Page 67

My poor dog was tangled in the short seatbelt attachment, whining in fear, his dark eyes wide and confused but still so painfully trusting when he saw me.

"I'm sorry, Rom," I gasped, but it came out a sob. I didn't have time to check him over for injuries; I just had to hope the seatbelt had been enough. My fingers slipped off the latch, shaking too hard to press the button, but on the second try, it finally came free and I got him untangled.

Pushing at the door got us nowhere, the door too dented from flipping to open. A jagged spiderweb splintered through the window, the whole pane shattered, and it caved outward when I hit it with my elbow.

"Go, Rom. Find Lain!" I tried to push him through the window, but he was too big to manhandle easily and he showed no intention of wanting to leave me. He whined and licked my face and it wasn't until that moment that I realized I was crying.

Boots on gravel seemed louder than any gunshot as they ran toward my car. We were out of time. I couldn't take the time to find my phone, if it was even still in the car anymore. All we could do was try to run.

"Romulus, come."

This time he followed me as I clambered out the window, falling into the muddy ditch we'd come to rest in. The second my feet touched the ground, pain shot up through my ankle again, and I nearly collapsed, catching myself on the broken window and embedding glass in my palm.

For just a split second, part of me wanted to give up, to curl up on the ground and just let them take me. How could I possibly stand up against these men who acted like soldiers when I couldn't even deal with someone angry about a dog's haircut? I'd used up what little bravery I possessed when I walked away from my abusive ex.

Then Rom's nose touched my hand, and I remembered I wasn't alone. This wasn't just my life on the line. Romulus, Typhon, the kittens I'd rescued… even the damn mule. They were all relying on me. If I couldn't be strong for myself, I had to be strong for them.

The thoughts flashed through my mind in the split second it took to breathe through the pain and smother it down. I drew in a shuddering breath, then we were running, stumbling out of the ditch and into the open fields around us. In a few months, these fields would be high with wheat and corn, but right now they waited, ready for the spring rains and warm summer sun.

I ran as fast as my battered body would allow, Romulus at my side, with nothing to provide cover from the men chasing us. Every moment, I expected to hear a gunshot and feel a bullet bury itself in my back, my muscles clenching tighter with every second it didn't happen.

In the end, they didn't need bullets. I was injured, after all, burning pure adrenaline to stay on my feet. It wasn't a bullet that took me down, but two hundred-plus pounds of muscle.

I never saw him coming, but I certainly felt it when he slammed into my back, tackling me to the ground in a move more suited to a football field than a wheat field. His weight drove the air from my lungs, leaving me dazed and winded. At least the spring thaw had begun, and the ground was more forgiving than it would have been a month ago.

Before I could even register what had happened, a loud snarl rent the air, and the weight on my back disappeared.

Wheezing for breath, I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, crawling forward a few inches before turning back.

"Rom, no!" I gasped out, my blood going cold when I saw my dog on top of the soldier, snarling viciously, his jaws clamped around the man's arm.

"Call off your fucking dog or I'm going to shoot it!"

Two more men caught up to us, and the oldest one, the man who looked like he was in charge, had a handgun leveled right at Romulus.

"Don't!" Please. Oh, please. I couldn't let them hurt him. "He's protecting me! Don't hurt him!"

"Call him the fuck off!" He cocked the gun, and I almost threw up.

"R-Rom," I sobbed, his name catching in my throat. He didn't even hear me, growling and shaking his head like he wanted to rip the soldier's arm off. If he got hurt because of me…

Calling on whatever bits of strength I had left in me, I tried again. "Romulus, leave it!"

It was a puppy command, one I'd taught him to keep him from picking up trash and dead squirrels when we were on a walk, but in this case, it worked for a soldier's arm as well. He didn't want to obey, that was obvious, but he was too loyal to ignore me completely. Rom gave the man's arm another shake, then disengaged. It was only then that I realized my dog was limping, holding his front paw up off the ground.

The man on the ground quickly stood, and I couldn't help a surge of vicious satisfaction when I saw blood soaking through his sleeve.

"Move," the older man ordered, and now he leveled his gun at me. At least it wasn't Rom. He nodded toward their truck, which sat on the road above the ditch, doors standing wide open, engine idling.

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered, my voice breaking. I had to stall. Ori promised help was nearby, and I'd seen enough crime shows to know I was screwed if they took me to a second location.

"You know exactly why we're here, Mr. Camden. You're in unlawful possession of government property and will be prosecuted accordingly. Get in the vehicle."

Even for someone who struggled to read cues like I did sometimes, it was obvious that I'd never see the inside of a courtroom. At best, I'd end up in prison, but it was far more likely for me to disappear and never be seen again. This man's demeanor might scream 'soldier', but my gut said he was something else. Something less controlled, which made him even more dangerous.

"I-I didn't steal anything." I badly wanted to look for someone, anyone, who might be able to help me, but if anyone really was coming, I couldn't tip off the strangers.

The older man glanced at one of the other men, the stoic older one that had come to my shop that first day, and nodded toward me. The second man pulled a pair of zip-tie cuffs from his belt and reality came crashing down on me in a breathtaking surge of pure terror.