Page 28 of Damascus & The Wildfire
Loud, exuberant barking greeted me after a quick knock. The oak door swung open, and there she was—red hair wild, cheeks flushed, barely hanging on as a brindle-colored dog the size of a small bear tried to drag her through the screen.
“Come in. He’s friendly,” she said with a grin. “Brisket, sit!” The dog hovered his butt above the ground in a half sit, like it was a negotiable request.
“When the fuck did you get a dog?” I asked as I opened the screen door.
“A few days ago.”
She tossed me a treat. “I’m going to let him go. When he gets to you, make him sit. Ignore him if he jumps on you. We’re working on manners.”
Kenna released Brisket, and he skidded in front of me. As she predicted, he leaped up and planted his paws square on my chest. If I were a smaller man, he would have knocked me flat on my ass.
“Sit,” I commanded in a deep voice.
Brisket immediately plopped his butt to the ground and waited patiently for the treat. “Jesus, Kenna. This dog would be taller than you if he stood on two legs.”
She beamed. “I know! Isn’t he perfect? I don’t think anyone will break into my house at night with him on guard.”
I paused, searching her face. There were shadows under her eyes, hidden under a layer of makeup. Something in my chest tightened. “Have you been worried about that?”
She bit her lip. “Logically, I know it’s not likely to happen. But yeah. I’ve been feeling anxious, especially at night. Having Brisket in the house has helped.”
I scrubbed the five o’clock shadow on my face. “You don’t need to worry. I’ve had a prospect watch your house every night since the mugging, just in case they noted your address on your driver’s license.”
She laughed as if I were joking and then turned serious when she realized I wasn’t.
“Wait. What? You have someone watching me?”
I shrugged. “Just at night.”
“You can’t have a prospect sit outside my house just in case someone tries to break in. And you should have asked me first. I don’t like the idea of someone watching me without me knowing about it.”
“The prospect isn’t watching you. He’s watching the traffic and your house, just in case—until we get the Jackal situation resolved.”
Her cheeks flushed, and for a second, I let myself admire her. I wanted to close the space between us and lean into her heat.
She cleared her throat, breaking the spell. “Well, come in. And this time, I’ve got whiskey and beer, so you don’t have to pretend you like wine.”
I chuckled as I followed her inside. “A beer would be great.”
“You heard from Dixon?” Thane asked, a web of smoke surrounding him from his spot at the bar.
I waved to Leah and pointed at the row of whiskeys on the wall. She smiled and nodded a silent promise to bring me a drink. I’d serve myself, but I knew it pissed her off to no end when we did that.
“No, but he should be on the road already. I didn’t tell him about the rat, but I asked him to be careful because we had concerns the feds could be watching.”
Thane lit another smoke. “Fucker’s always broke. You think it could be him?”
I rubbed the stubble on my jaw. “Honestly, I hadn’t considered him as a serious suspect. He’s always been loyal. And his role with the club would implicate him for enough crimes that he’d spend more time in prison than the rest of us.”
“Unless he cut a deal,” Thane gruffed.
I shook my head. “I’ll ask Linc to check his location. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a pit stop at a casino on the way back, considering the payout from this contract.”
Thane crushed a cigarette into the ashtray before lighting another. “Serpent called. He’s pissed we’re delaying the deal.”
“Better him pissed than us in prison. If the feds get wind of that mother lode of weapons, we’re fucked.”
Thane ground his teeth. “I know. Don’t want to tell him we have a rat, but I might have to tell him something so he knows why we need to lie low for just a little bit longer.”
