Page 54 of Lips On My Heart

I throw my bag on the floor by the door before locking up and following her outside. I don’t want to be away from her for any length of time.

We walk hand in hand with Hades leading us. I swear he stops at every tree, every leaf, every noise—all must be investigated. I’m starting to like this dog more and more. He’s attuned to his surroundings, and his devotion to my pixie makes me feel good she has him.

As suspected, Hades’s turds are no joke. A grown man couldn’t lay anything that large. “What the hell are you feeding him?” I ask, pointing at the waste bag.

She laughs as she throws the bag out in a nearby waste disposal. “Impressive, isn’t it?”

We’re both laughing as we make our way back to her place when Hades suddenly freezes on the walk, looking up at the house. He stands at attention, hackles up, baring his teeth. We both jump when he starts barking frantically and pulls against the leash. I try to grab the leash from Josephine before Hades rips her hand off, but he breaks loose and charges to the front door, jumping against it and snarling.

I bend down and quickly pull my Glock 19 from my ankle holster before turning back to Josephine. “Go back to the car, Pixie. Lock yourself in. Don’t come out or let anyone in until I say it’s okay. You got it?”

Josephine’s eyes swivel between me and her dog. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, baby. I’m going to find out,” I say, rubbing her arm.

“But you and Hades—” she starts.

“Pixie,” I say, grabbing her arm and shaking her a little. “Go.”

Josephine’s eyes are blown wide with fear, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to manhandle her into the car myself. Thankfully, she runs to the vehicle and locks herself in.

With her secure, I make my way to the door with my gun ready. Hades is barking and scratching at it like rabid animal. The doorjamb appears to have been tampered with—judging by the large gouges of wood taken out along the knob. “Easy, boy,” I say to Hades, and I move my hand to the handle. To my utter horror, the door swings open as I turn the knob. I know I locked this door when we left for our walk. Someone definitely has forced their way in.

Hades rushes inside and straight to the bedroom, acting like he did at the front door. I aim at the door as I approach it. I count to three and kick the door in, with Hades on my heels. The sliding door to her deck is wide open.Fuck.

I rush out to the yard and catch a glimpse of someone jumping the fence. Charging ahead, I hurdle it and take pursuit. Hades barks behind me, close to my heels.Holy shit, he cleared the fucking fence.The thing had to be at least six feet tall.

I try to make out details of the assailant, but it’s dark, and he has a head start. I follow him up the ridge where I see him jump into a car and take off without headlights. It’s impossible to catch a glimpse of the license plate. All I know is it’s a newer, dark-colored sedan, but not enough details to determine make and model.

Coming to a stop, I gasp in and out as my lungs adjust back to normal. Hades continues to run down the road after the car.

I whistle for him, and he comes right back to me. Thank God, because I have no more sprint left in me to chase after a dog. Hades pads up to me, his gold eyes nearly glowing in the dark. He leans his big head into my open hand. I rub him behind his ears.

“Buen perro. Let’s go back tomamá.”

I jog back to the front of the condo with Hades at my hip. Josephine is still locked in her car, staring up the front door, when I tap on her window. She screams and grabs at her chest before unlocking the car.

I cradle her in my arms and kiss her head, comforting her, while Hades jumps up on us and licks at her face. “It’s okay, baby. I’m sorry I scared you. The guy is gone, but I want us to go inside and look around to see if anything was stolen. Then we’re going to call the police to report the break-in.”

“O-okay,” she stutters.

As we walk through her apartment, we start with the front, checking the living room and kitchen. Her laptop, tablet, and all her other expensive devices were still where she left them. But she stops in front of her laptop, cocking her head.

“What is it?” I ask.

She looks up me. “Did you touch my laptop when I was in the car?”

I shake my head. “No. Why?”

“It’s open. I always fold the screen down when I’m not using it.” She reaches out to it.

“Don’t touch it. If someone tried to get into it, they may have left prints,” I say, halting her hovering hand. “Do you keep it locked?”

“Yes. I have a very complex password, and I change it regularly.”

I nod in approval. “Is there anything on it someone would want to access?”

She shakes her head no. “Everything, all my work, bank accounts, spreadsheets are backed up on a hard drive. I don’t store anything on the laptop.” She turns to the kitchen and pulls a decorative flower magnet from the fridge, opening it to reveal her mini drive.

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