Page 26 of Junkyard Dog

Knew better but was too caught up in his own head to stop himself.

He was done for. And he knew it.

He’d screwed up orders all evening, his mind still clinging to the brief make-out session the night prior.

The way her knees tightened across his hips when he kissed her.

The gentle circling of her fingers through his hair.

Her pathetic attempt to cover up the yawn that ended things and placed him contentedly on the floor, Charlotte’s hand tucked into his as she crashed hard.

“Who is she?”

His gaze snapped up from the cooler and he rose, bowing his head in deference to Seph. “Who’s who?”

Seph tossed Hades a smile across the room before leaning closer to Alex. “Miss Charlotte? The woman we saw here the other day?”

Placing the beer bottles onto a tray, he bit his lip in feigned concentration. “I have a lot of women in here,” he stated, pulling a wad of papers from his back pocket and tossing them onto the counter. “See if you can find her in these.”

A perfectly manicured brow lifted. “Gravitating more toward Bo’s habits than Ryan’s, I see.” She opened each paper and meticulously folded them into a neat pile. “You look tired, honey. Hades and I are concerned.”

Printing off a tab for a table, he shrugged. “Maybe I’m getting too old to be pulling double-duty.” He grinned, hefting a full tray in his hand. “Go get comfortable and I’ll follow you with the wine.”

Seph returned to her booth, she and Hades quietly discussing him as he dropped off their glasses and circled the rest of the bar.

Tireddidn’t begin to describe how exhausted he was. Between work, the hunt, dating Charlotte, and guarding Charlotte, he was lucky to pull two hours of rest a day. He was running on autopilot, collecting meals and dropping them off while his mind sluggishly ricocheted between Charlotte’s lips and the unexplored park terrain he’d yet to cover.

Seph and Hades left with nothing more than a wave, the plates untouched save for a half-eaten chicken wing. By the time he rang out the last tab, he was a few hundred dollars richer and ready to be facedown on his bed. He drove home as the sun rose and walked straight into his tiny shower to rinse the odor of stale booze from his skin before he collapsed onto his mattress and glanced at his cell for any word from Charlotte.

He picked up his phone and fired off a quick text to her, knowing she wouldn’t receive it until she was out of the park in two hours.

“If you’re up for breakfast after work, call me.”

With a killer on the loose in the Tree, a two-hour nap was all he had time for.

*

Alex flexed hishands under the table as Charlotte hung up her phone and dug back into her chicken strips. “So they’re pairing you with a cop tonight?”

She nodded, rolling her eyes. “Yeah. The guy wasn’t at the briefing last night, but Max met him a few days ago and says he’s a total douchebag man-whore.” She grabbed the salt and poured an impressive amount on her fries. “Some Kevin guy. I’d call out sick if I wasn’t due back in an hour.”

Keeping his face expressionless, he poked at his own meal, his appetite gone once irrational jealousy set in. “Maybe it won’t be too bad,” he said, forcing himself to believe the platitude. “But, in case it is, maybe you should chow down on a ton of garlic and onions.”

She grinned. “If I’d known about this before we ordered, I’d definitely be on board for that.” She pushed what was left of her meal toward him. “You look way less tired tonight.”

“Yeah, well, the chick who was supposed to call me and wake me up for breakfast forgot, so I slept all damn day.” He smirked. “I don’t think she realized I was counting on her to be my rooster.”

Charlotte’s dark eyes narrowed. “Chick.”

“Woman,” Alex corrected, raising his hands in surrender. “Lady. Female.” He paused. “Hottie.”

“I’m armed, you know,” she warned, patting her hip. “And thiswomanwas on autopilot for the last three hours of her shift. You need a less overworked rooster.”

He flagged down the server, motioning for the bill. “I like the rooster I have, even if it is defective,” he replied, tapping her calf with his foot. “You better run. I’ll grab the tab and call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Thanks,” she said, hesitating as she walked past him. When she bent down to kiss him, the knot that had been forming in his stomach released slightly, his pulse speeding up with her proximity. “Have a fun night off!”

Taking his time to finish the last of her meal and his, he laid a wad of cash on the table and headed out to his SUV. He hit the highway, making his way to the western entrance of the park and pulling into a small turnout just outside the perimeter.

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