Page 28 of Sharp Lies

“Don’t know. I found her by the side of the road when she was young. No idea what she went through before that.”

This evidently made my mom love the dog even more because she cuddled her even tighter. “Poor girl. No one deserves to be left alone like that.”

“Okay, now you’re making me think you love her more than you love me,” I joked. “I didn’t like fireworks when I was a kid either, if you’ll remember.”

My mom cast me a sarcastic look. “And you’re a human being, which means I could explain to you that they weren’t going to hurt you and expect you to understand.”

“Mom,” I snorted. “I was five years old. How much did you think I was going to understand at that age?”

“More than a dog can,” she said primly. “Now get us out of here. Let’s get her into my bedroom so she can get into bed with me.”

“Or,” I said pointedly, “we could get her into the living room where I can get you both on the couch to watch a movie. Seeing as how it’s only eight.”

She allowed that that might be okay and that she did actually want to finish her dinner, and I pushed her—and Silver—back into the hallway, shaking my head at how ridiculous the situation was.

And also loving my mom for loving my dog so much that she was willing to take her to bed just to make her feel better about the fireworks outside. Because Mom was right; no one deserved to be alone and frightened. Not even a dog.

***

SITTING ON THE COUCH with us evidently wasn’t good enough, though, as Silver started going crazy again the moment we sat down. Instead of staying with us on the couch, she jumped off, nearly upsetting my mom’s plate, and ran for the door. Confused, I followed her, and found her jumping against the glass like she needed outside.

That didn’t make sense, though. She’d been hiding from the sound inside the bathroom. Why would she now want to go out, to where the sound was coming from?

Maybe she just needed to go to the bathroom and was frantic at the idea that she might not be able to.

I opened the door, thinking that I’d leave it open so she could come right back inside once she was done, and had my feet nearly taken out from under me as Silver scrabbled to get through the door. She hit the patio running, flew down the steps, and then sprinted straight for the fence between our yard and Warren’s.

The one he’d just mended.

I ran after her, shouting for her to stop. I didn’t want her blowing through the fence again after he’d just fixed it, and I sure as hell didn’t want the lecture I’d get from him if she damaged it again. Instead of running through it, though, she leapt it with a grace I’d never seen before, and then ran for the front door of his house.

“What in the hell?” I muttered, turning and running for the gate at the front of my mom’s property. I got through our gate and turned for Warren’s, my eyes on his house. Silver was on his patio how, digging at his front door like her life depended on getting inside.

What the fuck was going on here?

I got to his porch and then his front door and knocked, my heart racing. No one answered my knock, and when I put my ear against the door, I couldn’t hear anything inside. Glancing toward his driveway, I saw Warren’s truck parked in its usual spot. He was definitely home. I knocked again and waited, then knocked a third time.

Where the hell was the man? The lights were on inside, so he wasn’t in bed. What was he doing in there, and why was Silver acting like he was in some sort of trouble?

I put my hand on the doorknob, my heart growing still. This was a man who’d been kind to me the last couple times I’d seen him but had also been cold and distant to me when I first met him. He’d never shared anything personal, and he’d certainly never invited me into the house. Did I dare to go in after him, even if I thought he might be in trouble? I didn’t even know the guy’s last name. Or whether he lived here on his own.

This felt like it could go all sorts of wrong.

But then I heard a crash from inside the house, and Silver’s barking increased in volume, and that was all I needed. I twisted the knob and threw open the door, barging into the house without another thought. Warren had been there for me when Tony invaded my house and tried to intimidate me, and it was the last I could do to be here for him if something bad was happening.

I paused just inside the door, listening intently and trying to figure out what was going on.

“Warren?” I called.

Another crash sounded out from somewhere in the house, and I darted forward, moving in that direction. “Silver,” I said. “Where is he?”

She wasn’t a hunting dog and didn’t have any instincts for that sort of thing, but she seemed to know exactly what I was asking her because she darted past me, nails clicking on the floor, and headed straight for the stairs. I got there seconds after her and saw that the stairs led downward into the basement. It was dark down there, but Silver definitely thought that was where we’d find Warren.

I darted downward, wondering what the hell he was doing down there and why he hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights.

Moments later, I was at the bottom of the stairs and feeling along the wall for the light switch. I found it quickly and hit it, flooding the basement with light. It was a huge, undecorated area full of what looked like old furniture and tools. A quick measure told me that everything was in at least some sort of order, with chairs in one section and tables in another, with all the tools in a specific corner of the basement.

And there, in a corner, I saw a huddled form on the floor. Silver had already gone to him and was twining herself around him, whining gently. I walked forward quickly, my hands out and my brain racing.