They fell silent as the waitress brought their drinks; once they’d ordered food, Ward spoke again, ‘Any ideas?’

Johnny sipped his drink, his brow furrowed and, after a moment, he slowly nodded.

‘I know someone. Ex-nurse now working as a personal trainer and she’s damned good. She can’t get you pills or anything but can keep an eye on you physically, and if she feels you might be heading into trouble, make sure you handle it.’

‘She can be trusted?’

Johnny laughed. ‘Shelley’s like a sister to me. We were neighbours back in the day, and if she still hasn’t ratted me out for some of the shit I pulled growing up … trust me – you’re in the right hands.’

Chapter 9

HANNAH

‘Any idea when your guy’s going to get here? Or should I say, if.’

Hank, the animal shelter manager, wore a dubious expression as he ran a hand through the thick thatch of hair exploding from his head.

‘I’m sure he’s just running a little late,’ Hannah apologized, feeling her face heat up as she and the accompanying photographer waited inside the foyer of Fur Parents.

She’d told McKenzie’s agent what time he needed to be here and was assured he’d make it. But the guy was now over an hour late and she was getting anxious. Not to mention embarrassed. She’d set this up on behalf of the agency, and it made her look bad.

At that moment, she saw her errant client come into the building. The hockey player wore jeans and a t-shirt that were designed to look casual, but she suspected cost quite a bit of money, and showed off his athletic body to the best possible effect. Biceps in particular, whew.

Hannah swallowed hard. Quickly recollecting herself, she also noticed his pronounced limp as he shuffled towards them. Despite his protests in the bar, there seemed little sign of improvement with the knee injury given he was still on crutches. And she couldn’t help but again feel guilty about that …

Lifting his sunglasses, he gave them both a brief nod.

‘Sorry, I’m a little late.’

‘You were due here an hour ago,’ she pointed out.

‘Right – that’s why I just apologized. So, what’s the game plan? Am I supposed to look at all the cute little doggies and kitties and make appropriate “awwwwww” sounds and all that baby-talk bullshit?’

The shelter guy shook his head and Hannah glared at Ward, her initial softness at his vulnerability very quickly disintegrating.

‘Hey, I’m here now, right? So how about you just do whatever it is you need to do to make people think that I’m more than just some moron jock, yada yada.’

Hank shot a look at her that seemed to suggest, Good luck with that.