Page 9 of Assassin's Game
I left the two of them to finish out their night and made my way through the back storeroom to a steel door leading to the dark alley behind the bar. It had been a month since I’d come out that door one night with several bags of trash, headed for the dumpster at the end of the alley. I’d done the same chore a million times, but that night was different. That night I’d caught a quick glimpse of a black body huddled in a far corner, the sound of panting breaths desperate to cool off in the humid summer night. It had been impossible to see details. Impossible to know much of anything beyond the fact that the dog was hot and likely hungry.
A week had passed before Diesel let me get a good look at him. That’s right; his name was Diesel. He even wagged his tail now when I called him that. A black male, medium build now that he’d gotten some meat on his bones, with a gray muzzle that told me he’d seen a lot of years. I’d slowly gained his trust, but he still kept his distance. I was trying to change that.
The minute I saw him, I knew he belonged with me; I just had to convince him to believe it too.
In the back alley I let out a whistle in the dark. The scrabbling sound of paws told me Diesel was nearby. I squatted down near the door and opened the bag of dog treats, shook it a little to let him know his reward was waiting. Normally he’d hurry forward, only to stop a few yards away and gaze longingly at the bag, refusing to come any closer. I usually ended up leaving a couple of treats on the ground for him, along with the bowl of food I refilled every night. Bracing myself as he trotted into the circle of light surrounding the back door, I waited, holding my breath, hoping against hope that tonight would be the night he came all the way.
He didn’t. Stopping three yards away, the dog eyed me with caution and a good bit of greed when he spotted the bag in my hands.
“That’s right; you know what’s in here, don’t you?” I crooned.
Diesel cocked his head. Took a couple of steps forward.
I struggled to contain the sudden bump of exhilaration.
“I’m not gonna hurt you, boy. Just wanna take care of you.” Carefully I fished a treat from the bag. “It’s hot tonight. Don’t you wanna come inside where it’s cool?”
For a good thirty minutes I coaxed him, my entire being straining toward the shivering creature I wanted so desperately to take care of. And finally,finally, he took those last few steps to where I waited, and snagged the bone-shaped goodie from my palm. It took another two treats to get him to stay by my side. My heart thumped hard in my throat as I rubbed behind his ears, holding my breath in anticipation of him darting away. When he didn’t, I offered up another treat.
It distracted him enough that he didn’t notice the collar going around his throat until it was a moment too late.
“There we go.” Long, heavy pets soothed his initial panic, and my heart finally stopped racing when he sat quietly, staring up at me. I stared right back, deep into his dark brown, confused eyes. “You’re all right, buddy, I promise. I won’t hurt you. It’ll be all right.”
I have no idea what all I babbled at that point, but whatever it was kept us both calm as I led him to the SUV. When he jumped into the passenger seat without much fuss, I rewarded him with a rawhide bone. As if he’d known all along that our relationship would come to this, as if he’d finally accepted that he belonged with me, he settled down and was happily gnawing away as I cranked the car and headed toward home.
I’d call later and rub that fact in Abe’s prickly, wise-ass face.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Five
Levi —
The night had gotten away from me.
No shit, Sherlock.
Yeah, understatement of the fucking year. I dragged a rough hand down my face, trying to ignore the stench of the god-awful pink gas-station standard soap I’d used to wash up with on the way home. Abby would already be angry with me; no need to addby the way, there’s one less asshole in the world trying to rape a woman in a back alley behind a sleazy club, and did I mention I took him on alone?
The woman had been fine. The blood had to go before I came home to Abby. My woman.
Mine.
The animal that constantly prowled inside me, the part of me that got off on the kill, on blood, stirred in my chest at the thought of her upstairs, waiting for me. She never slept well when I had to be gone, which was why I tried not to slip away for more than a few hours. Glancing at the Patek Philippe wrapping my wrist, the one Abby had given me for my thirtieth birthday a few months ago, I winced—it had been far more than a few hours. More like most of the night.
There’d be no creeping into the room we shared, the king-size bed that made her look tiny in its massive spread. No cuddling up behind her, lifting her soft, supple leg, and sliding my aching cock into the wet warmth always waiting for me. It wasn’t going to happen because, if Abby was asleep, I was too damn intelligent to wake her and let her see what time I’d crept into bed.
If she was awake... I barely refrained from bashing my head against the door in front of me. Pissed was probably gonna be the understatement of the century.
“I’m a bastard,” I growled under my breath as I shoved my key into the lock.
Ya think?
Telling my only-hyperactive-with-Abby conscience to shut the hell up, I entered the darkened basement by the light of the moon, careful to lock the door behind me.
The farther into the room I moved, the brighter it became. At the far end I made out the cracked bathroom door, spilling light toward me. A man’s voice, an odd mixture of low noises and cursing, came with it.
“Eli?” Then a little louder. “Hey, Eli?”
