Page 72 of Penn

Stephen grunts and tries to get me off him, but he fails. I manage to flip him over and get a solid hit to his jaw. As he flails, he gets a lucky shot to mine, and it stuns me for a split second.

“You made a big fucking mistake,” I shout as I stand and use my boot against his ribs. “Breaking into my fucking house? Hitting my dog? Going after my girl? You got a lot of fucking balls, I’ll give you that.”

My third kick gets caught by his hands, and he has more stealth than I gave him credit for. He twists my leg, forcing me off balance, and I land on my ass on the tile floor.

This gives him just enough time to scramble to his feet and out the broken door.

“I’ve got him,” Pacino calls, running after him with his gun in hand.

“She’s pretty hurt,” Capone says as Princess whimpers.

“Go,” I call and rush over to the pup. “It’s okay, girl. You did good. You did such a good job.”

Her tail gives a small wag, and she licks my hand as though understanding what I mean. She did her job. She helped protect Dixie. But how Stephen knew where I lived and got here before I did, I have no idea.

Pacino and Capone come back inside, both pissed, and I know he got away.

“There was a sedan waiting. He dove into the backseat before it drove away,” Capone says. “Kannon and the others are chasing after it, but they were quick.”

“How’s the dog?” Pacino asks.

“She’s not in good shape. Can you take my truck and bring her to the vet on Route 14? There’s an emergency clinic. Whatever it costs, this dog stays alive,” I say.

Nodding, Pacino picks up Princess in his arms as gently as possible, and her whimpers have me clenching my fists. I want this motherfucker dead even more than I did at the bar now.

I jump to my feet and shout, “Dixie!”

I run to the bathroom, but find it empty. My heart races, and I run into my bedroom and the attached bathroom. The door is locked, and I break it down easily, relieved to find Dixie pressed into the corner with the lid of the back of the toilet in her hands, ready to be used as a weapon.

“Penn,” Dixie says, her eyes filling with tears.

Taking the lid from her hands, I gently put it back on the toilet and pull her into my arms. “It’s okay. He’s gone. He’s gone, but we’re going to find him.”

“Princess. Oh God, Princess!”

“Pacino’s taking her to the emergency vet. Whatever it takes, they’re going to save her.”

Tears fall from her eyes. “I’d just let her out of her kennel when she started growling and barking. Stephen walked into the room threatening me.”

“He was in the house already?” Capone asks, even though we already figured that one.

She nods. “Yeah, he was saying that I wasn’t going to have his baby and raise it with a biker. When he reached out to grab me, Princess attacked. He slammed her against the wall, but she attacked again. Bit his leg.”

“That’s my girl,” I whisper. “Are you hurt? Did he touch you?”

“No, Princess stopped him. What if he really hurt her, Penn? It’s all my fault.”

“No, it’s his fucking fault,” Capone says. “He tried to attack and then threatened a pregnant woman, broke into a biker’s house, and tried to kill a dog. Dude’s about out of lives at this point.”

The thought of what would have happened if we didn’t have Princess here, or if Dixie hadn’t gotten her out of her kennel, makes my blood boil. A white-hot rage fills me, and my vision blurs along the edges. Stephen came here to destroy something that means the world to me. To take what he thinks is his, and he didn’t care what he had to do to get it.

“He’ll never touch you again,” I promise, my voice coming out more lethal than I intend. The last thing I want to do is scare Dixie.

Pulling back slightly, she looks into my eyes. “What are we going to do? He won’t stop, Penn.”

“I will stop him.”

“Does that mean you’ll… you’ll kill him?”