Heir of the Dog Black Dog - Hailey Edwards Page 0,12
me up on their bony shoulders. The nearest male whacked my forehead with an empty two-liter bottle similar to Davis’s.
Davis executed a perfect back handspring, landing on a fellow hob’s shoulders and cinching his sinewy thighs around the poor guy’s head. Fisting the red tufts of hair curling out of his friend’s ears, Davis guided his mount—who neighed at me—toward a newly chalk-lined section of concrete floor.
“Come back later, lassie.” Davis smacked his mount’s ass with his bottle. “I’m busy just now.”
The sea of hobs washed me past Davis and right out the rear bay door. They tossed me from the dock, where trucks dropped off containers, into a metal box stuffed full of cans waiting to be crushed. The impact knocked the breath out of me.
Metal groaned and casters squealed. I tilted my head back as they slammed the rolling bay door shut behind me.
“I could make them pay for that.”
The simple offer hung suspended on a rich breath of wood smoke.
I bolted upright as cold sweat drenched my shirt. “Who’s there?”
No one answered.
I shoved to my knees inside the shifting container. “I said—who’s out there?”
“Didn’t you get my text?” a graveled voice called.
The tension pinching my chest eased enough I could breathe again. “Shaw, texting someone Yes, we do is not the same as Meet you soon or See you at seven.”
His hands appeared on the lip of the container. One harsh grunt later, his upper body popped into view. His forearms rippled with muscle when he locked his elbows, suspending himself across from me. He stared down as I knelt on the crinkly aluminum carpet. “What are you doing in there?”
Heat rushed into my cheeks. “How did you know where to find me?”
He found his footing on the side of the container and shifted closer. “I asked you first.”
“Congratulations.” I tossed a few can tabs like confetti into the air. “Your prize is...answering my question.”
“My phone was off when you sent the picture.” His lips twitched. “I texted you earlier, but all I got in response was a smiley face flicking me off with one hand while drinking coffee from a mug in the other.”
Eyes wide, I tried for innocence. “My thumb must have slipped.”
“I figured.”
“You should have texted me back.”
“And risk your thumb slipping again?”
I lifted my chin like the thought never would have crossed my mind.
“I had to check in at the office and got slapped with some paperwork while I was there. By the time I called, your phone was punting me straight to voicemail so I got Mable to tell me which cases she pulled for you.” His gaze touched on the container. “You weren’t at the quarry looking for Burke, so I drove out here.”
“I turned off my phone.” Fae hearing being what it was, I preferred scouting situations without the risk of a poorly timed ring or buzz. It was a habit I had picked up from him, actually.
“No one else has gotten a house call from this guy. Whoever we’re after knows you’re a death-touched fae now.” He hesitated. “He’s probably following you around hoping you’ll drop someone else.”
I grimaced. Great. My own personal scavenger.
“Until we draw a bead on this guy, I don’t want you following up on any leads without backup, okay?”
“Sure.” As long as he kept off Mom’s lawn. “No problem.”
“Grab my hand.” He stuck out his arm. “I’ll pull you out.”
“I don’t need your help.” I kept wading toward the closest edge. “It’s not that deep.”
“Suit yourself.” He released his grip. A second later his soles smacked the ground.
With no one to watch me humiliate myself, I belly-flopped onto the sticky cans to give my body as much surface as possible, then wriggled my way forward until my fingertips brushed warm metal. I pulled myself up the side of the container and swung one leg over its lip and then the other.
When I let go and fell, instead of hitting pavement, I hit a very warm body.
“Watch that last step.” Shaw pressed me against his chest. “It’s a doozy.”
I squirmed, which got me exactly nowhere. “Put me down.”
“All you had to do was ask.” He set me on my feet, his hand sliding through my hair. “Hold still and let me...” He flashed a metal tab with a few black strands dangling from it. “There we go.” He glanced around the vacant parking lot. “So, you’re here for Mathew Davis.”
I didn’t like the glint in his eye when I nodded a confirmation.
“A case brought me out