Run to Ground(28)

“You’re delusional,” Theo said, giving a side-glance at Jules while suppressing yet another almost-smile. It was a nice feeling, to have someone on his side, even in such a minor way. Hugh and Otto had been teamed up for months in a save-Theo-from-himself effort. Even though Theo knew it was well intentioned, it still made him feel like the outsider.

“Delusional, and a stalker. A delusional stalker,” Jules added, her mouth quivering, as if she was hiding a smile. Hugh shot her a displeased glare, but Theo held out his fist to her. She stared at it, looking startled for a moment, but then grinned and bumped her knuckles with his. As soon as they connected, he knew he wouldn’t be interrogating her anymore. He was still curious about Jules—intensely curious—but his interest had changed when she’d come to his rescue. He didn’t just want to figure out what the squirrelly waitress was running from. Theo wanted to know her, to learn the little silly things about her, like why she needed all that food and what she did when she wasn’t at the diner and how she looked first thing in the morning. The last thought made him swallow hard.

“My frozen stuff’s melting, guys. I’d better run.” With that, she backed up her loaded cart, did a U-turn, and headed for the registers. Theo watched her go.

“Thought you didn’t like the new waitress.”

Theo turned toward his partner, narrowing his eyes. “Quit stalking me.” He shoved his cart down the aisle away from Hugh.

“I was shopping, you egotistical bastard!” Hugh yelled after him, the amusement in his voice making Theo clench his jaw and flip him off. Hugh’s laughter followed him through the store. Even that irritation couldn’t keep Jules from his mind, though. Despite his almost-empty cart and Hugh’s presence and still not having anything to eat for dinner, Theo was glad he’d gone to the grocery store after his shift.

He’d made an ally.

A hot one.

* * *

Theo was staring at his bedroom ceiling when the howling started.

It was a low whine at first, barely catching his notice. As usual, Theo was spending the hour between two and three a.m. rerunning the last few days before Don’s death. Sometimes he’d play the what-if game—what if Theo had said this? Or what if he’d done that? Tonight he was replaying the hours and minutes, catching every single clue he’d missed now that it was too late to do any good.

The high-pitched sound increased in volume, and Theo raised his head before letting it thump back onto the pillow.

“Stupid dog. Useless dog,” he muttered, but guilt and his innate sense of fairness wouldn’t let that stand. “Stupid me. Fucking useless me.” As galling as it had been to hear, his LT had been right. Viggy had been a great dog and a great officer when he’d worked with Don. Theo was ruining him. He wasn’t just useless; he was destructive. It was sheer luck that no one had been seriously injured in the explosion at Gordon Schwartz’s house. Everyone would be better off if Officer Theodore Bosco wasn’t around.

The whine amped up to a full howl, as if Viggy was providing a soundtrack to Theo’s self-loathing. The neighbors would be calling dispatch soon, and then Otto would be making a house call. Before, Theo would’ve just gotten a cranky phone call, but the guys had been worried about him since Don had died. Although the rational part of Theo’s brain understood why Hugh and Otto had been acting like anxious mother hens for the past couple of months, he still felt smothered. Every “Are you okay?” made him want to punch someone…hard and repeatedly.

He didn’t know what to do with this kind of anger.

The howl switched pitches and increased in volume. With a huff of mingled annoyance and concern, Theo got out of bed, yanking on track pants before heading to the back door, turning on the porch light on his way. The second he stepped outside, the howling stopped, as suddenly as if someone had flicked a switch.

Theo peered through the gloom to see Viggy slip into his shelter, tail tucked. Feeling like he was suffocating on his pity and hopelessness, Theo headed back to his bedroom. He wasn’t even through the kitchen before the mournful howl began again.

Shoving the heels of his hands against his eyes, he sucked in an audible breath before dropping his hands. He reversed his path and returned to the back door, not bothering to turn on the porch light this time. Again, Viggy went silent, darting back into his shelter as soon as Theo came into view. As he stood on the porch, the cool air of the now-silent night brushing over his bare skin, Theo’s annoyance trickled away, leaving only guilt and sadness in its wake.

He picked his way toward the fenced enclosure, careful not to step on anything prickly with his bare feet. For a long time, he stared at the dark entrance to Viggy’s shelter. Theo was suddenly exhausted, more tired than he’d ever felt, and he sank down to sit on the rough grass next to the chain link.