Ryker: And do NOT pursue this woman.
Axel: Oh, he’s ABSOLUTELY going to pursue this woman. *Fire emoji*
Blake: This is either going to be the greatest love story ever told or a complete catastrophe.
Axel: With Knox? Probably both.
Axel: But wait, Knox. You still haven’t answered my question: What are you going to do with this phone?
22
HARPER
Faith showed up at my door, holding a bottle of wine in one hand and her dog Rainbow’s leash in the other.
The wine looked expensive. The dog looked like she’d been through a garbage disposal. Twice.
“Time to celebrate!” Faith announced, shoving past me before I could respond.
Rainbow waddled in behind her, all four mismatched legs working overtime. The dog had a growth on her side that I could only describe as a … dick. A fuzzy little appendage that bobbed when she walked. Her eyes pointed in two different directions, her teeth looked like she’d tried to French kiss a blender, and no matter how many baths Faith gave her, she perpetually looked like she’d been fished out of a dumpster.
But Faith loved that rescue mutt with her whole heart. And honestly? I did too.
“Celebrate what?” I asked, closing the door behind them.
“Your new job!” Faith held up the bottle like a trophy. “Totally belated. Should’ve done this a month ago!”
Truth be told, I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate after finding that note from Silas. Hell, I almost hadn’t answered the door and had checked the window three times to make sure he wasn’tlurking behind Faith, but Faith had become my best friend recently, and if she’d come all the way over here with a bottle of wine, I wasn’t going to be a Debbie Downer.
“Also,” she added, “I brought glasses because I wasn’t sure you had any. And, I brought Rainbow because Ryker’s working late and she gets separation anxiety. Don’t you, baby girl?”
Rainbow responded by immediately finding my one decent throw pillow and mounting it.
“Rainbow, no!” Faith yanked the leash. The dog gave her a look of pure betrayal, then flopped onto the carpet and farted.
Welcome to my new life.
I smiled and surveyed my bungalow through fresh eyes. The kitchen counters were about forty years old, covered in scratches and dents. One cabinet door had literally fallen off and been duct-taped back on. The laminate counters had taken an equal beating. And the carpet …
Let’s just say, I’d invested heavily in air fresheners.
Other people would see a dilapidated dump.
I saw it asmine.
Well, mine as long as I paid rent. But still, who needed fancy when you could have freedom? I’d lived for so long under the stifling weight of fear that this place felt like a golden paradise. A scratched, duct-taped, slightly musty paradise.
Faith poured the wine and handed me a glass. “So, how was your first month?”
“Interesting.” I took a sip. “The inmates are exactly what you’d expect. Violent. Crude. Looking for any weakness they can exploit.”
“Sounds like my first three Tinder dates.”
I snorted. “At least these guys are behind bars.”
Rainbow had found my trash can and was sniffing it with intense focus. One eye seemed to be examining the ceiling while the other locked on to a banana peel.
Faith pulled her away. “Can I ask you something?”
