Page 6 of Lulu

“I thought you had plans tonight?”

I’d planned to go out for a few drinks and dance a little. “Don’t worry, I’m a go with the flow kind of girl.”

“Well, if you’ve got everything under control I’m going to leave. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Bright and early!” I laughed. I walked her to the door and locked it behind her after she left. It was eerily quiet after that. I pulled out my phone and called Millie. She answered right away.

“Hello?”

“Hey, girl, I have a paying job for you tonight if you’re interested.”

She laughed. “This is too funny! I literally just had a cancelation! I’m available. Where and what time?”

“Here at the new clinic. We have a dog with a broken leg who’s staying the night. You won’t have to do anything but let her out if she needs to go. Her leg is in a splint, but she can walk on it.”

“Okay, I’m on it. Do I need to bring anything?”

“Just whatever you want to eat and drink. We have a bedroom set up. No one has used it yet; you’ll be the first. I’m leaving as soon as you get here.”

“Be there in a few.”

While I waited for Millie, I gave Buttercup some food and water. “Are you hungry, baby? I bet you haven’t had a decent meal in a while.” Since I wasn’t sure about the state of her teeth, I gave her wet food. “You’ll like this, Buttercup.” She gobbled the food right down, and then curled up on her blanket and went to sleep. I gave her head a final pat and closed the cage door.

I decided to go back to the front to finish up on the computer. I’d just sat down when someone knocked on the glass door. I glanced up to see Millie’s smiling face peering back at me, her wild, red hair piled up on top of her head in a sloppy bun, her green eyes sparkling.

“That was quick,” I said as I opened the door. “I just fed her and she’s sleeping.” I gave Millie a once over, taking in the scratches on her arms. “What happened?”

“I have a new client who decided to take in a feral,” she chuckled, running her hands up and down her arms. “It’s just a kitten, but the little bitch is as wild as they come.”

“I hope you cleaned those.”

“Hey, you’re not looking at an amateur!”

“Come on back and I’ll introduce you to Buttercup.”

“Oh, I like that name.” We stopped at her kennel. Millie frowned. “Whoever owns her doesn’t take very good care of her.”

I laughed. “She’s a stray, got hit trying to cross the road.”

“Poor thing.”

Buttercup raised her head to check Millie out, and then lowered it again, satisfied that she was a friend.

“I’ll take good care of her. Won’t I, baby?” Her last three words were spoken in baby talk.

A noise coming from the lobby area drew my attention. “Shoot! I must have forgotten to lock the door behind you.” Someone had apparently come in not realizing that we were closed now. “I’ll be right back.” I turned toward the door and entered the lobby in time to see two bikers had come inside, and one of them was locking the door behind him. My instincts instantly kicked in and warned me that something was wrong. Something about their appearances and the way they looked around warned me that they meant trouble.

I feigned ignorance. “I’m sorry but we’re closed.” They both turned in my direction. Their eyes moved over me in a way that I was accustomed to. I took a quick glance around them as if I were looking for something. “Do you have an injured pet?” I made sure to keep the counter between us and a fake smile on my face.

One of them laughed, the younger of the two. He was tall and lean, handsome in a tanned surfer kind of way, with dirty blonde hair and squinty blue eyes. A toothpick was tucked between the smirk on his lips. I knew his type. He probably thought of himself as a ladies’ man but I saw the truth beneath the charm.

“We’re here for that cute little redhead that came in earlier,” the other man said bluntly. He was short and on the heavy side, and looked as if he hadn’t bathed or changed his clothes in a week.

“What redhead?” I asked, playing dumb.

He laughed, revealing stained and rotting teeth. “Come on, girlie, we saw her come inside. Now get her.”

“Are you friends? What MC are you with?”

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