Page 4 of Lulu

I didn’t question her because I’d already made up my mind that I was taking the dog home with me. At least until his leg healed and I figured out what to do with him. I was the one who’d hit him, so I owed him at least that. With a loud exhale I headed out to the lobby. I needed to call Sanford.

I hit his number.

“Where the fuck are you?” he snarled in my ear. “I had to make a decision, man. Gave your job to someone else.”

I snorted. “Then why so you fucking angry, old man?”

“The guy I gave it to wanted a bigger cut.”

I laughed. “Must have been Crazy.” We only knew each other by our aliases.

“You know I can’t tell you that. I may have another job come up later tonight.”

“Hold off getting me anything for a while, yeah?”

There was a slight pause. “Shit. Don’t tell me you’re thinking about retiring again,” he grumbled. “You’re one of my best men.”

Iwashis best man, and Iwasgiving retiring serious consideration. I was tired of being gone all the time. Of living on the edge and not knowing if today would be my last. Hell, I was tired of killing. If the government needed a hit, I was the one they sent in. If the Mexican cartel wanted an enemy taken out, I did that, too. Abduction? I rescued them and brought them home. You wanted someone found? I hunted them down. Needed protection? I had you covered.

Working both sides of the law, I’d made a lot of enemies, and it was getting to the point that I didn’t know who I could trust anymore. Sooner or later, someone was going to come for me. It was the nature of the beast. And I wouldn’t have been surprised if that someone turned out to be the government. That’s why I had insurance.

I realized that too much time had passed since he’d asked his question when Sanford cleared his throat to get my attention. I wasn’t about to explain myself to him. Our relationship was strictly business that amounted to him sending me jobs, me doing the dirty work, and both of us profiting in the end.

“Look, I won’t be available for a week or two. I’ll contact you when I’m ready for work.”

The tsking sound he made came over loud and clear. I hung up because I was done. A slight noise alerted me that someone had come into the room. I turned to see Lulu at the desk behind the counter, doing something on the computer.

I walked back to the counter. “Done?”

“Just about. I’m getting your bill ready now.”

“How about while I’m here you give him whatever shots he needs, check him for parasites?”

She finally stopped typing and glanced up at me. “Her. Your dog is a female. She’s grossly underweight, too. She’ll need some vitamins and—”

“Give her whatever she needs.” I frowned, shaking my head at what I’d gotten myself into.

“She also needs a bath and a shave, but you’ll need to bring her back during the week.”

I released a heavy sigh. Fuck.

“What name do I put on her record?”

Name? What the fuck? I frowned. “You name her.”

For the first time Lulu’s face softened with a genuine smile, before it was replaced with a look that worried me. “I always thought that if I had a dog, I’d name her Buttercup.”

Buttercup. Shit. Was she messing with me? But then what did I care? As soon asButtercupwas recovered, she was going to a new home. “Fine,” I said with less enthusiasm.

“Do you want to leave her here so we can take care of those other issues tomorrow? We can board her for the night.”

I didn’t hesitate to take her up on it. “Sure. I don’t have a way of getting her home on my bike right now anyway.”

She stood up. “Okay, I’ll let the doctor know.” Again with the cool, professional manner that I was quickly beginning to hate. “Someone will call you tomorrow when you can pick her up.”

God, she was beautiful. More beautiful than I remembered. “Don’t you need my number?”

“Oh, I’ve got your number.”

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