It was too late. The dog leapt for the woman, his teeth sinking into the neckline of her top. Gravity took over and he dropped, taking the material with him. The shimmery shirt ripped right off and Roscoe jumped into the corner, tearing at it. Maybe eating a lot of it.

“Roscoe!” Nari snapped.

The administrator gasped and backed away, her light-pink bra clearly revealed. She watched the dog go to town on her top and tilted her head.

“Shit.” Zhang ripped off his jacket and hurriedly pressed it around the woman’s torso. “Opal? Honey? Are you okay?”

Honey? Angus studied the woman, who slipped her hands in the coat sleeves but didn’t seem overly bothered with covering herself. He had to give it to her. She definitely had presence and confidence.

“I’m fine. He didn’t even scratch my skin,” she said. “Why is that dog eating my tunic?”

Roscoe finished with the material, which was now a mangled mess. Then he turned and eyed her skirt.

“Oh, no.” Angus intercepted the dog, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. “Sit. Now!” He put enough bite into his command that the dog’s butt instantly hit the ground. Then Roscoe whined.

The administrator looked down at her skirt. “He doesn’t like silver?” She sounded more perplexed than angry.

“He has issues,” Nari hastened to say. “He was involved in a bombing a long time ago, and somebody nearby probably wore a vest with some sort of argyle pattern like your clothing. He still goes a little crazy when he sees that pattern.”

Roscoe whined again, his muscles straining as he fought to obey Angus’s command and stay in place.

Zhang put an arm around the administrator’s shoulders. “Let’s get you out of here and away from that attack dog. He should be put down. I can make it happen if you wish.”

“Try it,” Angus said, letting the threat hang heavy in the air.

The administrator shook her head. “I’m fine. Agent Force, I’m assuming there has been a report filed on why you’re bleeding and obviously injured?”

He nodded. “I gave an interview to the local cops and am meeting HDD agents tomorrow. Everything is covered.” So far, Angus liked her a hell of a lot more than he did Nari’s dad.