“Those dogs dedicated their lives to their training,” Greyson said. “They certainly gave the best years of their physical life, and they deserve to have a decent ending to it.”
“Which is why we agreed to help,” Geir said. “The one we need to work on now is Kona. A female Malinois-shepherd cross who was shipped to Denver but somehow ended up in Hawaii.”
“That doesn’t even compute,” Greyson said, staring at him in surprise.
“Right?” Geir shook his head. “Hard to understand in today’s digital tracking world.”
“So is she being shipped back to Denver?”
“No. She was picked up and supposed to go to a temporary shelter for a few nights, until we could arrange the return shipping, but somebody, and I’ll say somebody with a question mark here, somebody stole her from there.”
“Well, that could be a good thing,” Greyson said. “A lot of people don’t agree with shelters. Maybe they took her home to give her a safe place to be.”
“Well, this was a rescue. Kona had her own run, and she should have been just fine there,” Geir said. “What we can’t do is let it go. We need to know that whoever stole the dog is looking after her and that the dog will have the best life possible.”
“What about legalities in this one?”
“Somebody was lined up for adoption but out of Denver. We didn’t have anybody in Hawaii.”
“So, if I find the dog and confirm that she’s in a good home, am I supposed to rip her away and send her to Denver?”
Geir thought about that for a long moment as he studied his coffee cup. “No,” he said. “I think the baseline here is that we do whatever is in the best interests of the dog.”
“So, find the dog, track down whoever stole Kona, figure out what they’re doing with her, and if she will be okay?” Greyson looked around at the yard. He had spent the last few days working on a deck back here. “Hawaii could be good.”
Geir looked at him and smiled. “Any connection?”
“My grandparents actually,” he said immediately. “They used to live in New York, and then, one day, it’s like they snapped. They sold everything and moved to Hawaii.”
“Hey, I’m not sure that’s such a bad idea,” he said, “but honestly? If you end up in one of the big cities on the islands, I’m not sure there’s that much difference.”
“They’re on one of the outer islands, I believe,” he said. “It might be time to find out.”
“Exactly.”
“Where did the dog disappear from?”
“Well, it was flown in and delivered to the local shelter. That’s the last-known location we have.”
He nodded. “How long ago?”
“Three weeks. She had actually been with another adopted family first, but that relationship ended in an ugly mess within six weeks of her time with them. So Denver was Kona’s second home.”
“So, long enough to bond, but not enough to bond well, given her new life now too.”
“Depends on the circumstances, as you know,” Geir said. “Some situations create immediate bonding.”
“But those are usually the ugly situations,” Greyson said. “Danger, strife, violence, or something along that line.” Greyson chuckled. “I think I can handle this one.”
Geir looked at him, grinned, and said, “So is that a yes?”
Greyson nodded. “Mission accepted.”
Chapter 1
Greyson Morgenstein walked off the plane, taking a moment to sniff the air. There was just something about being in Hawaii. The climate was so warm and almost moist, humidity being at an all-time high this time of year. He had contacted his grandparents to say that he would be in the area and had received an immediate welcome, as expected. He would head there first. In fact, his grandfather would pick him up here.
As Greyson sauntered forward, he cast his gaze from the small airport out to the waiting crowd. He had no problem picking out his grandfather. Even though he’d shrunk with the years, his beaming smile was hard to miss. As soon as Greyson stepped forward, the two men embraced.
“Man, you’re looking good,” his grandfather said, looking him over. “For somebody who spent the last couple years recovering, you sure don’t seem like you’re in bad shape now.”
“I’m not,” he said, beaming. “It was pretty rough going there for a while, but I’m on the other side.”
“Your grandmother wanted to come and visit you,” he said, “but you told us to stay away, and reluctantly we honored that request.” His grandfather searched his face with an intent look, as if to see if they were welcome now.
Greyson reached out and squeezed his grandfather’s hand. “Only because I was in such tough shape,” he said. “I was in no condition to be friendly or to be nice to anybody.”
His grandfather nodded. “I understood, but your grandmother, well—”
“I’ll make it up to her now,” he said with a laugh.
“What is it that brought you all the way out here?” he asked. “And we’re not believing it’s us,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s a serendipitous meeting of work and family,” Greyson said.
“Work?” His grandfather turned to look at him in surprise. “You got a job now?”
“I’ve been mostly volunteering for the last few months,” he said, “with a group of ex-military who pulled together a big training program for a lot of us dealing with life after our injuries,” he said. “They’re doing a job for the War Dogs department, tracking down War Dogs that have somehow slipped through the cracks in their program.”
“War Dogs?” His grandfather shook his head as he pointed at a small truck in the parking area they were heading toward and said, “That’s ours. How the devil did you get involved with War Dogs?”
“Because they had these dozen or so files that they needed to follow up on, and one of them is here in Hawaii,” Greyson said.
His grandfather looked at him in astonishment.
Greyson laughed and nodded. “I know, right? So I figured it was time to come and to let you know that I’m alive and well. I survived
