Off Chance

3

Fucking cop! I knew he was here only for Juice. No way they’d ever really give a damn about a naked and drugged girl chained to a bed that was almost roasted alive.

The door shuts and I look up to see the fireman standing there. The unbelievably gorgeous fireman.

What a cliché.

“Now, let’s spring you out of here and go find that dog of yours.”

“I told you, I don’t need your help, so you might as well turn around and march out of here, too.”

“Well, tough shit... I’m going to help find your dog whether you like it or not. And it will get done a lot faster if we work with each other rather than against each other.”

I’m momentarily shocked over his words and I give him another once-over. I’m suspicious of his offer of help, because... well, hey... I’m suspicious of all authority figures. I’d learned that long before I ever got messed up with Juice.

But his gaze tells me the offer is genuine and I take a moment to check him out a bit closer. First of all, he’s a pretty big guy... probably a good foot taller than my five-three height. He’s also stacked with muscle and I still have enough of my wits about me to notice that he has a face that would make most women fall over in a dead faint if he smiled at them.

It’s the eyes.

Definitely the eyes. Lashes so thick you would think they were painted on the border of the lightest pair of hazel irises I’ve ever seen. His dark brown hair, which he wears fairly short, only makes his eyes pop that much more. When he smiles, I notice he has a dimple on the left side of his mouth, but not on the right.

“So what do you say?” he asks, bringing me out of my perusal of his hotness.

Shaking my head, because the last thing I need to be thinking about is how gorgeous this guy is, I stand from the bed. “If you think that I’m going to spill my dirty secrets to you so you can run off and tell your cop friend, forget about it.”

Flynn holds his hands up in a conciliatory gesture. “I could care less about that. I just want to help you find your dog, and then you can be on your way. Deal?”

My skeptical nature looks hard for the lie, but I can’t find it. And I’m a pretty good judge of character. For example, I knew Juice was bad news and trouble from the get-go. But just because I’m a good judge of character doesn’t mean I make smart decisions with my knowledge.

Still... he’s offering me a way to find Capone and that dog is literally the only thing I have in the world right now. I don’t even have any clothes and I have nowhere to live right now, but I figure Capone and I can huddle up together tonight until I figure something out.

“Okay... if you can manage to get me some scrubs to wear and if that beast of a nurse will get my papers ready, we can go.”

He shoots me a one-dimpled smile and turns toward the door. “I’m on it. I’ll have you out of here in thirty minutes.”

Flynn drives us back to Juice’s house and he pulls up to the curb. He had tried to engage me in conversation on the way over but after a few grunted answers, he gave up. Opening the car door, he steps out and I do the same.

“You come get in my car and start driving up and down the streets looking for him. I’ll go by foot. We’ll be able to cover more ground that way. Let’s meet back here in twenty minutes to check in.”

I just stare at him for a moment before my tongue works. “You want me to take your car? I’m a perfect stranger... someone who used to shack up with a known drug dealer. You’re really going to trust me with your car?”

Flynn shrugs his shoulders. “Well, it’s not like you can walk around looking for him. You don’t even have any shoes.”

Glancing down at my feet, it hits me harder than ever before that I truly have nothing except for a slightly too large set of blue surgical scrubs. Tears threaten to break free of my eyeballs but I curse them viciously until they retreat.

I look up at Flynn and shoot him a bitter smile. “Sure thing. Your loss if I decide to just up and steal your car.”

Walking by him to get in the driver’s seat, he reaches out and touches my arm. He doesn’t grab it, but just places his fingertips on my forearm. I stop at the silent command.

“You won’t steal it. Want to know how I know that?” His voice is low and soft, and I have to admit... it’s damn sexy.

Swallowing hard, I reply, “I’ll play—how do you know that?”

“Because that damn dog is more important than anything in the world to you, and you’re going to do everything in your power to find him. That includes using me to help you find him. No way you’re about to take off with my car and leave Capone out here to fend for himself.”

He has me pegged. To a tee.

Big whoop. He still doesn’t know shit about me. “Great job, Sherlock. You got me. Now let’s get to work if you don’t mind.”

Stepping past him, I climb into the driver’s seat and adjust it forward so I can reach the pedals. I don’t bother telling him I don’t have a license, nor that I’ve only driven a handful of times. No sense in worrying him.

Putting the car in gear, I drive away, glancing once in the rearview mirror at him. He’s already turned his back on me and is trotting across the street, before disappearing into a neighbor’s yard.

I methodically drive up and down each street with the windows rolled down. Every few minutes, I yell Capone’s name. I also yell out other words he’ll recognize like, “treat” or “ball”. As soon as I call out for him, I look frantically, left and right, expecting him to come bounding out from behind some bushes.

I’m disappointed time and time again.

