The Reckless Oath We Made - Bryn Greenwood Page 0,123

Kansas that was more fucked-up than mine.

While we’d been walking around, another car had pulled in, and as we headed back to the truck, I saw they had a dog, too. Some kind of bulldog, I thought, right as Dirk’s damn dog went running toward it snarling and snapping. The woman screamed, “Oh my god! Oh my god!” Sounded just like LaReigne.

If the woman had been alone, I think it would have ended pretty badly, but her husband picked up their dog, and then Dirk’s dog stood in front of them growling. The whole time I was trying to get there, but I couldn’t go very fast, let alone run.

“That dog needs to be on a leash!” the woman screamed at me.

“You can’t just have a dog like that running loose!” the man said.

“You need to get your dog under control!”

I got ahold of the dog’s collar and, when I pulled on it, he yelped and tucked his tail end.

“I’m sorry. I just bought him from this guy who had him out on a chain. I didn’t even think about not having a leash for him. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he would do that.” When I pulled on the dog’s collar, he came with me, all hunkered down and trembling. Big scary dog shaking like a leaf. As soon as I opened the truck door, he jumped in the cab, looking happy again.

I got in the truck, but before I could start it, the guy with the bulldog came jogging over. He’d left his dog with his wife, but I figured he was coming to lecture me some more. Unless I was going to ignore him, I had to roll down the window.

“Hey, I wasn’t sure how much further you had to go, but since you just rescued him, it’d be a shame if anything happened. We’ve got an extra leash, if you want.” He held it up to show me. “You’re welcome to it. That way you can get him home safe.”

“Thank you.” I reached out the window and he put the leash in my hand. “I never had a dog before, so this is kind of new for me.”

“What are you calling him?”

“Oh, uh. Leon.” It was lying there on the dashboard, where it had been for the trip to Arkansas and back. Yvain, the Knight with the Lion.

“Leon. That’s a great name. Good luck with him.”

The guy walked back to his car, and waved at me as they drove away.

I sat there, wondering why a random stranger had given me a dog leash.

“Who even does that?” I said to Leon. He really was the saddest, ugliest dog. It was a stupid thing to cry about, but I was tired, and LaReigne was in jail, and Gentry was in jail, and Edrard was dead, and I missed Marcus, so I cried. After twenty minutes of watching me cry, Leon must have gotten bored, because he laid down in the seat. Not on the passenger side like before, but right next to me, with his giant head on my leg.

Even though my foot fell asleep about twenty miles down the road, I didn’t make him move his head, and we drove the rest of the way to Wichita like that.

* * *

—

I DIDN’T KNOW who else to call, so I called Julia from the restaurant, since they were closed on Mondays. Once I offered to pay her, she agreed to meet me at the Franks’ house, so I could drop off Gentry’s truck.

I parked it in the street, hoping not to be noticed. I’d wanted to do it under cover of darkness, but I knew that would look suspicious. I moved my stuff first: my purse and backpack. Then I put the leash on Leon. He looked at me, but didn’t move.

“Come on.” I pulled on the leash, and he walked across the seat and jumped down. When I opened the back door of Julia’s car for him, though, he just looked at me.

“Oh, you weren’t kidding about the dog,” she said. “He doesn’t have fleas, does he?”

“No.” I had no idea.

“Get in,” I said to Leon. I was starting to feel like I’d made a terrible mistake. I’d brought him all the way from Missouri, and maybe he’d only come with me because I was driving Gentry’s truck. I tried to nudge him into the car, but he wouldn’t go.

“Hold on,” I said to Julia. I closed the door and walked across the street to the Franks’