Page 54 of Stone
“You weren’t kidding when you said he’s a tank. Or will be,” Juan said, looking up from where he sat at a table doing paperwork.
She and Simon stopped in the middle of the room, Sherman taking a seat beside them. He seemed undisturbed by the new surroundings, but they didn’t want to rush him.
“Look at those feet,” Philly said, walking over from the pool table.
“And that mane,” Viper added, joining Philly from where the two had been playing a game.
“It didn’t look like that last night, but after his bath, it sort of…” Simon hesitated, cocking his head.
“Fluffed up,” Juliana said. Yes, their new puppy had a mane of hair that resembled a lion’s, only Sherman’s was mostly black with a strip of brown down his throat and chest. His pointy ears nestled in the thick hair, and when he tilted his head, the ends swayed adorably.
“He’ll scare the hell out of people when he’s full-grown,” Juan said. Sherman’s tail swished across the floor, and Julianawould swear he smiled at the growing group. “At first, anyway,” he added.
“Can we pet him?” Monk asked, squatting ten feet away.
Simon walked over, Sherman trailing behind. A few times, he looked up as if to gauge Simon’s reaction to the other people in the room, but he didn’t hesitate. No doubt sensing Simon’s ease.
It didn’t take long for others to appear and soon, five men—Juan, Viper, Philly, Monk, and Marley—sprawled on the floor playing with Sherman, alternately wrestling, playing tug with his leash, and tossing a ball someone had produced.
“We may still discover some quirks, but I’m thinking he’ll be a pretty well-adjusted dog,” Juliana said to Simon as they watched the antics.
“How big does the vet think he’s going to be?” Marley asked.
“She said about a hundred pounds,” Simon answered.
“Are you going to start training him soon?” Viper said.
“The vet gave us some resources,” she replied. “But she suggested giving him a few days to settle down with us.” As she spoke, it struck her that she was answering as if she and Simon lived together, as if Sherman would always have them both around. They’d both be in his life, of that there was no question. Despite what she’d said, though, she wasn’t sure what the arrangements might be once they resolved the situation. Logic told her it was far too early in their relationship to think about moving in together. If she told logic to put a sock in it, though, the other little voice in her head reminded her that they’d both shared things with the other that they’d never shared with anyone else. A level of trust already existed between them that couldn’t be explained by a few days’ acquaintance. Well, technically, they’d known each other a few months, but they hadn’t spent more than a few hours together until the past few days.
“I texted the trainer, though, and asked her to send the information,” Simon added, either oblivious to her presumption or okay with it. Experience had her assuming the former, but a deep-seatedknowing—that she was afraid to admit—knew it was the latter.
“He kind of sidetracked the day,” she said, directing the comment to Viper, Philly, and Monk.
All three men shrugged, but Monk was the one who responded. “Lowery and Polinsky aren’t going to do anything—not until they know how much you know or what you’re going to do with it. I’m not saying you can take a vacation, but a couple days’ delay isn’t going to matter one way or the other.”
She supposed these men, men who’d lived and breathed and fought strategy, would know. The anxious part of her wanted everything to be over, though. But as she couldn’t do it on her own, she needed to trust them and figure out a way to deal with her anxiety.
A few creative ways to do that came to mind. She and Simon had shared a bed again the night before, although they’d both been apprehensive about Sherman and jumped at every noise coming from downstairs. Still, they managed to learn a little more about each other’s bodies, about each other’s likes and reactions. She smiled thinking of the common ground they’d found—shockingly, neither could get enough of the other’s mouth on them. Simon had a very clever tongue, and he’d been very vocal about his appreciation of her oral skills.
“Oh, she’s got that look,” Philly said, rolling from his side to his butt and rising.
She glanced around, then realized she was the only woman in the room, so he must have been talking about her.
“I don’t think I want to ask what look,” she muttered, heat filling her cheeks.
“You really don’t,” Viper said.
“Yeah, you don’t,” Juan added as others chimed in with similar responses. Telling her that theyallknew what she’d been thinking.
Beside her, Simon chuckled, but thankfully changed the subject. “Do we have time to go over anything today?” he asked, directing his question to their three partners in crime—or, more accurately, their partners in investigating.
“We can go over it tomorrow,” Viper said. “Like Monk said, one day isn’t going to matter. You should hang out with Sherman. Take him for a walk or swim or something.”
She didn’t like the idea of dropping the investigation altogether. Simon either sensed her unease or he felt the same—or both—because he shook his head. “We may not have been able to do much today, but you all did. A debrief would make us feel better.” Beside him, she nodded.
Philly studied them, but neither Viper nor Monk hesitated. Rather than head to the atrium, though, they all took seats at one of the tables. Juan went back to his paperwork, and Marley to whatever he’d been doing in the kitchen before coming out to meet Sherman. The puppy stood between her chair and Simon’s. Once he seemed reassured that they were staying put, he lay down and set his nose on his paws.
“I’ll go first. It’s probably less interesting,” Viper said. “Well. Not less interesting, but I don’t have a complete picture yet. I’m still looking into a few things.”
