Page 59 of Junkyard Dog

“Charlotte.”

She looked over at Max, shielding her eyes from the truck’s headlights. “What?”

“Get up.”

Scrambling to her feet, she heard the cocking of three guns, Max and the agents aiming through the twin beams at a dark shadow approaching the vehicle. Butch’s ears lifted for a moment before he broke into a slow trot toward the intruder, his head slightly bowed.

“Don’t shoot Butch,” she warned, stepping farther from the truck to the sound of Max’s angered orders and the clipped demands of the agents behind her. “I’m not going out there,” she hissed, watching as the creature came into view. “Oh, wow.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Max groaned as Butch doubled back toward them, an identical dog hot on his heels. He dropped his gun to his side, de-cocking it and slipping it back into his holster. “This is the exact definition of bullshit, Chuck.”

The agents held position, the younger one shifting nervously as the newcomer circled him, butting his head against the man’s holster until he lowered his weapon.

She tracked the animal’s movements for any sign of aggression, holding her hand out for the new one to scent her. He padded over to her and nuzzled her fingers, flashing his teeth at Butch when he sidled up to her. Noting the familiar black collar on the newcomer, she crossed her arms. “Butch?”

Butch barked in response, then turned to growl at his companion. The second dog chuffed and paced in a circle before he stopped and responded, his bark coarser, less crisp. She put her hands on her hips. “You’re an imposter, aren’t you?” she scolded, flipping Max off when he began going off about hordes of wild dogs taking over the park. “Where did you two come from?” she muttered.

Butch rose up, nudging the other dog toward the brush. When the animal finally broke into a trot toward the ridge, Butch circled her once, sniffed her hand, and tore off after his companion.

*

Alex waited untilBo was dressed and untangled from the rope collar before he threw the first punch, gritting his teeth as the echo of his hit rumbled through his own jaw. “Stay away from her,” he growled. “One easy request.”

Bo’s head snapped back, his cheekbone bruising up instantly. He doubled back on Alex, catching him with one hit to the ribs and another to the gut. “I was doing you a fucking favor,” he yelled back, dodging another fist and hitting the ground when Alex booted his leg out from under him. “Holyfuck! The hell’s your problem?”

“It’s sick,” he snarled, jumping onto Bo in time for Bo’s knee to catch him in the kidney. They rolled across the sand as they struggled to catch their breath. “It’s not that hard, Bo,” he grunted, heaving his brother off him. “Get your twisted kicks out of someone else.” He rose to his feet only to get knocked back down as his fist made contact with Bo’s jaw, sending him stumbling backward.

Bo shook his head, rubbing his bruised face and making no move to continue the fight. “I was just keeping an eye on her,” he muttered, spitting blood onto the sand and wedging his finger into his mouth to check his teeth. “You’re fucking lucky you didn’t knock anything out.”

He pressed on his ribs, wincing when he realized he’d re-broken two. “Sure you were,” he panted, keeping one eye on his brother as he lay back to catch his breath. “More like aiming for another rubdown.”

“You know I have a weakness for a good ear scratching,” Bo said, angling himself to lie next to Alex. “Stop pressing on those fucking ribs. It hurts.”

He grunted. “It was one easy request.”

“And you were working while a Pirithous hunts around here,” Bo countered. “You called her cell eighteen times during the drive north. Another nine on the way back. I figured maybe keeping an eye on her would be a good idea in case the bloodline decided to do a double-header.”

“You broke my ribs again.” He glanced over at his brother. “You weren’t perving on her?”

Bo scoffed. “Of course I was. But in the most respectful way I could, given the circumstances.”

The pair lay in silence for a few minutes.

“We need to get this guy before the cops do.” Alex sighed. “It’s kind of snowballed out of control, hasn’t it?”

“We’ve dealt with this shit before,” Bo murmured, tossing his arm over his eyes. “Maybe you’re off your game because this may actually be it.” He peered over at Alex. “Kind of overwhelming, being this close to home, isn’t it?”

Home.

He thought back to his slip-up with Charlotte.

“Yeah. That’s probably it.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Alex pressed hisphone tighter to his ear, flipping his brother off as Charlotte’s overtired, overexcited voice carried through the small trailer.

“What if one’s a girl?” she exclaimed. “There might be puppies!”

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