Читать книгу Cruel - Jacob Stone - Страница 16

Chapter 8

Over the last three days Lucky had gotten used to people knocking on Lori’s office door, and when her boss, Alice Green, stuck her head in, the oversized Rottweiler-Doberman mix barely budged.

Alice, who was a slender and attractive woman in her early fifties, grinned and asked how the big galoot was doing. That had been her nickname for Lucky from the start, and even though Lori didn’t know at the time what it meant, the nickname sounded so right that she started calling Lucky it also. When she later looked the term up online, she couldn’t help smiling thinking how perfectly it fit the big guy.

Lucky lifted his enormous head from the floor, fixed his yellowish-reddish eyes on Alice, and let out a deep-throated moan before dropping his head with a thud back to the floor. Since his skull was probably harder than concrete, it was doubtful he felt the impact.

Alice shifted her gaze to Lori and asked how the Cheswick assignment was coming. “Do you think you’ll have it done by five?”

“Faster than that. I should have it finished up within the hour. Do you want a sneak preview?”

“Sure.”

Alice came around Lori’s desk and positioned herself so she could get a look at the computer monitor and the graphics Lori had been designing. “Excellent,” she said, beaming. “You made a good decision adopting that big galoot.” Somewhat maternally, she added, “You’ve been so much more relaxed and at peace since doing that, and it’s showing in your work.” Before turning to leave the office, she gave Lori’s shoulder a friendly squeeze.

Lori wiped away some moisture from her eyes. “Thanks again, Alice, for letting me bring him to work.”

“I’m happy I did.” Alice was still beaming. “He adds a nice presence here. I have to admit, I didn’t think that would be the case when I first saw him.”

That was an understatement. When Lori brought Lucky to the office that first morning, he certainly raised some eyebrows. She had discussed with Alice about her wanting to get a dog and bringing him to work, and she even confided in her boss her reason why, although she lied when she told Alice she knew her fear was unreasonable. Her fear was the opposite of that, even though the idea of it was insane. But she knew in her heart he was out there and she knew he was waiting to do terrible things to her, even though she didn’t have any idea who he was. At the time Alice gave her blessing, but that first morning Lori could see concern flooding Alice’s eyes when she saw what she was getting with Lucky, and that she was on the verge of changing her mind and banning the dog from the office. But Jerry Harrison in accounting, bless him, fearlessly approached the dog, and Lucky proved to be a gentle soul, even with his big galoot appearance. After that others in the office approached him, including Alice, and he ended up winning over the office.

Looks could be deceiving. Lucky turned out to be a big softy even though he looked like he could scare the bejesus out of the demon dog from The Omen. Still, Lori had no doubt that when the time came, the dog would save her from him. She knew that this man existed in the real world and not just in her nightmares. She also knew he would be coming for her soon. He’d wait until late at night when she would be alone in bed and helpless. She couldn’t say how she knew this, but she did and with the same certainty as the knowledge that she needed to breathe to live. And she knew that when he came for her, Lucky would become every bit as ferocious as he appeared. And because of that, she felt safe.

She focused her attention back on her work so she could finish the assignment within the hour as promised.