Jamif

“You’re sure he’s not going to be home?” Killian asked, as they sat in his car outside the condo she used to share with Neal.

“Yeah, his car is gone. He leaves for work at nine. Of course, that’s when he’s supposed to be there, but he’s always late,” she said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

“How does he keep his job, then?”

“Oh, he works for his dear old dad at a pawn shop, and I use the word ‘works’ very loosely. I think he spends most of the day placing bets on sporting events.”

“Sounds like a real loser,” Killian commented, then shot a look at Emma. “Sorry, lass. I didn’t mean to…”

She held up a hand to stop him. “No worries. I’ve come to the same conclusion. Unfortunately, it took me way too long to figure it out.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Killian asked, “How long are we going to wait?”

She pointed at a condo three doors down from Neal’s. “His buddy Walsh lives there. If he sees me, he’ll let Neal know for sure,” she informed him. “That’s why I asked if we could use your car, so he wouldn’t recognize my bug.”

“Does this Walsh bloke leave for work at a certain time?”

“No, he works second shift, but he always goes for a run at ten.” She looked over at Killian. “I’m sorry you had to take off work to do this, but I was afraid if we waited any longer…”

“I don’t mind at all, Swan,” he assured her. “I haven’t taken a day off since I moved here, so I was due for one. I can think of no better reason than helping you rescue your dogs.”

The door to Walsh’s condo opened and the man stepped outside, dressed in a neon green T-shirt and black shorts. Emma slouched down in the car seat, watching over the top of the dashboard as he stretched. Finally, he turned and jogged off in the opposite direction.

Once he was out of sight, Emma flung open the car door and jumped out. Killian followed, running behind her as she sprinted to the front door. Pulling out her key with shaking fingers, she glanced in both directions, then fitted the key in the lock, opened the door, and slipped inside.

Killian entered and closed the door behind him, then turned to see the joyous reunion between Emma and her dogs. They were jumping on her as she knelt, smothering her with wet dog kisses as their tails wagged so hard, their whole bodies were wiggling.

“Where are their bowls and food?” he asked, following through on the plan the two of them concocted over the phone the evening before.

“In the kitchen.” She pointed him in the right direction, then got to her feet to grab their leashes from the hook by the front door.

He soon returned with a partial bag of food, several bags of treats, and their food and water bowls. Emma was busy tossing scattered toys into a toy basket sitting in the corner of the room.

“I’ll take these out to the car and come back to get their beds and toys,” Killian said, quickly moving toward the door. When he returned, Emma had all the toys gathered and was carrying two dog beds out of the bedroom.

“Neal always hated that I let the dogs sleep in our bedroom. He said it affected our sex life. Apparently that’s what drove him to sleep with someone else.”

Killian looked up at her from where he was bent over picking up the basket of toys. “The bloody wanker cheated on you?” he asked, disgust evident in his voice.

“Yeah. That’s the main reason why we broke up.”

“Have you considered hiring a hit man?” At her startled look, he added, “I’m just kidding, lass…for the most part, at least.”

Emma laughed lightly as she hooked a leash onto Oscar’s collar. “Not that he doesn’t deserve it, but I’d rather not spend the rest of my life in jail because of him.” Straightening up, she looked around the room. “I think that’s everything. We better get going.”

He collected the beds from the floor. “I’ll follow you out and secure the door.”

“Wait! I need to take them out back and let them do their business or they might do it in your car.”

“Is there time?”

“Yeah,” she called over her shoulder, already on her way through the kitchen. “We have at least another ten minutes before Walsh comes home.” She returned in less than a minute. “Okay, we’re good now.”

They left the condo, bundling the dogs and the last of the supplies into the car, then climbing in themselves. Killian started the car and smoothly pulled away from the curb, leisurely driving down the street so as not to draw undue attention.

Emma blew out a sigh of relief. “I wonder what Neal will do when he comes home and finds out they’re gone. He’s gonna be furious because he lost his bargaining chips.”

“Do you think he’ll turn his anger on you? From the way you’ve described him…”

“Well, I blocked him on my phone and all of my social media accounts, so he shouldn’t have any way to contact me. He also has no idea where my apartment is located. When I had my mail forwarded, I rented a PO box. The only thing I’m worried about is him coming to the restaurant.”

