Page 15 of Vetted for Vengeance
“I'll grab you some pajamas you can borrow.”
When I get back with the spare sleepwear, he hasn't moved. Just standing motionless in the dim lighting from the lamp. He looks like someone dropped into the wrong life entirely. Too thin. Too tired. Clothes worn out by early mornings in cold kennels.
Not the sort of man who belongs in a serial killer’s guest bedroom.
I hand him the clothing and smile. “I won't be here when you wake up tomorrow. I trust you to take care of the plan yourself?” It’s a ridiculous amount of trust to place in a man I abducted only hours ago.
Yet it doesn’t feel like trust at all.
It feels inevitable. I have trusted strangers with far less before. Usually, while they were strapped to a table.
“Sure. I'll take care of it.”
I nod. Trust, apprehension, and a little excitement threaten to consume me. I like it.
Chapter ten
Noah
My cab arrives at the veterinary practice where Rhys works. It’s less than fifty meters from his house, but it’s taken me nearly an hour to get from his front door to the practice entrance.
That's not including the four hours I spent texting and phoning two men I know are dead. The breadcrumbs I've scattered all morning were easy compared to this. I climb out of the cab, thank him for the ride, and take a deep breath.
It's showtime.
I enter the building, stepping into a crisp white waiting area, with cats on one side, dogs on the other, and the scent of disinfectant and warm dog fur hanging between them.
My brain instantly starts cataloguing escape routes. The front door behind me. A corridor to the left, consultation rooms to the right.
I don’t know if I’m checking for safety… or witnesses.
I walk to the large reception desk and smile at the woman looking back at me.
“Do you have an appointment?” She asks, eyeing my lack of a pet.
“Not really. Well, no. But I need one, I think. I'm from a… well, I work in a kennel, but I don't know what to do. The owners… I can't get hold of them. Honey is due to give birth, and I need a vet. I didn't know who to call, but I watch Follow the Vet. I love it, actually. I need help, and I have no one else.”
“Are you saying there is a dog in labor?” The poor woman tries to dissect my acting masterpiece.
“Yes. I think. But they've just disappeared so I can't check and…”
“Name?”
“Honey.”
“Your name?” she clarifies.
“Noah Humphries.”
“Take a seat. I'll see if Mr. Calder will see you.”
“Thank you so much.” I smile and select an empty seat on the dog side of the waiting room. I'm back in yesterday's work clothes, and the beagle nearby is having a good sniff at the crook of my knee.
My leg shakes as I wait; nerves start to get to me. A lady steps out of a consultation room with a rabbit in her arms, briefly drawing the attention of the room before the normal blank stares return.
“Mr. Humphries?” Rhys's voice calls.
I stand slowly, clenching my hands into fists to stop them shaking. He looks exactly like he does on television. Clean. Professional. Kind eyes.
