Page 22 of Wild Card (Foster Bro Code #2)

Axel

A sharp ring drilled into my brain, penetrating the fog of sleep. Then again.

And again.

Loki howled, and little Taz joined in with a high-pitched tone like a fucking ice pick to the eyeball.

“Fuck, okay,” I rasped, fumbling for the side table—and knocking down half my belongings. Change pinged against the floor and shot off in all directions. An empty Mountain Dew can rolled under the bed.

And my phone kept ringing. The dogs kept howling.

With a tortured groan, I peeled my eyes open and sat up. Where the fuck was that phone? I looked around, confused as fuck, until I remembered peeling my jeans off in the middle of the night and tossing them in a heap on the floor.

I leaned over the edge of the bed, getting a face full of Loki tongue for my trouble. I shoved him away. “Damn it, Loki. Consent!”

Taz let out an exceptionally piercing howl.

“Shut it!” I yelled in desperation as I fumbled for my jeans and the phone inside the back pocket. My head throbbed so hard my dang teeth ached.

The dogs snapped their howling jaws, and Banshee nosed in against my cheek with a whimper.

“Sorry, baby,” I murmured, giving her a pat before straightening up to pull out my phone. Without all the howling, I could hear the gate buzzer going off. It was programmed to ring my cell in case I was in the deep reaches of the junkyard and didn’t hear it.

I silenced the call and checked the time. Shit. It was 11:00 a.m. and way past time for me to open the junkyard.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and tugged on my jeans.

I stumbled out of my RV bus and headed toward the front.

The dogs followed eagerly, yipping. It was a damn miracle they hadn’t woken me for breakfast or a pee.

I must have been dead to the world. Hopefully, I wouldn’t find any surprises in the RV later.

The damn gate buzzer was still going off. This better be a fucking junkyard emergency. I punched in the code and swung open the gate.

Who the hell would be so insistent when?—

Dalton came into view.

Well, that answered that.

He was in full uniform, and there was no warm smile for me like there’d been Friday night.

“Fuck, man, what law did I break now?”

“How about the law of texting the fuck back?” he said.

I started to close the gate, but he caught it with his hand and shouldered through before I could lock him out. Damn. He’d have probably started up with that buzzer again anyway, and my head couldn’t take it.

“This isn’t a good time,” I muttered.

“Yeah, you look like shit.”

Dalton’s gaze swept over me, making me realize I hadn’t put on a shirt.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “That why you’re looking so hard?”

His eyes snapped up to meet mine. “I was getting worried. I’ve been texting you for days. I know you’re pissed at me, and rightfully so?—”

I held up a hand, squeezing my eyes shut. “Just…wait. If we’re gonna do this, I need some Tylenol.”

Preferably extra-strength.

I headed for my RV, and Dalton followed me. I went around the corner—because I had to take care of the dogs before I could collapse into a miserable ball. Their food bowls were full, as was their water.

Gray or Bailey must have come by. Maybe they’d even let the dang dogs out while I slept. That explained a lot. Fucking meddling brothers. I didn’t need them to come over here and get in my business.

My chest warmed as I stared down at the simple gesture. Fuck. It shouldn’t mean so much that they’d cared.

“Axel?” Dalton asked behind me. “You okay?”

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. It was just the hangover making me raw. Just my pounding head and churning gut. Nothing else.

“Fine.” I turned and whipped out my dick. “I just gotta piss like a racehorse.”

I sighed with relief as I let loose on a scraggly little bush behind my RV. Loki trotted over and joined me, marking the leaves.

“Jesus Christ,” Dalton muttered. “Can we please talk? I don’t have much time.”

“Feel free to leave.”

“I’m not doing that,” he said, his tone firm.

I shook off my dick and zipped up. Clearly, he wasn’t going to leave me in peace until he had his say. “Fine. But let’s do this inside. I’ve got a killer hangover.”

“Yeah, I saw your El Camino at the pool hall last night. It’s still there, in fact.”

