Page 111 of Wild Card
“Hey, I can’t help it if she has good taste,” Holden shot back while breaking off a piece of bacon to feed to the gorgeous Samoyed.
Bailey snorted. “He says while he bribes her with bacon.”
“I don’t blame him,” Gray said. “It’s the only way to keep your little demons under control.”
He shuddered and tossed a bit of bacon to Taz. Axel and Bailey broke into snickers.
“Yeah,” Holden said, “but Banshee actually likes me.”
“She does seem rather smitten,” Emory said.
Axel huffed. “She does, doesn’t she?”
I spoke up from my position at the hall entrance. “I’m not going to have another dognapping case on my hands, am I?”
Axel’s gaze snapped to mine. “Hey,” he said.
“I’d never actually steal Banshee,” Holden said. “She just visits.”
“You don’t have to steal her,” Axel said. “She chose you, and it’s her choice.”
“Really?” Holden transferred a fresh waffle onto a plate already stacked with three. “Dalton went to a lot of trouble to get her back for you.”
“Shit, sorry,” Axel said. “I probably seem like an ungrateful fucker.”
Holden held out a plate stacked with waffles. “Here. Eat up.”
“Oh, this is too much.”
“Share with Axel, then. He hasn’t eaten.”
Had he waited for me? That was unexpectedly sweet.
I carried the plate to the table and sat down beside Axel, nudging his foot with mine as I settled. “If you’re happy and Banshee is happy, then I’m happy.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course. I got her back because you were worried about her, and she deserved better than Rusty.”
Bailey nodded. “Yeah, that guy’s a real douche.”
“Bailey,” Holden said with a sigh.
“Oh, it’s true,” I said with a laugh.
“How did you get him to give her up, anyway? Wasn’t she a big payday?” Gray asked.
“I have my ways.”
“Mysterious,” Emory said with a chuckle. “I like it.”
I cut a bite of waffle and tried to look innocent. I really didn’t want to get into the details of how I’d convinced Rusty to give her up. It didn’t matter. As long as Axel was happy and she was happy.
“Dalton’s good at his job,” Axel said with a surprising amount of pride in his tone. “He can talk reason into just about anyone.”
“That must be true if he got through to you,” Gray joked.
Axel stole a piece of bacon from my plate to flick at him. It hit Gray’s shoulder and bounced onto the table.
