Page 69 of Guitars and Cages

“I know.”

“Then how the hell did it happen?”

I pulled more, but his grip was ironclad. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Bullshit. Tell me what happened, Asher. Now, goddammit! Who the hell put a belt around your neck, and don’t tell me it wasn’t; I can see the circles left by the holes.”

“Jesus, all right already, Morgan. Damn, I fucked a hot little dominatrix chick who really got into the fight, okay? She liked things rough, so do I; we had some fun, I have some marks, excuse the fuck outta me!”

He chuckled then, and let go, satisfied with the answer, and I headed upstairs to write down lie number three.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Cole found us a place to stay a few buildings down from the one I’d moved out of. I was gettin’ tired of moving, but a part of me was curious as to if and when I’d run into Conner again. Morgan had tried to convince me to stay over the bar and wait to see what Cole was gonna do, but I was kinda worried that if I didn’t go with him now, he’d leave and maybe we’d never see him again. Alexia had been pretty upset about us going—no, that’s not true; she’d been more upset that I was going, because I was the one she’d come so far to see. The only thing I did that I felt proud of the day we left, was telling her the truth of why I was going, my fear that if I didn’t follow Cole, he’d be like Michael, gone and we’d never hear another word. I think she understood.

Now it was time to go get Ghost, and I was excited to see her again and bring her to her new home. I’d already bought her a large round cat bed, a blanket, and a stuffed cat to curl up with if she ever got lonely. I had bought food and a bowl for her, too, and had them set up in my bedroom. Morgan had loaned me his truck so I wouldn’t have to walk with her back to my apartment, and I’d brought her bed to lay her in so she could ride back safe beside me.

I stepped into the vet’s office and waited while her assistant finished up with a guy and his dog. The Lab’s tail was all bandaged, and I wondered what in the world he had tangled with. When they were done, I stepped up to the desk and asked about Ghost.

“Oh...” she began, wide-eyed, looking shocked to see me. “You didn’t get any of the messages we left at the number you gave us?”

I shook my head. “No; what messages? The only call I got was the one telling me the surgery went well and she was recovering. She didn’t...”

I glanced toward the back, wanting to run back there, but she was in the way.

“No, she’s alive, it’s just that we found a chip in her, an implant that had information about her owners. We were able to contact them, and they came to get her this morning.”

“Came and got her? Where the hell were they when she was lost and hurt?”

She took a step back. I didn’t mean to scare her, but I was really upset. The vet came from the back then, to see what was going on.

“You didn’t get the messages.”

I scowled, ’cause that was a dumbass thing to say. “No shit, lady.”

“I’m sorry. When I was looking over the second set of X-rays, I found the chip. Sometimes they move around inside the animal, which is why I didn’t notice it right away when you brought her in. Mr. and Mrs. Rodriquez were frantic to find Lucille; they had a fire in their home a week ago and she got out in all the commotion.”

My shoulders slumped. It was easier to think of them as negligent bastards that hadn’t deserved her than to accept that it had been an accident. “Oh.”

She stared at my face and the bruises there, and then down at my hands, frowning. “Looks like you ran into some trouble; are you all right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “Was just a fight, is all.”

Her assistant gasped. “Were you mugged? My boyfriend was mugged last month walking home from work.”

“No, I um, fight for money. I wanted to make sure I could pay you for all that you did for Ghost.”

“Oh,” the assistant said. “Her owners paid the bill when they came to get her; you don’t owe us anything.”

The vet blinked and took a step backward, her eyes wide. “You...fought to pay for an operation for an animal you found on the street?”

“Yes, ma’am, I didn’t want you to put her to sleep. I, uhh, guess I’d better go now.” I looked at her assistant. “Sorry for yelling at you.”

“It’s fine. I’m sorry you didn’t get to take her home.”

I turned to go, feeling more than a little dejected. Stupid, I know, but I hadn’t had a pet in so long. The vet caught my arm, though, and I looked down at her.

“You know, any animal would be lucky to have you for its parent. In all my years, I’ve never seen someone go so far for a stray.”