Page 109 of Hostile Saint

I stared at the leash in my hand, dumbfounded, then dared to look to Lynx, who was smirking. “Better take care of him.”

My throat was tight as fuck. “I have a dog?”

Passing me, Lynx shrugged. “Looks like Charlie ain’t givin’ me a damn choice.”

His words didn’t match a prepacked medium-sized Tupperware box being held in front of me by a smiling Georgia. “Here are some of Charlie’s supplies.” I accepted the box. “Remember, two cups of food in the morning and two at night. I’d say he’s not to have human food, but he’s lived with bikers who drink too much and don’t listen to me for shit.”

Male laughter erupted all over the driveway as men gathered around us. All smiling, too, as if this gift had all been previously planned.

Georgia ignored them. “That being said, Charlie’s stomach can handle whiskey to fast food. I’ll gather his shot records and other stuff for when you come back.”

Staring at the box, I coughed, “Thank you.”

From behind, Eagle grabbed my shoulders and shook. “And I will make sure your girl is watched over while you’re gone.”

I nodded, simply grateful that I was found by these people before I died in the woods only weeks ago. “Thank you.”

Setting the Tupperware box with our bags, Vice bitched, “No! I don’t want to be in the back!” as Lynx and Dagger were taking the front seats. “This damn dog may drool on my shoulder.”

Grrrrr, went Charlie.

“Fuck you, dickhead,” went my Enforcer before shutting the SUV’s back hatch.

Once I got in the vehicle and shut my door, I received a lick to the face. He was resting his head on the back of my seat. “Hey, Charlie. I can’t believe you’re my dog."

The engine started. Again, the wheels under me began to turn…

Dagger was driving us down the runway and toward Kansas. My stomach turning, I found myself reaching to the head hanging over the seat next to mine. As the dog’s affection settled my nerves, I realized Lynx was even smarter than I first suspected.

And, the wheels turned…

Besides Colorado, and now learning of Missouri, I had never been anywhere else, so I took in many sights as we crossed county lines. All the different signs, cities, towns, fast roads, slow roads, trees… There was a whole world out there that I knew nothing about. I wondered what other countries looked like while Dagger drove us to a place that was no longer a home for me, even though I technically owned it.

When we finally crossed the state line, and I was officially back in the state where I thought my life had begun, I started shaking. I don’t know how an invisible line could cause such havoc in my body, but it did. I could almost hear past torturers laughing, ghost-like, while my skin set fire, feeling the sharpness of their blades. I could almost feel my bruises reappearing. I could almost smell my own blood, like so many times in this state.

Charlie whimpered.

Vice, no longer seeming bothered by the dog, actually invited him to sit with us. Charlie happily obliged, jumping over the back of the seat and squishing between us. His upper body pressed against my chest.

I nuzzled to him. “Hey, buddy.” I even hugged him, thankful for his affections.

Every now and then, Lynx’s phone would talk like a robot, telling more directions on how to get to the hotel where Diesel had already rented us rooms.

Calmer now, I quietly asked, “What is it like to have a phone? Do you think I can buy one someday, so I can always be in touch with Lacey?”

Lynx reached into the glove compartment right above his knees and retrieved a wrapped flat box with a bow on it. Casually, he handed it to me from over his shoulder. “The bow and paper were Jewel’s idea, so don’t think we’ve gone all soft or anything.”

Slowly taking the box, my chest tightened. “A present?” My heart raced. “What’s this for?”

Lynx teased, “Why stop spoiling you now? There’s a dog in the car. Damage is done.”

When I didn’t move because I just couldn’t, Vice suspiciously eyed me, then finally mumbled, “Ah, fuck.”

I held the box like it was a treasure, staring at it, astonished.

Practically pouting, Vice looked out the passenger window. “This kid has turned me into a goddamn Lifetime Special.”

Clueless about what a Lifetime Special was, I smiled, honored to be holding something so special, even though I was clueless as to what it actually was.