Page 7 of Wilde and Deadly

She hung up before her mother could respond and stared at the blank phone screen, half-expecting it to start ringing again immediately.

It didn’t.

She turned it off to make sure, then exhaled in a rush and flopped back on the bed. Luka crawled up to lay beside her, his head resting in the crook of her arm.

“You got his heart, too.”

No. She wasn’t selfless like her father. She hadn’t stolen Davey’s dog to protect anyone. She’d taken Luka because she couldn’t stand to leave behind the last connection she had to Davey. And, okay, yes, Rue was right— she’d done it so he’d be forced to come after her. Which painted a giant target on his back and defeated the whole point of… well, everything she was trying to accomplish.

Stupid. Reckless. Dangerous.

She needed to get her head out of her ass and fix this.

Rowan sat up abruptly, and Luka lifted his head, staring at her with concern. She stroked his ear reassuringly.

“I can’t keep you, boy. As much as I want to.”

He whined softly, and her heart clenched. She’d grown attached to the dog in the short time they’d been together. His steady presence had been a comfort during her lonely nights on the run. But she couldn’t keep endangering Davey like this. If she returned his dog and somehow convinced Dad to release Davey from the assignment, he’d have no reason to chase her and put himself at risk.

She gathered her meager belongings, shoving them haphazardly into her backpack. Her fingers brushed the burner phone she’d purchased, and she hesitated.

Should she call Davey? Let him know she was bringing Luka back?

No. That would only complicate things.

He’d try to convince her to stay, to let him help. Or, worse, he’d alert her father, who would tell him to bring her home.

She zipped up her backpack with a decisive tug. She couldn’t risk calling Davey or anyone else. She’d just sneak into his place, drop the dog off, and disappear again.

“Come on, Luka,” she said softly. “Time to go home.”

His ears perked up at her words, his tail wagging slightly, and guilt gnawed at her belly. Luka clearly missed Davey as much as she?—

No. She wouldn’t let herself finish that thought.

She walked to the door but then hesitated with her hand on the knob. Beyond it lay danger, uncertainty, and Davey Wilde.

The man she’d turned her life upside down for. The man she was trying to protect, though he didn’t know it. The man she?—

Nope. Again, she wasn’t going to finish that thought, even inside her own head. So she sucked in a fortifying breath, opened the door…

And there he stood, as if she’d summoned him with her thoughts—Davey Wilde, dangerous and impossible, waiting right outside her door.

three

She looks tired.

It was Davey’s first thought when the door swung open just as he raised his hand to knock.

Her hazel eyes widened in shock, and her lips parted slightly as she took him in. For a moment, they both stood frozen, the air between them charged with tension.

Luka’s excited bark broke the spell. The dog bounded forward, nearly knocking Davey over in his enthusiasm. He dropped to one knee, burying his face in Luka’s fur as the dog licked and whined happily.

“Hey, buddy. I missed you too.”

When he looked up, Rowan was still standing in the doorway, emotions battling across her face. Shock. Worry. Anger. Fear.

It was the fear that hit him like a gut punch. The Rowan Bristow he knew was fearless, but now she looked like a frightened deer trapped in headlights, ready to bolt at any second.

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