“You’re a cutie,” she cooed to the dog. It was sitting with its fluffy tail wrapped around its front feet. The dog was shaking badly, obviously terrified.
“You’re going to be okay,” she promised the animal. The dog made a little whimpering sound that broke her heart. “No, please don’t do that. I’m not going to hurt you. If you trust me a little, then I’ll get you someplace safe with plenty of food and goodies.”
The dog didn’t move. She wasn’t surprised.
“You’re too scared,” she murmured, standing up and looking around. She needed treats and something to use as a leash. There was nothing in the alley except a dumpster and stacks of glass and cans to be recycled.
“Why did I clean out my car yesterday?” she lamented.
Three leashes and two boxes of treats got shuffled up to her apartment along with all the dirty work out clothes, change of shoes, and other random items that had collected in the car over the month. She’d meant to put them back in her car in a nice,organized tote she’d bought, but it was all still sitting next to her front door.
She crouched again. “Please stay here. I’ll be right back and I swear, everything will get better.”
She stared at the dog for a moment, but all the creature did was shake and watch her with wary eyes. Right, she needed to hurry before the dog tried to bolt again and risked getting hit by a car.
Rushing out of the alley, Beatrix looked for any open businesses. At this time of night, it seemed like everything on this block was closed, but she tried doors no matter if it looked dark inside or not.
The third door she tried opened. She wasn’t expecting it and stumbled inside a small, well-lit bar. Just like what might happen in a movie, everyone stopped talking and turned to look at her. Most looked curious but several seemed downright surprised.
Was this place a private club? Whatever, it wasn’t like she wanted a drink or anything. She needed help.
There were a man and a woman behind the bar. Instinct had her going to where the woman was standing. There was a small space between two patrons sitting at the bar where she was able to scootch in to address the bartender.
“Um, hi, I’m sorry to bug you, but I need some help.”
Before the woman could answer, the man to her left sucked in a breath and stood up and faced her.
“I can help you,” he said. His voice was smooth with a hint of an accent she recognized fromDownton Abbey.
She turned to face the stranger and found herself confronted with the most handsome man she’d ever met. He had a chiseled face, like from her childhood graphic novels, thin lips that enhanced his severe look, but a head full of luxurious lightbrown hair that looked like he’d tried to style it, but gave up halfway through.
All that was nice, but it was his intense, dark blue eyes that held her captive. Could eyes be described as navy blue? She didn’t know, but she swore that was what his eyes looked like.
A punch of lust made her suck in a sharp breath. She wanted to touch him so badly her hands shook.
“Um, miss?” the woman behind the bar said, leaning over so she could touch Beatrix’s sleeve. “What’s wrong? Why did you say you needed help?”
The urgency in the woman's voice and the dog waiting in the alley for rescue helped Beatrix set aside the desire trying to overwhelm her.
She tore her gaze away from the alluring man to address the bartender. “I need a rope or pieces of twine and some kind of food item that might tempt a dog.” She pointed. “There’s a scared stray hiding in the alley, and I need to get it out.”
The bartender’s expression turned sympathetic. “That’s sweet of you! We actually have a few leashes and a bag of treats here.”
She moved down the bar and crouched out of sight. When she came back up, she had a slip lead in one hand and an unopened bag of training treats in the other.
Beatrix beamed at her. “Perfect!”
She accepted the items and turned to ask the guy for his number or something so they could maybe hook up some other night, but he was already taking the leash from her and moving away from the bar.
“I’ll help you retrieve the dog,” he said. “It’s too dangerous for you to be in a dark alley by yourself with a dog of unknown temperament.”
She almost snorted. This guy posed more danger than any dog in a dark alley, but something about him kept her from refusing his offer.
“You can trust Arthur. He’s a good guy,” the bartender said, then her voice went low with warning. “Although if he acts bad at all, I know someone who can put him in his place.”
Beatrix swung her gaze to the bartender and held out her hand. “I’m Beatrix, and I like women who protect other women.”
A smile exploded across the bartender's face. “I’m Rissa.” She pointed to the male bartender standing next to her. “This is my partner Zan.” Then she pointed to a man sitting at the end of the bar. “That’s Anatoly, our third.”
