Page 53 of Wild Card
He smirked. “Well, maybe I’m feeling greedy. Fucking around with a deputy turns me on. It’s sowrong, don’t you think?”
Heat flashed through me, and I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted the copper of blood. Now was not the time or place to get hard for Axel. There was no proper time or place, not given his penchant for trouble with the law.
We were water and oil. Neither of us could change who we were, no matter how much we tried to mix. I needed to remember that.
The door opened, and Sherlee returned, saving me from my spinning thoughts.
She set a mug of coffee in front of me and handed a bottle of water to Axel. “Now, then, how about you tell me why you really asked for this meeting?”
Sherlee took the seat across from us, one eyebrow raised expectantly.
Axel shrugged. “Don’t ask me. Deputy Do-gooder here asked me to come in.”
Sherlee’s lips quirked with amusement. “Well, Deputy Harvey. Let’s hear it, then.”
I gave her the highlights of the dognapping situation that had prompted our visit. She tsked. “That would never happen if those pets were surrendered properly.”
“Exactly,” I said. “But Axel fosters these dogs, essentially. Surely, there’s a formalized program he could join so that he’d have some protections.”
“I don’t care about me,” Axel interjected. “But Banshee deserves better than to be stolen back and sold to the highest bidder. She was just settling in, and now she’s all antsy again.”
Sherlee clucked in sympathy. “You care about those animals, and I appreciate that. And you’re saving the shelter space and money. Don’t think I don’t see that. But as long as folks can just dump pets without guilt, they’ll keep doing it.”
Axel tensed beside me. I braced for an explosion.
“You’re saying I’m part of the problem?” he asked, voice soft and pained.
My hand strayed to his thigh, squeezing gently. I shouldn’t be touching him like this, but how could I not offer some comfort?
“Oh, sweetie,” Sherlee said, “it’s not your fault. Folks have been dumping their pets for much longer than you’ve been around. But you assuage their conscience, making it a bit easier for them.”
“Which is why I was thinking that Axel could join a program,” I said. “If there was a drop-off that was part of the shelter system, and Axel was a registered foster owner, could we bring this all in line?”
Sherlee drummed her fingers on the table as she pursed her lips in thought. After a moment, she shook her head. “I don’t think so. We’ve got a foster program, but it’s pretty flimsy because we don’t have staff or funding to devote to it. Our budget was cut by twenty percent for this fiscal year, and it’s taking a toll.”
“That’s a shame,” I said. “You deserve more support.”
Axel nodded along. “Politicians line their pockets while shorting good programs. They’re the real criminals.”
“At any rate, even if Axel registered with us, he’d have to bring the pets to the shelter for proper intake and hold periods during which the owners could reclaim their pets. He couldn’t be taking them off the street.”
“But that’s a waste of resources, isn’t it?” Axel said. “Why scare them and cage them up if they’re going to end up with me anyway? Besides, their asshole owners don’t deserve a second chance.”
I winced at his blunt delivery, but Sherlee only chuckled. “You’re preaching to the choir, honey. I hate the way people treat their pets like property rather than living creatures deserving of a home.” She sighed. “Maybe if we had more funding, we could expand and do more outreach, but as it stands, we’re falling back on animal rescues to take the dogs and cats we can’t accommodate so we don’t have to euthanize.”
Axel flinched at the word, and I couldn’t help but think of that little boy so afraid of being treated like these unwanted strays.
I almost regretted bringing him in today without learning more first.
Sherlee led us back to the lobby. “Axel, if you want to see the cats before you go, I can let you into the playroom?”
He brightened. “I’d love to see how they’re doing.”
She led us to the other side of the lobby, using her key card to open a room filled with yowling cats, each set up in its own kennel-style space.
“You can take them out one at a time,” she said.
Axel immediately approached a gray tabby, stroking its paws through the wire cage, then unhooking the door. The cat hopped out and strolled around the room. He sat down, cross-legged, and waited patiently for it to come near. He never forced an interaction, but eventually, the cat rubbed up against his leg.
