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Emma spun around to see Jeremiah sprinting in their direction. Riley following close behind, letting out a fury of barks through the air like crackling thunder.
The collision of bodies caused a shockwave as Jeremiah’s shoulder drove into Chad, hurling him away from Emma.
Chad retaliated, shoving Jeremiah, and sending him flying over the box she had dropped.
A heavy thud sounded as Jeremiah hit the ground, sending a primal fear through her body.
“What are you doing?” Emma cried out. “Get out of here, Chad!”
A disoriented Jeremiah let out a groan as he sat up. Emma tried to go over to him, but Chad lunged, grabbing her again and squeezing even tighter.
“Let go!” Emma shrieked as her fight-or-flight response kicked in. “You’re hurting me, Chad!”
Tail raised and teeth bared, Riley let out a murderous snarl Emma had never heard before. He pounced on Chad’s leg, clamping down with an ironclad grip, biting through his pants as Chad tried to shake him off.
“Get off me, you stupid dog!”
As he fought to shake Riley off, Emma reached for the little can of pepper spray she kept on her keychain and sprayed a thick cloud of fumes right into Chad’s face. He screamed, releasing her arm, and staggered back as Riley continued to tear away at his leg.
Chad choked and sputtered, rubbing at his temporarily blinded eyes. “You fat, worthless, dumb...”
Emma stood tall and exploded, screaming the most un-Emma-like words she’d ever said to anyone. Her use of expletives even shocked herself.
As Chad recoiled, pain contorting his face, Riley’s teeth sank even deeper. Adrenaline pulsed through Emma’s veins as she pulled out her phone and dialed 911.
“Stupid mutt!” Chad kicked Riley, making him howl.
Riley took off, running toward the street as Chad hobbled to his car and peeled off.
Jeremiah, finally on his feet, came over to Emma. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she told him. “We need to get Riley—“
Suddenly, a deafening tire screech came from the road, sending Emma’s heart plunging. She raced to the scene, dropping her phone in the grass. Jeremiah was at her heels when they both stopped dead in their tracks.
A middle-aged woman leaped out of the car, panic clear in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see him. I’m getting help now.” The woman fell into tears, scrambling to grab her phone.
Emma collapsed to the ground. Tears poured down her face as she whispered to him, “I’m so sorry Riley, Momma’s here. Stay with me. Don’t leave. Please don’t leave me.”
Flashbacks of the day she first met Riley at Second Chance Rescue filled her mind: his trusting eyes meeting hers for the first time, his wagging tail. She had promised to always be there for him, to protect him from harm.
Now, her fingers traced a slow path over his fur, each stroke an attempt to hold on to the spark in his dimming eyes. Cradling his head, the subtle rise and fall of his chest became more pronounced. She listened to his strained breathing, each one more fragile than the last. With every shallow breath he took, she felt him slipping away, pulling him nearer as her tears and heart-wrenching sobs echoed throughout the empty street.
A part of her soul crumbled at the thought of facing a world without him.
“We have to go now!” Jeremiah sprang into action. He bent down and carefully grabbed Riley, placing him in the back seat of Emma’s car. “Give me the keys, I’m driving,” he said. “We got to get him to the animal hospital.”
42
Luke
“Dad, you’ve got to get over here!”
Panic rose in Luke’s throat. “Jeremiah, where are you?”
“All Creatures Animal Hospital, with Emma. Riley’s hurt.”
