"Good lord, Dex," I whined the next morning when I woke up. "You weigh so much." He made a snuffling sound in response before flailing around and getting to his feet. Once he was off the bed, I stretched and got up as well. The slight whining echoing through the apartment let me know he was ready to go out for his walk. "Hold your horses, babe," I muttered, erecting myself into a standing position before searching through the clothes that littered my floor for a pair of pants.

After locating a pair of jean shorts, I shimmied into them and slightly tucked my shirt into the waistband. Better to look like I was dressed like a bum on purpose rather than I had literally just rolled out of bed and left. Which was exactly what I was doing, but why be technical?

Pulling on a pair of socks along with my beat up converse, I made my way into the bathroom. Dexter was patiently waiting by the door with his leash in his mouth as usual, but I just shook my head at him. Once inside the bathroom I hurriedly brushed my teeth before grabbing a ponytail holder and throwing my hair up into a messy bun. Sighing at my reflection, I wiped away the eyeliner that was smudged under my brown eyes from sleep as I crossed over to Dexter. His nub of a tail wagged excitedly when I clipped his leash onto his collar. "Ready to go?" I asked, smiling when he instantly rose to his feet.

Taking his leash in my hand, I grabbed my purse from the couch. After locating my phone and shoving it in my back pocket, I tossed the bag back to its previous place and picked up my keys from the table behind the door. "Let's go, babe," I told him and his whole butt started to wag as I opened the door.

After locking the door behind me, we made our way out into the blaring sunlight. One thing I had learned since having Dexter, was that not a lot of people wanted to mess with the girl with the Rottweiler. It was nice. Few people were out around this area this early in the day, so the walk towards the small city park was peaceful.

My phone started to vibrate in my pocket, and when I pulled it out Devyn's face was smiling back at me. Shaking my head, I let Dexter lead me as I answered her call. "Good morning, sunshine!" I chirped.

"So what happened last night that you couldn't text me back?" she questioned, and I could just imagine the way her pierced eyebrow would raise.

"Nothing," I said. "My phone was just still on vibrate."

"Sure," she snapped. "Now talk to me."

"You're not my mother, Dev," I muttered, stopping as Dexter began to sniff along the mouth of an alley. "No, no, Dex," I said, gently tugging on his leash.

"Where are you two?" Devyn asked, and I could hear the jingling of her keys in the background.

"Devyn," I whined, knowing that she would come whether I wanted her to or not.

"Don't sass me, bitch," she said. "You're going to the park right?"

"Right."

"Meet you there." And she hung up without as much as a goodbye.

"Well, let's hurry up, Dex," I said, tugging on his leash.

"You know it's not safe for a pretty thing like you to be walking the streets, sugar," a familiar voice called.

A loud groan escaped me as I turned around to face the blonde who was hanging out the window of a black SUV. "Are you stalking me now?" I questioned, a teasing edge to my voice as I reigned Dexter in closer to me.

Lucas laughed as he shook his head at me. "Don't flatter yourself, Juliette," he told me with a wink. "I do rounds every day. I'm actually surprised that we haven't run into each other before."

Dexter moved to stand directly by my side and he bared his teeth at Lucas. "Calm, babe," I soothed him, reaching down to scratch between his ears. "We probably have," I said, redirecting my attention back to the blonde. "You just never had a reason to notice me before."

"Sugar, I would've noticed you," he informed me, his gaze running appreciatively over my body.

Clearing my throat, I placed a hand on my hip as I met his hazel eyes. "Well, if you're done now I have somewhere I need to be," And with that said I turned and continued on down the sidewalk with Dexter trotting along beside me.

"Where're you going?" he asked, rolling the car forward at a pace that matched mine.

"Park," I answered, gesturing towards the hulking mass of muscle that was my dog.

"Let me give you a ride."

I stopped in my tracks before tilting my head to face him. "I told you, we're not going to be buddy-buddy, Lucas," I said, beginning to walk again.

"You also said we'd never see each other again."

"I still haven't ruled out stalking."

His boisterous laughter reached me before he sped the car up only to pull onto the sidewalk directly in front of me. Dexter let out a loud growl as Lucas swung himself out of the vehicle. When he started to come towards me, Dexter protectively stepped in front of me before sharply barking out a warning. "I'm not going to hurt her," Lucas said, stooping down until he was at Dexter's level. The dog studied him, but didn't move. "Mind helping me out, sugar?" he finally asked, glancing up at me.

