Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

Inside, Charles and Clara plopped down next to Max and Buddy.

Charles shuffled the deck and tossed out two cards. "Three of a kind!"

The dogs had their own cards in front of them. He'd always played like this-just

him and the dogs. But now Clara was here, and the rules had changed a bit. Max

and Buddy kept up, though. No surprise-they were his dogs, after all. Smart as

could be.

Clara sat cross-legged, eyebrows knit together as she thought hard. Then, when

she thought no one was looking, she snuck a peek at Max's cards.

Charles caught her in the act right away. "Hey! No peeking! We said no cheating,

remember?"

All the dogs' cards were face up on the floor, so really, it was a game of trust more

than anything.

Clara pulled her gaze back, voice calm. "I'm on the opposite team from Max.

You're my partner."

When the four of them played, teams changed every round. Whoever called the

suit first picked the team-whoever had that suit became your partner for that

hand.

Charles grinned and leaned in, dropping his voice. "Is that so? If we're

teammates, we can swap cards. They're just dogs, after all."

No sooner had he said it than Max and Buddy started barking, even baring their

teeth a little.

Charles retreated, hands up. "Alright, alright, no swapping. Chill out, you two."

The four of them played cards all night. By the time they were done, the sun was

coming up.

Clara couldn't keep her eyes open. She slumped over onto Max and fell asleep

right there.

This blanket is way too comfy, she thought as she drifted off.

Charles had powered through the night, but he was barely hanging on. He

grabbed a fresh blanket, draped it over Clara, and then crashed against the couch

himself.

When the doctor came in the next morning, he found two people and two dogs

sprawled everywhere, sound asleep.

It was afternoon by the time Charles finally woke up. The room was empty.

He hurried downstairs and saw a plate of food waiting for him on the table. Clara

had left it for him. Outside, she was playing with Max and Buddy.

He was about to join them when his stomach growled loudly. He wolfed down a

few bites, then pushed open the glass door to head out.

His phone rang. It was Richard.

"Did you find her yet?"

One line, and Charles was yanked right back to reality.

He didn't answer, so Richard pressed, "Are you actually reliable or not? Weren't

your dogs supposed to be able to find anything?"

Charles shut the glass door, cutting

off the sounds of Clara laughing

outside. "We're still looking. You said

three days, right? It's only been one.

What's the rush?"

Richard didn't know Charles well, but he knew he only answered to the Chester

family. Since they'd sent Charles to handle things, nothing else came first.

Richard sighed. "Day after tomorrow. You bring her to Palm Bay yourself."

Charles' face went cold.

Mitch always said: around strangers, keep your mouth shut and your face blank.

"Fine. Anything else?"

Richard didn't bother with small talk. He just hung up.

Charles listened to the dial tone before finally setting his phone down.

For the first time, he didn't feel like playing with Max and Buddy.

That night, Clara dragged him out to

the night market. They hit every stall,

scooping up so many stuffed

animals that Clara couldn't carry

them all. She ended up calling two

cars just to get everything home.noveldrama

By the time they got back, the pile of plushies nearly covered Max and Buddy's

whole room.

Clara stood in front of the mountain of toys, counting. "One hundred and one, one

hundred and two... two hundred and six."

She let out a satisfied sigh and turned to Charles. "Perfect. It's an even number.

That way Max and Buddy can each have a hundred and three-no fighting."

Of course, the two dogs never argued over toys anyway.

But Clara treated them like little kids. She wanted everything to be fair, down to

the last plushie.

Charles had been down all morning

after Richard's call, but once Clara

dragged him out to the market, he

started to feel better. He'd laughed

more that evening than he had in

ages.

But then he saw the bandages on her neck and wrists, and the guilt hit. He

realized he hadn't really taken care of her at all-she was the one who'd been

cheering him up.

He was about to say something when Clara asked, "Hey, are you feeling better

now?"

Charles froze. So she'd noticed.

He quickly turned away, rubbing his eyes. How could she be just a random person

he picked up? She was an angel. He couldn't let her go.

Forget Richard. Forget Dylan. They could both take a hike.

From now on, Clara was staying right here-with him. She was going to be his

little sister, no matter what.