I shook my head. “Hugo. Isn’t. Our. Dog.”
“We’ll see,” Em said, as if she wasn’t talking about stealing someone’s beloved pet.
“I was hired because this dog was already abducted once,” I pointed out.
She waved a hand dismissively. “Details.”
When I laughed, she joined in. Her phone chimed several times in a row. When she looked down, her expression went from surprised to Hugo levels of excitement.
“Hot date?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, even better. Someone dropped out of that acting retreat I was waitlisted for. I’m in!”
“That’s great! Is this the one up north?”
She nodded her head, then jumped up. “I’ve got to pack! It starts tomorrow. I need to drive up there tonight.”
“I’ll help,” I said, giving Hugo a little pat before putting him on his feet.
He stayed with us during the whirlwind packing. I thought I’d have to be careful he didn’t get loose, but when he slipped through a partially open door, all he did was run to me and stay on my heels.
Oh god, it was going to be so hard to give him up.
When we were all done, I picked him up and held him against me with one arm while waving goodbye to Em with the other. After her car disappeared, I looked down at Hugo.
“I guess it's just you and me, big guy.”
His answer was to sneeze in my face. Laughing, I wiped my face off with my sleeve and headed back inside.
With Em gone, the condo felt empty.
I looked down at the dining table covered in my study materials. I should sit down and do some work, but I knew that wasn’t going to be enough to distract me from what I’d seen.
Hugo wiggled in my arms, reminding me that I wasn’t alone and there were more items to pull out of my car. I hadn't broughteverything in after I realized how much I'd bought. I’d been a little embarrassed.
With Em gone, there was no reason not to finish.
“Let’s go get all your goodies,” I said, setting him down and grabbing my keys.
By the time I was done, Hugo had two beds, two sets of stairs to make it easy for him to get on the couch and my bed, and an entire bag of doggie toiletries.
Setting the bag down in the bathroom, I looked down at him. “Em's going to be gone for a week. If Gale doesn’t get back to me by the time Em gets back, you’re mine.”
He barked and turned in a tight circle.
“I’m glad we agree!”
I heard angry voices outside, a surprising occurrence in this quiet neighborhood. Curious and nosy, I made my way back to the living room, planning to find out if I could see the drama from the front window.
The voices got louder as I left the bathroom and the next thing I knew, the front door burst open and Marduk stomped in with a frustrated Danzig right behind him.
The moment the men saw me, they both stopped. Marduk looked relieved, but anxiety was radiating off Danzig.
“You’re safe!” Marduk breathed out and moved closer.
I held a hand out, stopping him in his tracks.
“No! No way! What do you think you’re doing?” I looked past him at my broken front door.
