Page 48

K age

Jarvis’ words nearly suffocated my thoughts as I spun the wheels of the truck once I’d floored the accelerator. Juliette wasn’t mine. She couldn’t be. But goddamn, I felt guilty. If anything happened to her, I would destroy everyone who had a part in hurting her.

Driving in excess of eighty miles per hour, I made it to the entrance to the sanctuary within two minutes. As soon as I jerked the truck to a stop and jumped out, two men rushed in my direction.

“What’s going on?” one of them yelled.

“Get back to the barn! Call the police,” I yelled, uncertain if they’d follow my orders.

I didn’t hang around long enough to find out, rushing instead toward the corral where I’d found her before.

The last thing I wanted was police involvement, but with dead bodies on my property, and more to come, the interference was inevitable.

I slowed as I rounded the fence, sweeping my gaze from one side to the other. Crouching over, I continued the same path, cognizant of every sound. There were voices all around, men from the sanctuary issuing mindless exclamations. I tuned out every sound except for the rapid thudding of my heart.

That wasn’t going anywhere.

Not until she was safe in my arms.

I stalked forward, constantly twisting from one side to the other.

Tank’s bark created an immediate reaction.

I bolted toward the sound, hearing her single sharp cry seconds later.

Tree limbs snapped against my face, but there was no pain.

I was incapable of feeling anything other than stark, vicious anger.

Gray hadn’t needed to tell me anything. This entire situation could have been avoided.

If her fucking father had done more than to just pretend he cared.

Maybe she’d been nothing more than a payback of a debt owed.

The perverse thought kept bile in my throat as I jumped over a fallen log, constantly searching the forest.

Tank barked again, the sound much closer. Movement caught my attention as before. Someone was running parallel to my position. I stopped, spinning in that direction, firing off a single shot.

The fucker dropped.

But my weapon hadn’t fired the only shot. A second reverberated in the dense forest, a horrible scream a split second afterwards. I took off running once again, ignoring everything but the thought of getting to her.

A figure was up ahead. Tank was snarling. There were footsteps crunching down on the remaining dried fall leaves. They were too light to be a man’s. Juliette was here.

Fuck.

More movement. Deep voices. Shit. I was outnumbered.

I rushed behind a tree, peering out to catch my bearings.

A figure crossed in front of me. I lunged forward, tackling the assailant just as he’d raised his weapon.

A shot rang in the air and Juliette screamed.

Tank was right beside me, snarling and growling as I issued several brutal punches to the assailant’s face.

Another rustle of trees grabbed my attention, and I jerked up just as the fallen man swiveled, the weapon pointed at my chest.

Tank leapt off the ground, knocking the weapon from the man’s hand. I reacted instantly, pulling the trigger twice. There was no time to waste. I darted through the trees, catching sight of Juliette’s long hair sweeping back and forth as she ran.

A split second later, I lost sight of her.

She issued another horrifying scream.

Pop!

Rage rushed through me, the tidal wave of fury pushing me forward. Both hands still on the weapon, I burst through another group of trees.

Juliette stood, her body swaying back and forth. Her chest was heaving and she somehow still had two hands clinging to the weapon. Tank rushed to her side just as she slowly dropped to her knees, a strangled sob pitching from her throat.

I snapped my head to the side, catching the sound of another gunshot coming from the direction of my house.

The man she’d shot was down, partially covered in dried leaves. I moved closer, kicking the weapon from his hand. The fucker’s eyes were wide open, the vacant stare indicating she’d hit her mark. I’d bother checking for a pulse after I made certain she was alright.

As I approached, she didn’t seem to notice. Her lower lip was quivering, tears rolling down both sides of her face. Sirens could be heard from a distance. At least two cars had been sent. I had no fucking clue what the hell I was going to say to the officers. Not at this point.

But it didn’t matter. All that did was that Juliette was safe.

“Juliette. It’s okay, baby. You’re safe now.” I glanced over my shoulder toward the man she’d shot. He wasn’t moving. I lowered my weapon to keep from terrifying her even more than she was.

She hadn’t looked at me, her targeted gaze on the man she’d shot. I moved closer, making certain to keep my movements deliberate. The woman was in a mild state of shock. That happened to a lot of people the first time they shot anyone. For all her bravado, she wasn’t cut out to be a killer.

Nah. The job should be left to me.

Only I felt like I’d failed her. As I had everyone else.

Reaching out, I placed my hand on the weapon. Her arms were stiff, her body still swaying back and forth. “Juliette. Look at me. Come on, baby. Look at me.”

As she slowly started to turn her head, her fingers loosened on the gun and I was able to take it from her hand. The ache that had formed a full hour before slowly began to fade.

“Kage?” she asked, her voice so soft and pitiful.

