“Looks like you picked the right team,” I murmured.
Her tail thumped once in agreement.
I let myself breathe. The night air was cold and the chaos contained, at least for now. I wasn’t exactly sure what would happen next, but I knew the lab was going down. That meant, for the first time in a long while, my ending wasn’t messy, drowning in rain, or racing toward another disaster.
It was just…good.
And I held on to that feeling as long as I could.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Lexi
We all squeezed into Gray’s SUV with Gray driving, Basia in the front passenger seat, and Barbie, Gwen, Ginger, Tootsie, and me crammed in the back. Ginger sprawled across us like a golden weighted blanket, while Tootsie insisted on standing with her front paws on Barbie’s shoulders, joyfully licking her face.
“I’m so happy,” Barbie said, laughing, as she scratched behind Tootsie’s ears. “A month. I went a month thinking my baby was dead. This may be the best night I’ve ever had in my life, professionally and personally.”
“It was pretty cool,” Gray said from the driver’s seat. “The plan went off nearly perfectly. You did a great job, Barbie. You took the biggest risk and had nerves of steel. You’d make a great operative.”
“The risk was worth everything to get her back,” Barbie said, touching her nose to Tootsie’s. “But I couldn’t have done it without your help. You guys were brilliant. I still can’t believe what we did. My friends and I spent years trying to bring that place down. Then you guys waltz in and do it in one weekend.”
“We just helped,” I said. “You and your friends did the hardest part. Years of careful documentation, pressure, photographs, and constant monitoring. That’s what’s going to shut them down for good. We just accelerated the timeline.”
“Either way, I’m grateful I trusted you.”
“Likewise,” I said. “It’s been a really busy evening.” I looked down at Ginger, snoring softly, still stretched out across our laps.
“You know, I’ve got to say, this weekend wasn’t just cool,” Gray said with a smile. “It was fun.”
“Yes, an absolutely stellar bachelorette party,” Basia added. “Far superior in terms of fun than any bachelor party the guys might be having, especially since we saved numerous animals, protected national security, and brought down a crooked lab. The boys won’t even come close.”
Gwen sighed in contentment. “I’ll never forget it.”
“Me neither,” Basia said. “But what are we going to do with Ginger? What if they coming looking for her again?”
“We need to get those chips out of her,” Gwen said. “But we’d have to find a vet willing to remove a couple of microchips without asking a lot of questions.”
“We have a vet,” I said. “Dr. Partridge. I vote we head there before we go back to the penthouse. And since this certain vet’s practice is open all night, it doesn’t matter that it’s five in the morning.”
“That, Lexi, is an excellent idea,” Gray said, reaching over to reprogram her GPS.
“But what about afterward?” Basia persisted. “Are we just dropping Ginger off at a random shelter? Or is one of us taking her home?”
The car fell silent and I felt all eyes lock on me. Even Gray stared intently at me via the rearview mirror.
“It should be you, Lexi,” Barbie said quietly. “At least be her temporary foster. She’s clearly attached to you the most. It would provide significantly less stress if you were the one. That’s coming from not only a dog owner, but a friend.”
I heard her words, but they swam in in my brain. Temporary foster? Me?
I didn’t foster. I didn’t even like animals. Animals were loud, smelly, had loads of germs, and did not understand personal space. Not to mention, if I brought home a dog, I’d have to explain to Slash how that happened, and I wasn’t sure I knew how to do that. I couldn’t refer to the marriage rules because nothing had ever been added about bringing home stray animals. Frankly, it’d never crossed my mind that this could happen.
And yet Ginger sighed sleepily and tucked her head against my stomach like she belonged there. I tightened my hold without thinking.
“I guess I can foster her…temporarily,” I murmured.
Everyone started cheering, which woke Ginger. She blinked and immediately tried to sit up, somehow managing to squash us all in the process.
“I have dog hair everywhere,” I complained, brushing at my lap and shirt with zero results. The fur clung stubbornly, like it belonged there.
