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I rush forward, Rachel in my arms, Zach on our heels.
Keenan’s huge white body is laying in a heap in the dirt, curled up, his eyes closed, blood soaking the ground around him.
“Keenan!” I drop Rachel and rush toward him.
Chapter 24
Animal House
KEENAN
The sound of Vanessa’s scream has me fighting my way to consciousness. I need to get to her, find out what’s wrong. I try to send myself into her head, but I can’t see past the thumping pain.
The memory of hitting my head as I plunged between the flatbed and the train comes to me.
“Oh god, he’s bleeding!”
I try to lift a paw, to reassure Vanessa that my injury is minor, but she’s screaming in my ear, addling my already scrambled brain.
“Stop it!” Rachel snaps and I crack an eye in time to see her kneeling naked next to me. “I think he’s wrapped around something.”
I roll onto my back, groaning and Jessica crawls away from me.
As I leapt into the gap after her, I managed to fling myself on top of her, balling us both up in my fur as chaos ensued above.
“It’s Jessica… and she’s a…?” Wesselman’s voice.
“A squirrel shifter.” Rachel’s voice. Impatient as always. “Keenan, come back to us. I need Vanessa to stop crying so we can take care of you.”
“How’s Jessica?” I manage to croak.
“His ear!” Vanessa shrieks.
Shit, what does she mean about my ear? The ringing is bad and there’s blood matted to the side of my head. I push myself up onto my paws but the pain in my head is bad enough to drive me to my belly.
“Oh Keenan!” Vanessa buries her face in my shoulder, sobbing. “Why did you have to be a hero?”
I blink a few times until I’m able to focus enough to look down at Jessica, who’s pushing to her tiny feet, shaking her wiry body, bushy tail sticking straight out.
“Give her some space,” Rachel demands and the people gathering around us back up.
The air swirls as Jessica shifts from squirrel to human. Hoarsely, she demands, “Where are my pants?”
“Take this.” Someone wraps her in a coat.
Her bleary gaze lands on me. “You saved my life.” Tears gather in her eyes and Vanessa wraps an arm around her shaking shoulders. “I would have died.” She narrows her eyes. “Where’s Stelios?”
Wesselman looks taken aback. “He went to stop the train after you fell.”
“I stopped the train, boss.” Stelios’s stunt assistant, Jason, speaks up.
Vanessa lifts her head from my fur. “We think he might be the one causing the accidents.”
“This wasn’t an accident,” Jessica says angrily. “This was a murder attempt. He deliberately pushed me toward the tracks. I could’ve reached the railing if he hadn’t shoved me.” She shudders. “When I missed… I thought… oh Keenan, your ear.”
What the fuck is wrong with my ear?
I tilt my head, shaking it a little and another bolt of pain crashes through my skull. Whining, I lay my head in Vanessa’s lap and try to see myself through her eyes.
