Chapter 7: See Greg Run

Nick glanced through the office window blinds, then back at Brass. "There's a body…"

Brass's face pinched in as he gave him the nod. Nick took a step back and with one hard swing of a front kick, the veterinary office door clashed open. His leg still vibrated from the kick as he walked over the shattered wood from the hinge of the door, glass and torn blinds littered the tile floor.

The smell was the first thing to hit them. Brass grimaced, "maybe I should be walking the perimeter, not Greg."

"Hey, you get what you get. Now stop whining and hand me the kit."

Brass grudgingly handed Nick the crime-scene kit. Nick kneeled carefully over the young woman's body. She was a couple days dead and her smell was an indication of that. He noticed the scratches on her face and the bite on her neck. He narrowed his eyes. He couldn't see the bite very clearly because of the amount of blood that had clotted in it, along with torn bits of her long blond hair spread all over the place. Nick could tell by her youthful face that she was probably in her early twenties, beautiful, slender and wearing a rather revealing dress to work- that is if she actually worked here.

"I found her purse," Brass said picking up a yellow leather purse. He opened it and pulled out a matching color wallet. "Her name is Tiffany Desend. She lives a few blocks from here and is 22 years old." Brass paused then gave a surprised hum, "looks like she worked for our dead vet." He pulled out a card, "it has Mr. Fowler's cell-phone number on the back and an address to a rather shady motel not far from here."

"I bet if you looked through her cell phone, they talked more than once."

Brass nodded in agreement and pulled out her cell phone. A few seconds later he said, "yup. Looks like our yellow purse lady was more than just an office girl."

Nick shook his head, "How did she end up dead here and the vet off the side of a mountain?"

"Maybe someone knew about the affair… tried to stop it and it got messy," Brass replied.

"Or maybe our vet wanted to end it and skipped town after he killed her," Nick said out loud, wondering if the theory was plausible. But the only way to find that out was to look at the evidence.

Brass glanced around the office helplessly. Nick noticed this and smirked boyishly up at the seasoned detective. "Here," he handed him the camera. "Point and shoot, Brass. You're good at that."

Brass glared hotly at Nick from the floor next to the dead girl, before finally relenting and snagging the camera. "You CSI's get lazier by the day."

"You're the one who sent Greg to walk the perimeter." Nick paused suddenly then, "he's been gone for a while…"

Brass must have seen the concern on his face and frowned, walking over to the broken door to glance out to the parking lot. He shook his head. Nick got to his feet instantly, his pulse pounding in his chest. Where the hell had Greg gone? It was only then that Nick saw the bloody paw prints leading away from the victim on the floor and out an opened back door of the office. Nick's heart flat-lined.

"Brass… I think we've got a rabid dog on scene."

Brass instantly pulled out his radio and called in backup. They both knew dogs could be dangerous especially after they tasted human blood. And if Nick was right, the dog was probably hungry. Nick carefully followed the blood stained paw prints out to the backdoor. His whole body was tight and muscles tense, ready to bolt or fight. He was scared that he would walk out this door and see Greg with a snarling, snapping beast on top of him, clawing at his chest. Nick swallowed the lump in his throat and opened the door all the way.

It led into a rather large backyard where the caged kennels were. A large fence separated the backyard from the cages, except the fenced door to the kennels was open. And there was blood on the bottom of it, as if a dog opened it with its nose after eating some of the girl inside.

He suddenly spotted Greg at the far end of the yard, hunched down on a knee, taking a picture of something along the chain link fence, near the parking lot entrance was. He was fine. No dog had attacked him like the victim inside. Nick stepped outside, glancing around making sure that his Greg was completely safe.

Greg got to his feet, turned and spotted Nick. "Hey- I found some bloodied piece of clothing over here…"

Suddenly a loud guttural growl interrupted him. Greg and Nick both looked towards the sound and saw at the same time, a large midnight black Rottweiler dog emerge from the caged kennels. Dogs from those kennels began barking frantically, worried and anxious. They sensed a killer.

Nick suddenly realized that the only thing separating them from the dog was that open fence gate. This dog had been roaming wild for the past few days, unchecked and lethal. And if that dog got out, it would surely attack either of them. He glanced quickly back at Greg who had lowered his camera to the ground, eyes intent on that same open fence.

