Jem's POV
My feet dragged as I walked back to my wing of the house.
My eyes fought to stay open even though most people would consider the night to be young but the second my hand rested on the door nob, I forced myself to fake energy.
The door opened easily, allowing soft noises to drift through the air.
I searched the room quickly to see Andrew and Patrick sitting on the couch while the TV flashed in front of them. Andrew seemed fully engrossed in whatever they were watching but Patrick was aware enough to look up at me before turning back to the screen while I made a b-line for the coffee pot.
"You're back later than I thought you would be," he noted, making Andrew glance back at me with a small smile.
"It was a bit more of a headache than I would have liked but it could have been worse."
"Informative as always," Andrew teased. I don't bother answering as I poured the black liquid in a random cup.
"Where are the other two dumbasses," I asked but the question fell flat when Dev and Barrett came into view, probably wanting to know how the meeting went but I cut them off before they get a chance to ask.
"Where are they?"
"We let them in last night but I think some of the guys stole them," Barrett sighed.
"You know they help some of them sleep," Dev dismissed but my frown deepened. They helped me sleep too.
"Steal them back then."
My words came out harsher than I would have hoped as I sat down on the couch.
The tone and command were enough to make Devon's face fall, clearly realizing why I needed them.
He didn't say a word as he walked out the door with Barrett hot on his heels.
"Do I even want to know what 'they' are," Patrick sighed.
"Just the three decadence of hell," I teased before taking a long sip of the hot coffee.
Andrew rolled his eyes at the answer while Patrick raised an eyebrow.
The next few minutes were spent in silence until the door opened again and the sound of hard nails hitting the wood floor filled the room.
An uncontrollable smile crossed my face when I heard all three sets coming in my direction.
I didn't even have a chance to blink before dogs were in my lap.
I allowed the three of them to jump and bounce around until I was ready for things to calm back down before coffee was spilt on rather expensive things.
"Okay, that's enough. Find a place and settle down."
As if they had practiced it a million times, the three of them sit all at once though their tales never stop wagging.
"The decadence of hell huh," Patrick said as he looked over the three balls of joy.
"Hades," I said as I pointed to Rottweiler on my left side, "Nyx," the Doberman on my right, "And Charlie," the pit bull in my lap.
Charlie was still young, only about 6 months if we had to guess, so for now I allowed him to be a lap dog but when he got older I knew I would have to break him from the habit.
"Charlie?" Patrick asked, not looking very amused at the grey love bug in front of him but his hand reached over to let the puppy sniff him anyway. "That doesn't exactly fit the others does it?"
"You can thank Dev for that name," I said with a glare. "I had wanted to name him Thanatos but shortly after I got him I had to leave on a business trip." Leaving Devon to clean up puppy piss by himself since I took Barrett with me for security. "I came back a week later to a dog who only responded to Charlie."
"She doesn't look like a Doberman," Andrew noted skeptically as he looked over the dog wearily.
"That's because her ears aren't cropped and tail isn't docked, same for Hades," I explained as I playfully pulled on their ears, earning a playful bite to my knuckles.
"It makes her look less badass but we were going to put her through that for no reason," Barrett said with a smile as he collected the dog in his arms and pulled her into his lap.
"You're teaching her bad manners," I sighed with a glare. "Imagine her jumping up on you like that when you are in a thousand dollar suit and she's dirty."
"You act like Charlie isn't on your lap right now," Dev said with an eye roll, leaning down to give Hades a pat on the head before retreating back to his room.
"Are they all your dogs or do you share them," Patrick asked, smiling a bit as he Charlie off my lap and on to his.
"They're mine, especially Hades, but they tend to stick with who ever will feed them or give them affection at the moment."
"They look sweet enough," Andrew said as he smiled cautiously at Nyx.
"You aren't a dog person, are you?"
"Not really," he admitted with a shy grin. "A dog tried to kill me once when I was younger. He was just a mutt but his owner was an ass hole and had him in some dog-fighting thing when he got out. A guy helped pull him off of me but the dog was put down. They still freak me out now." I frowned at the explanation before standing up and quickly.
The action alone had all of their eyes on me but a quick snap was enough to let the dogs know they needed to pay attention.
"This is no." My voice came out harshly as I pointed down at Andrew. "This is no."
Pride swells in my chest when they all look away from him, no longer seeming interested in the new person in our house.
"They seem to be well trained," Patrick noted. "Some dogs on the force have to be told more times then that to leave something alone."
"Well of course they are, I trained them after all."
Patrick frowned when Charlie tumbled off the couch after a toy that had been tucked away in the dog's room. Hades jumped after him with a wag in his tale while Nyx seemed like she couldn't care less.
"We left your supper in the oven when you're ready," Andrew said, his shoulders sagging now that only one dog was left in the room.
"It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be," Barrett sighed.
"I'll get it in a minute," I said as I looked down at the empty cup in my hands.
A while cup down and my body still seemed to be lagging.
It was nearing midnight when Patrick excused himself first. Andrew was next only a few minutes later, leaving Barrett and me alone.
"You're ready for bed," he stated rather than asked when another hour passes.
"I have work to do."
"Then you should have been doing that instead of watching TV. It's bedtime, do your work in the morning."
I frowned but his next words kept me from complaining.
"Don't make me go get Dev."
I sighed and stood up. A quick pat to my leg was enough to get Nyx to betray Barrett while two sets of four came trailing down the hall after us while we walked to my door.
The closer we got the more I wanted to just face plant into the sheets but it also made my chest tighten.
Charlie was the last to enter the room as he trialed behind Hades but the second he was here the door was shut.
"Watch," I said simply as I sank down into the mattress. The three of them piled up with me but when they had their chosen spots for the nights they all glared at the door.
Hades laid at the foot of the bed where I had trained him to be back when he was the only one and I was convinced that was where a dog should be sleeping. Nyx sat between the small of back and the wall despite her being full-grown and in a cramped space. Charlie however took up the most space, as he lay flush against my stomach, forcing me to push back against Nyx while leaving a foot on his side of the bed for him to stretch out.
Charlie still didn't understand the task of 'watch' yet and if it were up to me he would never understand it but Hades took seriously.
He had been there when the raid on the old house took place. The night we moved into the house was the first night we started working on this little trick.
He had taken to it the second I had pointed at the door.
His ears had laid flat against his head, as he remained unmoving until I had fallen asleep.
I knew the second I was asleep they went too but it wasn't really about protection. The gun under my pillow and the men working around the clock were here for that, they were just here for a show, a mind trick.
Having two and a half 100-pound dogs glare at something you told them to was enough to make my shoulders sag. Still, as my eyes grew heavy, the cold metal of the gun found my hand just as I managed to drift off.
Filler but still cute and still and update.
Last update December 8, 2021
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