Chapter Five
I hit the floor and came abruptly awake.
For the second time that week, I had no clue where I was.
I was in bed, fully clothed. A moment later, I recognized the hotel room and remembered everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
It had just been a dream. Wow, I must really need to get laid.
I looked around and made a quick check to see that all my pieces of clothing were still attached.
That had been the most intense, spicy dream I had ever had, and I was still not sure that parts of it had not been genuine.
I got up and headed for the bathroom door, then stopped as I heard shouting coming from the hallway.
That must have been what had woken me up.
I leaned upward to look through the peephole and peered out; from my vantage point, all I could see was a large man with a dog walking back and forth down the hall.
I kept the chain on the door and opened it as quietly as I could to get a better look.
As the man turned to come back down the hallway, I recognized him as the thug from the gaming store.
I slammed the door shut and put my back against it, holding my breath.
I heard a low growl, followed by a fierce pounding on the door.
“Open the door, bitch.”
He was as eloquent as ever. I ran to the bed and frantically reached under the pillow; my fingers clenched around nothing.
“Fuck.”
The door burst open, and the thug crashed into the room.
He saw me sliding my hands under the pillows and must have also thought I had a gun there.
He grabbed the mattress and upended it, throwing me on the floor next to the nightstand.
I prayed that Val would not think the top drawer would be as stupid a hiding place as under a pillow.
I squirmed on the floor and pulled out the drawer.
My hands closed around the handle of the Berretta.
I pulled the gun out and flipped the safety with my thumb.
I tried to remember everything my father had taught me but the adrenaline coursing through my body made it hard to focus.
The thug was upon me before I knew it and grabbed my shoulders.
Suddenly, the gun went off, once, twice, three times.
He looked at me the same way as when I had punched him. Then stopped and looked down. There was a gaping chest wound, and he had an expression of disbelief as he collapsed to the ground.
The dog let out a long howl. Fuck, that wasn’t a dog, that was a wolf, and it looked like the beast of Gévaudan itself.
I brought the gun up, aiming at the wolf, but before I could pull the trigger, it was on me.
The beast’s impact knocked me to the floor, and it took a vicious bite from my left arm.
I screamed in agony, and the beast pulled back, hesitating as if it was enjoying the carnage.
I summoned every bit of concentration to keep myself from going into shock, and as its jaws came down for a second bite, I shoved the gun into its mouth and pulled the trigger, blowing the back of its head off.
The bloody body fell heavily on me. I let out a long scream, one that did not end until my throat was raw.
That seemed to help, and I rolled the body of the wolf off my chest. I was covered in blood and gore but staggered to my feet.
What would Dominique do? Think, damn it.
Oh yeah, she would get the fuck out of Dodge.
I lurched out into the hallway; people were already starting to peek out their doors.
I made it to the stairway, and there was a fire alarm.
Dominique whispered to me to pull it. I did and crashed into the stairs.
I leaned heavily on the handrail and somehow made it down and into the parking garage.
Crouching behind a large SUV, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Val.
I tried to put the phone to my ear, but darkness came and claimed me.