“Sounds perfect,” Major clapped. “We’ll give…what the fuck?”
I looked up just in time to see Creed marching back down to the group, a shotgun in one hand that he hadn’t left with, and Constance’s wrist in the other.
Constance had a bird on her shoulder the size of a small dog, and they both looked weird.
“What happened?” I barked, marching toward them.
Excited, Peanut followed with me, prancing from foot to foot when he smelled Constance.
I was sure that he’d smelled her on me and was curious now that the person was right in front of him.
When no one answered, I growled at Creed, “What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything.” Creed threw up his hands.
That startled the bird and he jolted off Constance’s shoulder with a screech.
Creed winced.
“The bird is legal, I swear.” Constance sounded tired and frustrated.
“Well, that’s not something I can really check out with no signal, now, is it?” he asked. “And you had this gun…”
“She works at the wildlife sanctuary, Creed,” I pointed out. “Which you know.”
“I do?” he asked.
“This is Constance. Constance Pratt. Her parents, Israel and Janet Pratt, run it.”
Creed scrubbed at his face. “I thought that y’all were Hispanic.”
“My dad is.” She hesitated. “My mom is white.”
“Oh,” he sighed. “I thought you were lying to me.”
He looked guilty.
But he would react badly to poaching if he thought that was what Constance was doing.
His sister-in-law had been caught doing the same thing and had died when she’d been trampled to death.
So no, he wouldn’t take it the best considering.
“Help!”
We all turned to see a man walking out of the trail with his hands scrubbing at his eyes. “I’m hurt really bad! Someone attacked me.”
“Is this him?” Creed asked.
Constance moved to put herself behind Creed.
Which made me irrationally angry, seeing as my mind thought that I should be the one she looked to for protection.
“What’s going on?” Major asked what we were all thinking.
The man with red eyes stepped out of the trailhead and made a move toward what I assumed was his car, but it also happened to be close to Sage.
Sage’s dog growled, low and menacingly.
