It didn’t seem like they were going to see a soul though. The houses were big and stately, built in the last decade or so. It didn’t make Rick jealous of Sloane’s ex. He didn’t give a damn about money other than that he wanted it to be comfortable. He had a pretty hefty bank account in his own right and he didn’t aspire to a big house. Too easy to accumulate stuff. And he wasn’t big on stuff.
When he was a kid, he had imagined growing up and living in a mansion but never all that seriously. Mostly, he’d just wanted a house that wasn’t littered in animal hair, molding food, and piles and piles of newspapers. Sloane’s house was a red brick colonial, like the other houses on the street. He supposed he could picture her living there. Yet at the same time he struggled to envision her as a housewife, filling her days with volunteering and cleaning the house. It must have been a lonely marriage, for damn sure.
River righted her bike and attempted to pedal yet again. “I think I should start walking it,” she said. “We’re never going to get there.”
He’d parked his car down the block, right around the corner out of view. Their plan was a little shaky to say the least, but he didn’t think it was going to be a big deal because there was no one around. He could easily say the dog was loose and who could question it?
Which was what he told himself as he hauled his six foot four frame over a fucking wooden fence that could have protected the damn Alamo. Who the fuck needed a fence this high when they lived in the suburbs with neighbors two house lengths away and a shit ton of trees? The guy probably never even used the backyard. Rick decided he hated Tom as he ripped his favorite jeans on the drop down.
He was wearing a ball cap low over his face on the off chance their was surveillance cameras. Liam had said there wasn’t but you never knew. The guy might have gotten paranoid in the last few months.
The second he turned he spotted the dog. She was hugging the house, curled in a ball, trying to keep her body in the shade. She was panting and looked exhausted and miserable. “Fucking unbelievable.” Rick wanted to find Tom and chain him up. Leave his ass in the yard.
“Hi Kate,” he said, approaching her cautiously, down low, hand out.
She waved her tail and stood up. The chain made a clanking sound that grated on his nerves. He petted her behind the ears and looked around. The yard was overgrown and neglected. There were flower pots on a stone patio but the flowers were dead. He spotted the hose laying carelessly in a bed of bushes and he went over and turned it on. He was planning to cup his hands and fill them but Kate started drinking straight from the stream of water.
“Poor little girl, thirsty, huh?” He let her go for thirty seconds or so then turned it back off. He removed the collar around her neck that held her to the chain. She shook her head, clearly delighted.
Yellow fur flew up in his face. Rick laughed. “Better, huh?”
She came in and licked his face.
“Now we just need to go out the gate and we’re good.”
Kate readily followed him to the gate by the side of the house and wagged her tail. He was torn between looping the leash around her neck or not. It would make any sort of story about finding her loose look like bullshit but he decided he didn’t care. He’d rather she were safe, in his grip, and in his car without incident.
So he put the leash around her neck and tied it up.
The gate was locked on the inside so he just undid the lock and opened it.
Only to find a woman standing on the other side swinging a baseball bat at him. “What the hell?” he asked, dodging her wild swing.
“What are you doing with that dog?” she demanded.
“I know the owner. Who are you?” he asked.
“Hah. Nice try. I live next door and I saw you climb over the fence like a no-good dog thief.”
Praying this was the same neighbor who had called Sloane he said, “Maribeth? I’m Sloane’s friend. I came to rescue Kate.”
She eased up on the baseball bat. “You know Sloane?”
“Yes. I was there when you called her today.”
Maribeth had wild curly hair and a sassy stance. “I’m going to need to verify your story.”
“Sure. No problem.” Rick kept a firm grip on Kate and his distance from Maribeth’s bat. He couldn’t see River and that was starting to concern him. River didn’t like him doing anything risky. Hell, she didn’t even like him going fishing because she was convinced he was going to drown or catch a flesh-eating disease. She was forever afraid a car would crush him. He did not need her to see a suburban vigilante swinging a bat at him.
Nor did he want to be forced to restrain Maribeth.
“Sloane? Listen there is a guy here springing Kate. He says he was with you when you got the call from me earlier. He’s very tall, has a five o’clock shadow, and biceps that make me wish I was single.”
“I can hear you,” he told her. Though he did appreciate the compliment.
She waved him off and told him, “I need to see some ID.”
Really? He pulled out his wallet and flashed her his driver’s license.