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I thought we were going to have to leave and try again tomorrow when the front door swung open. Shock widened Takia’s eyes when she saw Bakari on her doorstep.
I didn’t know what I expected from him. Maybe that he’d say something charming first to get her to let her guard down but that wasn’t what happened. Bakari didn’t say a fucking word. He gripped her wrist, yanked her sleeve back, and plunged the syringe into her forearm before she could react. Shit, he moved so fast, if I would have blinked, the moment would have been gone.
“What the…” She never got the last word out. She collapsed into Bakari’s arms and he swept her off her feet, carrying her like it was nothing to my car.
“Go in the house and make sure no burners are on. Nothing that could draw attention.” He flicked his eyes toward the house and I nodded, rushing inside while he secured Takia in the trunk.
Inside her house, there was nothing out of the ordinary, just a funky smell that made me turn my nose up. No food left cooking or water left running. I was about to shut the door behind me when I heard the unmistakable whimper of a dog. I scanned the small living room and saw a wire cage in a dark corner.
“Are you fucking serious?” I groaned. I walked over and saw the smallest dog and the most disgusting kennel. That had to be where the smell was coming from.
The dog was in a cage with its own urine and feces along with two bone-dry bowls. Anger seared through me at the sight. How could someone leave their dog like that? I knelt down and opened the cage but the dog wouldn’t budge. I held my nose against the stench and looked around for a blanket or something.
I found one draped over the arm of the couch and grabbed it, trying my best to lure the dog out. All I got were anxious whines in return. I refused to leave it alone like that. So, I reached into the cage, bracing myself for razor-sharp teeth. I didn’t get bitten, though. The dog allowed me to scoop it into my arms and wrap it in the blanket without a fight.
Once I got it outside, I could see from the porch light that it was a girl dog and severely malnourished. I climbed into the car and luckily, Bakari was already in the driver’s seat because I planned to hold the dog all the way to the Temple.
“Sanai…” Bakari pulled away from Takaia’s house, stealing glances at the bundle in my lap. “Is that a fucking…cat?”
“It’s a dog. Just…drive.”
“Okay, but why is there a dog in your lap?”
“Because the bitch had a dog and clearly, she wasn’t taking care of it. She’s so tiny and she was sitting in her own filth. I wasn’t going to leave her there like that. It’s cruel.”
Bakari was quiet for a few minutes as we headed toward the Temple. Then he looked at me when we came to a stop light. The red glow it cast on his face somehow made him look godly. A slow smirk started at the corner of his mouth then spread outward.
“So, Sanai Sinclair, from the motherfucking family of hitters is saving a life?” He lifted one thick eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes.
“Fuck you, Bakari. Even I wouldn’t leave a helpless dog alone in that kind of environment.”
“I see.” He nodded slowly, pulling up to the back of the Temple. “So dogs are your soft spot?”
“Bakari, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re not exactly a dog.”
“Oh, you got jokes? Get your ass inside so I can get Dice to help me with Takia.”
“Can’t you just toss that bitch over your shoulder?”
“I could but I like making him work,” he grinned and hopped out of the car, walking around to the back. Like clockwork, Dice came outside, pausing in his stride when he saw me.
“You still banned, Sinclair?” he asked.
“She’s good, man. Let her in. Come help me with this body.” I looked at Dice’s big ass and dared him to say something else to me. He walked by me and grunted disapprovingly and I went inside the Temple.
I bypassed the intake area and went to the next floor where I ran into Maasai. I almost literally ran into his big ass. He peered down at the whimpering, trembling dog in my arms and then looked at me. “Dog?” he quizzed.
“Yeah. She needs a bath and some food.”
“Follow me,” Maasai exhaled. I watched his impossibly broad back sway while we maneuvered down hallways. He stopped at a small room with stainless steel sinks and a drain in the center of the floor. “You can wash her in here. Does she need any medical attention?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said, opening the blanket to look at the matted dog.
“Yo, Sai.” His watch crackled to life and Bakari’s voice came through. “Send Sanai to intake, please.”
“She’s up here getting ready to wash her new dog.” Maasai looked at me and shook his head.
“Ay, Sanai, can you hear me?” Bakari called over the watch. I laughed, biting the inside of my cheek.
