Page 47 of Chasing Shelter

“Are you here to ask my girl out?” Lolli narrowed her eyes at Gabriel.

His lips twitched. “As much as I’d love for that to be the case, I don’t think a certain best friend of mine would be all that pleased with that turn of events.”

“He’s probably got me on the FBI’s Most Wanted for rearranging his cabinets. Can’t have one of his officers consorting with a criminal.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened as he turned to me. “You messed with his system?”

I brushed invisible dirt off my shoulder. “Just call me a rebel behind enemy lines.”

Gabriel laughed and shook his head. “God, I’m mad I missed that.”

“It was glorious,” Lolli called as Gabriel led me out of earshot.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, lowering my voice.

Gabriel nodded, but his gaze dropped to the floor before returning to my face. “Anyone give you trouble today?”

I frowned. “No. But I’ve really only been here.”

“No customers gave you a weird feeling? Nobody said anything odd or threatening?” Gabriel pressed.

“No. What’s going on?”

“I just wanted to make sure after everything that happened yesterday.”

I studied Gabriel for a long moment. Maybe that was the case, but it seemed like overkill. “Did you guys find something?” My stomach twisted at the idea that they might’ve found something worse than someone playing a prank. Maybe they’d found someone who truly wished me harm. My mind flashed to Bradley for a moment, but an egging wasn’t exactly his style.

“No, no. Nothing like that. We’re still looking for the vehicle. I just wanted to make sure no one else was giving you a hard time.”

My cheeks flamed. If Gabriel was checking up on me, Trace had likely told him what I’d shared: that many people weren’t exactly my biggest fans lately. “I’m fine. And I know how to handle myself.”

That was a big fat lie on both accounts. Maybe that was the problem. It felt like I’d never truly stood on my own two feet, fought my own battles, or felt strong in doing so. And it was long past time I did.

“All right,” Gabriel said. “Give me a call if you run into any trouble.”

“Sure.” That was a lie, too, but a necessary one. If I was going to start cleaning up my own messes, there was no better time than now.

I hoistedmy bag over my shoulder, my muscles already aching from the long day that had started at six and was just finishing at half past four. I slipped out of The Mix Up’s back door and locked it behind me, testing the knob to make sure it’d caught. Thea already trusted me to lock up, which seemed like a lot of responsibility. I didn’t want to mess it up.

When the lock held, I released the knob and shoved the keys into my bag. My gaze swept the back alley, which was far cheerier than the alleyways in New York. Still, I was on edge, thanks to Gabriel’s visit, as if another masked egg bandit might jump out at any moment.

“Stupid,” I muttered, squaring my shoulders and starting down the street.

I took three steps before a squeak stopped me in my tracks. I frowned and looked around but didn’t see anything. The squeak sounded again. A little closer this time.

I moved in its general direction and the dumpster pressed against The Mix Up’s back wall. This time, I heard a whimper. My heart lurched, and I dropped to my knees, peering under the receptacle.

The moment my eyes adjusted to the shadows beneath it, I saw the source of the noise. A tiny dog-like creature trembled there and let out another whine.

“Oh, crap. Crap, crap,” I muttered. “It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you,” I cooed as if it could understand me.

The creature let out another whimper. It did look like a dog, but its brown and white fur was really only present on its little head andmassiveears. The rest of its body was patchy at best.

“You poor thing. I’m so sorry. You must be so scared. But look at how you protected yourself. Found a place to hide where it’s safe. But you don’t have to hide anymore. I’m going to help you.”

The dog belly crawled a little closer and sniffed the air.

“I wish I had some turkey for you, but if you come out a little farther, I can take you to get a snack.”

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