"How are you planning to keep the dog inside today?" Broadrick asked as he leaned against my kitchen counter, holding a mug of coffee. Damn, he looked hot doing it.

I leaned over and picked up NB before he jumped and scratched my legs. "How come he's NB and your dog when he's cute and 'the dog' and mine when he gets in trouble?"

NB settled into my arms and rested his head on my elbow, giving it a lick. He had a real thing for elbows. I figured there were worse things in the world. At least it wasn't drugs. Or humping.

Random humping would definitely be worse.

Broadrick crossed one foot over the other and raised an eyebrow. Not a good sign. He sipped his coffee, letting the suspense build. "You really have to ask? I mean, I'll answer if you really need me to."

I narrowed my eyes and tugged on the hem of my gray T-shirt. "No."

NB wiggled, asking to be let down, and I shook off his hair as he scampered to the other side of the kitchen.

It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since I'd had to rescue him from Katy's, and he already had his eyes on the back door. The monster was just waiting for us to leave to make his escape. If I ever found the person who taught him how to get out of the backyard, we were going to have words.

It was probably Frankie Zanetti's cat, Spencer. I'd watched him for a few days in February and he made my life a living hell. That cat definitely had a drug problem. He let the nip get to him.

"It's because you're trouble. Like the dog," Broadrick clarified, even though I hadn't asked for it.

I stepped in front of NB as he walked toward the back door on his way to prove his addiction to trouble. His little tail whipped around so hard it hit him in the side.

I rolled my eyes at Broadrick as he watched me struggle to keep NB in line. He just stood there in his black polo getting ready for a day fighting crime or whatever the hell he did with Ridge Jefferson while on military leave.

"I know. There's no need to clarify," I said, laying on the sass extra thick.

It did not faze him.

Unfortunately.

"What's the plan for today?" he asked while looking into his coffee cup, making it seem like he was just being curious, but I knew better. He was trying to figure it out, so he could stay two steps ahead of me.

I knew what he was up to, but since I actually wanted his help this morning, I played along.

"Right. The plan. The plan for me, the plan chosen especially for me. My plan," I said in my best Emperor's New Groove voice.

He didn't even smirk. "Vonnie."

"That plan?" I finished.

Still nothing.

"I waste my talents on you."

Finally, his lip twitched. "I'm not sure quoting The Emperor's New Groove counts as a talent."

"See!" I pointed a finger at him. "You recognized it."

Besides, it wasn't my fault that NB learned how to escape from the backyard. I'd given him access, and he abused the privilege. How did I get blamed?

"You need to admit that the new doggy door is not working," Broadrick said, finishing his coffee and rinsing the cup before he put it in the dishwasher.

I did not need to admit anything, and he couldn't make me. "Never."

Katy gave the dog treats one time and now he wandered over there whenever we left him unattended to get more. Technically, it was her faulty fence too since I rented her old home. If we needed someone to blame, I recommended her.

"NB and I talked, and he's going to be a good boy," I said, staring at the dog and hoping he'd follow through on the lie.

The dog in question, with his adorable little squishy face, walked right past me, lifted a paw, and scratched at the doggy door, wanting outside. I pretended not to notice.

Broadrick closed the dishwasher. "You sure about that?"

"I've willed it."

He shook his head. "You'll have to stay home with him."

What? Why did I have to? Did he think that because I'm the mother? "I can't. I have to visit the ball field today."

If I waited too much longer, all the good evidence would be gone. It might rain at any time in April, so I couldn't risk waiting.

NB ran between us and sat in the middle of the kitchen with his gaze set on the door like he might hypnotize us into opening it for him.

"No way. It's not safe," Broadrick said, reminding me why I walked down this road in the first place. He was right-not that I'd admit it-and I needed him to come with me to be a lookout for the fuzz.

I picked up NB and faced him toward Broadrick, hoping he'd make his sad puppy dog face at him. It normally worked.