As the minutes tick by, I’m starting to get panicked. What if he’s been stolen? Or killed? Or what if he’s hurt and can’t come to me?

I can’t lose that dog... not now. Not after everything that he’s been through with me. And there’s no way I’m ever letting Juice get him back. He only wanted Capone because of his pedigree and because he’s a beautiful dog. It was a way for him to show off to his druggie friends that he could afford a two-thousand dollar Bernese Mountain Dog shipped to him all the way from Colorado.

Once the puppy arrived, just over a year ago, Juice promptly named him Capone and then forgot about him. Which was fine by me. I was the one that raised Capone. I potty trained him, taught him how to sit, lie down, and to heel when we walked in the neighborhood. He was smart as a whip and we adored each other. He would sleep in bed with me at night, until Juice would come in and yell at him to get off.

Capone hated Juice and the feeling soon became mutual when Juice realized Capone was completely and utterly attached to me. He wouldn’t do a damn thing that Juice asked of him and it would piss Juice off that he would do anything that I asked.

Once, Juice yelled at Capone for a solid fifteen minutes because he refused to sit for him. After he slammed out of the house in anger, I watched in amazement as Capone calmly walked into the bedroom and peed in one of Juice’s tennis shoes. Of course, I had to clean it up before Juice got home, because he would have beat Capone if he knew he did that. I tried to chastise the furry monster but I ended up giggling every time I tried to say, “Bad dog” to him. It remained our little secret.

Turning back down the street where Juice lived, I can feel my throat starting to get tight. The burned-out husk of a house is just a block away.

I call for him again.

Nothing.

Pulling back up to the curb, I lower my forehead to the wheel and try to take a deep breath. It comes out in a stuttering gasp and tears pool in my eyes. I hastily blink at them and square my shoulders. There isn’t time to grieve for my dog when I’ve only been searching for twenty minutes. When Flynn meets me back here, I’ll tell him to go on home and then I’ll keep looking.

I’ll look all night and won’t stop until I find him.

Raising my head up from the steering wheel, I look out the front window and my heart almost explodes in joy.

Flynn is standing on the sidewalk in front of Juice’s house, holding Capone by the collar. He’s giving me that one-dimpled smile, but I can’t even return it. My eyes right now are only for my dog.

Throwing the door open, I step out of the car and, as soon as Capone sees me, he bolts out of Flynn’s grip. The move almost topples Flynn over but I see that he regains his footing just as Capone barrels into me. I fall backward onto the two-foot wide patch of grass that constitutes a front yard and he lays his big body right down on top of mine, lowering his huge head to my face and licking me all over.

My hands come up to rub the silky fur just behind his ears and I can feel his fluffy tail furiously thumping against my legs. He even starts to whine a little, he’s so happy to see me.

And all of a sudden, I can’t hold it in any more. I refused to cry every time Juice tried to hurt me. Not even a drop spilled from my eyes when my escape from him was thwarted and he chained me to the bed. I refused to let the tears come when he stuck a needle in my arm, shooting me up with something that rendered me into a puddle of uselessness. I wouldn’t even weep when I gained consciousness in the hospital and learned I’d almost been burned alive.

But now... now that I have my dog back, I feel like it’s the most joyous occasion in my entire existence and I cannot stop the tears of happiness that start pouring out. No matter... Capone just licks them up as soon as they spill.

After several minutes of being wrapped up in puppy goodness, a shadow casts over us and I look up to see Flynn standing there. He has a warm smile on his face.

“I’d say the two of you are happy to see each other.”

Pushing Capone off to the side of me, I sit up but keep my arm around him, rubbing him constantly. “Yeah... I really don’t know how to thank you. Where did you find him?”

Flynn squats down next to us and points toward the west. “Just a few blocks over. He was meandering in between two houses. He came to me when I called his name.”

I focus my gaze on Capone and he looks back at me with his soft, brown eyes. My heart melts even further, and suddenly I could care less that I’m homeless and have just a set of surgical scrubs to my name. I have my best friend with me now, and with that, I can accomplish anything.

Gratitude for Flynn’s help overwhelms me and I look up at him. I hope he understands the sincerity in my voice when I say, “Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

Reaching out, I grab a hold of his wrist. His gaze flickers down briefly to where we are touching and then back to me. “No... it was everything to me. Capone is the most important part of my life and I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t found him.”

To prove he is in puppy heaven, Capone rolls over on his back and bares his belly to me. I start to scratch him there and his eyes roll into the back of his head. Taking a moment, I grab each paw and run my fingers over the pads, checking for cuts. He seems to be good and I sigh in relief he hasn’t been hurt.

Flynn rocks backward from his squat and sits down on the grass across from us. Gazing over my shoulder to the burned-out house, he says, “I assume everything you owned was in there?”

