffee table. The sound of it slamming on the wooden surface somehow gave her a bit of satisfaction. It was a slight indication that he was as pissed off at the interruption as she was.

“There’s something wrong with Angelo Ruiz’s baby, Teresa. He says she hasn't stopped crying for more than twenty minutes since her birth. Now Isobela has started, and he's at his wit's end. Can you call your mom? See if she’ll be willing to check things out? Tell her we'll pick her up on the way."

"She's hungry." Bea's diagnosis rang in the silence. Everyone had waited in fearful anticipation, hoping that the situation could be resolved without ambulances and a visit to the nearest hospital.  For Sadie, hearing those words brought a strange relief, but it was also a sad testimonial.

"
Mio Díos
, no! I've fed her over and over. She spits my body out and doesn't want the milk. She won't eat.  She won't sleep. She cries and cries—" The woman looked like hell and anguish rang in her voice.

"Isobela, trust me. It isn't your fault." Bea turned to the nearest person, who happened to be Liam, and unloaded the squalling baby into his arms before he could step back.