Page 27 of Perfectly Leashed
Matias would’ve called, but sending coded texts meant the sender couldn’t talk.
Santiago sauntered over and glanced at the message. “Shit. Luca has the cops on him, and I’m willing to bet Bo Peep is Darcy.” He frowned. “Got no clue what furballs means. Could be dogs, wolf pups, or stuffed animals.”
“Bloodsuckers?” Matias’s brow rose slightly.
Santiago gave him a shit-eating grin. “Come on, boss. Bloodsucker?”
Matias glared at him.
His enforcer’s grin vanished. “A lawyer. Luca needs a really good lawyer before whatever charges are against him stick.”
“We ride.”
Chapter Seven
At first, Darcy stood frozen. He’d been thrown back in time to when his uncle abused his aunt. But he forced himself to snap out of it and sprinted with the dogs toward the shop—only because he didn’t want them to bite anyone trying to protect Luca. Tongues lolled as the dogs panted heavily in the humid air, their paws scuffing against the asphalt.
They might be the most chaotic dogs he knew, but they’d become his buddies. Even Princess Consuela, who continually tangled herself between his legs, nearly toppling him with the leash.
Bursting through the open bay door, he flung the leashes at Luca’s employee. “Don’t let them out of your sight and watch they don’t chase rodents or eat trash!”
The guy looked at Darcy like he’d lost his mind. “Who the hell are you?”
“Luca’s boyfriend!” Darcy blurted out, his heart thumping. “Gotta go rip an ape off his back! Watch the dogs!” Pivoting sharply on his heel, he bolted back outside, lungs burning from the exertion.
Instead of hurrying back to Luca, he crept across the street where the patrol car was parked at the curb. He glanced around, sliding the pointy tool from his back pocket.
Luca’s employee hadn’t seen him snag it, too busy wrangling the dogs. It was a small comfort to know that even a burly man could be flustered by that slobbering whirlwind of dogs.
With a pounding heart and shaking hands—was he really about to commit vandalism?—Darcy thrust his arm forward.
The tool bounced back, but didn’t puncture the tire. Three more unsuccessful attempts only made it seem like Darcy was either doing arm exercises or jerking off behind the car.
“Guess we go the old-fashioned route.” He unscrewed the cap on the air valve and slowly let the air hiss out.
Oh my god. This was taking forever. When it was finally halfway deflated, Darcy took off down the street.
There’s gonna be footage of you in one of these shops showing you let all that air out.
Just as long as no one told his grandma.
His damn side was in pain and on fire. Luca wanted him to stay at the shop, but Darcy wasn’t about to let that creepy deputy throw his boyfriend into a brick wall. Especially when Luca was recovering from a gunshot wound.
Oh god! Was the deputy one of those vile hyenas? Was he the one who shot Luca? No, no, no. That was ridiculous since Luca would’ve told Darcy just how dangerous the cop was.
Hyena or not, he had no right to treat Luca that way.
Too bad Luca couldn’t change into his wolf and maim that bastard.
Darcy finally reached the spot where Luca was being arrested. He bent at the waist, resting his palms on his knees. “I am not built for running.” He wheezed with each inhale, his lungs burning from the exertion of running.
“What’re you doing back here?” Luca demanded as Gilmore marched him toward his patrol car, cuffs glinting in the harsh sunlight.
“I’m calling out this bullshit!” What exactly was Darcy going to do? Fight a cop? A cop twice his size? It was one thing to fuck with a police car. Dumb, but justified. Assaulting a police officer was serious jail time.
But impeding an arrest wasn’t as serious.
Darcy got right in Gilmore’s path, his nose twitching from the stench of hot asphalt and tar. “Have you even told him what the charges are? You see he’s hurt, and you’re banging him around!”
