Page 112 of Wandering in Darkness
“The way you act makes me think you’ve never met a dog before!” I say.
“Aw, he’s smiling at me!”
“He’s growling at you!” I counter as I pick Felix up and head toward the door.
“No! My puppers! Come with us! I will take you home and make you my newest addition. I will love you and kiss you and put little sweaters on you in the winter!”
Thankfully, I manage to drag Felix through the door and slam it shut before the dog can finish his hunt. Felix longingly stares through the door while the dog jumps on it and barks at us as he considers what it’d be like to snack on the smallest member of our gang.
“I already named him,” Felix declares.
“Don’t name the dog,” Lane says.
“I already decided where he’d sleep in the bed.”
“Our bed is so full of animals that there’s really not room for more.”
“There’s room. Think about the times Cal crawled in with us.”
Grayson glances over at me and raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I really think we’ll all fit,” Felix says.
I look everywhere but at those looking at me while Audrey makes her way through the expensive home. Everywhere we go,the dog bounds after us on the outside of the house, fogging up the glass and glowering at us as he barks out his threats.
Felix has heart eyes for him, and I’m pretty sure little is going to stop that man from trying to steal a dog that weighs more than him.
“Poor baby is probably thirsty after being such a good boy and barking at the intruders,” Felix says.
“Don’t you dare open the door to get him water,” Lane warns, which really shouldn’t even have to be said, but oh, we’re saying it.
When we reach the kitchen, Audrey looks around. “He usually leaves a laptop in here,” she says. “Although I’m sure he has a computer set up somewhere else. We just have to find it. We should split up.”
“That sounds like what a bad guy would say,” Felix replies. “But I’m game. I’ll go outside and keep watch with Kiwi.”
“Lane… he’s already named the dog,” I say.
“No… I refuse to have heard that.”
“The dog has been named. And once it’s named…”
“It’s going to eat him,” Lane grumbles.
“At least we’ll have a name to put on the gravestone,” Grayson says. “Consumed by Kiwi.”
Felix glowers at us. “Ha. Ha. I swear you all are just jealous. You wish you had as many awesome pets as I do.”
“How do you guys even get anything accomplished?” Audrey asks as she finds the room she’s looking for and hurries into it. She rushes over to the computer and wakes it up before setting to work. “You guys better not get me killed, you understand? You’re keeping watch, right?”
“Yeah… definitely,” I say, leaving the room with Grayson following me.
“Are you sure it’s safe leaving those two in there with her?” Grayson asks as Felix remains next to the door the dog is barkingat. He’s whispering sweet words to it in the hope of winning it over.
“Well… maybe?” I answer. “Lane is actually quite skilled, even without his eyesight, and IthinkAntonio’s smart about this stuff… huge emphasis on the ‘think’ part. I’ll watch this side of the house, you watch the other?”
He hesitates, obviously not wanting to leave me, but kisses the side of my head unexpectedly instead. “Okay.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks while I watch him walk away, leaving me alone to scout out the windows as we wait. Honestly, I’m not going to be surprised if Allen already knows what we’re up to… but if he shows up…
