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“I think he found himself another sucker,” Bennett said when she stood, still cradling the funny little dog in her arms. “He found me, and I sure as hell couldn’t resist him.”
“Did you get him from a senior shelter or something?” She was still rubbing his gray muzzle and digging her fingers down into his fluffy fur.
“From a crime scene, actually.” He grinned when her brows shot up. “I used to be on the police force. His owner had been killed. Since there weren’t any family members stepping up to take him, he was destined for the pound. I just couldn’t let it happen.” He reached out and scratched Rambo’s ear, but the dog was completely taken with Stephanie.
“He’s very grateful,” she said with a smile.
“I should hope so, considering how much I pay for his special senior dog food. Speaking of, come in the kitchen. I think we could both use some dinner.”
“Isn’t there something we should be doing?” she asked as she followed him.
Bennett opened the fridge. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. I guess it just feels strange to run away from three people who were trying to kill us and then just go have dinner.” She perched on a bar stool, still holding Rambo.
“You have to eat, even when the chips are down.” He pulled several containers out and set them on the counter. “I learned that a long time ago. You can’t think straight when you’re hungry.”
“I guess that’s true. Is there anything I can do to help?”
He didn’t want to ask for any help at all. Not from her. Not when he’d completely changed her life in the span of an hour. “You can feed Rambo if you want. That bin right over there has his food in it. He gets one scoop, and don’t let him con you out of any more. His twiggy little legs won’t hold him up if he gets any fatter.”
“Come here, baby,” she crooned as she brought the dog over to his bowl and set him down gently. “All right, now you’ve given me a moment to look at the flooring and the architecture.”
“And?” He’d always just picked things he liked. It wasn’t like anyone else really ever saw the place. It was different with her, though.
“And I’m guessing your vigilante work—or whatever you’d prefer to call it—must pay the bills just fine.” She crossed to the sink and washed her hands.
“The dirty work always pays the best because no one else wants to do it.” He gave her a bowl of shredded lettuce and offered the numerous toppings. “I’ll let you put on whatever you’d like.”
Stephanie looked over the offerings of chicken, black beans, guacamole, and tomatoes. “You like to eat healthy?”
“Not always, but I figured you did.” With his bowl in hand, he led the way to the table.
“How long have you been doing this, anyway?” Stephanie stirred the contents of her bowl, making sure the guac was evenly spread over everything. “Unless you’re sick of having to explain every little thing to me.”
“No, that’s fine.” Looking at her across the table, Bennett knew what he felt inside. It’d never really left. He’d just been able to shove it down. That was no longer possible now that she was right there, and he’d explain any detail she wanted as long as it meant she was still right there, right within arm’s reach.
Damn, it felt good to have her in his home.
5
She shouldn’t be this comfortable around him. He’d taken everything she’d ever learned in school and turned it on its head. Then he’d taken the safe and secure lifestyle she thought she was leading and completely reversed that as well. She’d been absolutely terrified, as anyone in their right mind would be once they’d found out someone was trying to kill them. As soon as she’d worked on her breathing techniques, though, she’d known that Bennett himself wasn’t the problem.
Or, at least, not that kind of problem.
Being around him felt too damn good. It shouldn’t, considering everything else. But just as she’d noticed back at her clinic, something inside her felt differently. It made her feel safe. Comfortable. Stephanie found herself studying the lines of his hands or the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. It didn’t hurt that she’d felt the warm happiness Rambo had exuded as soon as he’d realized his person was home. Stephanie knew the best way to judge someone was by the way animals acted around them, and Rambo had certainly given Bennett his stamp of approval.
They were little things, but they all added up. She should be figuring out how she was going to get herself out of this situation instead of sitting down to eat and chatting about their work histories.
“I’ve been doing this for several years now. It’s not the kind of thing you get anniversary plaques for.” He quirked his mouth into an ironic grin as he stabbed his fork through his salad. “Like I said before, I was on the police force. I did well, and I was promoted to detective. The problem with that is sometimes the people higher up on the chain don’t want you to actually do your job.”
“What do you mean?” Stephanie could easily see him as a police officer. He’d always been the kid who wanted to fight for what was right, standing up against bullies in school and making sure that others didn’t get picked on. It didn’t even matter if he knew the other kids. He just saw a situation and always seemed to know how to handle it.
“The key word of organized crime is ‘organized.’ They have everything all laid out, and they follow a plan. That makes it easy for the right person to pick up on because there are patterns if you’re paying attention. But that organization also means they’ve taken care of anyone who might stand in their way, including police chiefs.” His brows drew down as he spoke.
The nervousness that Stephanie had felt before came roiling back into her stomach. It was terrifying to know someone wanted to kill you, even more so to know no one might be able to help.
“I knew it had to be the Bloodmoon Crew, even before I had any true evidence against them. I went to my chief, presented my case, and told him what I wanted to do. That was my job, right? That was what I was supposed to do. But he blew me off, told me it wasn’t worth the department’s time, and that I was making up drama where there wasn’t any. It didn’t take long to figure out that he was in cahoots with them.”
