Page 8 of Filthy and the Beast

Any man who raises dogs like this must be at least halfway decent. They’re just so sweet.

“Fucking hell!”

Enzo’s voice roars out, bouncing from inside the house, and I stand. I’ve started to distinguish between his cries for my assistance and his general cursing, but this one, I can’t tell.

The dogs don’t waste any time, though. They disappear into the rear of the garden again, back from where they came.

I make my way slowly into the house and toward Enzo’s private wing. When he yells again, I raise my voice. “Enzo! You need me in there?”

From behind the heavy door, he shouts something unintelligible.

I hurry over, then hesitate, but the dogs whine on the other side, apparently returned to their man through another entrance. “Hey Enzo!” I yell. “Sorry to bother you in your lair, but are you okay?”

He doesn’t answer, and my concern rises. What if he’s really hurt? Am I supposed to break his rules and open the door? Is it locked? What if I have to bust it down?

No. No reason to be silly. There must be a dog door in the rear I can shimmy through.

He groans again, sending me into another crisis of indecision. I’m here to take care of him. He doesn’t have anyone else in his life to do it, andfuck. I’m suddenly really worried.

“Enzo?”

After another long pause, he finally answers. “Fine. Just fell.”

I sigh in relief. “Do you need me to help you up?”

“No—arrrfuck!”

“That sounds like you need me to help you up.”

I press my ear to the door, and I think I can hear him cursing.

“Reggie told me that last time this happened, you fell, and then you were on the floor for an entire day. You finally called him because you knew him from another time you hurt yourself. My first thought was, could I hold my pee for a whole day? But then he told me that you had your phone the entire time. You were just being stubborn. So the point was you might lay on the floor for a long time. Is that what’s happening now?”

“Are you messing with me?”

“What?” I step back from the door. “No. Why?”

There’s another long pause. I hear movement, followed by a massive thump as Enzo bellows out again.

“Hell’s bells, dude!” My hand lands on the door. “You’re just making it worse.”

“I know I am!” he roars, and when I can’t help but laugh, it’s a relief.

At least he still has his sense of humor.

“Can you get flat on your back?” I yell. “Reggie says to only treat it as an emergency if you’re stuck at a weird angle.” When he doesn’t reply, I raise my voice. “You’re stuck at a weird angle, right? Want me to call Reggie?”

“No! Damn it!”

“This is ridiculous,” I mutter to myself. “More dramatic than a drag queen.” I raise my voice again. “I’m coming into your forbidden lair unless you absolutely raise hell and tell me to stop. In five, four, three, two…”

CHAPTERFIVE

ENZO

I’m sidewaysat the bottom of the shower, dripping wet and naked, one foot flat against the wall and my shoulders crammed in the corner. Water splatters me from above. The explosion of pain at the base of my spine still radiates and pulses liquid fire down my arms, up my neck, strangling me.

I’m no stranger to pain, but as Damian approaches, the hurt is so bad I can’t get my shit together to tell him to fuck off.

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