Chapter 30
One Week Later - Eden, Utah
Ryker pulls me into his arms. “Don’t go far, okay?”
He’s said this a hundred times at least since we’ve gotten to Utah. It’s sweet, even if it’s a little over-the-top.
I kiss his chin, a smile tugging at my lips. “Just going out back to let June have a little play time.”
He glances out the glass door, scanning the property.
“It’s Eden, sweetheart,” I murmur against his chest. “It’s fine.”
He squeezes me. “Make it fast.”
“I will,” I straighten his shirt, giving him a flirty smile. “Now get back to your meeting.”
His eyes are hot on me—practically a physical touch—as I push out the back door of the Agile Security & Rescue Headquarters.
When I kick off my shoes, I wiggle my toes in the cool grass.
“Break,” I tell June and she bounds across the rear lawn, crouching playfully.
“I’m coming.” I laugh at her eager expression, tossing the ball for her.
The air is warm with soft sunshine. The scent of grass and nearby trees a reminder of how good freedom feels.
How good life is.
I’m sure Ryker’s watching from inside. They’re always watching.
If it’s not him, it’s Colt or Thane. Or Ranger or Jake. My own personal security squad. Even though the threat is done.
For me at least.
Now to stop the international backers of the hunting and kidnapping. To find the other hosts and hunting arenas. The Hunt Club as the team calls it.
A little prickle returning to my skin, I turn and scan the tinted windows on the sleek building.
I even check the window by my desk—the one they gave me to satisfy Ryker’s need to keep me close.
This time the windows are empty. Hm. Usually I can spot shadows the shape of the oversized shoulders bleeding through.
Is this a new level of freedom unlocked?
No. No way. Ryker’s probably watching me on a camera. There are plenty of them all around the building.
“Come here, girl.” I snap my fingers and June bounds over with her ball hanging out one side of her mouth, her tongue lolling happily out the other side.
I toss the ball again, and meander along the edge of the field where a pasture meets the manicured lawn.
Some purple flowers draw my eyes. Swaying peacefully in the breeze their little blooms are bright flecks against the green.
I walk further, loving the grass beneath my bare feet.
June trots over as I crouch down to pick a handful of the flowers. With a soft woof, she drops the ball.
“Okay, okay. I’m falling down on my job.”
When I lob it over my shoulder, she takes off.
I move a little and reach for some more wildflowers. June’s back already. The ball drops next to my knee where it’s pressed in the grass.
No woof this time. She always woofs. When I look at her, she’s not looking at me.
A growl rumbles through her.
“June—”
I’ve never heard her growl. Not once. With my pulse speeding, I stand up, clutching the flowers.
“What is it girl?”
She’s fixated on the nearby bushes, her nose working hard.
“Did you see a snake or something?”
Her breathing is loud, sharp snorts. Another low, rumbling growl comes from the deep vee of her chest.
I scoop up the forgotten ball and scan the pasture, the bushes, the trees, with a chill running down my arms.
Maybe it’s one of the guys taking a walk in the pasture. Or a stray dog. Or a… it could be a million things.
I tuck the ball under my arm and reach for my back pocket to get my cell phone. The guys will have a better view from the second floor.
Oh crap. My phone must be on the desk.
“June. Work.” I use the command that calls her back into duty and she immediately sidesteps closer.
“Alright,” I whisper, “Let’s go.”
June doesn’t follow me.
“June. Work.”
Her ear flicks toward me for half a second, then she goes razor-sharp from head to tail. The black fur at her shoulders rising.
Something is wrong. Really wrong.
I take a few steps backwards toward the building, not sure where to look. Or even if I should turn my back and run.
My legs go numb as panic takes over, my heart thudding loudly in my ears.
Go. Get inside!
I’m about to turn and sprint when a man materializes out of the scrubby brush, the rays of sun making it hard to see him.
For a second I blank.
Is he safe?
Squinting, I raise my hand to block the sun. That’s when the earth beneath my feet seems to crumble.
In a single heartbeat I see past the low baseball cap and the sunglasses. A deep, terrified part of me recognizes the way he moves.
“Miss me, Jade?” Trevor calls across the swaying grass.
Oh god. My stomach clenches and my legs shudder as I stumble backward.
“Ryker!” The cry scrapes out of my throat. “Ryker!”
The cameras have sound. They’ll pick my screaming up.
