Merlin lifted his head, as if to protest the description, and Evangeline rubbed behind his ears in his favorite spot, wondering what other dumb animals had supposedly fallen under her spell. There was no way he was talking about himself.
“So why don’t you tell me why the hell you dropped your trained attack dog in the middle of a Midwestern college campus and expected him to find me and stick to me?”
“That was the easy part. He’s trained to guard, but even a soldier like Merlin has a mushy heart in the center. That’s part of what makes him so good—if anyone comes near you who means any harm, he’ll rip his throat out.”
“And that’s why he didn’t rip your throat out,” she said, feeling stupid and trapped and manipulated. “I should have realized that from the very beginning.”
He shrugged. “I know you’re used to being the smartest person in the room, but there are times when even you can’t figure something out.” She gave him a contemptuous glare, one that left him completely unmoved. “As for finding you, it was easy enough. You remember that practically transparent wrapper you wore a couple of times for approximately two seconds? It contained enough of your scent to train him to home in on you.”
She jerked her head to stare at his cool, emotionless face. “How in the world did you get that? I threw it in the trash when I left the Danieli.”
“I retrieved it. I figured it would come in handy. If I ever ended up missing you, I could always jack off into it.”
“You’re disgusting,” she said.
“So you’ve said.”
He pulled off the road, and she saw a truck stop, with a dozen big rigs parked outside, and her hopes rose. She loved country music and trucking songs. Maybe they really were the knights of the road, and they’d come to the rescue of a damsel in distress.
His gorgeous blue eyes were on her. “Don’t even think about it, Angel. I can kill, remember? Kill without remorse, without thinking twice, and trust me, I can be very efficient. You want to be responsible for the death of one or more of those truckers inside?”
He knew her too well. She refused to admit defeat, but she was going to have to think very hard before she put anyone else in danger. “Just feed me, Seymour,” she said, “and I won’t give you any more trouble.”
“Little Shop of Horrors,” he said, recognizing the quote. “That would be wise on your part.” The menace was still there. The man who’d tended her wounds, who’d protected her, had disappeared, leaving this cold-eyed stranger in his place. She’d been a fool to forget exactly who he was, seduced by the familiar body and the familiar touch. “Stay here while I walk Merlin.”
The dog lifted his head at the sound of his name, turning to look at Evangeline expectantly. “I think he wants me to come.”
“Tough. To me, Merlin,” he said in a cold voice.
But Evangeline was stroking under his neck; along with all his hidden training, she’d done a little of her own, and that was her signal to relax and play. Merlin turned and climbed into her lap, an impressive feat for a ninety-pound animal. Evangeline gave Bishop a limpid smile. “He thinks he’s a lapdog,” she said. “He may have started life as an attack dog, but after three years with me he’s become an absolute pussycat.” She was exaggerating, but it was basically the truth. Merlin loved to wrestle, to curl next to her, to climb into her lap. The only thing he wouldn’t do was sleep on her bed—he insisted on sleeping by the door, always on guard. He’d slept on Bishop’s mattress in the trailer, and it had only increased her anger.
“Don’t push me, Angel,” he muttered. “Get out of the damned truck then. We can all go for a walk.”
She gave him her best smile before reaching for the door. “Walkies, Merlin!” The dog jumped off her in excitement, waiting for her to climb out before he followed, dancing around.
“‘Walkies’?” Bishop said in tone of deep loathing. “You’ve ruined my dog.”
“You forget, he’s my dog now. You gave him to me.”
“Wouldn’t hold up in court,” he muttered.
“And of course you’re comfortable with the legal system.”
“If I want him you can’t stop me from taking him.”
The thought filled her with fear, but she was determined not to show it. Merlin was busy marking everything around them, and she hoped he’d lift his leg against Bishop’s faded jeans. “If you take him, he’ll do whatever he has to in order to get back to me. Ever seen The Incredible Journey? He’ll find me.”
She should have kept her fucking mouth shut. Bishop was on the ragged edge, and pushing him over would be a very bad idea. For some reason she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t going to be a victim, ever again.
“Do you want to eat?”
It wasn’t a question, it was a threat, and she could already smell hamburgers and bacon on the air.
“Eat,” she said with appropriate meekness, mentally giving him the finger.
He didn’t say anything more, but she got the message. She walked behind him, a deliberately demure ten paces as they made their way through the grass-covered space next to the diner. Merlin kept running ahead, then turning around, shooting straight back to her, cavorting in joy, bypassing Bishop each time, and any doubts she had vanished. Merlin would swim oceans to get to her, and she’d do the same.
Bishop got back to the pickup truck first, and by the time Evangeline and Merlin arrived he had a bowl of water for Merlin to inhale before the dog jumped into the truck, the cab windows open. He wouldn’t leave, and he’d make sure no one would come near the vehicle.