His Obsession Next Door (In the Line of Duty) Read Online Free PDF Page A

shot and asked, “What do you guys know about the no-kill shelter Gemma Matthews is running?” Christ, saying Gemma’s name out loud triggered a reaction in his body and had his blood flowing thick and heavy. He clenched his teeth hard enough to break bone, cursing his cock for betraying him once again.
    “Gemma Matthews as in Brandon Matthews’s kid sister?” Jack angled his head and toyed with the dog tags around his neck, something they all continued to wear for their own personal reasons. For Cole, it was so he’d never forget the vow he made to Brandon, never forget how important it was to his childhood friend that he watch over his younger sister and keep her out of harm’s way.
    Noting the way Jack was staring at him with those far too perceptive eyes of his, Cole kept his face expressionless. He didn’t want to give away his feelings where Gemma was concerned. “Yeah, that’s her.”
    “I’ve run into her a few times. She’s doing good things over at that clinic of hers.”
    Garrett pushed back in his chair, balancing on two legs. “I see her name in the paper all the time for the charity work she does. From what I understand she’s raising money to try to keep her shelter a no-kill zone. I also heard it’s overcrowded and if she can’t expand, she’s going to have to turn animals away. And you know what that means.”
    Cole nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
    “Why are you asking, Cole?” Jack looked at Colby, his German Shepherd, who thumped his tail in response, his big, soulful eyes staring up at his master with admiration.
    Cole took a swig of rum and let it burn down his throat. “Why don’t we take some of the dogs off her hands?” Truthfully, what he had in mind would be helping them both out. It would free up room in Gemma’s shelter until she could expand, and it would give him something to do with his hands other than ravishing the young girl who’d blossomed into one hell of a sexual woman.
    “What do you have in mind?” Garrett asked, his dog tags jangling as he dropped his chair back down onto four legs.
    “We all know there is a shortage of service dogs, and since we’re all handlers, why don’t we train these dogs ourselves and get them into the hands of our bomb hunters here on American soil.”
    “Yeah, well, I know I hate the thoughts of any dog being put down,” Josh said and Colby thumped his tail like he was in total agreement.
    Garrett piped in. “We owe it to all the dogs we lost, and to all the ones we couldn’t bring back home after their tour.”
    “And we do have that abandoned military base nearby we could use for training,” Cole said, looking at Jack. They exchanged a knowing look. While Jack had enlisted, preferring active field duty over becoming an officer and eventually riding a desk, they both knew he could put a call into his father. As a general, his father was a man who could make shit happen, especially when it was for a good cause like this.
    “I can check it out and make some calls. The base would be a great place to set up training and obstacles.” Jack gave a slow nod, clearly warming to the idea. “You’ve convinced us, now, how are you going to convince Gemma we can train her mutts and turn them into certified service dogs?”
    “Leave that to me.” Cole met the three sets of eyes staring at him, held up his shot glass and asked, “Are we all in?” After the four clinked glasses Cole said, “Here’s to Operation K9. Let’s get to work.”

Chapter Three
    After a night filled with salacious dreams of Cole, Gemma climbed from her bed. As she made her way to the shower a knock sounded on her door. She grabbed her robe, slipped it on over her nightie and followed a barking Stallone down the hall. Who the heck could be pounding on her door at such an ungodly hour? She peeked out the side window and her pulse leaped when she found the object of last night’s fantasies standing on her doorstep.
    She unlocked her door and started to inch it