But my scream does nothing, Trevor casually walks toward me. Only there’s nothing casual about the way he looks. Trevor’s clothes are filthy, torn, half hanging off his body.
Bruises, green and yellow, cover all of his visible skin.
“Do not come any closer!”
June stiffens, entire body vibrating. Growl so deep, it sounds like it’s coming from a bear.
“Stupid. Stupid,” he says lightly, tilting his head. “Thinking I could be contained.”
I take another step backward, a pebble biting into my bare heel.
“Men like me always find a way out. You just wait long enough, and someone slips.”
His gaze flicks toward the building.
“I have to say, I expected your boys would have heard about my escape by now.”
Escape. He got away from federal custody. Somehow he found us. My mind stumbles over this.
A smirk curls one side of his bruised mouth. “But you didn’t know, did you?”
I’m in shock. Speechless, unable to move.
“What does that tell you?” He asks, disgusting, singsong voice from the past sending daggers of pain through my chest.
June shifts closer to my leg. She’s silent now. Tight as a bow string. Naturally protecting me.
“You were never safe, Jade.”
Trevor inhales deeply, like he’s savoring the air, glancing around. “Beautiful day, though.”
His eyes drag over me, making my stomach lurch upward. “Shame to waste it.”
Metal flashes. He raises the gun, leveling it.
“Beautiful day to die,” he says softly.
A black, growling missile launches from beside me. With a vicious snarl, June slams into him, jaws snapping, knocking the gun wide.
The shot goes off—earsplitting loud—knocking up dirt as Trevor hits the ground. Breath knocking out of him.
He grunts as June violently shakes him. Clamping onto his shoulder, then sliding, adjusting.
“Get her off—!” he chokes, scrambling, but June is relentless. She tears into him, going for control, for damage.
Trevor’s hand claws for the gun and I leap to kick it away. Stumbling as my foot connects with the gun’s handle.
June never lets go. Snapping, mauling him, her jaws readjust, clamp directly on his throat.
I watch in disbelief, my mind reeling in dismay. This is happening. Here. In Utah when Trevor is supposed to be in federal custody.
A door slams open behind me.
“CONTACT FRONT” Ryker booms, “GUN!”
The sound of pounding feet behind rises over the wet, choking noises coming out of Trevor. Over June’s growling.
“Still think it’s a beautiful day?” I ask him as an odd calmness settles over me. “I don’t think you’re escaping this time.”
Ryker blows into my periphery, a dark tornado of fury. “Jade, do NOT move.”
I don’t even blink. The team is a physical presence behind me.
“Ranger—on her,” Ryker commands as he steps closer.
Trevor’s legs have stopped scrambling. His color mottled and sick looking.
Light catches on Ryker’s pistol. His arms bulging with muscle as he aims at Trevor.
“Call June off.”
Clearing my throat, voice quivering, I say, “June. Out.”
She hesitates. Lips drawing back as she holds Trevor to the ground.
“June. OUT.”
The break is clean, she immediately retreats to my side, her muzzle covered in blood, as her chest pumps in short, tight bursts.
Trevor’s throat is gushing. Soaking his shirt, the ground, causing me to tear my eyes away.
“Want an ambulance?” Thane asks.
“No.” Ryker’s reply is cold, crisp. “He’s not going to make it.”
The first tears since this started shove past my lashes.
“Get her inside,” Ryker tells Ranger without shifting his death-glare from Trevor.
A muscular arm bands around my shoulders. Another scoops under my legs. “Tell June to come with us,” Ranger rumbles as he strides toward the building.
“June, come.”
Over his shoulder, I watch her deciding. Is her job here done?
“Come on, girl.”
With a low woof, she sprints to catch up with us.
“Is Ryker going to… kill him?” I stammer between choppy breaths.
“No. He’s just waiting on the bite to bleed him out.”
I squeeze my eyes closed. “It was horrible.”
“Won’t take long,” Ranger adds. “Not with wounds like that. Shit. June’s better than most bite dogs I’ve seen.”
I dissolve, my head falling against Ranger’s shoulder. “I didn’t know she was trained for that.”
“That was probably pure instinct,” he says as he shifts me to grab the door. An instant later we’re inside the cool, silent haven of the office building.
I don’t say anything else. Neither does he as he takes me to Ryker’s office and settles me on the couch. He doesn’t leave the door.
June curls by my feet.
I never hear sirens. It’s at least an hour before I hear Ryker’s familiar boot-strikes in the hallway.