Page 65 of How to Flirt with a Hellhound
“Don’t worry, Bradley—I’m sure you’ll tell us everything we need to know,” I said, stalking toward him.
He was screaming within a minute, and Atlas and I found out everything we needed to within an hour. It didn’t matter, though. He would’ve hurt Toby, and his suffering wasn’t going to end that quickly.
We made it last.
Chapter 25
Toby
Corbin and Jude fed me and distracted me, and I talked to Amy, who was just fine, thank goodness. At some point I must have fallen asleep on the couch, because I woke up to Dex kneeling in front of me, gently caressing my hair. He was freshly showered, his hair still damp, and he was smiling softly at me.
“I love you,” he murmured softly.
“I love you too, Dex,” I answered. I sat up, blinking and rubbing my eyes. “Is it over?” I asked.
I didn’t want details, but I needed to know.
Dex nodded his head.
“And the guy… ” I trailed off, afraid of the answer.
“Jude and Corbin are headed to get him. We think he’s still alive,” Dex answered.
I shook my head, tears coming to my eyes. “That could’ve been me,” I whispered.
Dex grabbed me and hugged me tightly, and I didn’t know if it was for me or for him.
“What’s his name?” I asked.
“Jude said his name is Aiden,” Dex answered.
“We have to help him, Dex. Promise me we’ll help him,” I said. “I have money…”
“Money isn’t an issue. Jude and Corbin will bring him back here and we’ll see from there. He might have family he wants to go back to. We’ll make sure he gets whatever he needs. Don’t worry,” Dex assured me.
“When will you know?” I asked. I meant when would he know if the guy was alive, and Dex seemed to realize that.
“Jude will call as soon as they get there,” he answered.
He sat next to me on the couch, and we just sort of cuddled for a while. It felt really nice, but I knew we were both waiting for his phone to ring. When it finally did, I almost jumped out of my skin.
“Yeah,” he answered.
I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but his hand squeezed mine, and he nodded as he listened while Jude apparently filled him in.
“Good. I’m glad. What now?” Dex asked.
There was a pause as Dex listened, and this time I squeezed his hand. I felt like we were responsible for this guy, even though I knew that wasn’t rational. “Tell them to bring him here,” I whispered.
He listened again and then said, “Yeah. We’ll find him a good home. I have experience in placing strays.”
He rolled his eyes at whatever Jude said, then he hung up the phone.
“So, the guy is ok. He’s probably malnourished and dehydrated, but he doesn’t appear to be wounded other than that. They asked him about family or anyone looking for him, and it didn’t seem like that was the case. They debated bringing him to the human police, but Jude heard your suggestion and agreed. He said the guy isn’t very responsive and is probably in shock. My guess is that it hasn’t sunk in that he’s actually safe.The human police would probably just further traumatize him,” Dex explained.
I thought about that. The policewerethe best option. But this guy hadn’t had a say in anything that had happened to him for a year. When he got here, we’d let him decide.
“How long until they get back?” I asked.
