Alec left us and Jaxon loaded me in the car and took me to the mall. We shopped for about an hour before Jaxon declared he’d had enough and it was time to eat.
“We could just eat here,” I suggested.
“We’re not eatin’ at Derby’s, Rufus. I’m gonna take you to a real restaurant.”
“Wait, what’s Derby’s? You know, I want to experienceallof the famous Portland eateries.”
“Derby’s food isn’t so much famous, as it is infamous.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, let me ask you this... have you recently smoked a copious amount of marijuana?”
I laughed. “The devil’s lettuce, why, no, I have not.”
Jaxon smirked. “Then, if you are not friends with either Cheech or Chong, Derby’s would likely not be your first dining choice. We’re not even sure they sell meat from a cow.”
I grimaced. “Oh, well, what kind of meat is it?”
“I had a friend in high school who worked at a Derby’s that swears they once received a shipment of boxes labeled, ‘Beef.’”
“Why is that weird?”
“Because it wasn’t spelled B-E-E-F.”
“Oh, God, how was it spelled?”
He sighed. “I fear that by saying it out loud, it somehow loses its impact. B-E-E-P-H,” he explained.
I dropped my head back and groaned. “Okay, the Pink Priest it is.”
“I think we’ve had just about enough excitement for one day, don’t you?”
“Maybe so.”
“Rock Bottom, then.”
“Perfect,” I said.
He lifted my bags. “Did you leave anything in the stores?”
“Probably not.”
He grinned. “How about I go get the car and pick you up? You need to get off your ankle.”
“Thanks, honey.”
I would have been surprised that he was leaving me alone, if even for a few minutes, but I knew there were a couple of Dogs of Fire recruits who were assigned to me twenty-four-seven. Even when Jaxon was with me, if we weren’t at my place or his, we had a shadow.
We walked outside and Jaxon located our guard dog, Cheese, who was standing by his bike on his cell phone, gave him a chin lift, then headed for his SUV. I sat on the bench outside the mall entrance and scrolled through my phone, checking social media, and responding to Lyric’s texts.
Well, pretended to, anyway.
Without warning, something hard was pressed between my shoulder blades. “Well, hi there, bitch,” an angry voice growled. “I never thought I’d get to you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Graham.”
Holy crap, Jaxon had been right. Not that I doubted him, but I didn’t think any of this would be happening this quickly.
