Page 51 of Clever Deceit

“Please,” I begged nobody in particular. “Please, don’t take them....”

“You can leave him,” Tony added, nodding toward Warren. “If you take the dog.”

I parted my lips in horror. Was he really going to make me choose? Warren stared back at me, teeth gritted, silently telling me that he could handle it—telling me to keep Silver here, at home, where we knew she would be safe.

But I couldn’t let them take him away. I needed him here with me. Who knew what Tony would do if he thought he could access my mom and me without Warren’s protective presence.

“Take the dog,” I whispered, and I hurried over to Silver again, wrapping my arms around her and squeezing her tight. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I couldn’t believe he was forcing me into this choice. I didn’t know if I was making the right call, but I just knew I couldn’t let them take Warren from me.

The officers let go of Warren, and I watched in horror as Silver was dragged back to the van. My mother was sobbing into Barry’s shoulder as she watched our beloved dog get stolen from us. I could see the way Silver was carrying her back leg slightly, and another surge of anger coursed through me. I had to push it down—I couldn’t give them any more excuse to take me away from here too, and I was sure Tony would jump on the opportunity to get me locked up somewhere Warren couldn’t look out for me.

“You haven’t heard the last of this,” I spat at Tony as he climbed back into his car. He grinned at me, that evil, shark-like smile that didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” he replied. And with that, he pulled away, following the police cars and the animal control officers out of the driveway and back on to the road.

“It’s okay,” Warren murmured to me, smoothing his hand up and down my back. “It’s going to be okay.”

I pressed my face into his shoulder, trying to breathe, trying to control myself, but I couldn’t. Because I didn’t see how anything was going to be okay again. I had let my guard down and allowed myself to believe I could be something more than the person Tony’s influence had made me, and now, he was back—and he had taken my dog from me.

My heart shattered as I imagined Silver alone in the back of the car, wondering what was going on, probably so confused and frightened. I didn’t care what it took, I would get her back.

And I would make Tony pay for what he had done here.

CHAPTER 24

LILY

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“HERE, SWEETHEART, SIT down,” Mom told me, running her hand over my hair to try and calm me. It felt hollow—I didn’t see how anything was going to be able to calm me after what had just happened.

“You need to rest, Mom,” I told her, almost robotically. I needed something to focus on, something that wasn’t the burning, aching pain deep down in my chest now my dog had been taken from me.

“Honey, don’t worry about me right now,” she replied, guiding me to a seat. “Warren, can you get her some water?”

“You stay here, I’ll get it,” Barry offered, and he hurried out of the room as Warren crouched down beside me.

“Hey,” he murmured, tilting my chin up so my eyes could meet his. “It’s going to be okay.”

I wanted to believe him. I really, really did. But how could I, when Silver had just been taken from me? That dog was an innocent in all of this; she had never done anything wrong in her life. Another creature who’d been pulled into my mess of a life, and who was probably now struggling because of it. I hated this. I just wanted it to end...

He put his arm around me, but before he could say anything else, I heard the sound of wheels crunching on the driveway outside.

“Who’s that?” I asked fearfully, not even sure if I wanted to know the answer. It felt like everything that happened today was just one piece of bad news after another.

“I’ll check,” Warren replied as Barry returned with the water, handing it to me. I sipped on it shakily, feeling sick to my stomach as I listened to hear who was at the door.

A few moments later, Frank and Rocco strolled in to the living room. They glanced around at our faces, and Rocco shook his head.

“What the hell happened here?” he asked. “Is everything okay? I heard a commotion on the fire scanner, and when I saw it was your place, I wanted to come down and make sure everything was okay...”

“He stole Silver,” I replied, my voice bubbling with tears before I could stop it.

“He stole—who stole what?”

“Her dog,” Warren explained. “Her ex, Tony McCarthy, turned up here and pretended Silver attacked him. He called animal control and got her taken away. Tried to get me taken away too, but he just settled for the dog in the end.”

“That dog is usually safe?” Frank asked.