“Then you know I didn’t drive while drunk.” I flashed a grin over my shoulder. “I’m a model citizen.”

He sighed, though his lips twitched, a little of that stern demeanor slipping. He couldn’t hide the smile in his eyes. They always gave away what was really going on inside him.

Dalton Harvey was easy to read, even in my hungover state, and right now, his eyes were full of warmth for me. A little exasperation too. But mostly fondness.

The look threw me a bit, and I whipped back around, stumbling as I took the final step into the bus. Dalton caught my arm, steadying me.

I shook him off, too rattled for touching.

“Sit anywhere,” I said, moving toward the driver’s seats. I popped open the glove box and pulled out a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol. I poured three capsules into my hand and dry swallowed them.

The faster this shit got to work, the better.

I washed my hands in the tiny sink, then went to the small fridge opposite the bench where Dalton had settled. Banshee followed me around, while Taz had plopped himself right in Dalton’s lap. That traitor.

Though Taz was pretty much an extension of my feelings. When I’d been angry with Gray, Taz had snarled at him. When I liked someone, Taz did too.

But I did not need the reminder of how much I liked Dalton.

Sugar sat just inside the doorway, watching us with serious eyes. She was my best guard dog. She was protective, but she assessed a situation before acting.

Oreo and Loki were probably out playing. They were my two most energetic dogs.

I opened the fridge and pulled out a Mountain Dew. “You want anything?”

“A pop would be good.”

I grabbed a second can and tossed it to him. Dalton caught it and glanced at it with surprise. “Mountain Dew? Really?”

“Sugary goodness.” I sat down at my small table, covered in fresh, folded laundry because there was too little space in here. I popped the top and drank.

The sweet, citrusy drink soothed my parched throat. I was so damn dehydrated my tongue soaked up the liquid like a sponge. I gulped until half the can was gone.

When I lowered it, Dalton was watching me.

The silence drew out, making me twitchy. What happened to him being in a hurry?

“You should just go,” I said. “I’m not mad. There’s just nothing to say.”

“Of course there is,” he said, leaning forward, eyes locked on mine. “I shouldn’t have walked out like that.”

“But you did.”

He winced.

I shrugged. “Everyone does. Don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t want to be everyone,” Dalton said. “I want to be better than that.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“You can’t be.”

“Can’t I?”

I lifted the can, drinking more so that I could hide from his searching gaze. This was why I didn’t do entanglements. Even with the best of intentions, shit got complicated.

I set the can aside. “Let’s just call it now before?—”

“I talked to the mayor about the pet abandonment problem,” Dalton blurted.

The one-eighty threw me. I blinked. “What now?”

“I told Mayor Prince about the strain the shelter is under and how folks are illegally dumping their pets, and he’s going to talk to the city council about strengthening enforcement and adding more fines. We’ll add patrols, maybe even some signage warning folks of the consequences?—”

“No!” My gut lurched. “Why the fuck did you do that?”

“This will help , Axel. You didn’t want the responsibility of running some private program. And I get that. I really do. So this is an alternate solution.”

“It’s not a solution,” I spit. “It’s what politicians always fucking do. They slap a Band-Aid on a paper cut while you’re bleeding out.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

I raked my hands through my hair, my fingers catching in the tangles and yanking at the roots.

I barely felt it. Thoughts were swirling through my head. Worst-case scenarios. Pets left where I couldn’t help them. Left without food or water. Lost. Confused.

Alone.

“People won’t stop, Dalton. They’ll just leave their animals somewhere else. Somewhere I can’t help. If you all make it obvious you’re gonna patrol more here, it’ll just be some other stretch of highway.”

“Then we’ll patrol there too,” he said.

“You don’t get it,” I snarled. “They need me, and I won’t be there for them. No one will be there for them. They’ll be afraid and suffering!”

