Read Online Blue Blooded by Shelly Bell - Free Book Online

hurt Walter, now, could I?” She tugged on the dog’s leash and led him toward their car. He waddled alongside her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth making him look as though he was smiling.
    Logan came up on the other side of her and seized her by her elbow, halting her in her tracks. “What are you doing? We can’t take a dog with us on the run.”
    No, she supposed it wasn’t ideal to add him to the chaos of the situation, but she couldn’t just leave him here without anyone to take care of him. Besides, she’d always wanted a dog. With eight kids under eighteen in the house at once, her father hadn’t let her have a pet, stating it was too much responsibility. Once she left home, she was too busy at school and then with her career to have a pet waiting for her at home. There were days she worked on a big story and never made it home at all. Not too difficult since she’d suffered from insomnia for years.
    But this dog needed her and she wouldn’t abandon him.
    Figuring Logan required a little cajoling, she subtly batted her eyelashes at him. “It’ll be fine. How much trouble could one little dog be?”
    His eyes narrowed into slits. Figured he didn’t buy her flirtatious act. Kate and Danielle had told her about Doms and how they could see through the bullshit. She hadn’t quite believed them, but it appeared as though they hadn’t been lying.
    â€œFine,” he said, surprising her. “Just until we get to our first stop and then we’ll figure out what to do with him.”
    She sighed dramatically. It wasn’t worth arguing about right now. Once he spent some time with the dog and realized he wouldn’t be a problem, he’d capitulate. “Uh-huh. Whatever you say.”
    â€œYou’re mocking me.” He opened his car door, one hand on top of the car. “His name’s Walter?”
    She scooped up the dog in her arms and settled inside the passenger seat with the animal on her lap. “Yep.”
    â€œThat’s what it says on his tag?”
    â€œNo.” Walter collapsed on her thighs with a sigh and began to lick her hand. “His tag says his name’s Brutus, but he doesn’t look like a Brutus to me, so I’m changing it.”
    Logan glanced at her as he started the car, lines creasing his forehead. “Why Walter?”
    â€œI’m naming him after the man who inspired my career.” She cupped the dog’s face in her hands and turned him toward Logan. “Besides, this dog has the same eyebrows.”
    Driving down the road, Logan didn’t smile at her attempt at a joke. Instead, he looked so deep in thought, she wasn’t even sure if he heard her. And that bothered her. Not because he was ignoring her, but because she felt as though she’d done something wrong and she wasn’t used to that feeling. Or at least she didn’t normally care if she had. It came with the job.
    Until she’d met Kate, she hadn’t had a true friend since high school, too obsessed with school and her career to really put the energy into a friendship. Now she had three girlfriends—Kate, Danielle, and Lisa—who somehow didn’t run the other way when they saw her coming. They called her out on her crap and accepted her into their little circle without reservation. She didn’t have to worry about doing something wrong because they were used to it. They even expected it.
    The silence in the car was deafening. Uncomfortable by it, she wiggled in her seat. After a few minutes, she blew out a breath. “You’re not really upset that I caused a scene, are you?”
    Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, he didn’t respond for a couple of beats. Then he glanced at the dog before returning his attention to the road ahead of him. “No,” he said quietly. “You surprised me, that’s all.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œYou stuck your neck out for