Chapter 4
Yasmine
Finishing up the call with Ms. Penn, Yasmine leaned back in her office chair. Ms. Penn was happy, which meant Yasmine was happy. A furry head immediately appeared on her lap, Hope’s chin pressing down on her thigh as big eyes stared up at her dolefully.
“I needed both of my hands,” Yasmine explained, petting Hope’s head and scratching behind her ears. “I can’t just pet you all day.”
Hope’s fathomless gaze disagreed. Strongly. A little smile curved Yasmine’s face. Okay, so far, having a dog around was definitely not the worst thing. She hadn’t had her for very long, though, and there were still things she needed to do to take care of Hope.
“I guess I need to go get your food so I can feed you tonight,” Yasmine said wearily, glancing at the clock.
It was just after five. Another round trip would take at least forty minutes, and she needed to make her own dinner, too.
Maybe she should just pick something up on the way home.
This was the third trip to Sarah’s house today.
Surely, she deserved a reward for her good deed?
Should she take Hope back to Sarah’s with her? Yasmine hesitated, scratching Hope’s ears as she thought about it.
Maybe not. It wasn’t like she planned on being there long.
In to get the food and immediately back out.
Hope would be fine on her own for a bit.
And she seemed comfortable enough in Yasmine’s place.
Once she’d realized Yasmine was paying attention to the computer screen and not her, she’d napped on the bed Yasmine had put beside her.
So far, Yasmine hadn’t been able to interest her in any of the toys. Maybe she’d picked the wrong ones to bring home. She’d grab a couple more while she was getting the food. Or maybe she just wasn’t really into toys. Other than pets and her bed, Hope hadn’t shown much interest in anything.
Which didn’t seem normal.
Grace had thought Hope needed to be put down. Maybe some of this was symptomatic of whatever Hope was dealing with. Yasmine really needed to call the vet. She’d do that on the drive.
“Okay. I need to go. I’ll be back.” Even though she said the words, Yasmine didn’t get up immediately.
Part of it was the plaintive way Hope was looking at her.
Part of it was that she was so freaking tired, and she just wanted to sit there and not move for another hour.
Or maybe go to her bedroom and just faceplant.
Instead, she had to go back to Sarah’s for the third time and get the food she’d forgotten because she was a dumbass who forgot the dog’s food. If it had been the toys or something, that would have been fine, but no, she forgot the food.
“Because, of course, I did.” Sighing, Yasmine scratched Hope’s ears again, then made herself get to her feet. At least she could wear sneakers and jeans now that she wasn’t going back to the office. That was something. “Okay, sweet girl. I’ll be back.”
She quickly changed into a more comfortable shirt and a light cardigan.
While she would sometimes wear yoga pants and a sweatshirt around the house, Yasmine never felt comfortable going out in public like that.
She did sometimes envy her friends who could just walk out to the grocery store in their pajamas.
Once she was in the car, she called the vet’s number that had been on Sarah’s fridge. To her relief, it was Hope’s vet. They were horrified to hear what had happened to Sarah and were very helpful with information about Hope.
She didn’t need any special medication, food, or anything. She needed surgery.
“Basically, one of her blood vessels that should have been closed after birth never did,” Dr. Henry explained kindly. “Blood is flowing the wrong way, which puts too much strain on Hope’s heart. Without surgery, and soon, that will mean heart failure.”
“Oh, my…” Poor baby. Poor Sarah. Both she and her pupper were having heart issues. “So, surgery is the only way?”
“Unfortunately, it’s fixable but only with the surgery, and the bills just to figure out what was going on with Hope have really added up already.” Dr. Henry sounded incredibly sad, as though she already knew what the outcome was going to be.
Yasmine felt freaking sad. She was sure it had been expensive as hell already, and now Hope needed surgery? While Sarah was going through surgery for her own heart issue? How was she supposed to afford that? Yasmine’s own heart clenched.
“When does she need to have the surgery?”
“As soon as possible.” Dr. Henry hesitated. “Sarah was considering her options, and we had a long discussion about it Monday. She needed more time, but I’ll be honest, Hope doesn’t have that much more time. I would give her a month or two at most if she doesn’t have the surgery.”
Fuck.
There was no way Yasmine was going to let that happen. She had plenty of savings. Sure, it was supposed to go toward it in case of an emergency in her life, but what was this if not an emergency? And maybe Hope wasn’t her dog, but that sweet girl was already tied up in Yasmine’s heart.
