not to argue. Marcus spoke with a cop and then he talked to a man she guessed to be the fire marshal. Marcus turned to the side, took a phone call, and then returned to finish giving his statement.
Diablo growled, and a bright light flashed at the same time. Teeth bared, he stood, placed his front paws on the dashboard, and then leaned toward the windshield. The photographer snapped two more pictures as he backed away. Chris’s temper boiled over.
“Stay,” she said. She opened the car door and chased the jerk. She had no idea if she had the right to forbid him, but the last thing she needed was publicity. The tension of the day built with each step. By the time she reached him, she was ready to explode. “How dare you sneak up on the car and snap away without thinking? You do not have my permission to use my picture. Do it and you’ll hear from my attorney.”
“You understood the lady’s message. Right?” Marcus’s hand rested on her shoulder. He gave her a gentle squeeze. Probably his way of trying to calm her down.
It didn’t work.
“Your flash startled an already frightened dog. He’d have taken your arm off if he could’ve.”
“Let’s get out of here.” Marcus guided her toward the car.
Diablo sat, watching as they approached. “Poor baby, he’s been through a lot today,” Chris said.
“That’s the understatement of the day. Thank you for defending him.” Marcus’s voice was husky and thick.
“More like he defended me. You should have seen him.”
“It’s a good thing he didn’t get out of the yard. As terrified as he was, there’s no telling what would’ve happened. The cop would’ve been forced to shoot.”
“What? No way.”
“Diablo wasn’t giving the guy much choice. He was one freaked-out dog. Scared and ready to attack anything that moved.”
Chris stopped. Her hand hovered over the door handle. “I wonder what he’s thinking,” she said as she got in and buckled up.
Marcus didn’t hook his seat belt when he slid behind the wheel. Instead, he opened his arms. The big dog crawled onto his lap and rested his head on Marcus’s chest. “That I need to do a better job of taking care of him.”
“I doubt that. It’s obvious he loves you. Had he been treated badly when you got him?”
“I don’t think he’d been mistreated, but he hadn’t been allowed to be a dog. I wasn’t joking when I said he was fluent in Spanish and that he’d been a killer. I’ve worked hard to help him forget that part of his training.”
A chill raced across her arms. Hard to imagine the gentle animal in Marcus’s lap killing anyone. “I’m glad you saved him. Working at the shelter taught me just how much a dog can change. I don’t believe there are bad dogs, only bad owners.”
“Amen. Dogs behave the way they’re taught.” Marcus had to move Diablo off his lap in order to drive. It was obvious the dog preferred to stay in his owner’s arms. “We need to move. Who knows who’s watching us?”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re heading to the safe house.”
“Can we pick up something for Diablo to eat?”
“All three of us could use some food. You don’t have to be hungry for your body to need nourishment.”
“Then how about drive-through?”
“He loves a good hamburger. No onions.” Marcus smiled, and for the first time all day, his eyes sparkled.
Chris’s heart did a backflip. The quickest way to help Marcus forget the horrors of the day was to talk about his dog. He needed that downtime. “That sounds as good as a steak right about now.”
“I’m not a big believer in feeding him people food, although Kay sneaks him stuff all the time. He’s been through a lot today, and I think he’s earned a double-meat double cheeseburger.”
****
DaVinci paced the length of his living room, stopping to look out his window at the star-filled night sky. He slapped a button and turned his back as the vertical blinds closed off the world behind
Diablo growled, and a bright light flashed at the same time. Teeth bared, he stood, placed his front paws on the dashboard, and then leaned toward the windshield. The photographer snapped two more pictures as he backed away. Chris’s temper boiled over.
“Stay,” she said. She opened the car door and chased the jerk. She had no idea if she had the right to forbid him, but the last thing she needed was publicity. The tension of the day built with each step. By the time she reached him, she was ready to explode. “How dare you sneak up on the car and snap away without thinking? You do not have my permission to use my picture. Do it and you’ll hear from my attorney.”
“You understood the lady’s message. Right?” Marcus’s hand rested on her shoulder. He gave her a gentle squeeze. Probably his way of trying to calm her down.
It didn’t work.
“Your flash startled an already frightened dog. He’d have taken your arm off if he could’ve.”
“Let’s get out of here.” Marcus guided her toward the car.
Diablo sat, watching as they approached. “Poor baby, he’s been through a lot today,” Chris said.
“That’s the understatement of the day. Thank you for defending him.” Marcus’s voice was husky and thick.
“More like he defended me. You should have seen him.”
“It’s a good thing he didn’t get out of the yard. As terrified as he was, there’s no telling what would’ve happened. The cop would’ve been forced to shoot.”
“What? No way.”
“Diablo wasn’t giving the guy much choice. He was one freaked-out dog. Scared and ready to attack anything that moved.”
Chris stopped. Her hand hovered over the door handle. “I wonder what he’s thinking,” she said as she got in and buckled up.
Marcus didn’t hook his seat belt when he slid behind the wheel. Instead, he opened his arms. The big dog crawled onto his lap and rested his head on Marcus’s chest. “That I need to do a better job of taking care of him.”
“I doubt that. It’s obvious he loves you. Had he been treated badly when you got him?”
“I don’t think he’d been mistreated, but he hadn’t been allowed to be a dog. I wasn’t joking when I said he was fluent in Spanish and that he’d been a killer. I’ve worked hard to help him forget that part of his training.”
A chill raced across her arms. Hard to imagine the gentle animal in Marcus’s lap killing anyone. “I’m glad you saved him. Working at the shelter taught me just how much a dog can change. I don’t believe there are bad dogs, only bad owners.”
“Amen. Dogs behave the way they’re taught.” Marcus had to move Diablo off his lap in order to drive. It was obvious the dog preferred to stay in his owner’s arms. “We need to move. Who knows who’s watching us?”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re heading to the safe house.”
“Can we pick up something for Diablo to eat?”
“All three of us could use some food. You don’t have to be hungry for your body to need nourishment.”
“Then how about drive-through?”
“He loves a good hamburger. No onions.” Marcus smiled, and for the first time all day, his eyes sparkled.
Chris’s heart did a backflip. The quickest way to help Marcus forget the horrors of the day was to talk about his dog. He needed that downtime. “That sounds as good as a steak right about now.”
“I’m not a big believer in feeding him people food, although Kay sneaks him stuff all the time. He’s been through a lot today, and I think he’s earned a double-meat double cheeseburger.”
****
DaVinci paced the length of his living room, stopping to look out his window at the star-filled night sky. He slapped a button and turned his back as the vertical blinds closed off the world behind
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