Forte heard the feminine laughter and made a quick decision to head out a side door into the kennel area rather than interrupt the fun the ladies were having in the kitchen. As much as he wanted to make sure Sophie wasn’t on her feet too much, he also didn’t want to cut short any fun they were all having. Besides, Lyn and Elisa would watch out for Sophie. Even Boom had been developing a knack for nudging someone into taking care of themselves when they might otherwise forget.
It was something friends did for one another. Exactly what he hadn’t had when he’d first come off of active duty and searched for what to do with himself next.
His smartphone rang, flashing a familiar name on the screen.
“Forte.” He kept walking toward the kennels as he answered. He wanted distance between himself and the ladies for this call, but he didn’t want to cut past them to get into his office. Along the way, he’d make a visual check of the dogs in the kennels.
“Beckhorn here. I read the latest update on Haydn’s progress. Good work.” The man kept in touch when Hope’s Crossing Kennels had one of his dogs on site. “I hear Sa is on site, too.”
“Yeah. We’re having him run through the training courses with a couple of the dogs, see which is the strongest match.” This latest set of dogs had a lot of potential. Every one of them was sharp, eager to work. All of them had come through the initial phases of training with flying colors. The next deciding factor would be when they were paired with a potential handler or when they were evaluated by a military trainer for acquisition. Usually, Forte gave his military contacts first pick. Today was an exception.
“I appreciate you making him a priority.” Beckhorn didn’t ask for favors often.
“Not a problem.” Forte paused. “I may need a little help, too, actually.”
“Yeah?” Beckhorn had done some digging for them in the past. He could be another angle besides Ky’s police investigation or Captain Jones’s covert operation.
“I need to know about any new private contract organizations taking on domestic contracts.” Forte followed a leap of intuition. “They might be looking into training facilities like mine.”
There was a pause. Beckhorn cleared his throat. “We interested in working with them?”
“Unknown.” Forte set his jaw as his temper smoldered. The memory of Sophie lying pale and still in the hospital bed floated across his vision. “Not likely. I’m looking for connections to people or places in the area here, searches and inquiries. I want to know who’s out there.”
“Your timing is creepy as hell.” Beckhorn didn’t spook easily. “There’s at least two private contract organizations growing a name for themselves. One is the team Sa is joining. The other one has a more corporate structure to it. All about the bottom line and too many redacted files in the background checks.”
“What’s the name?” Forte could work with Rojas and Cruz to start their own searches.
“Labs-Anders Corporation.” Beckhorn’s tone turned grim. “Started by a recently retired Navy officer and a group of ex-SEALs. They’re actively recruiting currently.”
And Cruz had crossed a few former SEALs within the past year. Small world.
“I’d proceed with caution.” Beckhorn’s warning came out with an edge. “Part of the reason I work with you is because you manage to stay clear of the shady shit.”
“Yeah. That’s the way I’d like to keep it.” Forte hadn’t built Hope’s Crossing Kennels to get tangled up with any organization that’d force him to make the best bad decision in a shit situation again. “But someone close to us might have a target on her back.”
She wasn’t just close; she was everything to him.
The sound of typing keys came across the line. “I’ll do some discreet digging. File should be available to you in the next twenty-four hours.”
“Appreciated.” And Forte would do some discrete research of his own.
“If you’re talking about the food, I don’t believe you because you haven’t even tasted it yet.” Sophie stood at the edge of the dog runs holding a covered dish.
Forte ended his call and turned his attention to her. “You shouldn’t be walking around so much.”
She huffed out a laugh. “I’m getting to the end of my tolerance with people telling me what I shouldn’t be doing.”
He crossed the distance between them before she tried to start limping toward him. “Sorry. Thanks for saving some for me.”
Sophie gave him a smile. “Well, the others all came through and had some. I didn’t want you to skip breakfast.”
He tried not to herd her back into the kitchen. Honestly, he tried. But they did end up back inside and sitting at the kitchen table.
Sophie gave him a pointed look and sat with her right leg hoisted onto a chair next to her. “Okay. I’m off my ankle. Eat.”
He chuckled and complied.
“You know, everything was fine last night.” Sophie played with a napkin. “Maybe you can just drop me off at home this afternoon.”
He swallowed too fast and had to breathe through his nose as the too-large bulk of toast and egg and avocado stuck in his throat on the way down.
“I mean, I have to update my résumé and figure out what I’m going to do about a job.” Sophie’s words started coming out in a rush. “I’ve got savings set aside, but I’d rather not dig into them if I can help it.”