Page 3 of Married to the Mafia

The douchebag only agreed to replace the shelter with a whopping big donation in order to get his permits. We don’t even need the money. Amelia still has plenty in the bank.

Not that it matters. As soon as the mansion's built, he'll have lawyers explain in ten different ways why a shelter near his new place is no longer a viable option and the stray dogs that come my way will get euthanized upstate.

Not on my watch.

The man reappears. The big man. The handsome man. Boy, is he good to look at. "We're willing to cut you a deal," he says. "You get up and we'll hold off demolition while you get a lawyer to examine the contracts, see for yourself that the new shelter is a legally required part of the deal. This is what Amelia wants, you know. A new shelter, bigger and better than before. Ready for when she finishes her veterinary training. It will be done in time as long as you stop causing problems."

"Bullshit. You just want me out of the way while you knock the place down and I won't let you. I put my heart and soul into the shelter and I won't let you destroy it."

"What's your name?"

"Rose Silver. What's yours?"

"Listen, Rose. In about thirty seconds you're getting arrested and then these diggers can do whatever they want. I could toss you into the sheriff's car myself and no one would bat an eyelid. I could take you over my knee and spank you for pissing me about, but I'm being reasonable. I give you my word no one will so much as remove a fence post until you've examined the contracts for yourself."

"Your word? Like I'm just supposed to accept the word of a security guard."

A smile flickers across his face as he walks away.

"All right," Jenny says, tapping her watch. "I'm done waiting." Two deputies grab hold of my arms, lifting me off the ground.

"Hey," I yell at them, fighting to free myself as they put my wrists into cuffs. "You have no right to do this. I'm a citizen. I have rights."

"You have the right to remain silent," Jenny says as she loads me into the back of her patrol car. "And Christ, I wish you'd do it a bit more often."

"I can't believe you're siding with them," I tell her as she climbs into the driver's seat and sets off. "You know what men are like. They're all liars. We should be sisters together. Solidarity."

"What? Why?"

"Because we're women. We should stick together, defend each other."

"I'm a woman. You're a child."

"I'm eighteen. I'm an adult."

"Which means you get charged as an adult. Why didn't you take his deal? Go look at the contracts for yourself? He's going to build a replacement, it's right there in black and white. Why not just look?"

"Because while I'm looking, the shelter will get demolished. I'm not an idiot, Jenny."

"He promised, didn't he?"

"Mom promised she'd never die. Jimmy Pendine promised he wouldn't try to finger me if I let him take me out for one drink. Promises get broken."

"I just hope this is worth you getting a record."

"I'll never stop fighting for what's right."

"Just shut up, will you? You're giving me a headache."

I scowl at the back of her head. I can't believe she thinks that guy was telling the truth. I know that right this minute the diggers are slamming into the walls of the shelter. The wrecking ball is swinging. The shelter is gone and all so some out-of-town business owner can build a mansion in its place.

The thought makes me sick and what's worse is I couldn't do anything to stop it, only delay it by a few minutes. What good was that?

We get to the sheriff's office and Jenny opens my door, beckoning me out. "Don't say anything," she says. "You'll only make things worse."

"What happened to you?" I ask. "You used to babysit me, remember?"

"I grew up," she replies. "About time you did the same." She turns to look at me on the steps leading inside. "It was a shitty thing that happened to your mom, Rose, but it was a long time ago. Not everyone is lying to you all the time. Did it occur to you he might be telling the truth? That the new shelter will be built and it will be better than the old one? Or did you just think man equals liar? Just because you got dicked around in high school doesn't make all men assholes. Some of them do what they promise to do."

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