“Yeah. Just clothes though. Nothing much.”

“What about money? Credit cards? ID?”

“Nope,” I say but I don’t elaborate further. Juice had taken all of my money except for a small, secret stash I left at a friend’s house, I’ve never had a credit card in my life and I didn’t have any ID. When I left home at the age of eighteen, I changed my name but not in a formally legal manner. As far as the real world knew, I was still Anne Marie Cleeden. As far as my world was concerned, I was Rowan Page and had been from the day I stepped foot into New York City.

I’ve never needed an ID because every job I’ve worked has always been for cash under the table. Never filed a tax return in my life, but then again, I couldn’t... Rowan Page doesn’t really exist on paper.

“So where are you going to stay? Can I give you a lift somewhere?”

While I’m gratefully appreciative of the help that Flynn has given me, it’s time to part ways. I’m a loner and I hate relying on anyone but myself. So the lie falls easily from my lips. “Sure... I have a few friends I can crash with until I can get back on my feet. You really don’t have to hang around here.”

Flynn gives me a smile. “Well, at least let me give you and Capone a ride.”

I shoot him back an equally nice smile so he doesn’t sense my lies. “Oh, no need. I’ll just call one of them to pick me up.”

Reaching into his pocket, Flynn pulls out his cell phone and hands it to me. “Here... give them a call and I’ll wait with you.”

When you’ve lived on your own the way I have, and when you’ve had to scrape, scrabble, and lie just to survive, I never even hesitate in carrying out my duplicity. Taking the phone, I punch in a fake number and hold it to my ear. I wait a sufficient time for my “friend” to answer and then I carry on a conversation purely for Flynn’s benefit.

“Hey Lori! What’s up, girl?”

I wait a few moments, pretending to listen to my “friend”. I even glance at Flynn and motion with my free hand that she’s a chatterbox.

“So listen... I need a place to crash for a few nights. Can you take Capone and me in?” Glancing down at Capone, I give his belly a pat. “That’s great. I knew I could count on you. I’m at Juice’s house. Okay... see you in about twenty minutes.”

I pretend to listen to my “friend” chatter for a few more minutes, rolling my eyes at Flynn. Then I give a fake goodbye and hang up.

Handing the phone back to Flynn, I say, “All taken care of. Lori will come get me. You can go ahead and head home now. No sense in waiting.”

Flynn just holds the phone in his hand and watches me for a moment. His perusal makes me a little nervous but then he stands from the ground. “You’re sure you don’t want me to wait with you?”

Shaking my head and giving him a reassuring smile, I tell him, “No. Honestly, we’re good. Capone and I will just hang here and wait for Lauren.”

Something flickers in Flynn’s hazel eyes and he says, “I thought you said her name was Lori.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I don’t miss a beat. “It is... Lauren’s her full name. I call her Lori sometimes though.”

Flynn shoots me a grin that pulls his dimple out in full force. He punches something on his phone and then holds it out to me. I can see from the face of the phone that he’s redialed the number I called and then pushed the speakerphone button so I could hear.

The recording comes through loud and clear. “We’re sorry but you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please hang up and try your call again.”

Fuck. Busted.

But I don’t even have the grace to be embarrassed. I shrug my shoulders and smirk at him. “So what? You caught me in a lie. Not the first I’ve told.”

He doesn’t even bother to chastise me. “So where will you stay tonight?”

“I’ll figure something out. I always do.”

Flynn stares down at me, his eyes flicking from me to Capone. When they land back on me, he says, “Come on. You can stay at my apartment tonight and we’ll figure out something to do.”

“No. No way. I appreciate it but not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t like owing people and I don’t go home with strange men.”

“I’m not a strange man. I just saved your life this morning.”

Shrugging my shoulders to tell him I don’t care, I say, “I don’t need any help.”

Flynn gives me a wry laugh. “First, you do need help, and second, you won’t owe me a thing. Just consider this something I want to do out of the goodness of my heart.”

Anger surges through me for a split second, and my voice is cold. “I’m not a fucking charity case.”

I expect Flynn to back away from my wrath, because I can be a mean bitch when I want to, but he just offers me another smirk. “I don’t consider you a charity case. I have no doubt you can take care of yourself. But think about this... Capone is probably exhausted and he could use a good meal. If you won’t accept my help for you, how about accept it for him?”

I stare at him hard for just a moment, casually noting how the late afternoon sun makes his eyes glow. My resolve is weakening, only because I’m tired, hungry, and I’m finding my own pride may have some limits. Then my eyes go down to Capone. He’s sound asleep on his back, my fingers grazing the hair on his belly. I can’t help the dopey smile that comes to my face just by looking at the bag of fur lying there, and I’m sure my expression tells Flynn that I’ve just capitulated.