Page 9 of Shielding Instinct

Ash was red-faced, trying not to laugh as he crouched under the baggage bins with a grip on his German shepherd’s collar.

As the attendant hefted herself onto all fours, the chihuahua thought he spotted his chance at escape and reappeared, shooting out of a row of children who had their feet on their seats, gripping their arms around their legs to keep them clear.

The chihuahua rounded through the woman’s arms and scooted this way and that, trying to find an exit.

Passengers had their hands on the attendant, trying to help her up. The poor woman seemed to have just given up on grabbing the dog because, as she jostled her way to her feet, she didn’t even reach for it. Simply turned her head toward Hawkeye with a plea in her eyes.

“I’ve got him,” Hawkeye said, shifting into the aisle to use his booted feet as a barricade.

Once again, Hawkeye grabbed a fur ball up by the scruff of the neck.

Sidling sideways, Hawkeye first deposited the chihuahua into the owner’s hands, then handed the cat into the open arms of the woman wearing a sweater with the same kind of cat knit into the design on the chest.

The claps resumed, and Hawkeye tried to wave them off as he returned to his seat.

“Sit down,” yelled the attendant, hair in disarray, face red with exertion. “Sit down.” She stabbed a stern finger toward the ground to emphasize her directive.

As the passengers complied, Hawkeye arrived at his seat. “Cooper, dude, you only get one seat at a time. Move your butt.”Cooper peeked over at him and then walked his hind legs into the middle seat without lifting from the woman, who was now shifting her attention away from what looked like a scientific journal.

The only person on the plane not involved with the shit show was this woman and, by association, Cooper.

Hawkeye swiped his ball cap off as he dropped into his seat to give his teammates room to board.

Halo walked on with Max. Levi loaded with Mojo. Ash released Hoover’s collar, and the three dogs, after observing Cooper’s relaxed position, lay on the ground up against the wall, curling up as if to sleep.

The noise in the cabin was still electrified by the unexpected chase and recovery.

And the cameras were all out and video rolling.

Ash held his phone up, “I already texted Iniquus to give them a heads up that the mission started off SNAFU. Hopefully, this wasn’t a foreshadowing for things to come.”

Chapter Four

Hawkeye

The pilot, oblivious to the goings on, came over the loudspeaker to talk about windspeeds and flight times.

Hawkeye kept his attention on the woman cuddling his dog.

Hawkeye normally didn’t allow anyone to touch Cooper without his say. But today wasn’t normal.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Hawkeye caught her gaze. “I hope you weren’t inconvenienced.”

The woman offered up a Mona Lisa smile.

As she pulled the earplugs from her ears, he was struck by the unusual grey-green of her irises that looked soft and intelligent. His world stilled for a moment as he drank her in, the crinkles near her eyes, the soft scoop of her nose. How silky and touchable her shoulder-length blond hair was with that little wavey flip women get when they’ve pulled an elastic from their hair. Her skin, void of makeup, looked soft like the flower petals in his grandma’s garden that he liked to touch as a small child.

The experience stunned him into silence.

Momentarily disoriented by her—heart hammering against his sternum—he was all sensation without a single coherent thought.

“Sorry?” she asked, holding out the earbud to explain why she hadn’t understood the question.

For a moment, Hawkeye forgot that he’d asked her anything. “Oh…I…Thank you for making Cooper comfortable. I hope you weren’t inconvenienced.”

“Not at all, Cooper and I were becoming friends.”

“Are you okay like this with Cooper in your lap?” Hawkeye pulled his seat belt into place. “Or should I get him down?”

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