“This is pretty. But what is it?”

Vig smirked. “It’s an old Nordic design of Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir. The runes on the head are for protection.”

Kera’s frown deepened. “Thor’s ham . . .” Her frown disappeared and the grin that replaced it was bright. “Thor’s hammer? You are such a dick.”

They both laughed and Vig came to her side, taking the necklace from her and placing it around her neck. “Just make sure you wear it anytime you have to deal with the other Clans. Just a little reminder to them of who you are. And that you’re not to be fucked with.”

Once Vig secured the necklace, he wrapped his arms around Kera and kissed her neck.

“Ludvig Rundstöm!” his sister yelled from the other room.

“I think we’d better get in the shower,” Kera told him, pulling away.

“My sister’s not going to wait long. How much time do you need?”

“Four minutes to shower. Two minutes to dry off and comb my hair. One minute to dress if the clothes are waiting for me. Is that acceptable?”

“Uh . . .” Vig nodded. “Yeah. That’s perfect.”

“Excellent. See you in seven.”

“Wow,” Vig said when he heard the shower turn on. “She really is a marine.”

Kera latched on to a pit bull–bulldog mix that was as funny looking as he was adorable. Determined not to take any dog—it had been hard enough to get Chloe to agree to having Brodie around—Kera still walked around the rescue compound with the puppy in her arms. When he fell asleep, she sat down on a bench next to a man who was just staring off into the distance.

“When did you get out?” she asked.

The man blinked and looked at her. “Pardon, ma’am?”

Kera smiled. “When did you get out?”

He frowned. “How did you know?”

“You have the names of your fallen brothers tattooed down your arm.”

He glanced at his forearm. “Yeah, but—”

“I know military nicknames when I see them.”

His name was Dustin. He’d been out of the Army for three months. And Kera clearly saw signs of PTSD. But he was in therapy, which was good. And he had a loyal family and friends, which was even better. Yet she could tell he still felt alone.

She could also tell that he saw nearly everything as a potential threat.

“So are you here for a dog or a cat?” She thought a moment. “Or a horse?”

“My sister suggested a dog. We used to have one when we were growing up.” He pointed at the warm bundle in Kera’s arms. “The puppies are cute.”

“They’re adorable. And will probably be snapped up in a few days. But, honestly . . . I think you need an older dog. One that’s two or three years old.”

“Why?”

“Because you need an older dog that will watch your back. That’swhat my dog, Brodie, does for me. No one gets near me without my knowing.” Kera freed one arm and retrieved her cell phone. She showed Dustin some recent pictures of Brodie.

“She’s beautiful. Did you get her here?”

“No. Found her on the streets. She’s had a hard life. She needed me and I needed her. And from what I saw, there’s, like, three dogs in here that I think might just be what you’re looking for.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Want me to show you?”

“Please. There are so many, I can’t tell which one would be best. Taking a puppy just seemed like the easiest idea.”

“Puppies are great, but they need a lot of work. Right now, you need a turnkey dog.”

Kera stood, the puppy in her arms snuggling closer. “Come on, Dustin. Let’s get you hooked up.”

Vig secured the doors on the horse trailers before walking over to his sister.

“Are we all set?” she asked, finishing up some paperwork and handing it off to one of the rescue attendants.

“Yeah. I just need to find Kera.”

“She’s over there talking to that guy.”

Vig, not really liking the sound of that at all, spun around and saw that his sister was right. Kera was talking to some guy. Who was he? Was the guy hitting on her?

The man had his back to Vig, as did the leashed dog standing next to him. As Vig moved closer, he could hear Kera talking about dog training and the kind of dog food that would be best to purchase.

Vig was about ten feet away when the dog suddenly looked at him over her shoulder and began barking at him, her entire body facing him, her hackles up, her teeth bared. She moved in front of her new owner as if to say, “Stay away from him. He’s mine!”

Vig immediately stopped. Not because he was scared of the dog but because he could sense something else was going on here besides a budding romance.

“It’s all right, girl. I see him,” the young man said as he lovingly petted his new partner. Vig now saw that the man talking to Kera was just a kid and a soldier. A soldier who needed a dog more than he probably needed anything else right now.

And Kera was simply helping out one of her own, as she liked to do.

“I’m almost done,” Kera called over to Vig.

“Take your time.”

“Do you have any questions for me?” Kera asked the young man.

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Okay. Give me your phone,” she ordered, and the kid handed it over without question. Kera started tapping on the screen. “Here’s my number. You have any questions or if you just need to talk, call me. Some days will be harder, some easier. But whatever day it turns out to be, if you need to talk, call me. Or, I’m adding this one, too, call this hotline. It’s a private organization and they help vets. They’re really good. Okay?”