Page 113 of Outlaws of Tulsa

“Listen,” I say gently. “These dogs aren’t like the ones that meth fucker owned. They’re only vicious when provoked and extremely protective. Hansel and Gretel are intuitive. They can sense you’re afraid and are worried about you.”

“They can probably sense how you want to rape and kill me too,” she hisses. “Please make them go away.”

I motion for the dogs to approach. They’re curious about Stormy but a little apprehensive too. Hansel reaches her first, nosing at her blanket covered foot. Gretel whimpers from behind him.

“This is Stormy,” I tell my dogs. “You have to protect her.”

Stormy tenses against me. “Like they’ll listen.”

I grip her hand tight, pulling it forward. She’s frozen in fear as Hansel sniffs her fist. Then, he licks it. Gretel mimics his action, familiarizing herself with Stormy’s scent.

“Speak to them,” I tell Stormy.

“No.”

“If you speak to them, I’ll let you come into my office with me.”

She tilts her head up to look at me. “Will you carry me?”

I’d thought this girl would try and get to me using her pussy that I know she wields like a weapon. Turns out, she’s going to use her vulnerability instead—something I didn’t even know she had. And, because I’m not the sick fucker she thinks I am, I’m going to let her use me.

Fuck.

“Yeah, little storm, I’ll carry your bratty ass.”

Stormy

Fear consumes me, but the dogs don’t do anything but stare at me, as though they’re waiting for me to say hello. Both of them whine, but they’re well-behaved and obey Copper’s command.

“Don’t bite me,” I say to the dog closest to me.

Copper laughs and I don’t hate the sound. I never have. What sucks about being undercover all those months is I actually grew to like those bastards. Some more than others. Knowing Bermuda probably hates me is gutting. He reminds me a lot of my little brother, so it fucking sucks losing him.

“Talk to them. Blue collar is Hansel and pink collar is Gretel.” He reaches out to scratch behind Hansel’s ears that point straight up in the air. “Go on, little storm.”

I sneak a look at Copper as he smiles fondly at his dogs. Same smile he gets when he watches Nees, his son and prospect, at the Q—our monthly family barbeques.

Family.

I’d grown to think of them that way, hence why I blew my cover with Hadley. She was like a little sister—like my own little sister—and I couldn’t let them destroy her. It was all for naught, though. I should have known Koyn wasn’t going to hurt her. As soon as I stared him in the eye when he used her as a shield, I’d seen it.

Love. Loyalty. Fierce protectiveness.

And if it weren’t for that love toward her, my ass would be dead.

“Hi, Hansel,” I murmur. “Hi, Gretel.”

Hansel barks, causing me to squawk, burying my face into Copper’s arm. He smells like cologne and leather. The smell is calming.

“He said hi back,” Copper says. “Come on. We have work to do.”

True to his word, he scoops me up like I weigh nothing. I try not to look too closely at my captor. Of all the guys who could have taken me, Copper seems the sanest. Koyn and Dragon scare the shit out of me. And Filter…

Guilt clogs my throat. I used him. Slept with him and pretended to be stupidly in love with him. Filter is fucking hot and his body is built like a god, so it wasn’t a total hardship. Certainly beat having sex with any of my past lovers. At least Filter knew how to service a lady. Problem with Filter and I was he kept me at arm’s length. Never made me his ol’ lady. I think, deep down, he probably saw through my façade. If he got his hands on me now, I shudder to think what he would do for revenge.

“Why are you being nice?” I ask as we enter a room that must be his office based on the impressive oak desk and iMac sitting on top. “If we’re honest, I expected the same treatment as those men tonight.”

He sits me down in the chair across from his desk. “We’re assholes, but we don’t torture women.”

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