"If it's safe, then you can take him with you. As backup," he said.

I shook my head. "No, he'll ruin the crime scene."

The dog peed on everything, and Anderson might actually arrest me if my dog peed on something important. Even I had my limits.

Broadrick sighed and rubbed a finger against his temple. "I thought that's what you were planning to do."

"Funny." Not. I never ruined a crime scene. How rude to say such a thing. I just poked around a little.

I sat NB back on the ground and grabbed my black spring coat from the chair. He ran right to the back door and pawed at the flap, but I continued to the front and ignored him. It's what my mother did to me when I misbehaved as a child.

"Vonnie," Broadrick said as he glanced back at NB and the scratching. He was doing a horrible job of ignoring the misbehavior.

I hung my head in shame. "I locked the door. He'll be fine."

"Why didn't you just say that?" he asked as he opened the front.

I closed it behind us and locked it against a backdrop of NB barking. He'd realized his jail sentence quickly.

"Because you're such an old man," I said as I skipped a few steps to hit the walkway before him.

Broadrick stayed at my side. "I'm only a few years older than you."

I shrugged and swung my car keys around on my forefinger. "It's a mental thing. Not an age thing."

He might have only been four years older, but he acted like an adult.

Broadrick came up behind me, stole the car keys mid-swing, and then continued on his way without missing a step.

"Hey!" I ran after him, but he already had the doors unlocked.

He slid into the driver's seat of my black Camero and left me to my side. I'd been the one to survive a shootout at Frankie Zanetti's house to earn the car. I should be the one to drive it.

"Who made you the driver?" I asked as I buckled my seat belt.

He started the car, and it purred to life. I loved that sound. "Your ten unpaid tickets."

How dare he? "Those are parking tickets. They don't count as real tickets, and I'm going to pay them."

I just had a few other things to pay first. Like rent. Then I had to buy food, and NB needed a new chewy toy. Otherwise, he'd take his anger out on the locked doggy door and my couch. Plus, I had a plan for the tickets. I'd put them on my Christmas list and ask my parents to pay for them as a gift.

Broadrick drove past the bakery, and my mouth salivated. Looking for clues would be a lot easier if I had an iced coffee.

No, Vonnie.

No iced coffees until I paid for the parking tickets. That's the responsible adult thing to do. I unwrapped a piece of gum from the stash in my car and popped it in my mouth.

It did not taste like iced coffee. Yuck. Grape. If Broadrick planned to keep leaving gum in my car, he needed better flavors.

"Don't worry. I paid them for you," Broadrick said without even a glance in my direction.

"What? How?" I sputtered and then had to wipe drool from my lips with the extra gum saliva. "That's my HIPAA information."

Broadrick tilted his head and looked at me just long enough to roll his eyes. "It's Pelican Bay."

"Ah. Yeah." Small town shit. That explained it. "Well... thanks. I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it," Broadrick said as he stole a piece of gum from my container. I decided not to mention it since he'd paid for the tickets. And it was technically his gum.

"Can I stop and have an iced coffee?" No point in restricting myself if I didn't have tickets to pay.

He chuckled once. "After we don't get arrested at the baseball field."

"Right. That's what I meant." See, look at him always being responsible.

He snapped his gum, and the car lit up like grape.

We hit the ball field two minutes later, and Broadrick parked close to the area but not right next to it. He'd learned how to blend in nicely. I liked to pretend I taught him that skill, but he probably learned it in the military.

He shut off the car and locked the doors. "Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely." I unlocked the doors.

He locked them again immediately. So annoying. "I really don't want you to get involved in this case, Vonnie."

I rested my hand on the handle without touching the unlock button. "And I get that, Broadrick, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't at least do something. My sister's boyfriend's life is on the line." I hurried to unlock the door.

He locked it again. Ugh. "I'm sure the police will clear Allen of any wrongdoing."

Unlock.

Lock.