Chapter 1
Beatrix
A flash of fur with scared, wide eyes in her headlights was all the warning Beatrix got. With a gasp, she slammed her foot down on the brake pedal and screeched to a stop.
Angry horns sounded behind her, but she ignored them.
“Doggo?” she called out as she fumbled with her car door. Leaning out of the open door, she nearly got decapitated by an angry driver swinging around to pass her.
“Asshole!” she screamed at the car, then realized she should probably pull over before trying to find the stray dog.
Without even closing her door completely, she parked badly in a parallel spot with a flashing meter and jumped out. She was super crooked with her car still angled in the road a little, but at least she wasn’t impeding traffic anymore.
“Stupid bitch!” someone yelled as they barely missed the back corner of her car.
She didn’t even bother flipping them off; she was on a mission. Dogs in need came first!
Even though she couldn’t have a dog of her own, she loved them dearly. She volunteered at the Humane Society and helped with their social media. Someday she planned to have a house with a massive backyard so she could adopt all the sweet dogs who didn’t find homes.
All that meant there was no way she was going to let a dog get hurt if she could stop it. She’d found strays before and smuggled them into her apartment for a night of being spoiled before taking them to the shelter the next day. She could do the same with this one.
Running across the street, she followed the dog down an alley. The scared creature ducked behind a pile of plastic crates full of empty wine bottles. Crouching down, she tried to see the scared animal. The dog was medium size and obviously a mix of something long-haired, with adorably floppy ears and a short snout.
“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 the dog items back in her car in anice, 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.