Would Sarah say no to Yasmine paying for her dog’s surgery?
Some people got touchy about money stuff, while some people wouldn’t care as long as their pet survived.
Which would Sarah be? Even if she said no, she was in the hospital.
It wasn’t like she could stop Yasmine. And Yasmine had already basically dognapped Hope, without Sarah’s knowledge, even if Grace had signed off on it.
Maybe it would be better to ask forgiveness than permission.
Yasmine thanked Dr. Henry for all the information and got off the phone. She hoped Sarah gave her permission to save Hope because there was no way Yasmine wasn’t going to do it.
Thirty minutes later, thanks to traffic, she was back at Sarah’s house and going through the back door. Again. Which was the most backdoor action she’d gotten in years.
I really need to get laid.
She needed to go back to The Outlands, get a kinky scene in to spank her out of her headspace, but it was just so depressing sometimes. Seeing so many of her exes living out the life she wanted with women who weren’t her.
Sliding open the back door, she immediately spotted the food. Right where she’d left it in the kitchen, rather than by the front door, which is probably why she’d forgotten it. Sighing, she went over to pick it up. At least this was gonna be quick.
Then she heard something that made her freeze in place.
The most awful sound she’d ever heard.
A key turning in the lock.
Someone had a key to the front door, and they were unlocking it right now.
But who?!
Grace had said none of Sarah’s family lived in Pennsylvania. Their friends were scattered. Who the heck had a key?
I’m not supposed to be here.
She’d broken in. Okay, maybe she hadn’t broken in because the back door had been unlocked, but she didn’t have a key to let herself in, so she had definitely done the entering part of breaking and entering.
Whoever was coming in had a key, which meant they had permission from the owner, Sarah, to be here, not from Sarah’s good friend, Grace.
Yasmine’s heart was pounding, her breath coming so fast, it almost made her dizzy. She grabbed onto the food bin and straightened, her mind racing, thoughts scrambling as she stood still, even as every instinct in her body was screaming at her to do something.
Anything.
But what?
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.
Run!
Except where could she run?
She was parked in the driveway.
The person at the front door was closer to her car than she was right now. Even if she ran out the back and to her car, they’d be closer to the driver’s side. And they’d easily be able to get her license plate, if they hadn’t already.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
She was going to have to face them. Whoever they were.
The sound of the key turning felt like it was taking forever.
The truth. She was just going to have to face whoever was on the other side of the door and tell the truth and hope they didn’t call the cops. Maybe whoever it was would know Grace.
Fuck, she hoped they knew Grace.
It felt like her entire world was sinking into her stomach as she clutched the food bin to her middle, standing in the kitchen and staring at the front door. Waiting for the final sound of the key turning. It felt like a rock had been chucked into her stomach when it finally did.
The door creaked as it opened, and Yasmine’s mouth went dry with fear. There was a huge, hulking figure standing in Sarah’s doorway, backlit by the sun. Bald head, broad shoulders, very tall… a man. She couldn’t see his features at all.
Danger! Get out, you dumbass!
Except it really was too late to run.
The man stepped inside, and she was finally able to make out his frowning face as he stared at her in confusion.
Bald and muscular, he filled out his jeans and white tank top very nicely.
Despite the lack of hair on the top of his head, he had a neatly trimmed dark brown beard and mustache that emphasized his jawline.
Two black leather cuffs wrapped around his wrists, which did not match the brown leather belt threaded through the loops of his jeans, and he wore a silver earring dangling from his left ear.
All in all, he looked dangerous. And stern.
“Hi!” Yasmine squeaked out the word before he could say anything. Please don’t murder me. Please don’t call the cops. “I’m Yasmine. I’m a friend of Grace who is a really good friend of Sarah’s.”
The man stared at her for a long moment, his head tilting to the side as he studied her. A rush of awareness went through Yasmine at the way he was looking at her.
It has seriously been too long since I got laid if this stranger-danger guy just looking at me is making me tingle.
Yes, he was hot. That didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. Even if the air between them was zinging with attraction.
“Hello, Yas.” His voice was a deep rumble.
Even though Yasmine never let anyone shorten her name, somehow, she didn’t mind that he did. Even though she definitely should. Maybe it was the fear talking. He could call her Yas as long as he wasn’t about to murder her and bury her in Sarah’s backyard.
“I’m Sarah’s next-door neighbor, Zeus.”