“Maybe after the whole doggy thing is handled.”
“You can save dogs and get laid at the same time. Well, not the same exact time. But the dogs will need to sleep at some point.”
“No one of interest has crossed my path in a long time,” I told him, shrugging.
“Except the hot biker who you were clearly interested in.”
“I mean he was hot and rescues animals. That is the whole package. But he’s also, you know, a criminal.”
“What kind of criminal, though, that is the question,” Myles said.
“What difference does that make? He’s a criminal.”
“I mean, there is a difference, though, right. Like running some underground gambling ring is a lot better than being, like, an enforcer or something violent like that.”
“I guess. But it is a moot point seeing as I am never going to see that guy again.”
“Bummer,” Myles said, sighing. “Anyway, tonight is the night, right?”
“Right,” I agreed, feeling my stomach tense at that.
“You know the drill,” he said as I checked the clock, seeing it was about time for me to head out, even as the nighttime teenager came in through the door from the back room.
“I do.”
“The minute you can send a text, you send it,” Myles demanded as I rolled the tension out of my shoulders, then started doing a little clean up, so the night shift would have it easier.
About forty minutes later, I was heading out, once again promising Myles to text.
Then the whole process was starting.
I got in my gear. I double-checked my bags, my air, my hammer, and packed everything in my car.
I was even more nervous than the time before, knowing how much riskier it would be to spend the time breaking open locks, sticking dogs in my dog hiking backpacks, and trying to pull them along with me on leads. I had no idea if any of the dogs even knew how a leash worked.
Or, you know, if they would be friendly.
I could very well find myself mauled in the process.
Still, I found myself driving to my new parking spot, slipping on my mask, and making my way back in, my stomach tight.
Above, all was silent still. The lot wasn’t packed like it had been the last time. There were only the three or four cars that belonged to the people who ran the fighting ring.
Taking a deep breath, I moved into the room where the dogs were all stored, finding another girl chained up in the corner.
“You’re coming with me, baby,” I murmured when I slipped a lead on her head and she fell into step with me.
From there, I went to the closest cage that held a dog with a wiggling tail, used my can, then my hammer, doing my best to muffle the sounds, then reaching inside to get the dog, and hooking him up beside the girl.
There were two puppies in a cage together, and I knew those would be bait, so I tossed the two of them in the backpack that was meant for one adult dog.
“Don’t bite me, buddy,” I mumbled as I got to the next dog, finding his hackles up and his eyes whaled. “I’m saving you, okay?” I asked, slipping the lead on, then when he didn’t freak when I tightened it, got him down with the other two.
The next cage was a dog who had been, well, a killer. If the scars and wounds on him were any indication, he’d been in the ring more than a few times.
“I’m sorry they did this to you,” I told him when he sniffed my hand. “Can you be nice to them while we run for our lives?” I asked, then started to open his cage.
I had just got him on the floor when I heard the footsteps moving toward the back of the store.