Heavily sighing, I ran my hand down my face before tugging against Dexter's lead. "Back down, babe," I said. He immediately responded and positioned himself at my side. "Now what do you want?" I questioned, meeting Lucas's gaze.

"Let me give you a ride," he repeated.

"I'm not some damsel in distress," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm perfectly capable of maneuvering the streets on my own."

His shaggy hair fell in front of his eyes as he mirrored my stance. "C'mon, Juliette," he said, the tiniest hint of a whine creeping into his voice. "Just get in the car."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm asking nicely."

My eyes narrowed, but something in my gut told me he'd just pester me until I agreed. So throwing my hands up in exasperation, I marched around to the passenger side of the SUV and opened the back door for Dexter. He cocked his head to the right when I patted the seat. "Up, Dex," I ordered. That was all it took for him to jump into the car and make himself comfortable on the leather seat. Sighing at him, I shut the door before hauling myself up into the passenger seat. Lucas was already backing the SUV back out onto the street when I kicked my feet up onto the dash. "Are you going to make this a habit?" I questioned.

"I might," he answered, flashing me a grin as he began to head towards the park.

"Please don't," I muttered. And then something dawned on me that I was hoping I was wrong about. "Does this have anything to do with Vinnie?" I asked, barely keeping the anger from my voice.

"He really doesn't like you calling him that," he said, softly laughing as well as dodging the question.

"Lucas," I pressed. "Did Vince assign you to watch me?"

He heavily sighed before slouching down in the seat. "How'd you figure it out?" he mumbled.

"I'll kill him," I said, probably a little louder than necessary because Dexter whined from the back. Sighing, I twisted in my seat to stroke his nose. "It's okay, babe," I soothed, scratching behind his ears.

"You're threatening a gang leader's life?" Lucas teased, his trademark grin fitting itself onto his face.

"You bet your pretty blonde ass I am," I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest,

He burst into a fit of laughter and nearly drove us off the road because of it. "You think I'm pretty?" he choked out.

Against my will, my cheeks tinged pink. I really needed to gain a filter between my brain and my mouth. "Shut up," was my brilliant reply.

"You're not so bad yourself, sugar."

"Nineteen ways to kill you."

He just shook his head at me as he effortlessly pulled into a parking space. "I'd love to see you try," he murmured before killing the engine.

"I'm not going to say anything," I told him, turning to get out. "So go do your rounds or something, I don't need a babysitter."

His eyes followed me as I opened the back door and let Dexter out of the car. "Juliette," he called as I made to shut the door. When my gaze met his, he jerked his head in a gesture asking me to go to his side of the car. Rolling my eyes, I tugged on Dexter's lead as I rounded the SUV until I was standing at Lucas's window. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid, sugar," he said, a pleading tone in his voice. "I'd really hate to have to watch Vince kill you."

Even though his words should have scared me, I just shrugged my shoulders before leaning against the car so that our faces were only a few inches apart. "I promise," I whispered.

He smiled before cranking the engine of the car over. "I'll see you around, Juliette," he called as he pulled away. I gave a half-hearted wave as I prayed that he was wrong. Not that Lucas was necessarily a bad guy – excluding the fact that he had held me at knifepoint – but I just wanted to be done with anything to do with the gang.

"So who's the hunk?" an annoyingly familiar voice asked from behind me.

"Don't start, Dev," I warned as I turned to her.

She crossed her arms over her chest before arching an eyebrow at me. Why could everyone do that except me? "Excuse you?" she questioned. Sighing, I had to divert my attention to her face so that her neon yellow tube top wouldn't blind me. With the sun and the shirt, Devyn's dark skin was all the more emphasized. She brushed her black fringe out of her eyes, which were currently glaring at me.

Dexter didn't hesitate to pull me towards her, happy to see a familiar face. "It's nothing," I assured her as she switched her attention from me to my dog. How she managed to stoop down to his level with how tight her white jeans were I'd never understand.

"Didn't look like nothing," she cooed as she scratched Dexter's ears.

Groaning, I motioned for her to follow me to a bench. Once we reached it, I tied Dexter's leash to one of the metal legs before I collapsed onto it. Devyn daintily sat down beside me. "Just don't freak out on me too much, okay?" I muttered, launching into the story before she had a chance to speak.

