“So let’s talk,” I told her, forcing myself to stay patient. Marie swallowed, then reached for the cup of tea sitting on the block in front of her, taking a nervous sip.

“Okay, so here goes,” she said quietly, refusing to look at me. “We’ve got some big changes ahead of us. You need to remember that it just happened, babe. It’s not like I did it on purpose. Please remember that.”

She shot me another quick look, her face full of dread. Put that together with the puffy eyes and I realized we were in the shit. Deep shit. Had she cheated on me? Rage roared through my soul, drowning out my ability to think.

Whoever the fuck the guy was, I wouldn’t just kill him. I’d kill him slow. Wasn’t sure what I’d do to Marie. Jesus. Never saw it coming, not even for a minute. I’d thought my wife was happy.

“Tell me,” I ordered her, my voice cold. I forced the feelings down, burying them deep under a layer of ice. Hold it together, don’t do anything stupid ’til you hear her out.

“Okay, so while you were gone I—”

A piercing howl tore through the kitchen from behind the house, followed by a series of agonized, terrifying yelps.

Marie’s eyes widened and she jumped to her feet. “That was Ariel!”

Another howl tore through the air. Sure as shit, she was right—that was definitely our dog. Good God, of all the fucking times for the mutt to go apeshit. Marie was halfway to the door when I caught her, instinctively jerking her behind my body as I pulled out my gun.

“Stay inside,” I told her. “Could be anything.”

Full of dark purpose, I reached for the door handle—irony, anyone? Here I was, ready to do anything to protect this woman, even though she’d probably cheated on me. Fuck it. Opening the door, I looked outside cautiously.

The smell hit me first.

Jesus.

Christ.

Skunk. Fucking dog had found a skunk. The harsh reality sank in as Marie moaned behind me.

“That is the worst smell on earth,” she said. There was a rustling in the bushes, and then Ariel burst out into the open, racing toward us.

“Down!” I shouted at him, because the dog was about two seconds from jumping me and then I’d reek, too. Ariel fell back cowering, whining up at us even as waves of stench radiated off of his body.

The stink was strong. Seriously strong. My eyes started burning and I felt the tiny hairs inside my nose standing straight up. I opened my mouth, hoping that bypassing my nose might do some good. This only made things worse because now I could taste it.

“I think I’m gonna puke,” Marie whispered behind me. “Shit, what should we do? Have you ever had to clean skunk off him before?”

I shook my head, frustration mixing with the anger that still filled me. “No, I remember my mom cleaning off a dog when I was a kid, but I’ve been lucky out here. I’ve smelled skunks but never had one get too close to the house. Fuck, I got no idea what we should do. Hose him off?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Let me look it up, see what I can find.”

“We could just shoot him,” I grunted, glancing down at my gun. “Of course, we’d still have to deal with a skunked dog corpse.”

“Please tell me you aren’t serious.”

I glanced back to find her holding a hand over her mouth. There was a distinctly green tinge to her skin, and as I watched, she gagged.

“Just go look it up,” I said, the words short. “I’ll stay out here, keep him calm.”

She stepped back into the house, and I blinked, eyes still watering. It wasn’t just a smell. No. This was a tangible, evil presence wafting around my body like something out of a horror movie.

After what felt like hours, Marie stuck her head out the door again.

“I found a recipe.”

“Tomato juice?” I asked. “Or is that just an urban legend?”

“They say tomato juice does nothing. But we can blot him with paper towels, and then wash him with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and detergent—there’s lots of sources saying that it works.”

“Do we have the stuff?” I said, frowning at the dog. How long would it take to wear off? Probably weeks . . . Fuck.

“Yeah, we have everything except rubber gloves,” she said. “I could go to town and get them, but apparently there’s about a ten minute window. At that point, the smell will set in and then we’ll be screwed. We’re supposed to start by blotting off the oils.”

I closed my eyes, a condemned man.

“Give me the paper towels.”

“Wait.”

“What?”

“Take off your club colors first,” she said softly. “Otherwise you’ll get skunk on them.”

Shit—that’d go over just great at the clubhouse. I turned toward her, tucking the gun back into my pants. Then I pulled off my leather vest with my Reapers MC patches on it. Folding it carefully, I started to hand it to her, then hesitated. Marie waited, frowning at me, and I thought about what she’d said earlier. Had she cheated on me?

The dog had distracted me for a minute, but now the anger came flooding back.

“What were you going to tell me?” I asked her bluntly.

“Let’s take care of the dog first,” she replied, eyes dropping. “We’ve only got a few minutes, Horse. The stink is already working its way down into his fur. We need more time for this discussion, okay?”

No, it wasn’t okay. Ariel whined, and the unholy smell grew stronger as he crept forward to lean heavily against my leg. Marie gagged again, eyes blinking rapidly from the fumes.

Fumes or guilt?

“Tell me the fucking truth. Did you—”

Marie’s face twisted and then she turned away and started retching. I reached for her hair, planning to hold it back or something, but then I remembered I was pissed at her so I stood back. Ariel whined again, flopping to his back and showing his stomach.

Frustration burned through me, and suddenly I couldn’t keep still.

“Goddammit!” I shouted, kicking the side of the concrete steps. The dog cringed harder as a wave of intense pain radiated up my leg. Fucking hell, had I just broken my toe? Sure as shit felt like it. Marie heaved again, then managed to stand up, wiping off her mouth with the bottom of her shirt.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but I’d had enough.

“Get me the fucking paper towels,” I yelled. “And make up the cleaning shit!”

She ran into the house, returning less than a minute later with a roll of paper towels. I shoved my cut at her, snatching the towels and plastic garbage bag out of her hands in an awkward shuffle. Marie disappeared back inside, still gagging.

Leaning down, I started blotting the dog. You’d think my sense of smell would have deadened by now. No such luck. The towels soaked up the oily spray, which seemed to have hit the dog square in the face, transferring it to my fingers in the process. My eyes watered and I wondered how well the stupid mixture Marie was fixing would actually work.

This fucking sucked.

“Here’s the cleaner,” Marie said, stepping back outside. She carried a large glass measuring bowl that had a handle and spout. A milky, watery mixture sloshed inside, along with two kitchen sponges.

“Bring it here,” I snapped, wondering if I’d ever get the taste of skunk out of my mouth. Marie set it on the ground next to me, kneeling as she grabbed a sponge and raised it to Ariel’s sad face.

“The article said to be careful of his eyes,” she told me, starting on his nose. I picked up the other sponge and started working on his ear. This wasn’t exactly made easier by him slithering around on his back, as if our attempts to clean him were the cruelest torture in history.

“I’m being careful,” I replied through gritted teeth, squeezing the sponge. The mix squirted out of it, straight toward his eye. Marie glared at me, reaching for a paper towel to dab around the area. The dog blinked, but thankfully he seemed to have closed his eyes in time. Marie gagged again.