Furious, she marched over. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was bullies. As the man raised his booted foot once more, she reached the scene and jumped in front of the dog, her arms spread wide. “Hey, you. Stop that. You’re hurting him.”

“Excuse me?” The guy sneered but, luckily for her, lowered his foot to the ground. She was in no mood to get kicked. “Why don’t you mind your own business?”

She pointed her finger at him. “You made the dog my business as soon as I saw your boot connect with his rib cage.”

“Dog ate my lunch when I went inside. He needs to be taught a lesson not to do it again.”

The dog no longer bowed his head. Instead he was looking up at her with curiosity on his wrinkled face. She bent to rub his ears, loving it when the dog nudged her hand for more. He wasn’t the most attractive dog she’d ever seen, but he was full of personality. With wet jowls and big brown eyes, he was wider than what seemed normal for a dog his size. She peeked underneath him, confirming his gender. “You can’t discipline a dog for his nature. If you were stupid enough to leave food unattended around him, you should’ve expected it would get eaten. You’re the one who needed the lesson not to do it again.”

“Bitch, I don’t know who you think you are acting all high and mighty, but this here dog’s my property. I can train him however I want. Now, why don’t you go run along before I train you like I train my dog?”

She stepped in front of the animal, her hands on her hips. “I’m not leaving until you promise you won’t harm him.”

“Fuck you.” His face screwed up in a sneer and he spit some tobacco chew on the ground, just barely missing her foot. “I ain’t making no promises to an uptight cunt who sticks her nose into other people’s business.”

He tromped forward, clipping her with his shoulder on his way to snatch back his dog. She twirled around, intending to scoop the animal into her arms, but before she had the chance, the asshole grabbed the dog’s collar and twisted it, yanking him hard and eliciting a yelp.

“That’s it.” She pushed the dog’s owner in an attempt to get him to release the strangling hold he had on the poor thing. “Give me the dog and I won’t call the cops on you for animal cruelty.”

The man turned, the unmitigated anger in his eyes now focused entirely on her. She took a step backward, but she wasn’t quick enough. Forgoing the dog, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook hard enough to snap her head back and to elicit tears. Then he raised one hand, readying to strike. She winced, preparing herself for the painful blow.

It never came.

“Take your hands off the lady,” ordered Logan, his hand wrapped around the man’s wrist midstrike. “Now.”

She let go of the breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. Damn it, she wasn’t the type of woman who needed a man to save her, but since last night, she’d been all too grateful to have Logan at her back.

The man released her with a shove and faced Logan. “This your bitch? You need to teach her a lesson about showing some respect.”

While she crouched and reassuringly rubbed the dog’s neck, Logan stood eerily still with his jaw locked with tension, somehow seeming much taller and formidable than he had a few minutes ago. “Seems like you’re the one who needs to learn respect.”

His gaze falling to the ground, the dog’s owner took off his hat and rubbed the back of his neck. “You know what? This dog ain’t worth it. Just took him to fuck with my ex in the divorce.” He threw up his hands and took a step backward. “He’s all yours now.” He stomped away before getting into his truck and speeding away.

Typical bully. He could pick on something or someone smaller and weaker than himself but when confronted by a man equally his size, he ran with his tail between his legs.

“What happened to not drawing any attention?” Logan asked dryly.

She scratched the dog one final time behind his ears and stood with the leash in her hands. Yeah, she could admit she hadn’t exactly stayed off the grid with her actions, but ever since she’d watched her friend suffer abuse in silence as a teenager, whenever she saw an injustice, she had a hard time keeping her mouth shut. That was one of the reasons she became an investigative reporter. It certainly wasn’t for the low pay or the lousy hours. “I couldn’t just let him 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.

“Fine,” 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.”

“You’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.”

“That’s what it says on his tag?”

“No.” 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?”

“I’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.”