Adrenaline pumps into my blood. I grab a key from my desk drawer and open the locked cabinet to get my Kimber .40 Smith & Wesson. I load the pistol and quickly take an extra mag, just in case.

Jessica’s not screaming anymore, but I can hear her saying something in a shrill, urgent voice. She strikes me as the kind of woman who would take care of her own shit as much as she can. The fact that she’s now literally screaming for help in the street must mean something serious is happening.

With urgency, I tear open my front door. And there she is, looking as radiant as she did a couple hours ago in the same stunning dress. Under the full moon and the dim yellow street lights, she’s holding her phone up to her ear, her head turning this way and that. She looks confused and disorientated. And scared.

I rush to her side, glancing at her house as I do. It’s completely dark next door. That’s unusual, but not a reason to panic on its own.

“Yes. Yes. Okay, thank you,” Jessica says into the phone. Her eyes are wide with fear as she turns to look at me.

“What happened?” I ask as soon as she hangs up.

“I… I don’t know. I came home and everything was dark. The door. It was open. I… I can’t find Max,” she says, stumbling all over her words. I place one hand on her shoulder to help calm her down. She’s shaking, I realize. She picks at her own dress as the blood rushing in her veins triggers her fight-or-flight instinct and make her antsy.

“Max?” I pull my brows together and level my gaze at her. Is Max a boyfriend? The guy she went out with earlier?

“My dog,” she says.

I breathe a sigh of relief, although I’m not sure why. Is it because at least the potential victim is not human? Or is it because I’m glad she doesn’t have a boyfriend? Because if it was the second reason, that would be pretty messed up, even by my standards. This is hardly the time.

“Was there anyone else in your house? Does anybody have the key?”

“No, the house was empty. Except for Max. Oh God, do you think he might be hurt?” She’s acting like the dog is the most important thing in the world right now, when a criminal could’ve entered her home and hurt her. Good thing she was out of the house.

“Does anybody have the key to your house?” I repeat.

“No. I mean yes. Tony has a copy, but he wouldn’t have come without calling me first.”

“Just now, on the phone. That was the police?” I’m dying to find out more about this Tony, who I can safely assume is human, but I ignore both Tony and Max for now. I need to take care of what really matters. The perpetrator may still be in the house.

“Yes.”

“Good. They’re coming?”

“Yes. They said they were going to send someone.” Jessica’s breathing is slowing down. Her fingers still fidget, but at least now she can focus on answering my questions. During a crisis, it’s common for people to calm down when there’s a task in front of them, especially if they feel like they’re actively doing something to fix the situation.

“Listen. Scarl—Jessica. I’m going to sweep through your house right now. It doesn’t look like anybody’s inside right now. If there was somebody, he would’ve likely left by now. But just to be safe, you should go to my house and stay inside. Okay?” I look into her eyes to make sure she understands. Even simple directions can seem confusing to someone who’s not thinking clearly.

“But Max is—“

“I’ll find Max for you,” I say, cutting her off mid-sentence. She’s starting to get on my nerves. Honestly, she needs to quit worrying about the dog and start thinking about herself. “If he’s in there, I’ll get him out. But it’s not safe for you to be here. Whoever it was that broke in may have been looking for you.”

Fear flashes in her eyes. Yes. Finally, she’s getting it.

“Get inside my house now. Lock the door. Stay inside until the cops get here.” I pull my gun out of the waistband of my jeans. When I take one last look at her, I realize I should’ve done that from the beginning. Seeing the gun seems to have made her realize the gravity of the situation.

She blinks a few times before her gaze falls on my face. She nods rapidly and makes her way into my house as quickly as her high-heel shoes would allow.

As I move toward the front door, I look around to check if anybody’s lurking in the shadows. With only the moonlight and the car headlights to brighten my surroundings, I can’t see much. I listen for footsteps, perhaps some rustling in the grass or the sound of twigs breaking, but there’s nothing.

The floorboards of the deck creak as I approach the front door. Jessica’s right; it’s wide open. There’s no damage on the door, which at first glance would suggest that whoever Tony is, he’s the one who has dropped Jessica a visit. But Jessica has an older door with a shitty lock that can easily be pried opened with a simple slide of a credit card.

If there was someone at the time Jessica came home, he would’ve left when she started screaming. Most burglars aren’t violent and would rather run away than escalate the situation by assaulting the homeowner. The latter would only increase their risk of getting a harsh sentence if they get caught.

Besides, there are always other houses to raid. Most burglars are pretty mercenary; they see their work as an entrepreneurial enterprise and constantly reassess their risks and rewards.

I turn on the lights as I check the rooms in the house one by one. The kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, and the two bedrooms. It doesn’t take long.

“Max!” I feel like an idiot yelling in an empty house. Although I’ve checked the house, a dog could hide in small spaces where a human wouldn’t fit. Hearing his name being called could draw the dog out.

“Max!” I open the closets and kitchen cabinets. Now I regret not asking Jessica what kind of a dog Max is. He could be a horse-sized Great Dane or a pint-sized Chihuahua.

Okay, so the dog is either not inside the house or he doesn’t respond to a stranger calling him. Maybe he’ll come if Jessica calls him. With the house empty, it’s safe for her to go back inside, at least for now.

The police should be able to tell us if this is a common occurrence around here. And if it is, she should have nothing to worry about since the perpetrator probably wasn’t specifically targeting her.

“Max!” I walk outside and stand on the sidewalk. I see movement in the shrubs in front of the house across the street. I squint and see a hint of something white and brown moving. I quietly close in, careful not to scare whatever’s in there.

Just as I’m about to reach out my hand to make an opening in the hedge, a wet nose appears. Then, a pair of friendly eyes on a background of shiny white, brown, and black fur. A pink tongue slides out and licks my hand, covering it with dog drool.

“Hi, Max,” I say while I pat the dog’s head. I check the name on the collar. Yup. This is the right dog. “Good boy, Max.”

I hear the click clack of a woman’s heels on the asphalt and turn around as my hand pets Max’s head.

“Oh my God. You found him,” Jessica says. She exhales with relief, her eyes filling with water as she gets closer, her eyes fixed on Max as if she’s afraid he’s going to disappear if she so much as blinks. “Thank you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I say.

As Jessica crouches right beside me, the bushes in front of us starts to shake, presumably from Max’s tail wagging. He emerges from the hedge and she leans down to hug him. “Oh, Max. You’re okay.”

“We should move. You don’t want to destroy this nice hedge,” I say as I stand up, looking at Max as he wiggles with the back half of his body still buried inside the shrubs and his face smushed in Jessica’s chest.

Lucky bastard. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish I was that dog right now.

“Come, Max. Let’s go home,” Jessica says, getting up. Max follows her out of the hedge and looks expectantly at her. Jessica turns her attention toward me and gives me the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.

Before I can even deal with the warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest caused by that genuine smile, she throws her hands around me and hugs me tight. She says, “Thank you.”

I swallow as I try to ignore how nice it feels to have her body pressed up against my chest. Warmth radiates from her slender body. Her hair smells like creamy vanilla, like what lingered on my sheets after that night. I inhale the scent of her and wish I could take her home, keep her in my arms all night.

The sound of a car turning onto the street ends the moment. We both look toward the bend, where a police car is approaching. Jessica pulls away and breaks the hug, but not before giving me another grateful smile.

And there, in that moment of vulnerability, I see desire flash in her green eyes as her hands linger for a few seconds too long on me. She definitely still wants me.

I know your secret now. You’re not getting away from me. I don’t care if you have a boyfriend. Tony can go to hell.