Page 7 of Sheltering Instinct

Brothers, brewskies, doggos, and maybe a good conversation and laugh or two with an interesting woman. That would have to be enough for him.

Chapter Two

Levi

Conroy strode toward the end of the building. “I think you’re going to like Casper. A dog so stealthy he’s like a ghost.”

Goose leaned toward Levi and said under his breath, “Isn’t Casper a friendly ghost who likes to show himself?”

Levi tipped his head down to hide his grin.

Conroy glanced over his shoulder, “Casper is a Malinois out of the Czech Republic.”

“You got him as a pup, or you bought him once he’d finished his first round of training?” Goose asked as he moved up to walk side by side with Conroy.

“We get them as soon as they’re done nursing. Our program begins at the beginning.”

“The paperwork didn’t indicate which command language they learn,” Levi said.

“All American. We only speak American at Beast Mode.”

The group circled the outside of a steel building that reminded Levi of a municipal airport hangar.

Conroy stopped at the back corner.

From the layout, the field stretching out in front of them was designed for bitework exercises.

Here, next to the building, was a path of thick mats. Conroy pointed up toward the roofline, some two stories overhead, where a bar extended, a rope dangled, and a hot pink tennis ball hung from that rope. Conroy pulled his finger down to direct the group’s attention to the horizon.

Beast Mode obviously set this up to open with a bang. Some kind of show was heading their way. But right now, nothing was out there but a line of green grass touching blue sky.

“Levi,” Conroy said. “Tell me your capacity handling dogs before you signed on with Cerberus.”

“SEALs.” Levi didn’t need to sell himself. That he worked for Iniquus’s Cerberus Tactical K9 was credential enough. He understood the need to prove he wasn’t a newbie or a wannabe when it came to a trained working dog. These K9s had lethal potential by nature and nurture. If you didn’t know what you were doing, it was a liability.

And while Levi didn’t know the laws around it, it seemed to him that if Beast Mode sold a weapons-ready K9 to Joe down the street, there was the potential for bad outcomes and lawsuits.

Heck, even with exquisite control, military-trained K9s—well, any K9—could act out.

The training was supposed to mitigate that problem.

Unfortunately, Conroy wasn’t willing to divulge that training. And that was a concern.

“SEALs, huh?” Conroy squinted into the distance, then pulled his phone from his pocket to check for a message. There didn’t seem to be one waiting for him.

Levi stood wide-legged with his arms crossed over his chest. “That’s right.”

“How’d you land with Iniquus?” Conroy slipped his phone into his pocket, then gave it a pat.

“I heard from friends who worked there that a new K9 team was spooling up.” Levi was leaving Navy ranks at a golden moment. Openings with Iniquus were few and far between. While they hired their operators from the lists of retired special forces, just having those credentials on a resume didn’t mean much. It was invitation-only for a chance to sit down with Iniquus Command and show that you made the grade.

Levi had served alongside a handful of former SEALs who had joined Iniquus after leaving the Navy earlier than he had, each for their own reasons.

His brothers had talked about Iniquus’ ethos and integrity, how they coalesced as a family that all watched out for each other.

Those who were used to the adrenaline and push of an operator’s world often had a tough time adapting to the normal pace of life once they left the service. So, the familiar structure and ongoing training of similar tactical skills made for a soft landing when moving from the military to the civilian world.

His brothers who were now at Iniquus had honored Levi by submitting his name.