Page 71 of Mafia Wedding

"Is that a...vagina?"

Rake chokes.

"Ever heard of GRWK?"

"Guh-ruh-wuck?"

Rake spells it out, and my eyes widen. I know it's been a while since I last went to school, but how is it that people can easily read words or names now without vowels?

"You obviously haven't heard of him," Rake observes with a grin, "but he's one of the most popular artists in recent years—-"

"Because he likes painting vaginas?"

"That's actually an African tulip."

I look at it again, but for the life of me I can't see anything floral—-

Shit.

The look in his eyes tells me that he heard the same thing I did, and both of us start hacking away as the pitiful little cries get louder.

Shit, shit, shit.

It's only when we've flipped the whole bed over that we see underneath it a small rug...used to cover a padlocked door. I use the butt of my gun to break the lock open, and my usually hard-as-stone heart breaks next at what I see.

"Fuck!"

Rake is already on his knees and reaching down for an emaciated-looking dog that has blisters and sores all over its body.

Damn them.

It's times like this when I find myself dangerously close to crossing the line and letting my monster take over.

Will it be really bad to kill people who don't deserve to live?

IT'S ABOUT AN HOUR later when the emergency vet finally comes out and gives us the happy news. Milo the Yorkshire terrier is showing signs of recovery, and we should consider ourselves as real-life heroes for getting him to the hospital in time.

"So..."

Rake's gaze narrows on me as soon as the vet leaves, and it's just the two of us again in the waiting room.

"Are you part of some secret animal-loving cult that thinks tracking down human abusers is their calling?"

How is this man ex-FBI, like seriously?

"Because if you are, I want in."

He is not going to make me smile again like I'm normal.

"But if you're not, this day has opened my eyes, and how do you feel about the two of us starting one? It can be an offshoot of Strakh—-"

I roll my eyes, he grins, and did I just let him tease me into flirting with him again?

"Seriously, though. What the hell did we just do back there?"

I tell him about Yiorgos, who works for a second cousin of mine and whose dog we've rescued from his evil ex-girlfriend's clutches. "She regularly sends him photos to torment him, and when he showed me one of them, I knew I had to take this job."

"And this is why they call you Familia's most skilled tracker?"

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