Page 20 of Beware of Dog

“I know, I know,” she said, when Melissa started to interject. “I should have told Jamie. Ididtell her that Sig was a tool and she shouldn’t want to hang out with him. Whichenragedher. She didn’t speak to me all week.

“Then I walked in today and found her crying, and she told me she ran into Sig at the coffeehouse and went home with him, and…” She flapped her arms out to the side. “Thishappened.”

Melissa folded her arms and scrunched her mouth back and forth, rendering judgement. “It’s not your fault,” she said, finally. “You couldn’t have known Jamie would seek him out, or that he’d dothis.”

Cass was surprised; she’d felt sure that Melissa would agree that her negligence had fueled the whole calamity.

But she wasn’t expecting what Melissa said next. “But you’re the reason Pongo got picked up by the twenty-fourth precinct this week.”

“Um…what?”

“The Blackmons went into the Two Four a few days ago, saying someone had roughed up their precious Siggy, and they had the perp on their security cameras: a guy wearing a Lean Dogs’ cut. A patrol unit saw Pongo walking on the street and scooped him up.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.” Melissa didn’t sound upset, so that probably meant it had all turned out okay. “The Blackmons tried to insist it was Pongo in the video, ‘til I showed up and demanded to see the footage. Then they backtracked. The detectives over there tried to get Pongo to flip on whichever brother did the deed, but he wouldn’t.”

“He’s not in serious trouble, is he?”

“No.And.” She made a frustrated face. “He wouldn’t tell me who thought it was a brilliant idea to go into a millionaire’s townhouse flying club colors.”

“Well. You know. Bros before hoes,” Cass attempted to joke.

Melissa’s gaze sharpened, stabbing her with the full detective force. “It was Shep, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know!” Cass threw up her hands. “I had no idea it happened until you told me just now.”

Melissa frowned. “You didn’t sic him on Sig?”

“No! Why would I do that?!”

Melissa only said, “Huh,” heedless of Cass’s inner turmoil.

What in the bloody hell, Shep? The moment she got out of here…

“In any event,” Melissa said, “we need to get Jamie to the hospital ASAP and pray for DNA, because the Blackmons willremember me, and if they find out there’s any sort of a Dog connection, this case is about to get real complicated real fast.” Her gaze narrowed. “Does Sig know you’re club family?”

“No…I don’t think so. I never told him.”

Melissa nodded. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

~*~

Melissa drove them to the hospital, and spoke with the sexual assault nurse who came to examine Jamie. When the nurse pulled the curtain shut and asked for some privacy, Melissa went off to handle a phone call.

Cass shot Jamie a thumbs-up as the curtain sealed her off, then pulled out her own phone and booked it down the hallway.

Shep picked up on the third ring, out of breath. “What?”

“Ew, are you shagging someone?”

“What?” He let out a harsh exhale and she heard a loud metallic clang. Voices called in the background over the low thump of music. She realized where she’d caught him before he said, “No, I’m at the gym.”

“When are you ever not at the gym?” It left her lips as a complaint, but a vision of his white t-shirt clinging to the well-developed muscles of his back popped into her head and almost threw her completely off course. She wondered what he wore at this mythical gym he was always going to. Her imagination provided a lovely little tank top fantasy, the kind with the arm holes cut so deep his ribcage showed.

“Whenever you’re not demanding I bail your ass out of a stupid situation,” he shot back. “What is it this time?”

She gave herself a mental shake and refocused. “This time it’s your stupid situation. Did you go to Sig’s house andsmack him around? While wearing yourcut? Did you get Pongoarrested?”

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