AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Princess.
Fuck me. A kid, now this. At least I’d been warned.
I pulled into the parking lot, glaring out the windshield. The place looked like a dump on steroids. I never knew concrete could become that shitty looking.
“Mr. Masters. What is this place?”
Mr. Masters. I shook my head. I couldn’t leave her in the car. I should have thought this out better. “You can call me Hunt if you prefer.”
“I don’t like that name.” She said the words so quickly I sensed there was an issue.
“How about Savage?” Why the hell did I just ask my four-year-old niece to call me a name given for my preferred method of eliminating my enemies? I knew I wasn’t going to be good doing this shit.
“Oh!” she squealed. “I like that name. Savage. Savage. Savage.”
At least she’d forgotten her original question. “Come on, honey. Let’s see if we can get Princess.” I climbed out, immediately regretting bringing her here. There had to be a hundred damn dogs barking and the place wasn’t big enough for that many of them. Nothing I could do now. She had her heart set of picking up the dog who’d been forced to go to the shelter since Carrie was allergic to fur.
I helped her out and when she automatically slipped her hand into mine, something tugged at my heartstrings. She continued jabbering on as I walked inside. By this point, I’d rolled up my sleeves. Whether or not the ink bothered Lily I couldn’t tell, but it seemed to trouble the older woman standing behind the counter.
“Can I help you?” she asked, peering down at Lily as if I’d just kidnapped her.
“Yes, I’m here to pick up a dog. Well, not just any dog, her dog. I mean my niece’s dog.” Christ. I couldn’t even put a damn sentence together that made any sense. I laughed and shook my head. “Her name is Princess.”
“Sir, we have a lot of Princesses here. Can you be more specific?”
I immediately bristled, doing my best to keep my anger in check. “Why don’t you check under Galen or Lily Masters? Thank you.”
She gave me a nasty onceover before moving to her computer. Then she backed away. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Princess has been adopted.”
“Excuse me. What did you say?”
“Her time limit was up and given she’s a purebred dog, she was adopted quickly.”
Oh, fuck, no. This wasn’t going to happen. The one thing I knew that would break a little girl’s heart was to tell her that her fucking puppy had been ripped from her arms. I smiled, although it was extremely difficult not to lunge over the counter. Instead, I crouched down, holding both of Lily’s arms. “Sweetie. Will you do me a favor and sit on one of those chairs just over there? Will you do that for me?”
She scrunched her little face. “Don’t call me sweetie. But okay, Savage. For you.” She stomped over to the chair, sitting down in a huff.
I reared back my rage before standing, keeping my voice as low as possible as I leaned over the counter. “I don’t think you understand. That little girl over there just lost her father and that was only two years after losing her mother. That dog is the only thing keeping her from breaking down. Do you understand me?”
“I don’t think you understand. When the paperwork was signed, there were explicit instructions and a time limit. That expired yesterday. A nice young couple came in inquiring and placed a deposit on the spot. We did wait an additional twelve hours even though it wasn’t required.”
I lifted my arm, forced to take a deep breath before fisting my hand. “Did you not hear me? That little girl needs her dog. The pup is her support system. Don’t you understand what that means?”
“If you have paperwork saying she’s a support animal, then I’ll certainly bend the rules.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This was getting nowhere. I glanced over my shoulder then pulled out my wallet. “How about this? Here’s five hundred dollars for that lovely couple and five hundred for you.”
“That sounds like a bribe.”
“Call it what you want.”
“Savage? Can we get Princess now?” When Lily’s little face went from cheerful to sobbing with tears streaming down her cheeks, I honestly believed in my heart and soul that she was faking it. But damn if the girl wasn’t a good actress.
Just like Sassy.