“That’s not?—”

I couldn’t stop now, the words tumbling free. I couldn’t let it happen. Couldn’t let those animals suffer neglect and abandonment like me. Knowing they were unwanted, unloved, unworthy…

“They deserve better! Why doesn’t anyone fucking care?” My voice cracked. “Why do they keep leaving me? Why?”

“Leaving you?” Dalton said softly.

Shit. My wires had gotten all tangled up inside.

“Them, I mean.”

Dalton pushed out of his seat and crouched in front of me. I turned my head, not wanting to look at him. Knowing that I had revealed too much.

It was just this fucking hangover. I couldn’t regulate my emotions. Couldn’t hide behind quips and flirtation. Not right now.

“Axel, baby?—”

“Don’t,” I rasped. “This isn’t about me. It’s about them. You’re only moving the problem from one place to another. At least with them getting dumped here, I could help them. They weren’t alone.”

“Like you were as a kid,” he said.

I clenched my hands. “Doesn’t matter.”

Dalton reached up, cupping my jaw and turning my head toward him. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t handle the warmth in Dalton’s gaze. Or worse, the pity.

I didn’t want him to see the emotional storm raging inside me. I bit my inner cheek hard, trying to stave off the burning in my sinuses.

“It matters,” Dalton said. “I screwed up. I’ll fix it.”

I shook my head. “It’s too late.”

“It’s not,” Dalton said firmly. “I have some sway with the mayor. I’ll tell him we need to find another solution, okay? The shelter?—”

“The shelter is too strained to do more.”

“I know.” Dalton cupped my face. “Just look at me, Axel. Please?”

I couldn’t resist that tone. My eyes opened to find his expression racked with guilt.

“I fucked up again,” Dalton said. “I keep trying to do the right thing, but I don’t know how when it comes to you.”

“That’s because I’m all wrong,” I mumbled.

“No.” Dalton pressed his forehead against mine. “You’ve been hurt. You’re wounded. That’s not the same as wrong.”

I tensed, trying to pull away. “Stop. Don’t make excuses for me.”

“They’re not excuses if they’re true,” Dalton said, looking at me steadily.

If there’d been pity or sympathy in his eyes, I could have shoved him away. But there was something else there. Something like understanding.

He saw me. Saw the small neglected kid I shut into a corner of my mind. Only my brothers knew that side of me. I kept it that way intentionally.

I had to be strong. Unbreakable.

I couldn’t let the world see the ragged shards that had already shattered inside me. I couldn’t make myself vulnerable like that.

It was all too much. The emotions swimming to the surface. Dalton looking inside me.

I surged forward, kissing him.

His lips parted in surprise, and I swept my tongue in as I pulled him closer. The kiss was desperate and needy, but that kind of exposure I could handle.

I wanted Dalton. So, I’d let myself have him just one more time.

I reached for his belt buckle, and he caught my wrist, pulling back.

“Not like last time,” he said.

“You think you can top me, Deputy?” I teased. “You’re welcome to try.”

I leaned in to kiss him again, but he fisted his hand in my hair, tugging my head back. Damn. Now I wanted him to top me.

“You can’t use sex to hide from me,” Dalton said. “Not this time.”

My pulse spiked. “I’m not.”

His eyes bored into me. “You are, but we’re done with that.”

He kissed me so softly I wanted to cry all over again. A voice in my brain was screaming to run now. That I couldn’t let him in. Couldn’t trust he wouldn’t leave me again.

But I needed this. Needed him.

If only for right now. I could pretend, couldn’t I? Let myself feel something just this once?

I was too tired, too emotionally drained to fight it.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Just please, Dalton, don’t be gentle with me. I can’t handle that right now.”

His lips curved into a sinful smile. He gave my hair a painful tug. “Then I’ll fuck you hard. Whatever you need, Axel. I’ll give it to you.”

This time, when my pulse spiked, it was from lust. My cock pressed against my zipper painfully, and my nipples tightened to aching peaks.

The dark promise in Dalton’s voice was everything I needed to hear just then.

“Fuck, yes,” I rasped. “Take me to bed.”