The Man Who Knew the Dog
Ethan Cole stood behind the barricade, leaning on a cane he hated needing.
To everyone else, he was just another veteran.
To Ajax, he was something else entirely.
Ethan noticed the signs immediately:
- ears flattened too tight
- weight shifted backward, not forward
- muscles braced like a body waiting for impact
Ajax wasn’t at attention.
He was bracing for punishment.
Someone near Ethan whispered into a phone, “That’s the war dog. They say the general dragged him out of an ambush.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Because that wasn’t true.
Whitaker had never dragged Ajax out of anything.
