In Sadie’s defense, if the shoe fits. “Quit swearing.”
“Holy hypocritical,” Henri replies.
Also, if the shoe fits. I race through a stop sign like it’s just a suggestion and gun it down the road.
I’m almost at my mother’s/slash/my temporary home for the last twelve years when Henri says, “She’s gonna see Sadie and that’ll make it a threefer.”
“No she won’t,” I reply as I screech to the curb four houses down from mom’s bloody pink bungalow. “Get out and walk. You can explain to gramma why you’re home so early.”
Henri glares, but heaves open the car door anyway. “I’m gonna blame it on you.”
“Whatever,” I reply. Yes, I sound like my 12-year-old. She’s a bad influence.
“C’mon Brambles,” she says.
“Brambles stays.”
“Not fair,” she moans.
“Yeah. Life sucks. Shut the door.”
She bangs it closed, then steps back with a scowl that would make the Hell’s Jury prez shit his pants.
I give her a bright sunshiny smile and wave like she’s the sweet kid she used to be then peel away from the curb, not waiting for her return wave. I kinda know what it’s gonna be.
When I get to the cop-shop, there’s a couple of badass bikes parked in front of it. Don’t recognize which gang they belong to but hope it’s not Blackbeards or I’ll have a fight on my hands. Can’t take on two of the bastards, can’t threaten to shoot them, so I won’t win the battle.
The cops in Sagebrush talk tough, but they’re soft and for the most part, useless. Chief Jackson could give a shit what’s going on in his town, providing the criminals hide the bodies and help with upkeep on his lah-de-dah house.
But he can’t ignore me bringing in Sadie for jumping bail and he can’t release him for a bucketful of dough because I’ve already logged him into the system.
I circle the car to the passenger side, yank open the door, shove the front seat forward and reach for Sadie, but goddamn Brambles decides he’s gotta get some fresh air and pushes himself through the little space between me and Sadie. Sadie gets his foot caught in the seat belt as I heave him out, and fuck if I don’t trip over Brambles who for some reason, stops dead. I flatten Brambles, who yelps like it’s my fault, and Sadie, wearing the binds around his wrists, can’t stop himself from falling too.
On top of me!
“Jesus fucking Christ,” he yells as his chin bounces off the pavement.
What he said for sure. He’s knocked the wind out of me and I have to take a few seconds to recover, which doesn’t matter because the sucker’s heavy and I can’t wiggle my way out from under him. Brambles on the other hand, crawls out and scrambles to his feet. It doesn’t help that he thinks Sadie’s attacking me and snarls and snaps his jaws as he jumps on the biker’s back.
“Fuckin’ bitch!” he yells. “That fuckin’ dog bites me, I’ll rip his fuckin’ legs off.”
“You and what army?” I grunt because I always have to have the last word.
Then Brambles yelps and the weight on my back is suddenly gone. I roll over and sit up to see Sadie being helped to his feet by the Blackbeard’s VP, Mad Max, formerly pretty boy until he got a face full of shot from a Hell’s Jury old lady. Despite her bad taste in men, I can’t help but admire that kind of initiative.
“Thanks for finding my boy,” he says with a grin that’s still charming. “I’ve been looking for him.”
I climb to my feet, leaning on my car for support. “Give him back to me! He’s mine!”
Mad Max tilts his head. “You should know better, Selkie. Possession’s nine-tenths of the law.”
“Holy original,” I reply with a sneer as he pulls a big, serrated blade from his boot and runs it clean through the bindings on Sadie’s wrists.
“If you say so. Don’t matter though, does it? He’s mine now.”
“NO!” I yell as they swagger away. Brambles paws at me like he wants a treat. I look down at him. “Goddamn dog. If you could’ve just stayed in the car, I would’ve got him over the threshold.”
Once my perp is in the cop shop, he’s their problem and I get my sack of gold.
