Penni poked her head around the door. “She’s exaggerating, Zoey. I’m not the one who’s being stubborn. I want to take her brother on vacation with me and Jackal to visit my family, and she refuses to see the possibility of him going. I—”
Putting her hand up, Zoey stopped the argument. “Penni, give me a second to talk to Grace. Then I’ll see if we can come up with a solution that you both will be happy with. Is Grace in yet?”
“In here,” a feminine voice came from inside the office.
Casey moved to the side, allowing both Zoey and Penni entrance into Grace’s office.
The toddler started squealing at Buster, and tried to jump out of Casey’s arms. Using the bottom of the toddler’s bandana, Zoey wiped the drool off Joy’s chin.
“She gets bigger every time I see her. Where’s Sky?”
Casey motioned inside the office. “Fascinated with Grace’s computer.”
Zoey rounded the doorway to see Grace seated behind her desk in the reception area with an adorable girl on her lap.
Grace’s eyes widened in shock when she saw who trailed after her in the office. “Is that Hannibal?”
“His name is Hannibal? I’ve been calling him Buster.” Zoey wasn’t happy with the name choice for such a sweet dog, yet she managed to hold on to her smile. Not to mention, Grace didn’t seem like the type to name a dog after a serial killer.
“I was calling him Roo before I gave him to Stump.” Grace swung her computer chair to the side to pat Buster’s head carefully while holding on to Sky to keep her seated when she saw the dog.
“Stump?” Zoey couldn’t place the name to anyone who had visited Penni and Grace’s office.
“A friend of my husband’s.” Grace managed to keep the excited child from falling off her lap. “You found him yesterday?”
“Yes, on my way into the building. He must have been trying to find you.”
“Poor thing. I was off yesterday. Where you trying to find me?” she said to the dog before lifting her eyes from Buster’s to hers. “I used to bring him and his brother to work with me until they got older.”
“He must have grown bigger since you gave him away. Penni didn’t recognize him when she saw him yesterday.”
“Much bigger. It’s been over a year since I’ve had him in the office. And his fur has grown darker, too.”
“You’ve cleaned him since I saw him yesterday.” Penni reached for Sky when the dog tried to jump onto Grace’s lap.
“The vet was supposed to call you to tell you that I had him. When I took him to the vet, he read the information on the microchip. They tried to contact you before calling me this morning. I was expecting you to call me before I got here.”
“I never received a call.” Grace reached for the cell phone laying on her desk.
“Maybe the vet called your husband.” Zoey grew as confused as Grace seemed to be.
“That explains it,” Penni hastened to accept Zoey’s explanation.
“It doesn’t explain why neither Ice nor Stump told me he was missing.” Grace’s anger became palpable in the small confines of the room.
“They probably didn’t want to upset you.” Zoey didn’t want Grace angry at her husband when she was about to ask for visitation rights. “I was wondering if—”
Zoey broke off as a child’s high-pitched squeal came from the doorway.
The women turned to look at the four men who were trying to fit into the room.
Zoey moved to the other side of Grace’s desk, trying to keep her mouth from dropping open at the leather-wearing bikers who dwarfed the room.
From the way the women were staring at them, Zoey couldn’t tell if they wanted to call the cops or if they knew them.
“Did you forget to mention that Hannibal was missing last night?” Grace’s irate question had the blond man giving Buster a fulminating glare.
“I was hoping to get him back before you found out.”
“That’s what Zoey was just saying.”
Zoey’s eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t said it the way Grace implied.
When the four men stared at her, Zoey could only stand mutely.
Grace pointed at the men in turn while Zoey tried to meet each of the men’s eyes in acknowledgment.
“Zoey, this is my husband Ice. The one standing next to Penni is Jackal. The huge one that Joy grabbed on to is Max, Casey’s husband. And the jerk who is trying to pull Hannibal away from me is Stump. Zoey rented the office next door.” Grace completed the last introduction with a glare.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
Hardened features stared back at her in irritation.
Were these the same men whose wives were constantly extolling their virtues when they discussed them during their frequent lunches?
“She the one who dognapped Hannibal?”
“Excuse me?” Reflexively, Zoey tightened her grip on the Buster’s leash when the man tried to reach for it.