Page 53 of Junkyard Dog

“You coming with me for a bit?” she asked, opening the back door of the truck. “I could use the company today.”

The beast’s head tilted as he regarded the open door. He padded closer to her, nudging her hand with his enormous head and chuffing when she scratched his ears. She knelt beside him and buried her face in the soft fur at his neck. “In you go, boy.”

Butch licked her hand, his ears perking up and tracking a sound she couldn’t hear. Turning tail, he bounded out of her reach and tore across the sand, disappearing over the ridge.

Chapter Nineteen

Alex looked upfrom his beer inventory, giving Thomas a quick wave.

“I’m old,” the man stated, setting his glass of water beside the grill. “When I see you back here, and then I see you walk in the front door seconds later, I question my mental competency.”

“Oh, right,” Alex exclaimed, rising to his feet. “Yeah, my brother’s in town for a while. He at the bar?”

Thomas nodded, pulling a pile of patties from the freezer. “Scared the hell out of me.” He laughed. “I mean, there’s twins, and then there’s twins.” He shook his head and pried a few patties apart. “Two of you. What does Charlotte think of that?”

He shoved the last of the beer cases against the wall and wiped his hands on his jeans. “Probably not too happy today,” he muttered, glancing over at Thomas. “Bo and I tied one on last night.”

“I figured that out hours ago.” Thomas grinned. “You’re sweating the booze out in buckets.”

He pushed through the doors, scooping a beer from the cooler and handing it to Bo without thinking. “I’m off in two hours,” he said, pouring a glass of water for himself.

Bo drained half the bottle and set it down with athunk. “Good. We’re going tracking when you’re done.” He eyed Alex suspiciously. “You do know where the Pirithous is holed up, right?”

Busying himself with realigning the bottles on the back shelf, he shook his head. “Been sitting on his location for a few nights. No movement.”

Finishing his first beer and tapping the bottle impatiently on the counter, Bo leaned forward. “None? This late in the second sighting? You aren’t saying that because you’ve been slacking on the job?”

Fixing his twin with a glare, he tapped Bo’s empty bottle. “I’m slacking?”

Bo licked his lips. “Know what I think? I think Ryan’s right about your little fuck buddy. I think there’s more to it and you’re screwing the rest of us over so you can play white-picket-fence.”

He tossed the cap of the second beer in the trash, his expression locked down. “What gave it away? The constant texts I got from that Allison woman this morning? The two women crawling all over me at that dirty apartment? Or is that the only reason you can think of for me not getting laid in the bathroom of some random woman’s apartment?”

Bo leaned back and guzzled the second beer, slamming the empty down. “I’ll be waiting for you back at the trailer,” he said, standing up and walking toward the door, pausing before he opened it. “Your girlfriend gives decent rubdowns,Butch.I see why you keep her around.”

*

Alex cranked theSUV’s air conditioner, waiting for Charlotte to answer.

“Hello?”

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. “Hey. How was work?”

“Fine.”

He flinched at her cold tone. “I just got off, and I need to get some stuff done with Bo, but could I maybe come by later?” He rubbed his jaw, trying fruitlessly to release the tension when her silence stretched out. “I have some groveling to do.”

Charlotte sighed. “No, you don’t. We aren’t actually dating, so groveling isn’t necessary.”

His head dropped forward. “Please? I want to make things right with my girlfriend.”

She went quiet again for a moment. “I’ll be up.”

He revved the engine and tore out of the lot, speeding through the side streets until he hit his trailer park. Creeping through the narrow paths, he parked and got out, flexing his hands at his side and opening his front door.

Bo was crashed out on the small sofa, his legs dangling over the edge into the dining room bench. He slipped past him and opened the bathroom door, sealing the shower off from the rest of the trailer and stepping under the cool spray.

Your girlfriend gives decent rubdowns, Butch.

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