Her eyes about bugged out of their sockets when I told her about meeting Vince. "Wait," she said, holding up a hand to silence me. "Vincent as in Vincent Monroe?" she squeaked.

"I guess," I replied with a shrug.

She began to fan herself with her clutch. "He's come into Tuxedo's a few times while I've been working. That is the finest man I've ever laid eyes on."

My eyes rolled of their own accord. Leave it to Devyn. "He's a dick."

"He spared your life," she reminded me. "Guess he couldn't off someone with such a pretty face," she teased, reaching over to pinch my cheek. Glaring at her, I swatted her hand. "So who's the blonde?" she asked on a laugh.

"Lucas," I answered. "Apparently Vincent assigned him to make sure I didn't go to the police."

"Those boys obviously don't know you," she muttered, referring to my irrational fear of cops that only she and Dante knew about.

The shudder that I had been suppressing ever since the first mention of the police the night before wracked my frame. "Tell me about it," I grumbled.

After that she filled me in on her new boyfriend. From her description of him, I didn't see him lasting more than another week. Devyn – bless her heart – had to be the worst person with relationships I'd ever met in my twenty-two years of life. Her list of qualities 'Mr. Right' had to have was so long I doubted she'd ever find someone to fill the role. And until then, she'd work her way through every man she could sink her two inch talons into.

"You're not even paying attention to me, are you?" she accused, smacking my arm with her clutch.

"Ouch," I mumbled, coming back to the present. "Not really."

She sighed before crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm going to start slapping you across the face every time you ignore me," she threatened with narrowed eyes.

"I don't think I'd make a lot of tips if I constantly had black eyes," I teased, repressing my grin when she huffed in irritation.

"I hate you," she grunted, heaving herself off the bench. "Let's go."

"Why?"

"Dex just did his business, so unless you want to clean it up –"

"To home we go!" I exclaimed, cutting her off as I unwound Dexter's lead from the bench. Devyn burst into a fit of laughter as we hastened away from Dexter's offence. That was the only thing I couldn't stand about having a dog. Cleaning up after him.

"So where do we want to go?" she mused as we strolled down the familiar streets.

"No clue," I replied with a shrug.

"Shopping?"

"Rent's due. I'm broke."

"Lunch?"

"It's not even noon yet."

She huffed, crossing her arms. "Way to shoot down every idea I have."

"Well come up with some better ones," I said, a teasing edge to my voice.

"Sometimes I wonder why we're even friends," she muttered.

"Because you wouldn't have a job without me," I chirped, always happy to playfully hold that over her head.

Her eyes narrowed at me. "Just because you have Dante and every other man in that bar wrapped around your pretty little finger doesn't mean anything," she said, trying to sound serious even though I could see the smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

"We have a dysfunctional relationship," I informed her, not wanting to comment on her statement – which I found completely false. The boys at the bar looked at me like a sister. Someone they had all taken under their wing three years prior. I was just the teasing waitress who had worked her way up to being the sarcastic bartender.

"You better believe it, bitch," she told me, adding a wink to punctuate her sentence.

We bickered back and forth throughout the rest of our journey until I realized we were back in front of my building. "How did that happen?" I questioned, my eyebrows drawing together.

"Habit," she stated with a shrug before kneeling down to Dexter's level. "And this guy probably had something to do with it,' she cooed, wrapping her arms around his sturdy neck.

He licked her face and she squealed. "Well, I'll see you later, Dev," I said, beginning to walk into the apartments.

"Get your ass back here," she teased, grabbing my wrist before pulling me into a bone crushing hug. "You really need to stop attracting the crazies, bitch."

"Dev," I choked out, forgetting how strong she was for being so small.

"I'm serious," she grumbled, releasing me before taking a step back.

"Yes, ma'am," I agreed with a stiff salute.

She sighed, shaking her head at me. "I'm not working tonight. You know Dante doesn't trust us together."

"I wonder why that is," I mused, a wry grin tilting my lips that she didn't hesitate to mirror.

"Later," she dismissed with a wave.

"Be careful," I half-heartedly called, knowing even as I said it that she would be. She flipped me off without even turning around as she crossed the street. "Love you, too," I muttered, pulling Dexter along with me as I made my way back to my apartment.

____________________________

Erin