“It’s me. Come on. Let’s get you home.”

The sirens drew closer, the shrill noise blocking out the rapid beating of my heart.

Tank whined, remaining where he was a couple of feet away.

She took several short breaths and I could tell she was ready to crack.

The moment she started to stand, I caught a slight glint in her eyes, something almost everyone else would have missed.

Not a trained soldier.

And not a dog worth his weight in gold.

I twisted around, catching sight of Tank with all four paws off the ground as he lunged toward her.

The aggressor had lived.

Not for long.

The single shot was all I needed to end the asshole’s life once and for all.

But not before the monster squeezed off a shot of his own.

Tank squealed in pain. Juliette yelped.

Rage breached the surface and I shot him again.

As he dropped to his knees, falling face first into the dirt, the sound of multiple footsteps vibrated the ground beneath my feet.

I spun to face the only two beings that mattered to me on the face of the earth.

And I threw my head back and roared.

“I think we have everything we need, Lieutenant Rollins. At least for now.” Two officers remained inside the house while two others and at least one detective were still combing the surrounding area searching for any additional clues.

I had no clue what they thought they’d find.

It had been a pretty straightforward attack.

There were two vehicles parked a half mile down the road, mostly hidden from view given the wooded areas.

The plates had been registered a rental, although my guess was the police would discover the plates were stolen.

Understandably they’d been unwilling to provide too many details since it was an active investigation. It wasn’t every day they were forced to handle a crime of this magnitude.

At least by my count, seven of the bastards had been killed. But who was counting? One was too many. The fact an entire force had been sent clearly meant the perpetrator knew what his men would be in store for in dealing with me.

There was no glory in the acknowledgement.

“Thank you, Officer Campbell. You have my number,” I told the man.

The last thing I wanted or that Juliette needed was for the initial investigation to drag on any longer.

Hours had passed, the darkness adding an oppressive feeling to the tattered crime scene.

The area around the house and close to the edge of the property leading to the sanctuary looked like a fucking war zone.

I glanced at Jarvis, who remained leaning against the wall near the window where he’d been constantly looking out the window. We were both hyped up, prepared for another attack, although I doubted that would happen. At least not in Durango.

What would happen from here I wasn’t certain, although I’d shove the entire bastardized situation in Gray’s lap to deal with. In my mind, he was the reason Juliette had almost been killed.

The officer started to turn then threw a look toward Juliette, who was resting on the couch. While her eyes were closed, I knew she wasn’t sleeping. She’d said very little but at least had consumed almost two bottles of the water.

“Forensics will be leaving shortly,” the officer said. “The chief asked that a car be posted outside tonight for your protection. Just in case there’s more of them.”

“Thank you again.” Any additional enemy soldiers had left the area. There was no reason for them to hang around.

Jarvis moved toward the door, a sneer on his face as he waited for the officers to leave. Once they did, he closed the door and placed his palm on the surface before turning his head in my direction.

I owed the man a debt of gratitude and a hell of a lot more.

Headlights shone in through the half open blinds, Juliette sitting up on the couch. There was a vacant look in her eyes and she immediately slipped to the floor, crawling toward Tank. He’d slept through most of the interrogation, especially after the sedative the veterinarian had given him.

I had Jarvis to thank for that as well. One of the local vets was a friend of his and had agreed to make a house call. I think I’d overheard a discussion about trading favors. All I knew was that both Tank and Juliette were safe.

For now.

She curled up next to the sleeping pup. Thank God Tank had reacted so quickly, tackling her to the ground a split second before the assailant had fired, using a gun hidden in a leg holster.

While Tank had managed to twist his leg in the process, things could have been a whole lot worse.

Even a bastard like me needed to take time out to be grateful.

“Think I’ll head out unless you need anything,” Jarvis said. I’d never heard his voice so quiet before.

“Nah. We don’t need anything. Thanks for everything.” I headed toward him, offering my hand for a shake.

As expected, his grip was brutal and we stared into each other’s eyes. There was an easy understanding between us, a sense of camaraderie few people were lucky enough to experience in their lives.

“Bring your missus around for a drink when she’s up for it. On the house.”

I laughed for the first time since the incident. Why bother telling him she wasn’t my missus or anything else since that’s the way I felt. “I’ll do that.”

He glanced at her and sighed. “You’re a good man, Lieutenant. Glad I know you. Things will look up, my friend. You’ll see. Just remember you’ve got friends here now. Might as well consider them family.”

“I will,” I chuckled.

After he walked out, I held the door open, staring into the darkness.

Family.

It had been a long time since I’d felt like I had one. Maybe now as the time to reconsider my options.

Her soft murmurs drew my attention.

Especially since I was falling hard for the most beautiful, courageous, and incredible woman in the world.