Page 20 of Pitbull
His parents and Claudia thought it was hilarious once they got the fire out. Pitbull was horrified.
With their father, it was piano and guitar—filling the house with music that was older than both children combined.
Their family life hadn’t been perfect, but it was damned close.
Then tragedy struck, and Pitbull and Claudia were left spinning their wheels, trying not to let the darkness win. Pitbull had been successful—Claudia—not so much.
“Are you and the good doctor an item?” Anke asked.
Pitbull turned to glance at her before looking back to the road. He did expect her to ask that. Anke hadn’t been the first to mistake what he was to Mack and vice-versa. They grew closer since Mack’s return from working overseas as a member of Hope’s Doctors.
Still, Pitbull couldn’t help the heat that swirled inside him because of her misunderstanding. There was something almost possessive in the way Anke asked the question. Unable to stop himself, he stole another look at her. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh—um—no reason. Just curious, really.”
“I see.” Pitbull smirked darkly. “Are you jealous, Ms. Fischer?”
“Why would your mind automatically go there?” Anke sounded irritated. “You’re not God’s gift to women, you know?”
“I didn’t say I was and I don’t hear you denying it.”
“Well, I am—denying it, I mean. I asked because you two seemed super friendly.”
“We are.”
Pitbull didn’t say anything else. He looked over at her once they were at a red light but Anke merely folded her arms across her chest and turned her eyes outside. He smiled then and refocused on the road. It’d been a while since he was alone with a woman like this. Unusually, they were suspects or Miracle and Barbie. It dawned on him then, his life was a pathetic, lonely mess and he needed to go out more.
This whole adulting thing blows—hard.
“Do you think she’s going to be okay?”
“Claudia will be fine.”
“Not her—the girl you brought in to the hospital. And how many of them have you brought in?”
“Too many.” Pitbull’s voice cracked. “They are someone’s mother, daughter—someone’s Claudia. But most often than not, it’s a job in futility because they just wind up on the street again. They’re adults, so you can’t force them to go to rehab, jail doesn’t work—most times the only thing to stop them from destroying themselves, is death.”
“That’s horrible.”
“It’s reality.”
Pitbull suddenly felt as if the world was on his shoulder. He thought back to the picture of Claudia at Anke’s place and wondered if Claudia had indeed been clean. He prayed that had been true, but what other reason could there be to have a bounty on her head? If she had been clean it would rule out owing a drug dealer money or in debt to a pimp.
What did it all mean? Was Deniz telling the truth? A man could say anything when he knew the other had a gun.
Pitbull grunted. His head was beginning to hurt like the devil.
Arriving at his house, he gave Anke the tour then showed her to the room she’d be using until he either found Claudia or figured something out. He sat in the office chair and closed his eyes while his brain tried escaping his skull.
“You okay?”
“I get these tension headaches…” Pitbull moaned and massaged his temple. “This whole thing is driving me insane.”
“Here.” Anke’s soft footsteps carried her closer until her soft fingers took over against the sides of his head. “It’s better when someone else do it.”
Pitbull sighed and relaxed under her gentle ministrations. He couldn’t believe how good it felt having her soft fingertips rolling the hurt to the very back of his mind. For the first time in a long while, he allowed himself to be lulled by a woman’s touch. Sure, she was only doing it to help him, alleviate the ache, but he’d accept it and carry it with him.
Anke dragged her hands down the sides of his head to his neck. She didn’t stop kneading, even as she reached his shoulders. Pitbull tilted his head to one side.
