a lie.
I just wasn’t sure why he was lying to me. He’d wanted me in his room awfully bad and then when he got me there, he didn’t ask for whatever it was he wanted.
And I couldn’t stop thinking about Brooke. I hoped she was okay. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get her out, but I would. I’d promised, and I kept my promises. If only I could figure out who their informant was and why they’d lie.
All of the pieces of the puzzle were on the board, but I still wasn’t sure how they fit together and I needed to figure it out damn quick.
My brain whirred all night, and when morning came, I was no closer to an answer than I had been the night before.
Which I’d admit, pissed me off. That certain something that wriggled in the back of my brain like a stray maggot was so close to putting this together.
When it was finally dawn, I got up and gathered my things, taking the files he’d spread out for me, and went back to my room for a quick shower before I walked Vlad. I needed to see my good boy and hug his heavy bulk to ground me in the real. His velvet coat was the perfect hiding place. I could bury my face in the back of his neck and shut out everything but dog. With Vlad, everything was good. Everything was pure.
Emily met me in the lobby and we went to one of the indoor parks to walk him and Mina. He didn’t stop to have his way with a single thing along the way.
“Is he feeling okay?” I asked her.
“Oh, you noticed that, too?” Emily nodded knowingly. “He’s made use of his love pillow, but other than that, he hasn’t really had too much of a problem. I think he’s been using up all of his energy with Mina.”
“Are they…” Could vampire dogs get pregnant? I imagined vampire poobulls, and the imagery brought me so much joy.
“No. I don’t think so? I watch them fairly closely, but not every second. So I couldn’t say for sure they haven’t, but I haven’t seen it.”
“For a second, I was thinking how cute a litter of vampire poobulls would be.”
“They would be the cutest thing ever,” Emily agreed.
Vlad whined, and Mina nosed at his head, as if offering comfort.
“What’s wrong, Buddy?” Oh no. There had been murders in the hotel. My dog was about to lose his mind. “Keep it together, sweetpea. You can’t. Oh, please don’t.”
He whined again.
“What’s wrong with him? Do you think he’s finally passing that ring you were telling me about?” Emily asked.
“You know there have been some murders in the hotel? Murder scenes do something to his biology. He flips shit.”
“Uh oh,” Emily said.
I grabbed hold of the leash and harness and hoped against hope that my strength would be enough to keep him under control.
He howled this time, and it wasn’t a sound I’d ever heard from him before, not even the other times we’d accidentally come across a murder scene and he’d lost his mind. His guts burbled, and he let out a fart that rumbled like a freight train.
Oh God, no.
Poor Vlad began shaking all over and Mina stepped back from him and darted behind Emily’s legs. I grabbed him and pressed him against me, making sure I still had a good grip on his leash. Sometimes, my heartbeat and my scent could calm him down.
“It’s okay, honey. It’s gonna be okay.”
He started tearing at the ground, trying to dig through the solid cement underneath us, and I realized we must be right on top of one of the scenes. I felt like the worst dog mom on the planet. I hadn’t even considered his condition.
If I couldn’t get him to stop, he might actually dig through the concrete.
I wonder what kind of charges I’d catch for that.
I whispered soft, soothing words to Vlad, and my little guy was trying so hard, but he couldn’t help it.
His stomach rumbled again, and I realized my poor pupper’s ass sounded like a tornado that had just touched down. The sound was almost deafening. People were pressing their palms over their ears and taking cover.
Which was probably the best solution for all involved because I had a feeling that ring was going to shoot out of his ass like a shit-covered bullet.
Another low, eerie howl burbled forth and he mule-kicked, lifted up his back legs, as if