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“What’s up, Papadum? Can’t sleep either?”
The dog nudged her thigh with his nose, then dashed down the hall to where his leash was hanging by the front door.
Bree followed him. “Oh. Call of nature?”
She cast a look over her shoulder in the direction of the guest bedroom. Papadum was a bright dog. He knew who would wake up easily, and it wasn’t his master. A glance out the window showed her that dawn was lighting the sky.
She hesitated only briefly. Rylan would tell her not to go without him, but how much harm could she come to if she had Papadum with her? The poor dog couldn’t wait for his comfort break, and there was no point in disturbing Rylan for a five-minute walk to the waste ground on Second Street. Since she was already awake, there was only one sensible solution.
After pulling on her padded coat and sheepskin boots, she stuffed doggie waste bags into her pockets. Papadum was almost dancing with excitement, or possibly desperation, as she attached his leash. Bree barely had to time to snatch up her keys before he hauled her out through the door.
She savored the silence as she walked from the Diamond along Second Street. This was a time of day she rarely saw and it was indeed a sight to behold. The pink, purple and orange hues of morning dripped from the sky and onto the dark shapes of the mountains. Colorado sunrise. It made her long for her paintbrushes.
Once Papadum had taken care of business, and Bree had cleaned up after him, she let the dog investigate for a few minutes. He charged through the grass, nose down, chasing different scents like an oversized mop swishing over the ground. When the cold made her start to lose all feeling in her hands and feet, even Papadum’s antics couldn’t subdue the coffee cravings. Convincing the dog that he needed to accompany her took all her powers of persuasion, together with most of her strength.
As she neared the Diamond, Bree’s thoughts were on the gallery. How would she approach today? She couldn’t just shrug off what had happened at the show, but how much was she prepared to tell other people? Was talking openly about the stalker the right way to deal with the situation? Rylan was probably the best person to answer that question.
A sound close by made her heartbeat quicken, and the sensation annoyed her. This was what he had done to her. The stalker’s threats had made her nervous to be around other people. When she realized that someone was approaching her from behind, her self-preservation instincts kicked in a fraction too late.
Bree swung around at the same time that Papadum growled. The man, who was inches behind them, wore a black ski mask covering his face. Grabbing her roughly by one arm, he covered her mouth with his other hand. As Bree struggled to break free of his hold, Papadum jumped up, throwing his full weight onto the attacker.
The dog had taken her assailant by surprise, and Bree followed up, twisting around and kicking him hard on the ankle. He jerked away, muttering a curse. As he released his grip on her mouth, she seized her opportunity, and let out a few piercing screams.
Shouts and footsteps came from the direction of the Diamond. Flinging Bree to the ground, her attacker ran off. Moments later, two men in delivery uniforms came dashing over and helped her to her feet.
“We saw everything. Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, drawing in a deep breath of cold air. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
Her fingers shook as she reached into her pocket for her cell phone. There was only one voice she needed to hear. In that instant, it didn’t matter why.
“Rylan...”
* * *
“People will think I’m running away.” Bree didn’t look like a woman who was considering his suggestion.
“Who the hell cares what people think? All that matters is that you’ll be safe.” Rylan’s blood ran cold at the thought of what had happened to her less than an hour ago. He was assuming that the assailant was her stalker. It was too coincidental for it to be some random mugger. Either way, the attack was a stark reminder of her vulnerability.
From the sound of it, only a combination of Papadum and luck had saved her. Anything could have happened. The guy had upped his game, and Rylan wasn’t prepared to take any more risks.
But just when he had come up with the perfect solution, Bree’s stubborn streak had kicked in. Again.
