Page 166 of Papa's Bébé
“I’m trying to believe that. I tried to push Livvy away but she seemed to think our lives were entwined since I helped her. And then she brought Millie in. I don’t think . . . well, I don’t think I ever had a chance of keeping Millie at a distance.”
She hadn’t intended to make another friend. But Millie had a way of getting what she wanted, while making you think it was what you desired. It was definitely a skill.
“No, I doubt that you did,” he said, sounding amused. “Millie is definitely a force of nature.”
“Do you know her well? Her man? Spike?”
“Not well, no. But I’ve met them both a few times. Same with Livvy and Sav. I know Ink and Betsy the best. They’re good people. All of the members of the Iron Shadows are. The men love their women, they protect them. Everyone takes care of each other.”
It sounded nice. Like a family.
The sort of family she’d want to belong to.
“Don’t push Livvy and Millie away because you’re scared. Although, I think you’ll find that they won’t be pushed away easily, anyway.”
Yeah, she thought he was right.
34
Maya couldn’t sit still.
She paced up and down her bedroom with her phone in her hand. Shouldn’t she have heard from Millie by now?
It was late Saturday afternoon and Millie had followed David home after the puppy yoga class.
Her phone buzzed and she checked her messages.
Millie:This is bad. Way worse than we thought.
Oh no.
What did that mean? A couple of photos came through. One was of an older house with long grass out front. It looked rundown and like the owners just didn’t care about appearances. The other images seemed to be taken from a higher vantage point.
Were those dogs in the backyard? There were so many!
And then another photo came through that had to have been taken through a dirty window.
More dogs. Stuck in a room.
Shit.
A puppy farm?
Millie:There are so many puppies here. I’ve managed to count twenty. It’s wrong. Just wrong. We have to do something.
Livvy:Millie, were you up a tree? And did you sneak onto the property to get that last photo?
Millie:Of course!
Livvy:Shit! I wish I’d been able to come with you. Wyatt just finished vomiting and is finally asleep.
Poor Livvy had beenunable to go to the class because Wyatt was ill. Which had left Millie on her own. Not necessarily a great idea as Maya was now learning.
Maya:Millie, you could get caught by these people. You need to be really careful.
If these peoplewere overbreeding dogs, they wouldn’t take kindly to someone spying on them. Or reporting them.
Millie:Who cares about that? Some of these puppies don’t look like they’re in good shape. Most of them are being kept in one room inside the house. They were outside before but there’s not enough space for them all.
