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12
River
The next morning,I wake up late. At least this time there aren’t any lingering nightmares to fuck with my head, and I know where I am when I open my eyes.
I get dressed quickly in shorts and a tank top and head downstairs, determined to keep acting like I own the place and not show any uncertainty around these guys. It might be their house, but they dragged me here, so I’m going to make the most of it.
The first person I see is Ash, grumbling as he steps out of one of the downstairs bathrooms. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him not wearing a shit-eating grin, and I lift an eyebrow at him in question as I come to a stop.
“Don’t start,” he grumbles, scowling a little.
“What crawled up your ass and died?”
“Your fucking dog,” he says. “You didn’t say he wasn’t house broken.”
I just shrug. As far as I know, Dog has never even been in a house before. “What did he do?”
“He shit at the foot of the stairs, and I stepped in it when I came down this morning.”
His lips turn down in a pout, like he expects some sympathy, and I just laugh in his face.
“Dog!” I call. “Come here!”
Even though he’s definitely not trained to respond to commands, the dark brown mutt comes trotting over, his tail already wagging. This is probably the most attention he’s ever gotten in his life.
“Good boy.Verygood.” I pet his head, and he looks up at me with adoring eyes. “You want some breakfast? Let’s see what we can find.”
“Pest,” Ash grumbles. “That’s what I’m gonna start calling him. Because it’s what he is.”
“Great idea. I’m sure that won’t make him shit directly into your shoes next time,” I say sweetly over my shoulder and head for the kitchen.
It’s one of those nice ones with plenty of counter space and gleaming appliances, and I half hope Dog shits in here too. I dig through the fridge and find some leftover Chinese food, which I drop on the floor in its plastic container.
Dog doesn’t waste any time, rushing over to it to start devouring the food. I pull a bowl from the dish rack by the sink and fill it with water, setting it down next to Dog for when he’s finished.
I don’t even know why I started feeding the damn mutt a few months ago, when he first started sniffing around me when I came and went from the apartment building. But the fact that having him around pisses off the guys just makes me like him even more.
There’s a pot of coffee already on, and I hunt down a mug and fill it, drinking it black.
Gage comes in a few minutes later, looking at Dog with distaste before zeroing in on me. “What are you going to do today about killing Ivan?” he asks right out of the gate.
I flip him off, taking a slow sip of my coffee before I answer him. “You don’t have to get up my ass about it,” I say. “I have some recon to do.”
“Like what?” he presses, clearly not satisfied with my answer. “Give me more than that.”
“Remember our deal,” I tell him. “I don’t have to give you anything.”
“This is allowed,” he insists. “It’s not about pasts, it’s about the present. About whether you have any valid leads on finding out where Ivan’s vulnerable points are.”
I curl my fingers tighter around my mug and huff at him in irritation. It sucks to admit, but… I don’t have any leads. Not that I want to tell Gage that.
He doesn’t seem to need the confirmation anyway. He glowers at me and marches out of the kitchen, coming back a moment later with a jacket slung over his arm. “Come with me.”
“I’m not your fucking dog,” I snap. “I don’t come when you say to. And this is my fucking mission, my project. Don’t think you can just take over.”
He just gives me a hard look, and I clench my jaw.
Shit. As fucking annoying as it is, I can’t turn down any possible help getting to Ivan, so I follow Gage when he heads out to one of the cars he and the guys own.
