Page 10 of Strictly Forbidden

The dog pulled at the leash again and I dropped down into a crouched position, wanting to be on the pup’s level. I spent a couple of seconds adjusting the collar so it didn’t strangle him. He was so damn timid, so fearful his entire body shook. Christ. Who was the fuck who’d done this to him?

Jimmy finally leaned down and unfastened the leash. The dog remained wary, taking a few steps toward me then stopping and sniffing. The scars on the poor pup’s back were enough to bring out the vicious man inside of me.

“Max is one of the dogs I showed you before. So far, he hasn’t gotten along with anyone.”

The doctor’s voice was solemn but mixed with hope. I sat down on the cold floor, crossing my legs. “Golden and German Shepherd?”

“Yes,” Jimmy answered. “He was burned by his former owner. That’s not the worst of it.”

It was all I could do not to crush the treats in my hand thinking about doing that to the fucking owner’s head. I kept my eyes locked on the beautiful baby, still trying not to get my hopes up. He hung his head low in defeat, his tail shoved between his back legs. Even with the scars, the dog was one of the most beautiful I’d ever seen.

I finally held out my hand with my fingers curled, which indicated I wasn’t a threat. It took him a little while, but he finally closed the distance, sniffing my hand. When he finally figured out I had treats, he lifted his gaze, his eyes a little brighter.

“You want a treat, Maxie boy?” I asked.

The single thump of his tail was perhaps the most rewarding sight I’d had in years. I opened two fingers, allowing him to nuzzle into my hand, finding the treat. Very slowly I reached out, stroking the top of his head. At first, he jerked it back up, backing away a few steps. The pup was searching my eyes, hopeful I wasn’t going to hurt him. I could sense the doctor was holding her breath, more hopeful than the puppy.

“Here you go, boy. You can have another one.” I offered the treat with my open hand and this time without hesitation, he moved closer. I tried petting him again, breathing a little easier when he didn’t jerk away.

After Max finished eating, he remained where he was, allowing me to rub him behind his ears. I wasn’t used to feeling anything other than cold and dead inside, but when the pup inched closer, dragging his wet tongue across my face, the little fur ball struck a nerve.

Before I had time to really react, Max crawled into my lap, his tail thumping against the floor in a perfect rhythm.

I’d always heard when a dog found his person, he was finally content. Maybe Max had found his.

And maybe, just maybe, we could rehabilitate each other.

CHAPTER 4

Five months later

Noel

Getting groceries for the normal person was easy or maybe a pain in the ass at worst. For me it meant sitting in my car for as much as fifteen minutes, staring out one of the windows toward the oppressive-looking building, trying my best to gather the courage to walk into the store and drop a few things into my basket.

No, I was no longer normal. The bastard known as the Claw had taken that away from me. But at least today, I’d had a little spring in my step, only remaining inside my Mazda for five minutes. That was a record. I’d also almost enjoyed picking out a couple of bottles of my favorite wine, tossing in a package of steaks and the biggest baking potatoes I could find. And salad material. Zoe and my other partner in crime, my part-time personal writing assistant, were coming over for dinner to celebrate a huge event.

Well, two of them.

The publication of my latest novel and the fact I was getting a picture of the dog who’d been selected for me. As long as the puppy finished the program with flying colors, which I heard he was doing, then the fur bucket would be in my house this time next week. I had to admit I was excited about both.

For the first time in a while, I’d really gotten into the book. I’d enjoyed writing the bad character more than normal, taking out my aggressions and continued anger and hatred on the horrible beast of a human by having my heroine blowing off his head in the end. She’d solved the crime and had eliminated her demons at the same time.

Good girl.

The girls were due at any time and I’d already prepared the salad, put the bread in the oven, and opened the wine to breathe. However, we were having a dirty martini first. What the hell? You only lived once and after putting the pedal to the metal in getting this book finished, I felt like I deserved something special.

I was even dancing a little in my kitchen when Zoe pulled up. In moving to Colorado, I’d found an amazing house near the mountains. The views were incredible, the frame-style house exactly what I’d dreamed of as a youthful author. I’d even pinned one that was remarkably similar to a vision board I’d created.

I’d always been a dreamer but when I’d started envisioning what I wanted out of being successful, the dreams had come true.

A sudden suffocating moment clamped clawed fingers around my throat, enough so I was forced to grip the edge of the counter. I’d almost given up writing altogether, the effect of being kidnapped and tormented for almost a week. If I hadn’t written a bestseller, the odds were that the bastard wouldn’t have targeted me.

Or used my terrifying scenarios as the backdrop to his horrific crime.

Another wave of self-doubt and hatred rushed in and I almost hyperventilated.

When the doorbell sounded, I jumped but was shot from the ugly haze. Fuck. The bastard still had a hold over me after all this time. Oh, I wanted nothing more than to track the horrible excuse for human flesh down myself since law enforcement hadn’t been able to do it so far.

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