Viper's Kiss (Back Down Devil MC #8)(61)

But this time… when he said it to Jessa, his mouth went a little dry and his heart raced.

That’s how he knew it was real.

Now he just hoped to be able to say it again to her.





thirty-one.



Jessa heard her cell ring and lunged for it. Blaine had a really nice house - completely unexpected for a guy like him - but she could only pace so many times, waiting for him to come back.

Or call.

She fumbled with her bag and found the phone.

It wasn’t Blaine.

It was the office number calling. Not Dr. Ashland’s personal cell either. The actual office.

Jessa hurried to call back.

Terri answered.

“Terri? I’m…”

“You have to come here,” she said. She sounded out of breath. Panicked.

“I… can’t. Why?”

“I’m so sorry, Jessa. I know you’re not feeling well. But… it’s an emergency.”

“What kind of emergency? Is the building on fire?”

“No. It’s about you.”

“Me?”

“Brandy.”

“Br…” Brandy. The dog. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s bad, Jessa. She’s dying.”

Jessa felt her heart rip in half. Poor Brandy girl. She thought of Jim and Brenda. More Jim than Brenda. It was his childhood dog.

“I can’t,” Jessa said. “Shit, Terri.”

“Jessa, you have to come here. Help them. They won’t talk to anyone but you. It’s…” Terri got quiet. “Jim is acting crazy.”

“Let me talk to him.”

“He’s in an exam room with the dog. Where are you?”

“I’m…” Jessa looked out the window. The prospect was leaning against his motorcycle. Jessa had her car at Blaine’s. “Poor Brandy.”

“Jim keeps asking for you,” Terri said. “He said you’re the only one who can do this. I don’t want to cause a problem with him, you know? Like call the police or something.”

“Okay,” Jessa said. “Okay. Just hang tight. Okay? I, uh, let me figure this out. Tell Jim I won’t let him down. Just check on the dog. Make sure she’s breathing. If she’s in any visible pain, ask Dr. Ashland about administering pain meds. I’ll authorize it and talk you through it, with Jim, on the phone.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Hey, are you okay?” Jessa asked. “You sound… different.”

“No,” Terri said. “I mean, yeah. I just… I know how much that dog means to them. And you. I’m really sorry.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

Jessa ended the call and left the house. She looked at the prospect and rushed to get into her car. She started it and the prospect was then at her window.

“You can’t leave,” he yelled.

“I have keys and a car. Go f*ck yourself.”

“I was told…”

“To protect me,” Jessa said. “So do it. Follow me. I need to do something. Then we’ll come back.”

“No way. Blaine…”

Jessa put the car in reverse and moved. The prospect grabbed at the hood and hooked a hand. He started to run with the car as Jessa kept going. When he finally let go, he stumbled forward to his knees.

It took the prospect a minute to get to his motorcycle and catch up to her. Luckily for her, all he did was follow her.

***

The prospect tailed just as Jessa wanted him to do. When they got to the office the parking lot was empty except for Terri’s car and one other.

Must have been Jim’s…

Jessa hurried to park and get out of the car, only to be faced by the prospect.

“This doesn’t feel right,” he said. “You were supposed to stay put.”

“There’s a dying animal in there with a man who has had that animal since he was a kid. Did you have a dog when you were a kid?”

“I didn’t even have a home.”

“Oh. Well, you would do anything for your club because it’s family. This is family to me. These animals. What I do for them. And I don’t care how crazy that sounds.”

“Let me walk you in.”

“Shouldn’t you stay out here on the lookout?” Jessa asked.

The prospect shook his head. “Yeah, sure. If anything goes wrong, scream. As loud as you can.”

“Nobody is in there that I don’t know.”

“Please hurry. Blaine is going to kill me…”

Jessa smiled. “I’ll put in a good word for you. He listens to me.”

Jessa hurried to the door. She went inside and the place was bright and quiet. She half expected to hear Jim crying or yelling for help.

She called for Terri.

The desk chair was turned, facing the hallway. Terri’s purple hoodie was draped over the back of it. If Dr. Ashland was here, she’d yell at Terri for having her hoodie there.

Jessa touched the hoodie and called for Terri again.

This time Terri called back. “Back here!”

Jessa walked the hall. The baby started to move like crazy. Her insides were fluttering, almost like the first time she and Blaine fooled around. Jessa touched her stomach and sighed. Maybe the baby knew something was going to happen. Poor Brandy waited in the exam room to be put down. Somewhere inside Jessa she wanted to believe she could save the dog, but if it was time, it was time. There was no changing that.