Page 47 of A Fine Line

He shakes his head, spitting blood onto the floor and swallowing before replying, “That’s it. You’ll find all the relevant information on the phone in the bedside table over there.”

I walk over to where he’s pointing and yank open the drawer, pulling the phone from it and then walking it over to him so I can use his finger to wake the main screen. I scroll through it, taking screenshots of what I need and forwarding them to my burner phone before resetting his security features so I can easily attain access without him. I stuff the phone into my back pocket, then head back across the room.

The man speaks up as I’m walking away, “Surely you’ll let a dead man have a last wish, right?”

I turn back toward him, smiling as if I’m considering it, but then the smile falls from my face as I bring my arm around and shoot him in the face—once, twice, then a third time for luck.

He falls forward, slumping over in the chair, and the woman on the floor makes a pained noise as I approach her. I stop beside her, and there’s no hesitation as I point my gun at her and squeeze the trigger until it clicks—empty.

They’re both lucky I’m on a deadline.

I exit the bedroom, shutting the door behind me, and make my way down the hallway toward the stairs. A whine behind me stops my forward momentum, and I turn around, facing two sets of curious eyes staring back at me. “Two fucking dogs,” I mutter, sighing as I turn and continue my descent to the first floor.

Toenails tap behind me, and I sigh again as I reach the main foyer and stop with my hand extended toward the handle.

They’re watching me.

Slowly, I turn to face them, and this time, they’re quite close. They walk over to me and then sit nicely at my feet, as if they’re waiting for me to give them instructions. “For fuck sake,” I say sternly. “I don’t have time for you two shitheads right now.”

The bigger one barely manages to control the tail wags, or lack thereof, and the smaller one stares at me calmly, obviously waiting for me to do something.

“Fucking hell,” I groan, stomping as I turn back to the door and yank it open. I stand back, allowing the two mutts to proceed me out into the night, then I follow them, cursing all the way.

Chapter Eighteen

Tony

Antonisdispleasedwiththe dog situation. Of course, I completely ignore him and send a couple of his men off to get some dog supplies while I go in search of Flora.

I end up in the living quarters where a room has already been remodeled into a playroom. She’s deeply immersed in a board game, but as soon as she sees me, her eyes light up. She squeals my name as she jumps up, her little legs racing toward me, and that odd warmth in my chest that was so uncomfortable before doesn’t feel quite as uncomfortable as she leaps up into my arms. I catch her, pulling her in close as she seems to hug me with her entire body and I laugh “Well, hey there, princess. How’s it going?”

She mutters into the side of my neck, and it sounds like she’s saying she missed me, so I pat her on the back, and give her a squeeze, suddenly incapable of speech. She pulls back, her little hands coming up to pat me on my cheeks, and she smiles at me and says, “You stay.”

I laugh again, jostling her around until she giggles, and then I place her on her feet. “I have a surprise for you.”

I walk over to the door I had closed behind me when I came into the room, and sure enough, the two mutts are sitting there waiting for me. I open the door further, motioning them inside, and the larger dog makes a beeline for the group of children, walking through their board game excitedly. They all squeal in delight, their board game completely forgotten as they fawn all over the wiggling mutts, and I pat myself on the back for a job well done.

Nettie enters the room, walking over to stand beside me as she says, “Dare I ask where you acquired these two obviously well-pedigreed animals?”

“Their previous owners ran into some issues and could no longer take care of them.”

“Issues, huh?” she says dryly. “But why take them with you?”

I say nothing in response because the answer to that question is obvious, and we stand there in silence, watching the children and dogs play. Finally, I say, “That big dog seems to like kids.”

Nettie reaches a hand down as the big dog comes over to sniff her. “Boxers are exceptional family dogs,” she says. “They’re the type of breed that doesn’t understand they’re not human. Obviously, there are exceptions, but for the most part, they’re mostly bombproof.”

The boxer flops over on the floor, lying there on its side, panting, and Flora crawls over and lies down with her head on the dog’s shoulder. I smile at the scene, patting myself on the back again for my genius plan as Nettie stares at me intently. I wait a few moments, but she continues to stare, so I ask, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

She lifts a shoulder nonchalantly and inclines her head as she replies, “Oh, nothing. You’re a really nice guy, Tony.”

I wince, my mouth turning down in distaste as I lift my hand and press a finger against her lips. “Keep it down, Net. I have a reputation to protect.”

She smiles, and I drop my hand and go back to watching the kids, and after a few moments, Dare and Anton join us. Anton shakes his head at the scene in front of him, but he’s also smiling as he says, “I had a boxer dog when I was growing up. He was the greatest fucking dog.”

“Your man get the stuff?”

“Yes,” Anton replies. “They came back with enough stuff for like ten dogs.”

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