Page 35 of Last But Not Leashed

“Touch him and I’ll kill you.”

“What do you got to say about that, son?”

I stared at him. “If you beat me, I’ll be useless to Ethel. I think she’s tired of watching me sleep off beatings.”

He cackled. “I expect so. You’ll anger her pappy something fierce if you tug on that leash much. Fair warning.”

“I’m confident Ethel can subdue her father as necessary.”

“She’s handcuffed, son.”

“She has the bag. That’s a weapon.”

“I think you’re overestimating her a little there, son.”

I arched a brow, reached over, and unclipped the leash from Ethel’s collar. “I’ll pay bail, but if I don’t have enough left over, you’re going to have to help with the house payments.”

Ethel wielded my bag like a club and dove for her uncle.

I waited until Ethel’s uncle begged for mercy before clipping the leash to her collar and pulling her back. “You don’t want to kill him.”

“Like hell I don’t!”

“If you kill him, our evening plans will be ruined,” I reminded her. “Bail for assault is cheaper than bail for murder, too.”

“He deserves it.”

The front door opened and a middle-aged man with Ethel’s eyes stepped onto the porch. “What’s going on out here?”

Ethel lunged forward, swinging with my bag. Reeling her in, I wrapped my arm around her waist before standing to my full height, lifting her off the ground. “Will you stop attacking everyone? Geeze, woman.”

“This is the bastard responsible for the bounty.”

“I thought your mother was?”

“They’re both responsible. Put me down. That bastard needs a beating.”

“No.”

“Put me down.”

“No. If I put you down, I’ll have to pay even more in bail.”

Ethel’s father frowned. “Alan, what’s going on?”

“If you write the lad a big check, you might get some grandpups out of the deal.”

I sighed.

“I only see the girl. The bounty was for that boy with the dratted girl as a bonus payout.”

Ethel growled and snapped her teeth at her father. “Let me kill him.”

Next time, we’d visit my family. They were saner. “No. If you kill him, I don’t get paid.”

“Without the boy, you don’t get paid.”

I displayed my fangs and growled. As I refused to call myself a boy, I replied, “I’m Dale.”