“Do you think he will?”

“Probably, but if he comes in and makes a scene, my manager will call the police. She did it before when Ella’s stepmother came in and started screaming at her for stealing her jewelry. It turned out her own daughter did it.”

“Perhaps I should be there during your shift tonight.”

Emma shook her head vehemently. “No, I don’t want him to know anything about you. I’ll warn August that he might show up. He’ll have my back.”

Killian glanced in his rearview mirror. “Your dogs are very well behaved.”

She turned to look at them, reaching back to pat each one on the head. “They love car rides, don’t you, my babies?”

“It’s very clear how much they love you, Swan. Thank you for trusting me to take care of them.”

“I was still mulling over your offer before I talked to Neal last night, but when he said he was going to have them euthanized, I knew I had to take you up on it. As hateful as he was towards me on the phone, I’m pretty sure he would have followed through with it.”

Killian’s jaw ticked in anger. “If he ever threatens you or makes you feel unsafe in any way, please tell me. If August has your back at the restaurant, I’ll have your back outside of it. We’ll do all we can to protect you from that prat.”

“I don’t even know how it got to this point,” Emma sighed. “Two months ago, I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else but Neal. Now, I need protection from him.”

“I’m sorry, Emma.”

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault he turned into Mr. Hyde.”

“Aye, but I’m still sorry that your future plans have been dashed.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The rest of the ride to Killian’s house was quiet, except for the sounds of the dogs panting and occasionally whining in the back seat. When they arrived, he carried the supplies into the house, while she took the dogs through the gate to the backyard to start acclimating them to their new environment.

Soon, Killian joined them, smiling as he watched Oscar and Sophie sniffing and exploring the yard. “They seem comfortable already,” he observed.

Emma nodded in agreement. “Sophie adjusted pretty quickly when I moved in with Neal, and like I said, Oscar is very easy-going.” They watched as Oscar chose a spot and began to poop.

“Oh, crap,” she said. “Literally. I forgot to grab the pooper scooper out of the laundry room.”

“No problem,” Killian said, pulling out his phone. “I’ll order some waste bags from Amazon. They should be here tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can order them myself.”

“I don’t mind. They’re not expensive.”

“Look, we need to get something straight. I don’t expect you to buy things for my dogs. You’re already providing a temporary place for them to live. You don’t need to be spending money on them on top of it.”

“The bags are four dollars, Swan. That’s not going to break my bank account. I promise.”

She put her hands on her hips, pursing her lips. “Killian…”

“The next time I’m at the restaurant, you can buy me a drink to pay me back.”

“I get drinks for free.”

“Even better,” he grinned.

She rolled her eyes. “Are you always this stubborn?”

“No. Sometimes I’m even worse.” If possible, his grin grew a little bigger.

“Well, thank you, but please don’t buy anything else. I already owe you big time.”

“You don’t owe me anything. When I was a kid, my brother and I had a dog. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories. I always wanted to adopt another one once I had my own place, but everywhere I’ve lived hasn’t permitted pets. So, you see, you’re actually doing me a favor by allowing your dogs to stay here.”

Emma glanced at her smart watch. “I have to be at work in less than two hours. I should go home, get a shower and eat some lunch. Do you think you’ll be okay with them?”

“Aye, we’ll be fine. I’ll take them inside and let them get acquainted with the place.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you two later then,” she said, kneeling down to gather her dogs and give them a hug. “My shift is over at eight. Would it be okay if I stop in to see them afterwards?”

“Of course. Just make sure your ex doesn’t follow you here.”

She stood and brushed off the knees of her jeans. “I didn’t even think of that. I’ll be cautious.” After scratching Sophie behind the ears and rubbing Oscar’s throat, explaining those were their favorite places to be petted, she turned and walked toward the gate. “I’ll call you before I leave for work to see how they’re doing. Thanks again, Killian.”

“You’re welcome, Emma.”

*********

Emma was twenty minutes into her dinner break when Neal came storming into the restaurant and over to the bar where she was sitting. “What the fuck, Ems?” he hollered. “How dare you break into MY place! And why aren’t you answering your phone? I’ve called you a million times and it keeps going straight to voicemail!”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw August move around the bar to stand beside her. She had told him what she and Killian did as soon as she got to work that afternoon and he assured her he would protect her if Neal showed up.

