“Grand Cayman. But then I came to my senses and hopped the next flight back. Now I need to find Zina and apologize.”
“You hurt her, asshole. She’s better off without you.”
“I know.” Lacey spoke the truth on both counts. I’d been a giant dick and I didn’t deserve her. But I had to try.
My agreement must have caught Lacey a bit off guard. Her voice wasn’t quite so frosty when she asked, “So, if you know, why do you want to find her?”
“Because I need to apologize and see if she’ll give me another chance.” I was wasting time. “Do you know where she is or not? I’ve checked the house and she’s not at the warehouse. It’s late and I’m worried.”
Lacey let out a huff. “Don’t make me regret telling you. If you hurt her again, I’ll hunt you down. I’ll rip out your heart and feed it to the penguins for breakfast.”
I chuckled. “Aren’t you on strict bed rest?”
“I’ll send Bodie. If you’re not scared of me, you ought to be scared of him.”
“I have no intention of hurting her. She deserves an apology. After that, what happens next will be entirely up to her.” I’d already decided if she told me to leave her the hell alone, I’d abide by her wishes. But I planned on doing my best to convince her that we needed a second chance.
The silence seemed to drag on forever. Finally, Lacey sighed. “Did you check the shelter?”
“I thought it was condemned.”
“Yeah. But if I know Zina, she’s probably over there trying to salvage what she can before they bulldoze it to the ground.”
I hit the heel of my hand against my forehead. Of course. “I haven’t been over there but I’m going to swing by now. If you hear from her, will you let me know?”
“Yes. And Alex?”
“Yeah?” I was already moving toward the door.
“Don’t be a dick.”
“I promise.” I disconnected and shoved my phone in my pocket. If I wanted to make things right with Zina, I’d need to show her I was willing to commit. She wouldn’t believe me if I made more hollow promises.
With the tiniest seedling of an idea sprouting in my mind, I headed back to the warehouse to grab a few things before I tracked her down.
Zina
“Come on, Aurora.” I still couldn’t believe I’d let Alex’s niece talk me into naming the dog after a princess, especially a cartoon princess. Thankfully, I’d cleared most of the supplies from the shelter over the past few weeks. Once the announcement theywere condemning the building and going to raze it to the ground came out, someone must have broken in and taken anything left worth saving. The walls were still standing, at least for now, but the spirit of the rescue had disappeared when I had to move the dogs.
I knew in my heart I’d done my best to rehome and relocate as many of the dogs as possible, but I still felt like I’d failed them. I’d spent so much time and effort on that wedding that I’d neglected what really mattered. Being around Alex had blinded me. I’d been so caught up in finally feeling like I had something worth working toward with him that I’d lost track of my priorities.
With Alex out of the picture and the loss of the shelter, it was too much. My brother seemed to be in a good enough place now that maybe we could find somewhere else to go. Listening to Alex talk about his adventures made me realize I didn’t have to stay put. I could load up the couple of pups I had left, and Zeb and I could try to find a job somewhere, anywhere, as long as it was far from Ido and gave me the chance to work with animals.
Bottom line was, there wasn’t anything or anyone but Lacey holding me to Ido now. And with her and Bodie about to have their first kid, I wouldn’t even have a chance to spend much time with them anyhow. Seemed as good a time as any to pick up my shallow roots and try to plant them somewhere else.
I’d almost finished gathering the few things worth saving when a noise came from out front. Sounded like someone was pulling into the lot. There was no need for anyone to be out here, especially this late. I crept to the front office and felt around in a desk drawer for something I could use to defend myself. Coming up empty, I wrapped my hand around the first thing I grabbed—a stapler—and held it at the ready.
“What now?” I whispered to the dog. Aurora’s ears perked, and she cocked her head one way, then the next. “Some watchdog you are.”
Something scuffled on the gravel outside. Aurora let out a bark, and the sound receded. Armed with the stapler and my phone’s flashlight app, I peered through the window. No one was there. Feeling like a fool, I pulled open the door and looked outside. I glanced to my right, then swung my gaze to the left. Nothing. Then my gaze came to rest on the ground.
A stuffed penguin sat two feet in front of me . . . not more than a foot tall. Was this someone’s idea of a joke? I almost slammed the door but then noticed a tag hanging from around the stuffed animal’s neck. I reached for it and read the handwritten note.
I made a mistake and now I know. How wrong I was to let you go.
I let the penguin drop to my side. Alex? He wasn’t that cheesy, was he? A quick glance around didn’t reveal anything out of place. I stepped outside. Aurora ran toward something in the darkness up ahead.
“Aurora, come back.” The dog leapt up, jumping at something, no, make that someone.
