Page 10 of When Annika Met Thom

Annika’s eyes widened as the dog’s weight landed audibly against the door. It barked more insistently. The door vibrated. Percival hissed and raced around his cage.

Thom stood with his back to the door, arms folded across his chest, and glared at her. “You have to go.”

The door was opened further down the corridor again and an older woman shouted for silence. “I’ll report you and that dog!” she cried.

“She’s just protective, Mrs. Moriarty. A watchdog for all of us.”

She? The dog was female?

“She’s too big!” the woman insisted.

“There’s no weight restriction on pets in the building,” Thom replied calmly. “One dog per apartment.”

“That’s a horse, not a dog!” Mrs. Moriarty countered and slammed her door.

Thom exhaled then glowered at Annika, as if the situation was her fault. His eyes were amazingly dark and thickly lashed. “Maybe you can see why it’s not a good idea for you to come in,” he rumbled.

“But—”

“Cerberus likes small rodents. They make nice snacks.”

“Ferrets are not rodents,” Annika said, beginning a familiar lecture.

He held up a hand but she ignored him.

“And not it:him. This is Percival and he’s stressed from spending so much time in his cage. He needs to be on his harness and run around a bit...”

“Leo didn’t mention that you had a pet.” He turned and opened the door slightly, which just meant that the dog shoved its nose through the gap again. Its tail was wagging so hard that its head was vibrating and it—no,she—was obviously curious. Cerberus looked like she was smiling.

She also was clearly unafraid of Leo’s roommate.

Annika’s father always said that dogs were the best judges of human character.

“I have to stay here.”

“You can’t stay here.” Thom was resolute. He was the best threshold guardian ever.

“I’ll just come in and talk to Leo.”

“He’s not here.”

“I’ll wait until he comes back.”

Thom shook his head. “Not a chance.”

“I have nowhere else to go,” Annika countered.

“Call Leo,” he replied.

“You mean he won’t be back soon?”

Thom shook his head and sympathy touched his expression for the first time. “He said he’d call you,” he confided, his tone suddenly gentle.

Annika sat down hard on her suitcase. His expression told her everything she needed to know. Something had gone very wrong since she’d last talked to Leo the week before. He wasn’t here and he wasn’t going to be here and she had nowhere to stay as a result.

Shit.

What was she going to do?

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