She took a deep breath then spoke in what she hoped sounded like a steady voice. “First of all, I didn’t break in because I still have a key. Besides, I paid more than my share of the rent the entire time I lived with you, so technically, it’s more my place than yours. To answer your second question, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m working and haven’t had time to look at my phone.” She lifted her chin and met his furious gaze. “And besides, I blocked your number.”

Neal’s face reddened with rage and his hands balled into fists. “You did what?”

August stepped in front of her, stating firmly, “Leave her alone, Cassidy.”

“Stay out of it, Booth! This is none of your business!”

“Maybe not, but Emma is my friend and I’m not going to stand here and listen to you scream at her.”

Neal stepped forward until he was nose-to-nose with August. “This BITCH,” he spat, “broke into my house while I was at work…”

“Didn’t you hear her? She didn’t break in. And she went in to rescue her own dogs,” August said calmly.

“Did she give them to you?” Neal questioned loudly, his face showing even more anger at being cut off.

August shook his head. “No. I’m allergic to dogs.”

“Then where the fuck are they?”

The bartender shrugged unconcernedly. “I don’t know.” It wasn’t a lie, since he didn’t know where Killian lived.

Neal stepped to his left to focus on Emma again. “Don’t think this is over, Ems! When I find those mutts…”

“Why do you want to find them?” she interrupted. “Obviously you hate them or you wouldn’t have threatened to have them killed. They’re not your problem anymore, so just let it go.”

“You’ll pay for this, Emma,” Neal growled. “Nobody makes a fool out of me!”

As he turned to stalk away, Emma couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Nobody has to, Neal. You do a good enough job of that all by yourself.”

He whirled around and had his finger in her face before August could move to stop him. “I will find those fucking dogs and when I do, I’ll chop them into bite-sized pieces and sell them to a Chinese restaurant!”

Emma’s face was ashen as she watched him stomp out the door. Turning to August, she whispered, “Do you think he’ll be able to find them?”

“Not if you’re careful for the next couple of weeks” he assured her. “Knowing Neal, he’ll lose interest in finding them after that.”

“That’s true. He has the attention span of a gnat. Hopefully he’ll move on and be out of my life soon.”

*********

Emma called Killian as soon as her shift was over. “How are they?” she blurted.

“Hello to you, too, Swan,” he chuckled.

“Sorry. I just…”

“No worries. The dogs are absolutely fine. Sophie slept most of the day and Oscar has been exploring the house. I think he decided his favorite spot is my bedroom, so I put his bed in there.”

“Well, I’ll warn you - he snores.”

Killian laughed again. “I probably do, too. Will you be coming by to see them?”

She sighed. “I can’t. Neal came into the restaurant tonight and his car hasn’t left the parking lot. He’s obviously planning on following me when I leave and he’s not even being sneaky about it.”

“Are you going to be alright?” he asked, concern very evident in his voice.

“Yeah. I’m going to spend the night at my friend Mary Margaret’s. She’s one of the other waitresses and her boyfriend is a police officer.”

“How did Neal act toward you when he came in?”

“He was awful. August was there for me, though.”

“I’m so sorry, Emma.”

“Thanks, but you don’t need to apologize. He’s a jerk and I’m the idiot who got involved with him.”

“Any man who treats a lovely lass like you the way he has is the idiot, Swan.”

Emma was glad he couldn’t see the blush she knew was filling her cheeks. “Well, in any case, I don’t know when I’ll be able to come by your house. I have a feeling Neal is going to be relentless for a few days. He’s furious about me taking the dogs and blocking his number.”

“Once you get to your friend’s place, why don’t you Facetime me so you can at least see them?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not. I’m sure you’ll sleep better seeing for yourself that they are truly settled in here.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you in a little while, then. Thanks, Killian.”

“You really don’t have to keep thanking me.”

“I just want you to know how much I appreciate everything you’re doing. You’re a hero in my eyes.”

“I’m happy to help any way I can. I’ll be awaiting your call. Be careful, Emma.”

*********

Thank you for reading and for your feedback

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