Page 25 of The Devil's Reward
Viper sobers. “You were in love with Sam?”
I pause. Was I? My therapist asked me that before and I said I didn’t know. Now, I’m questioning myself all over again. I shake my head. “I think I was infatuated, certainly in lust, but not love in the romantic sense. We had out of this world chemistry, but neither of us acted on it. I don’t know that we would have moved past a hook-up.”
“And is that what you feel when you see Quinn?”
I scuff my boot on the ground, not wanting to reply to that question. Thankfully, I’m saved from answering by the sound of someone coming through the trees on the other side of the fence. Looks like it’s showtime.
We both straighten as Syn makes her way out of the trees, her face set in a determined expression, with a dog at each side. I’ll never get over the way those two walk, like they know they’re on a mission and are seconds away from attacking at one word or gesture from their handler. Neither dog so much as barks or moves to greet us, fully in work mode.
Both are full black German Shepherds, and if I had one of them coming at me in the dead of night, I’d probably piss myself. They’re normally well behaved and love to beg for treats like any other dog, but when they’re in work mode, there’s nothing friendly about them.
“Gentlemen,” Syn says as she hops over the low fence and both dogs slide under it, sitting beside her.
“How you doing, gorgeous?” Viper asks her.
She cocks her head slightly as she looks up at him. “About as good as expected, considering the circumstances. Game plan still the same?”
Viper and I both nod. “Both dogs working at the same time?” I ask her.
Syn nods. “If only one is doing the work, it will take more time, and this needs to happen fast before someone comes back. My plan is to have the dogs move through the rooms at their own pace and we’ll follow. The good thing is that most of your rooms are bunched together in the wings, so we can see them go in and out easily. Last night I used a specific command so they search but don’t bark, today I’ll use the normal one. If they find something, they’ll alert and you can check it out.”
“I have a list of all the rooms, so I’ll mark off what’s found and where,” Viper tells her. “Where are we starting?”
“Common room first, let them get their bearings, and then we’ll move upwards,” she replies.
“Works for me. Alright, let’s get to it.” We turn and head for the clubhouse, my gut tight with both anticipation and uncertainty. If the dogs find anything, we’ll find our mole, and I just hope I can control my reaction enough not to rush out and grab the fucker.
When we get inside, Syn puts the dogs in a sit by the door and tells us to stand back, warning us not to step in front of them as they work. Viper and I fan out and away from them, but in positions to see the room at the best angles. We nod at her when we’re ready to begin.
It’s amazing to watch the transformation in Syn. She goes from cool to steel, her expression hardening, her gunmetal blue eyes determined. Her voice is powerful as she gives the dogs the command to get to work. “Such Rauschgift,” she barks, and both dogs are immediately on the move.
We’re silent as they move through the rooms, noses to the floor. Neither dog gets too close to the other. Neither dog alerts, and we follow them into the kitchen where Syn helps direct them to search each cupboard and shelf. Again, nothing. Back out we go to the common room and down to Cryos’s space.
Syn has Loki go in alone since it’s not a large room, while Ebony sits patiently just outside the door, watching her brother. Loki pauses on a cabinet, sniffs it again, and then sits and barks. Viper and I immediately share a look, waiting until Syn opens up the small cabinet before reaching in and pulling out a small baggie full of white powder. She hands it to Viper, who puts it in a baggie he pulls out of his back pocket. “Continue the search?” she asks us calmly.
I nod. “We need to search everywhere.”
She nods. “Alright, let’s keep on going.”
We leave the room and head down the hallway off the kitchen that leads to the club girls’ quarters and Prospect areas. Loki searches one side of the hall, while Ebony searches the other. Viper quietly remarks to Syn, “They’re damn impressive.”
Syn gives him a slight smile. “Lots of training hours and lots of patience. They’re not fool proof though.”
“Still, they’re moving fast and not missing any important hiding spots,” I point out quietly, watching as Ebony climbs up on Carson’s bed, sniffing the neatly made bedding and then up along the wall, even stretching her head towards the ceiling.
“We practice in the house all the time, and I’ve taught them never to overlook the odd places,” Syn explains. “To them, this is just another training exercise. When we’re finished, I’ll reward them both with some tug and throw their balls on the way home. They only get them after their session is done, so they work extra hard for them.”
Both dogs finish their searches of the bedrooms and bathrooms and head back to Syn. “These wings are clear, so where to next?”
“We’ll head up into the upper wings. We’ll start at the top and work our way down,” Viper directs.
Syn nods and we head upstairs, the dogs immediately falling in step with Syn. We make our way to the top floor, starting with Bullet and Rose’s room. Both dogs enter the room quickly and search it from top to bottom, along with the bathroom. They find nothing. We head to the next room, which is Bullet’s office. This floor contains only those spaces, so it’s quick before we head downstairs to where the rest of us sleep.
We start where Viper, Torque, Stone, Cryos, and I all have rooms. There are a couple of empty ones as well, and we’ll definitely be searching them all. Syn has Viper unlock and open each door and then step back. She commands the dogs, and they’re off.
I’m itching to check out Cryos’s room, my gut burning with anger, but I force myself to stay put. I know better than to get in the way.
Suddenly there’s a bark, and we all share a look. We move towards where Loki is in Cryos’s room, but stop when another bark sounds across the hall.
