Chapter 15 #2
My hand brushes the cold metal of the handle when someone grabs my sleeve. Whirling around, I break the person’s hold on me.
“Chill out,” Blake whisper-shouts at me.
Sighing, I roll my eyes. “Blake, I almost hurt you. You can’t sneak up on me like that. I told you to—”
Blake holds up a hand for me to stop talking. “Too bad. I’m coming.”
I don’t have time to take her back, so it looks like she’s my shadow. “Stay close and hold on to the back of my shirt.”
When I finally feel Blake's hand grip onto the fabric, I place my hand back on the handle and pull down slowly.
The door opens without a sound upstairs, and I peer around the large space.
The commotion and barking of the dogs and the kennels are my only indication that something is amiss.
I lied to Blake earlier to keep her calm, and I'll probably go to hell for that.
“Do you see anything?” Blake whispers into my ear.
I hold my finger up to my lips, urging her to be quiet. Staying low, I proceed forward with Blake on my heels. With all of my senses on high alert, I scan the room. Everything seems to be in its place.
Leashes on the hooks.
Clipboards hanging by the door.
Kennels locked shut.
The only thing wrong is the lack of lighting and the mop bucket next to me lying on its side, which is more than enough to put me on edge.
My breaths come quick, but I keep them quiet.
I told Blake that there was nothing to worry about, but the truth is I have nothing but panic and worry in my veins right now.
It's not normal for the lights to just go off like this.
The only other time that has happened was during a blizzard, and that was over five years ago.
Guiding us forward past the first row of kennels, I go down the second, leading us by Bear. I know Blake will want to check on him.
Every few steps, I feel Blake’s grip getting tighter and tighter.
He barks vigorously, jumping at his cage. He thrashes wildly to get out. Blake's hands tighten the fabric further, and I can hear her light gasp behind me as she witnesses Bear's behavior.
We turn and go down the third and final row, which is empty of occupants. As we clear the end, I'm barely past the last kennel when a shadow shifts in my peripheral vision.
My only warning is the light scrape of boots on the concrete.
In half a second, the shadow is on top of me.
My body is knocked into the hard cement of the floor. A jolt of pain zings from my hip to my shoulder. My gun goes skidding across the floor out of my reach, and the body on top of me is weighing me down.
A fist lands in my gut, knocking the wind out of me, but I was born here. I was raised here—I know how to take a hit.
Twisting onto my side, I keep my elbows tight against my ribs to block the rain of punches at my center. It’s too dark in here for me to see his face.
I wrap my left hand around one of his wrists, tightly holding it against my chest. The motion pushes his sleeve up, and I’m barely able to make out the outline of a tattoo on his arm.
Barbed wire?
On the left side, I hook his foot with my own and, with my free foot, plant it flat on the ground. Using my foot as leverage, I push my hips violently upward toward the ceiling and turn my head to the left. Utilizing the momentum, I roll my attacker onto his back, gaining the upper hand.
I return a few punches of my own to his middle and his face. He holds his arms up with his forearms together, creating a shield.
In the split second between punches, he wraps his arms around my torso and pulls me to his chest, burying his head into my shoulder. He tries to perform the same move I did, but I widened my knees to prevent the switch.
A fast learner.
He switches his tactics and pulls my weight over his shoulder, throwing me off balance and rolling me under him.
He draws his fists back, ready to exchange blows again. But before he can lower his fist to my body, a female enraged cry catches my attention, and a smaller form tackles him from the side just like he did to me moments earlier.
A wave of acid wells up in my stomach as I realize that Blake has come to my defense. “No!”
Rushing to my feet, I don't make it in time to the lake before the man throws her off of him, her body making a loud thump on the hard floor.
Blake doesn't move.
For the first time in my life since I was fourteen years old, I freeze.
I'll never forgive myself for this moment of hesitation—for this moment of fear.
Instead of avenging Blake, I let our attacker run out, and I hurry to her side. “Blake? Blake, are you okay? Butterfly, I need you to talk to me.”
A pained groan rumbles in Blake's throat, and she rolls onto her back. “That hurt like a bitch.”
My hands hover above her body, afraid to touch her and make her pain worse. “Don't you ever do that again.”
Blake pushes herself up onto her elbows. “Don't save your life? Sure. Next time I'll just let you get hurt.”
“You're infuriating,” I growl.
Needing to remind myself that she's OK, I place my hands on her cheeks and guide her mouth to mine.
It's a kiss of comfort—of solace.
Releasing her lips, I rest my forehead on hers. “Please don't do that to me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you because of me.”
She shakes her head. “I can't promise you that. I will always step in when someone I care about is being hurt.” Sighing, she sits all the way up, and I give her the space to do so. “Who was that?”
“I don't know. I couldn't see his face.” Staring off in the direction he left, I rub my eyes. “But I get the feeling he wasn’t here for me.”
Blake’s head drops to an angle. “What do you mean?”
“In any attack, you take out the biggest threat first,” I explain.
Blake brushes off my theory and eyes me as I pull out my phone. “You're going to call Walk, aren't you?” she groans.
I quirk a brow at her. “If you know the answer, why ask the question?”
Rising to her feet, she brushes off her pants, and I stand with her. “I already have one overprotective man with me,” Blake gestures to me, “I'm not looking forward to encountering another right now.”
“Well then prepare yourself,” I chuckle, “because I'm calling two more.”
Blake gives me an irritated glare but doesn't say a word.
I'm still trying to keep the moment light for her, even though there was an intruder in the clinic.
Whoever it was that dared to do this, they won't be breathing much longer.