Page 42 of Wild Card (Foster Bro Code #2)

“Stop harassing them,” Dad said. “There’s plenty of time to get to know Axel. Did you see how they looked at each other? This is the real deal.”

Camille chuckled as she passed by. “This should be fun to watch.”

After they’d gone, Axel’s brothers lingered with us over beers.

I nudged Axel. “Did you tell your brothers?”

“Tell us what?” Bailey asked.

“Axel got a grant to start a foster pet program,” I said.

“Oh, cool!” Bailey said.

“Congrats, man,” Gray said. “I guess there won’t be any more dognappings, huh?”

“There better not be,” Holden grumbled.

Axel laughed. “Well, to be fair, I didn’t start it…”

“Did I hear someone say dognapping?” someone piped up from the bar.

Speak of the devil. Of all people, Rusty Waters hopped off his barstool to approach the table. “You must be talking about my dog, huh?”

“Yeah. Banshee’s doing really well,” Axel said tightly, “not that you asked.”

Rusty shrugged. “Knew she would be after Dalton ponied up all that cash.”

“What?” Axel said, seeming thrown.

I sliced my hand across my throat, gesturing for Rusty to shut up, but he didn’t notice. Of course he didn’t. The man was rarely totally sober.

“He paid me for her.” He snickered. “I hadn’t even found a buyer yet.”

Axel’s eyes went wide. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Rusty said. “Thanks for stealing her, man. It was my easiest payday ever!”

He walked away, laughing his ass off.

Axel looked horrified. “Tell me you didn’t give that man five thousand dollars!”

“No.” I chuckled nervously. “He just wanted easy money. I talked him down to 1K, and believe me, you and Banshee were more than worth it.”

“I can’t believe you did that,” Axel said, tone softening. “Dalton, we barely knew each other back then. That’s a lot of money.”

“Well…” My face heated. “You were so worried about her, and, um, Rusty wasn’t going to do right by her. You know that.”

“Yeah, but…” He trailed off.

Fuck. Had I ruined everything? Would he think our whole relationship was built on this one act of me buying a favor for him?

Axel threw his arms around me, hugging me tight. In my ear, he whispered, “Love you so much. Damn. You shouldn’t have. It’s too much.”

“Nothing is too much for you,” I murmured.

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Emory said.

I pulled back, cheeks hot with embarrassment. I really never intended for Axel to find out, much less all his brothers.

“I did try to talk sense into him first, but the law was on his side. He owned her. I could have tried to charge him with dumping her, but it was hearsay. There was no evidence one way or another, so…” I shrugged. “I did what was best for Banshee.”

“Sure, it had nothing to do with you having the hots for Axel,” Gray said with a laugh.

I grinned sheepishly. “Maybe a tiny bit.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Axel asked. “That’s a big gesture.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was buying your affection or something. I just wanted to do right by you and Banshee.”

Holden cleared his throat. “So, uh, I feel a little weird about taking Banshee now,” he said. “I didn’t know she was a romantic gesture.”

I groaned internally. I really wished Rusty had kept his big mouth shut. “Don’t feel that way. It was always about Axel’s happiness and Banshee’s well-being. That’s still true even if she’s living with you.”

“She’s happy there,” Axel affirmed. “And it’s good for you both. Besides, if I’m going to be running a foster program, I have to get used to relinquishing pets to responsible owners. You’re all getting drafted as volunteers, by the way.”

Gray slumped. “Great.”

“Aw, come on, there has to be a dog out there that won’t hate you,” Axel said, chuckling.

“Thanks for that,” Gray said. “That’s very reassuring.”

“Well, we’re used to dogs running around anyway,” Bailey said with a shrug. “Sign me up.”

“You’ll be off to college soon,” Holden reminded him. “Might not be the best time.”

“Fostering is temporary,” Axel said. “He can keep dogs while he’s here, but once they’re adopted, they’ll move on and so can he.”

“See?” Bailey said. “You can shove me out of the house like you want.”

Holden frowned. “That’s not what I want.”

Bailey pushed away from the table. “I’m gonna go play darts. Who’s in?”

“I’ll play,” Emory said, scooting back his chair. “I might actually beat you at this game.”

Bailey grinned. “Bet you twenty bucks?”

Holden rolled his eyes. “Oh great, just what we need. Another game for Bailey to hustle people at.”

“I’m going to pretend I’m not hearing this.” I pointed to my chest. “Sheriff. Remember?”

Everyone chuckled. “It’s just a friendly bet. Surely that’s not against the law.”

I waggled my hand. “Eh, it’s technically gambling.” I shot Axel a look. “But you all wouldn’t know anything about that.”

Axel held up his hands. “Hey, don’t look at me. My gambling days are over.”

Holden raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Really,” Axel said flatly. “I’m not fucking around with that crazy fucker Jett ever again. Besides, I care way too much about Dalton to mess up his career for a fun night and some easy cash.”

“C’mere,” I murmured, tugging him into a long kiss. “You’re gonna be too busy to gamble, anyway.”

“Yeah?” He grinned. “In bed with you?”

“And out of bed, rescuing all those fosters who need homes just like you did.”

His eyes misted over. He nodded once, jaw tight. I worried I might have said the wrong thing.

Then he kissed me again, harder. “Take me home, Sheriff. I want to celebrate some more before we get too busy with everything else.”

I grinned, my heart beating a little faster. “I’ll never be too busy for you, Ax.”

“Are you arguing?” he challenged.

“Me? Hell no.” I stood and tossed some cash on the table. “Take me home, darlin’. I’m all yours.”