Page 57 of Mommy

“I’ve got a pitbull. Found it tied to a tree in the park, wanna meet them?”

For a long moment, there is nothing but silence on the other end of the line.

“Of course.” The voice is still calm, but something in the tone has been dipped into darkness so deep it’s making me shiver. “Got an address for me?”

“Yup. I’ll send you the location.”

There is a crunch in the connection before the male voice sounds clear again.

“I’ll be there.”

The call ends, leaving me utterly confused.

“Who was that?” I ask even though I have a suspicion.

“Ezekiel.” Derek smiles down at his phone, typing away on it once again.

“And… he’ll come and meet us? Now?”

I can’t help but raise an eyebrow. It’s already late, and though I’m not sure how much Derek actually sleeps this is very unusual even for him. Couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow?

Derek laughs, the sound rich and throaty, making the butterflies in my stomach take flight.

“No, Ivy.” He puts the phone away and grants me a lopsided grin. “Not us.”

And that’s when I finally understand. Ezekiel will go and find Gavin. And I am not sure I want to know what exactly that means for the rest of Gavin’s night.

Guilt tries to crawl into my thoughts, but as the dog to my feet leans her weight against my leg I can’t regret drawing Derek’s attention.

This is only fair.

And Derek is right. Gavin doesn’t deserve a second chance after what he did tonight.

But this dog does.

Chapter thirty two

Derek

Ivory and I took the dog with us and now she has her head resting on Ivy’s knees in the passenger seat as we drive back to my house.

It’s a girl. And from the looks of it, I’d say she’s pregnant. It’s not yet confirmed, but… I’ve seen enough pregnant dogs on Skid Row. Owners don’t spare the money to get their dogs neutered, especially when a puppy can bring in a few hundred bucks.

Why did this one not sell the puppies first?

Usually the moms we pick up are discarded after they give birth to their litter. Puppies make money. A lot of it.

That’s what happens on Skid Row.

And Skid Row is where this dog came from, I have no doubt. The address on my phone screen confirmed that. So why is she here? Pregnant still? Why would her owner give her up without keeping the puppies?

Ivy has her phone on speaker, both of us listening to it ring, and I pray that Shelly will pick up. She has more experience with this type of stuff… I think. So maybe she can give us some pointers for what to do next.

She answers with a yawn that has the weight of a boulder dropping from my heart. She must have been asleep already.

“Ivy, what is it?” The sleep is still heavy in her voice, dragging the words into a slow rhythm.

Ivory explains the story in short sentences, while I watch the city around us change from dirty streets to pretty houses. I’m just pulling up to my street when she’s finally finished.