Page 27 of When Annika Met Thom

Stumped, Annika sat back against the wall. Cerberus watched her, clearly curious about what she’d do next, then sniffed at the base of the fridge for Percival. Annika couldn’t tempt the ferret with fish as long as the dog was there. Cerberus was just too curious—and she’d probably eat it herself in a flash.

Annika spent the next hour trying to convince Cerberus to abandon her vigil. She should have guessed that would be impossible. The dog seemed to be enjoying the adventure, as if they were a team on a quest.

She spent another hour after that trying to coax Percival to emerge, before she admitted that it was time to change tactics.

She cooked a piece of the fish next, a task that won her Cerberus’ undivided attention. She tempted the dog into the bedroom with one of the biscuits from the top shelf, then hurried out of the room and shut the door behind herself. She could hear Cerberus sniffing at the bottom of the door.

Annika put down the piece of fish and thought she heard rustling under the fridge. She held her breath and crossed her fingers, kept the cage at the ready and tried to will the ferret to emerge.

She glimpsed the pink tip of his nose in the same moment that Cerberus whined with frustration.

Percival vanished again.

That was the last time she saw him for a long while. Annika put the cooked fish in the fridge, ensuring it was on Leo’s side, and tried to figure out what to do.

There had to be a way.

In the meantime, she iced the brownies.

* * *

Thom hada bad feeling about coming home.

It was only reasonable to dread what he’d find when he unlocked the door. Cerberus, of course, would be her usual exuberant self. Had she terrified Percival in his absence? She wouldn’t hurt the ferret, but since he wasn’t used to dogs, she could give him a heart attack.

More importantly, had Leo called? Thom guessed not. The big question was whether Annika had figured out that Leo wasn’t going to show up at all.

What would happen after that? The prospect of emotional drama made Thom edgy. He really didn’t want to do Leo’s dirty work, but he couldn’t let Annika keep believing in that jerk for another night.

He took the stairs and stepped into the corridor. The stairwell was near the apartment. Everything was very quiet, which could be either a good or a bad sign.

Had Annika fallen asleep? Had she gone out?

Was she locking him out because she and Leo were at it?

He slipped his key into the lock and heard Cerberus whimper. That had him opening the door all the way in a flash. There was no sign of the dog, which made his heart skip a beat. The bedroom door was closed and he saw big shadows beneath the door.

Annika was crouched down in front of the fridge, staring at the bottom of it. She looked worried and pale, as if she maybe hadn’t eaten. Cerberus howled, confirming that she was in the bedroom and aware of Thom’s return.

Thom exhaled in relief.

There was only one good reason why Annika and Cerberus would be where they were.

“Percival,” Thom guessed, then he realized the apartment smelled like freshly-baked brownies. His stomach growled. Even though he didn’t often eat sweets, he loved brownies.

Annika pointed to the fridge. “He ran under there before lunch. I can’t get him out.”

“I told you: leash or cage.”

“He’s fast!” she protested. She stood up and pushed her hand through her hair, making it look even more like a chaotic jumble of curls. “The door popped open when Cerberus was near the cage. I guess Percival was frightened.”

“This is not her fault.”

“I didn’t say it was!”

“How long has she been in there?”

“Since noon.” Thom gave Annika a hard look and she flung out her hands. “What was I supposed to do?”

---