“Yeah. At least, I’ve never seen him with anyone else.”
“All right. Call me if anything changes.”
“Sure. See you tonight.” He almost added that Ramos should bring a gun, but stopped himself, knowing that was a stupid thing to tell a hitman.
Ramos and I left him to clean up the mess. I was hoping to buy some of those anti-aging pills, but decided now might not be the best time with Ramos watching.
Ramos handed me my helmet. “That was strange.”
“I know. Has anything like that ever happened before?”
“No. Manetto won’t be happy, but I’m sure we can take care of it.”
I snorted. “Yeah. After New York, this should be a piece of cake.”
He grinned, liking my sassy attitude. “Do you want to take the long way back?”
“Yes!” I couldn’t contain my enthusiasm. Ramos grinned. He liked the way my eyes lit up, thinking it was a beautiful thing. I chuckled and slipped on my helmet. A minute later, with my arms holding him tight, we were off.
The next twenty minutes went by way too fast. As we parked in the garage, I got off and sighed. Maybe I should volunteer to help Ramos tonight? That way I could get another ride. “Do you need some help tonight?”
“What?” Ramos’s brows rose. Was I turning to the dark side? What about my responsibilities at home with my husband and kids? Did this mean I was choosing him over them?
“What? Uh… No… I mean… uh, I just like riding your bike, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “So it’s all about the bike.”
“Well… yeah. Geez.” I playfully swatted his arm and turned to go. “I guess I’d better get home. Tell Uncle Joey goodbye for me. And… uh… good luck tonight. Don’t get killed or anything.”
He did that little head nod thingy, thinking that he sure liked pushing my buttons.
I shook my head and started toward my car. Instead of heading for the elevator, Ramos stood there and watched me go. I didn’t catch any words from his mind, but I definitely felt his admiration for my backside, and I nearly tripped over my own two feet.
I could have turned around and scolded him, but I figured it was better to make him think it didn’t bother me. Still, getting to my car without falling on my face became a monumental task.
I opened my door and glanced back at him. Since he hadn’t moved, I just shook my head and waved. He sent me that lopsided, sexy grin of his, and entered the elevator. I climbed inside my car and let out my breath.
I knew I should probably put up my shields and not listen to all of Ramos’s teasing thoughts. That would solve my discomfort, but, deep down, I knew I wasn’t about to do that. A part of me liked it way too much to stop. I was going to hell for sure.
After pulling into the garage at home, I came through the back door, and a soft, furry body rushed to greet me. Coco wiggled against me, shoving his nose into my hands, with his tail wagging so hard I thought for sure it might break. He seemed so relieved I’d come back that it broke my heart.
“It’s okay, Coco. I’m back.”
He barked, home. I nodded. “Yes. I’m home now. Did you have a nice walk?” He barked, yup, and I smiled, ruffling his fur. “Let’s go sit down for a minute.” He barked yup again, and followed me to the living room, where I sat on the floor in front of the couch.
He sat beside me and rested his head on my knee, looking up at me with those big, adoring eyes. Naturally, I lavished him with love and praise while petting his beautiful face. I even kissed him. Who would have thought I’d ever kiss a dog? Sheesh.
Savannah came downstairs from her room and told me all about their walk. “After we got home, I tried to get him to sit on the couch with me, but I guess he wasn’t allowed on the furniture before, because he wouldn’t do it. Should we tell him it’s okay?”
“You know, I think if he’s not used to it, we shouldn’t change his training. It’s nice not to have dog fur all over the furniture, and we can always sit on the floor like this if we want.”
“Yeah, and he’s got his new bed. Where should we put it?”
“I’m sure we can figure it out.” As we spoke, I felt the tension of the day drain away. It amazed me how much better I felt petting a dog who seemed to adore me. After speaking a little longer, we got up to get dinner ready.
With our meal in the oven, I set the dishes on the table, and Chris walked in the door. Coco barked to sound the alarm, but settled down after I introduced him to Chris. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to understand that Coco had already picked up Chris’s scent, and, after one sniff, he accepted Chris pretty fast.
It wasn’t until later in the evening that I told Chris how I’d understood Coco’s barks. We sat out on the deck swing in the late glow of the sunset, enjoying the cooler temperature. “He’s one smart dog,” Chris agreed, watching him catch the Frisbee with Josh and Savannah. “I wonder what happened to him. I don’t think his owner would have given him up so easily.”
“I know, we’ve all been wondering the same thing. Maybe I’ll pick it up at some point, but I’m not sure how much he can tell me. I mean, I usually just get one-word responses, you know?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” After watching Coco make another great catch, Chris pulled me against him, careful of my arm. “So, how was your day?” Naturally, I told him all about the new psychic at the police station.
“So you went in just to meet her?”
“Of course. When I talked to Dimples, he wanted to know if she