Their eyes met for a heartbeat. Both knowing what they would have to do.

"Now!" Greg suddenly yelled. And they both sprinted for the fence. The dog took off too, its heavy footfalls fast and hard on the ground.

Nick and Greg were almost the same distance away from the fence and reached it about the same time, but so did the dog. But it was Greg who was lighter on his feet because he reached for the fence a nanosecond before Nick. He grabbed the chain link fence and yanked it back just as the Rottweiler jumped. Nick watched the two beings collide on impact. He slid as though sliding into a base in a baseball game and grabbed below Greg and the beast, holding the fence in with his strength. Greg cursed as the dog's lethally long claws dug into his flesh of his arm through the closed fence. He stumbled backwards and landed ungraciously on his back, his left arm bleeding. The dog barked viciously at them through the fence. It was pissed because they had beaten them in an old-fashioned game of who's the fastest. And they won.

Nick, still on the ground, locked the fence door. The dog barreled at the gate then, trying to knock it down with brute force. The chains of the fence rattled and shook but didn't give.

He saw the dog's face then, seeing the blood along its jaw and nose. Heart still racing he glanced over to Greg who was lying on the ground, holding his arm.

"You okay?" Nick breathed out in concern.

Greg just nodded, inspecting his forearm. "Yeah, I'll live."

Nick couldn't stop staring at the blood seeping from his wound. "We'll have to get that checked out."

"Yeah," he responded breathlessly. Their eyes locked, Nick chest clenched and his gut tightened. They got lucky. Greg could've easily gotten mauled by that stupid dog. He heart lurched at the thought.

Nick heard quick footsteps behind him. He looked up to see Brass jogging out to them, looking concerned, "you guys okay?"

Nick nodded, as Greg said, "yeah."

Brass saw the blood but said nothing to it, knowing Sanders was good at taking care of himself. "Backups on the way. Animal control too."

"Good," Nick replied as he got to his feet and reached his hand out for Greg. Greg took it with his good arm. The second their hands met, an instant relief filled Nick. Damn, one touch from his Greggo and all was right with the world again. He was in awe over this.

He held back the urge to sigh and the desperate need to pull him in his arms and make sure he really was fine. Instead he kept his hand firmly clasped onto his as he inspected the arm for himself. Greg let him, his body inching slightly closer to him, the heat of their bodies and their breath mingling. Both were acutely aware of Brass, but he seemed more distracted with the raging dog barking hysterically at them.

Nick took that moment to whisper softly, "my heart nearly stopped when I saw that dog."

Greg said nothing, keeping his mouth closed, though his eyes were vulnerable and soft.

"I'm taking you to the hospital," Nick said fervently, his gaze intense as he stared at the deep gash on Greg's tanned arm.

Greg sighed out his name in a breathy whisper, "Nick…"

"Don't argue with me," he snapped back.

Greg suddenly smiled at him, a foolishly boyish grin. "You're sounding kinda possessive, Nick."

Nick's dark gaze never wavered from his, "it's because I am when it's you."

Greg's smile faded and his eyes shown genuine surprise.

Nick wanted to shake him. How could Greg be so blind? Nick was already in love with him and yet he still refused to believe that he could love him! Did the concept of Nick loving him sound so far-fetched? Nick wanted to knock some sense into him or maybe just kiss the hell out of Greg Sanders until he realized that what they shared the other night had shattered whatever world Nick thought he knew. Their relationship had changed and for the better. He wanted Greg more passionately and more desperately than any woman he ever had in his entire life. And seeing him in danger almost crippled Nick with fear. Yet somehow he managed to find the strength to push past his fear and fight for what belonged to him. And that was Greg, whether he accepted it or not.

Brass suddenly interrupted their intense moment when he said playfully, "You know Greg seeing you run like that made me think of that book- you know, 'See Spot Run'. Good thing you beat Spot before he beat you."

TBC

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews/comments so far! I hope your enjoying Greg & Nick's story- I know I am! ^_^ Please tell me what u think so far. I love getting feedback from fellow fans of our boys!

~luv kidneythieves