Page 24

Chelsea

"Don't fall in love with any," Storm warned Frost. "We're not taking any of them home."

Frost smiled and gestured around the array of cages that made up the pet rescue.

"How can I not fall in love with any of them? For that matter, all of them? Look at that one for example." He pointed towards a blue heeler, who sat looking back at us, her tail thumping on the ground. "Don't tell me you can resist that face." He gave Storm his own version of puppy dog eyes.

"My apartment is not made for dogs," Storm said. "We're here for the press, remember? So we can look like good guys who love little animals."

"We are good guys who love little animals," Frost said. He crouched down in front of the blue heeler's cage and started talking to her in a low, soothing voice.

"Still not taking any home," Storm muttered.

"We might need that mansion." I wound my arm through his and stepped over to admire a cage full of kittens.

"Your pussy is the only one I need," he said in my ear.

I turned to whisper back to him. "But they're so cute. That black one looks just like a little panther."

"I already have a panther," he whispered meaningfully. "And if you keep pushing me, she's going to be a punished panther."

"That won't help your good guy image," I teased.

"Good." He cocked his head and made a face at the kitten. He might have softened slightly.

"They want us over there," Atlas said.

When I turned around, he jerked his head towards the camera crew. I unwound myself from Storm and stepped back, out of the way. This was about the guys, not me. Generating good publicity for the team. What could be better than filming them cuddling puppies?

I scanned the handful of people who stood around. Other guys from the team, a handful of staff and volunteers from the shelter. I saw no sign of Dallas. Ramsey arrived a few minutes late, but Dallas should have been here by now.

I pulled out my phone and pressed on his number before putting the device to my ear.

The call went straight to voicemail. No doubt, he was on his way and I was worrying for nothing. Still, I stepped over to Ramsey.

"Hey, you didn't see Dallas on your way here?" I asked.

"I saw him at the stadium," Ramsey said. "He left before me. He's not here?" He glanced around.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," I said. "It's not like him to be late." If anything, he was usually early. Especially if he knew he could be alone with me for a while. In this case, he was missing puppies.

"Yeah," Ramsey agreed. He didn't seem particularly worried.

If he wasn't, I guessed I could take my cue from him.

In spite of that, I felt uneasy. While the guys were handed puppies to cuddle, I stepped out to look up and down the road. The stadium loomed over the city in the distance, traffic flowed between there and here.

"He's probably caught in traffic," I told myself. Which didn't explain why he wasn't here if he left before Ramsey. I tried his phone again, but once again, it went to voicemail. Even if he was driving, he could have answered, couldn't he?

"I have a bad feeling about this," I whispered to myself. Something wasn't adding up. It was giving me chills up and down my spine.

I headed back inside. I'd ask Ramsey exactly where he saw Dallas last. Maybe Dallas got sidetracked with something and hadn't left the stadium when Ramsey thought he had.

I tucked my phone into my back pocket and stopped to look at Ramsey looking back at me. Something in his gaze made me freeze on the spot.