Page 500 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

I round the corner and walk into the front of the rescue to find a tall guy, probably in his early twenties, standing in the center of the space. I stare at him, my brow furrowing.

He looks vaguely familiar.

But then again, I see so many people every day, between living in Vegas, going to school, and working between the vet hospital and the rescue.

Still, an uncomfortable sensation twists my gut.

He’s staring at the floor, wringing his hands together, looking as anxious as I feel, and the hand clutching the pepper spray in my pocket starts to sweat.

“Can I help you?” I say with forced cheeriness.

He finally looks up, turning a sad pair of brown eyes toward me and my throat tightens. Shit. I’ve seen those eyes before, but they were in no way sad. I’ve seen that blue hoodie, too.

One step closer and I’m going to spray the shit out of you, asshole!

“I, uh, I’m looking for a dog. I lost mine…he died about three weeks ago, and I’d had him since I was a kid. He was a rescue. It’s been really hard. I’ve been kind of a mess since it happened. I brought him with me when I moved here a few years ago and now he’s gone. My family isn’t around. I guess you could say he was my only real friend here.”

A sad smile lifts his lips. “And I know it’s early, but I was just out for a walk, going on the same route we used to take together at the same time, and I saw a guy out walking his dog. A chocolate lab, just like Jake.”

He’s rambling a little bit, but the devastated expression on his face makes me unclench the pepper spray. “I kind of thought it was a sign, you know? Like it was Jake telling me to move on and find another dog to save. So I came straight here.” He looks around at the half-lit foyer. “Can I check out your dogs?”

“Well, yes, we don’t usually get adoption requests this early,” I say with a smile. “And there’s a lot of paperwork to be done during the process as well, so it’ll take some time to get everything squared away.”

He nods. “I’m sorry,” he says in a soft voice. “I didn’t even realize the time. I’ve been in kind of a fog since he’s been gone.” He runs a hand through his curly, dark-blonde hair. “Do you know what it’s like to lose the one real friend you have?”

My shoulders relax slightly. Okay, so even if I am being incredibly paranoid right now and he is the guy I’d seen in the casino at the Montepremi, what if I’d seen him right after his dog died? The timelines match up. Hell, I’d have been pissed off at the world if my best friend was taken from me, too.

I release my grip on the pepper spray. He just misses his dog. “I’m sure it’s really difficult, and I’d love to help you find another one. But only the rescue manager can officially sign off on adoptions. She should be here soon, though. She will examine the animal for you if you find one that you connect with, and set you up so you can take it home this morning.” I nod toward the animal cages in the back. “They’re starting to wake up now if you want to take a look?”

He nods, his lips curling into a sad smile. “I think I’m ready.”

A pang assaults my heart. How hard must it be for him to even be here? Seeing all of those animals must bring back a lot of painful memories. “Are you sure?” I ask. “Because if you want, we can just?—”

“No,” he says in a stern voice, his face tensing up. He closes his eyes for a second and when he opens them, the deflated expression is back. “I’m sorry, I know you’re trying to help. I just figured bringing home another dog would help me through this. I don’t want to wait anymore.”

I swallow hard, looking up at the security cameras. Yes, they’re picking up on all of this but Allie, the manager who is also our on-call doctor, is en route here right now. She’s not looking. We don’t have a lot of money for fancy security systems.

And just like that, my mind trips back to Zeno.

I don’t think I’d worry about any disturbances if he was here wearing his little earpiece.

I grit my teeth. Ugh, focus on the issue at hand! Weirdo guy who needs a new dog.

I think I’ll go straight to Vito’s cage. If anything, his natural instincts might kick in and he can tear this guy to shreds if he tries anything.

I point down the hallway, not even for a second considering leading him into the room with the cages. “You can go ahead back. I’ll just grab my clipboard.”

He pauses for a second and then follows my directions.

Clipboard? I don’t have a damn clipboard.

But I do have a nice, sharp pair of scissors in my top drawer, so I run into my office, grab them, and stuff them into my back pocket, along with my phone.

Most of the time, working here at the rescue is uneventful. I feed the animals, bathe them, walk them, and give them their medication when they need it. Allie has become my mentor since I started and she’s taught me so much in the short time I’ve been here. Under her guidance, I’ve done a lot to prepare me for vet school.

But this place hasn’t trained me to be an assassin, that’s for sure. At best, I’ve had to ward off drunks who wander in after day-drinking and losing all of their cash at the casinos. They’re belligerent, but I never worry that they’re going to kill me.

I dial Allie’s number really fast before going to the animals. “Hey, are you on your way?” I ask in a hushed whisper when she answers.

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