30. Travis
TRAVIS
“ T ravis. Travis, wake up.”
I opened my eyes just enough to see Dax kneeling by the bed, smiling at me. I rubbed my eyes and opened them more fully. “What time is it?”
“Almost nine.”
I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my brain. “When did you put me to bed last night?”
He grinned. “Around eight.”
“And I slept that whole time?”
He stroked my hair back from my face. “You did. I really wore you out.”
I caught his wrist and turned to press a kiss to his palm. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. I would have let you keep sleeping, but I’ve got to go check something out. Remington got some intel, and it could be important for our operation with Winston.”
“Go ahead. I’m fine.” I wasn’t. The idea of being here alone scared the shit out of me. I needed all this over and done with.
“I’ve got men watching the house. That’s the only reason I’m willing to leave you here. Corbin will come over later if this takes longer than expected, but I need you to promise not to leave the house. Not to go to the shop, not to run an errand, not for any reason.”
“I won’t. I swear. I’ll be right here waiting for you when you get back.”
His smile turned wicked. “I might have to reward your good behavior then.”
“I’m counting on it.”
I forced myself to get up after Dax left. I had no doubt I could’ve fallen back asleep, but I didn’t want to end up staying in bed all day. Surely over twelve hours of sleep was enough.
I made myself some eggs for breakfast. Dax hadn’t gotten very far in teaching me to cook, but thanks to him I could make decent scrambled eggs now.
After I ate, I needed something to distract myself from worrying about him. What kind of information had Remington gotten? How dangerous was the mission Dax was on?
Maybe I could lose myself in a book. That had always been my favorite way of escaping as a kid and during my years with Rob.
I looked through the titles on Dax’s bookshelves.
When I realized he’d started reading fantasy novels after I’d introduced them to him, I’d gone all warm and mushy inside.
I chose an old favorite and stretched out on the couch under the whirring ceiling fan.
The day was already so hot the air conditioning was straining to keep the house cool.
I’d read almost half the book when I heard something that sounded like a dog barking in the backyard.
I stepped onto the screened-in porch and saw a German shepherd puppy looking up at me and whimpering.
She looked barely old enough to have been separated from her mother.
Poor little girl. One of the neighbors had probably just gotten her and she’d gotten under a fence or something.
I moved toward her slowly. She backed up a little bit, but she didn’t try to run. I held out my hand and talked in a low, soothing voice. I crouched down in front of her, and she let me scratch her ears.
She wasn’t wearing a collar. Maybe she’d slipped out of that too. Was she microchipped? At what age did dogs have that done?
I couldn’t leave the puppy outside in this heat. I slowly scooped her into my arms so I could take her inside until Dax returned. Hopefully he’d know who this baby belonged to.
The puppy nuzzled my hand and whimpered. As I rose to my feet, I felt something sting my neck. I thought it was a bee or something, but when I reached up, I felt something there. I yanked it out and stared at it.
My vision was already starting to blur as I registered it was a dart. What the fuck?
I saw two puppies in my arms instead of one, and I knew I was going to collapse. I tried to scream, but I’m not sure I got any sound out before my knees hit the ground and I slumped forward, rolling to keep from crushing the puppy.
I came partially awake and saw two men in cable company uniforms staring down at me. My head throbbed and even the slightest movement made me queasy, but I was able to figure out that I was in the trunk of a car. A whimper told me the puppy was there too.
“Shouldn’t we get rid of the dog?” one of the men asked.
I tried to reach for the puppy, but my hands were tied. The little dog pressed up against my side and whimpered again.
“Nah. We can throw it in the cell too. The boss will decide what to do with it.”
The first man slammed the trunk lid shut, leaving me in darkness.
As the car started to move, I lay there, barely conscious, head pounding, and arms aching.
Would Dax find me? Would he think I’d left the house when I’d promised I wouldn’t?
I thought I was safe in the backyard. Something must have happened to the guards because Dax said he had men watching the house.
It never even occurred to me that the puppy was a trap.
I was in and out of consciousness for the remainder of the ride, and once one of the men pulled me out of the car and threw me over their shoulder, I pretended to still be out of it, but I was listening.
“The boss wants him in good condition, right?” This came from the one who’d wanted to get rid of the puppy.
“Yeah, until he decides if he’s useful to us.”
“Is he going to use him to get the Theriots off his back?”
“I think he plans to lure them in with this little bitch.” He slapped my ass, so I knew he meant me, not the puppy.
Shit. Now I didn’t know whether to hope Dax would find me soon or hope he never did so he’d be safe.