He froze. The fury didn't disappear, but something in his posture shifted. Calculating. He flicked a weird glance at his buddy, who was still clutching his shattered nose and whimpering against a tree.
I thought he'd charge again. Instead, he showed his palms. "Not worth it," he said, low. "Come on, let's bounce."
He hauled his partner upright. The crony staggered, blinking slowly, involuntary tears leaking down his face, the area around his nose and mouth already swelling. William didn't care. He just kept his head down, hustled up the ridge, but not before throwing one last, icy look, like he was memorizing the scene for later.
Chase them! Kill them! They hurt her!
I wanted to. But Tash was the important thing now.
She'd sunk to her knees by the creek, Huey squirming against her, both of them shaking. Her hair,pulled free of its hair tie, spilled in dark coils around her face, her hands wrapped around the dog as if he were the last good thing in the world.
Murder could wait.
I staggered to her side, dropped to one knee, and fought the urge to wrap her up and never let go. "Jesus, Tash, talk to me. Are you, did they, fuck, did they hurt you?"
She looked up, brown eyes wild, and my heart cracked. Her cheek was scraped, lower lip split, blood painting the lines of her wrist where William had tried to rip the samples away.
Huey whined, licking her palm, then hid his nose under her elbow.
She tried to answer, but her teeth rattled so hard she could only manage, "They tried. I held on, I didn't let them?—"
"That's enough. You did well, and I promise, they'll never touch you again."
I shrugged out of my jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Her hands trembled in the sleeves, but she gripped the cuff like a lifeline.
Kill them! Caden wanted to hunt them down so much that I thought my skin might rip apart. Instead, I dialed Xavier, every finger jerking with adrenaline.
He picked up onthe first ring.
"Xavier. You need to get out here, now."
His tone snapped to business. "What's the situation?"
"SkyArc. Two of them. William Hanlon and a sidekick. They put their hands on Tash. You'll want to bring a kit. She's bruised and cut, and so is her dog."
"You got it. I'm nearby anyway, maybe five minutes out. Keep them there if you can, but if not, don't engage unless you have to. Understood?"
"They're gone. They stopped when Caden shifted some."
Xavier paused a second then said, "Say again?"
"My eyes shifted. Hanlon saw, and then they bailed like it was a damn fire alarm."
There was a pause. "Don't follow. Stay with Tash. We'll talk when I arrive."
He hung up.
I tucked the phone away and pressed my fist to my thigh to keep it from shaking out of sheer rage.
Tash hunched into my jacket. Huey wedged himself tighter between her ankles.
"You're safe," I said. "They're not coming back today."
She nodded, then buried her face in Huey's fur. I didn't push, as badly as I wanted to pull her into my arms.
Oh, fuck it. Gently, giving her every opportunity to pull away, I pulled her into my arms, wrapping myself around her and making soothing sounds as I scanned the tree line, hunting for any sign of movement. Nothing. Even the breeze had died down.
I memorized every bruise on her arm, every muddy print the men had left. I wanted to make sure I put two on them for every one on her.
