Max’s barking turned to snarls, perhaps recognizing the gun, the lethal threat. He lunged at Ian, fangs bared, and tore into Ian’s gun hand, yanking, shaking his head, in a repeat of what he’d done to Carter.
“Fuck,” Ian screamed.
He seized the gun from his right hand with his left and brought it down atop Max’s head in a heavy blow.
Max fell to the ground, twitching.
“You hurt my dog!” Declan screeched.
Before anyone moved, he shifted.
A dragon the size of a pony lunged at Ian, flames licking Ian’s clothes. Dancing aside, Ian avoided Declan’s fire, aiming his gun at a downward angle. Declan reared up on his hind legs, his front talons raking at Ian’s face. In response, Ian stepped back, turning his face to the side, but his gun was still aimed at Declan.
“No!”I screamed, running forward.
Avery, too, lunged into action, charging beside me as we both raced to save our child.
A gun barked.
Ian staggered, a small round hole appearing in the middle of his forehead. As though stupefied, he stood for several seconds, long enough for Avery and me to grab Declan and draghim away. He stared at us – then collapsed in a heap in the doorway.
Sobbing in relief, I hugged Declan around his long neck, Avery, his body shaking from reaction, seized us both in a tight embrace. Admonitions raced through my mind –what were you thinking –but I voiced none of them. Declan lived while Ian died.
Declan lived.
I lifted my head when Jenkins’s movement caught my attention. His gun in his hand, he strolled casually toward Ian’s corpse to gaze down. His lips pursed as though he tried to puzzle things out, he finally glanced at us. “My number one suspect.”
What?The word formed in my mind but failed to reach my mouth.
“Suspect?” Avery’s voice sounded hoarse.
Jenkins tucked his gun back in its holster. “Jacy’s shooting. Carter didn’t do that, Ian did.”
Declan’s shift back into his little boy form brought both Avery and me to our feet.
“What are you talking about?” Avery demanded.
“The council sent me a message,” Jenkins replied. “Keep an eye on you two. They had intel that Ian planned a rampage, yet they couldn’t stop him. After Jacy was shot, I did some poking around. Ian drove a dark truck. He matched the witnesses’ descriptions. Like with Carter, no one knew where he was.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” I yelled. “He could have killed us.”
“I was keeping a watch over you.” Jenkins smiled. “You didn’t need the stress oftwobad guys wanting your hides.”
Max heaved his way to his paws. Declan ran to him, hugging him around his neck. “Good dog,” he said. “Good dog.”
Max wagged his tail in agreement.
I sagged to the couch, glowering. “You had no right to keep that from us.”
“What’s done is done.” Jenkins patted Max’s head, tousled Declan’s hair. “The council won’t have an issue with this, I’ll take his body to the mountains and burn it. He won’t be missed.”
Avery dropped to the couch beside me. “Fuck.”
“Language,” Jenkins commented. “Young boys have big ears.”
I started to laugh. Once I began, I couldn’t stop. Laughing wildly, tears rolling down my face, I laughed until my ribs hurt and I gasped for breath. A single glance into Avery’s confused expression set me to laughing all over again.
“Did I miss something?” he asked.
