AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I was hiding in the hedge, a dog came barreling straight toward me. Fear jolted my heart into my mouth. It had always made me feel worse to take someone when they had a dog, both because I was afraid of being bitten and because dogs loved their people, even the evil ones, so fiercely. I’d always been afraid of dogs and wished for one at the same time. But I’d never have dared to bring a pet into the Demon’s house. He wouldn’t have tolerated me having anyone but him.
The dog was baying fiercely, then slammed through the hedges and stared me down as if I were captured prey.
From inside the house, I heard someone ask, “What’s that goddamn dog hunting down now?”
Great. I never wanted to hurt an animal, but this was not a complication that I needed right now.
I stared the dog down as it snapped at me. Rottweiler, black with brown patches, ropey with muscle, and a face that might’ve been cute if it weren’t growling. It stopped just a few feet away from me and growled again, obviously ready to pounce. Its black ears were flattened back and its teeth flashed menacingly.
I dug in my pocket and pulled out the last bit of poison. It wouldn't hurt the dog, not permanently. I had to hope this was the only vicious attack dog that the house had besides Remington himself, of course.
I threw the poison into the dog's mouth as he jumped at me, knowing I only had one shot. His mouth snapped shut in shock. He lunged forward to attack me but collapsed in the dirt at my feet.
As soon as I was sure the dog wasn't going to attack me, I dragged it into the bushes, hiding it behind the hedge along the wall. From here, I could hear a man pacing around inside, talking on his cell phone.
Abruptly, he said, “I've got to go. Remington is here.”
I petted the dog absently as I listened. One of its big brown eyes rolled up to watch me as I gently stroked its coat.
“Good afternoon,” the man said.
“What do you want?” Remington demanded, his voice curt. Strained, almost.
“You’ve been lying to me.” The man’s fury sounded as if it were tightly lashed down but there right under the surface, and it made my stomach knot as if it were my own father. “You know that’s unacceptable. It’s one thing for you to manipulate, to lie, tothem.But I have to know the full truth so I am prepared when you fuck up…as usual.”
The sense that maybe I’d misread the whole situation prickled at the back of my neck. Something about Remington in this situation made me feel uneasy.
“There are consequences, Remington.”
“It looks as if there alreadywereconsequences.”
“That was just to get you here. I knew you’d be too much of a coward to face up to consequences without some…motivation.”
Remington heaved a sigh. “Let me get him out of there first. Then you can do whatever you called me here for.”
Him? Was Remington here to rescue the kid? Was this the opposite of what I’d thought?
“No. I think that ridiculous secret society of yours has made you arrogant. But this family made you who you are, and you might live outside it, but you’ll never leave it.”
“I guess you’ve never seen those refrigerator magnets that sayfriends are the family you choose,”Remington said mildly.
“Why are you always such a fucking idiot?”
“A question that I ask myself every day.”
“Always making everything into a joke. Well, make this into a joke, Remington.”
I couldn’t see whatever made Remington go silent. I tried to move into position to see through the window, but decided the voices were too close to the window and it was too dangerous. My curiosity wasn’t as important as protecting the kid inside.
I decided I had to go in and get him while Remington and this asshole distracted each other. Worst case scenario, at least I was able to help the kid.
I made it to the front door and got in, knowing there were video cameras watching me–Remington’s kind loved cameras–but the footage wouldn’t matter until later. The mansion wasn’t quite grand enough to suggest it had its own human security twenty-four-seven.
When I let myself into the grand two-story foyer, with dark tiled floors underfoot, I heard someone vacuuming on the second floor, but there were no housekeepers in sight. I moved quietly and swiftly down the hall, briefly taking in lots of framed paintings on the walls and expensive furniture.
The door to the room Remington and the man were in was open, so I hesitated for a second to one side of the doorway, then moved swiftly and silently across the opening. Speed was my friend here.
And curiosity was my enemy, yet I glanced to the right as I stepped. I caught the briefest glimpse of Remington’s gaze meeting mine, Remington’s bare chest, the man behind him. For just a second, Remington’s gaze seared into mine.
