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Her hands immediately went to her hips.“Why the hell did you do that?”
“To save your life.”The same reason he picked her up—yet again—even as she squealed in outrage, and he dumped her in the driver’s seat of the truck.“Forget the new boyfriend.Get your—”Homicidal.Nope, can’t say that.Can’t say…Get your homicidal ass back home.So he settled for, “Get your gorgeous ass back home.”He stood right next to the driver’s seat, with the open door at his side.
She grabbed the steering wheel, but turned her head toward him.“What new boyfriend?”
“Henry.”A disgusted shake of his head.“Lady, you have enough problems without worrying about some dumb asshole?—”
“Henry is not my boyfriend.He’s mydog.”
Her what?
“Ivan stole him while I was being held in jail.You know, back when the DA thought it would be super fun to lock me away for ages even though I’d been convicted of zero crimes.I was being held for murdering my husband, held without bond, even though I told everyone who would listen that I wasn’t guilty.”She sucked in a deep, shuddering breath.“A neighbor was supposed to be watching Henry.Ivanstolemy dog.”
“Get a new dog.You’ll stay alive that way.”He started to back up.
Her hand flew out.Curled around his wrist.“Please.”Her voice broke.
Something in him seemed to break, too.Wait.What the fuck is happening?
“I love that dog,” she said, and damn if it didn’t sound like the woman—the same woman who’d been ready to go swinging with a bat a few moments ago—was about to cry.She hadn’t cried at her husband’s gravesite, but she was on the verge of tears over a dog.“Ineedhim.I-I can’t explain but just, dammit…that dog is mine.Mine.I have to get Henry back.”
She let go of his wrist and dashed a hand across her face.The interior light was on in the truck, shining brightly down on her, and Eb realized she was dashing away actual tears.
Now she cried.Now.Outside of a bar.Over a dog.Check.
He whistled.Okay, maybe she was the best actress he’d ever seen.Maybe this could explain why the DA had caved and dropped those charges.Did you pull the teary routine with him, too?Turn on the grieving widow waterworks and the DA thought the jury would never convict you based on the circumstantial evidence he had?
“I will do anything to get my dog back.Break some bikes?Fine.Done.Pound a bat into a door in order to make those jerks pay attention to me?Done.”
She could not be serious.“You’re gonna die for your dog?Is that on your to-do list?”
“I don’t plan on dying.”She drew in a shuddering breath.“I want my dog back.He’s all I have.”Her head bowed forward.
Shit.“You’re seriously doing all of this…for a dog?”He could not quite wrap his mind around what was happening.Too surreal.
Her head whipped toward him.“He’s a special dog, all right?I just want my dog back.And I will do anything, I—” She stopped.Her hand flew out and curled around his wrist once more.“You know Ivan.”
Not really.Knewofhim.They were not buddies.
“You probably read his CIA file or something like that.You can convince him to give me back my dog.”Now she jumped from the truck.Her body brushed against Eb’s because he sure as hell wasn’t about to retreat.“If you can get my dog back, I would be so grateful to you!”
Just how grateful?
She’d already said that she’d do anything…
He stared down at her.
“Please.”She bit her lip.Then, “Please, I am begging here, Eb.I get that you don’t like me.But that dog is special.I need him.And if he stays with Ivan—look, I think Ivan only took Henry to hurt me.”
“And Ivan wants to hurt you because…?”
“The same reason all of Hudson’s friends want to hurt me.Because they think I killed him.”She swallowed.“Isn’t that why you want to hurt me?”
His gut tightened.“What in the hell makes you think I’m here to hurt you?Told you, I was just meeting with Ivan to close out old business with the agency…”Total lie.He was there to obliterate her world.
Her eyes were big and deep.Those eyes would suck in a normal man.Convince him that she was weak and innocent.In need of protection.The princess who needed some kind of knight to ride fast to the rescue.
Screw that knight bullshit.He was more of a destroyer than a savior.She’d learn that, eventually.