“Why are you doing this, Doc?I’m sure there’s a misunderstanding.”He fought the quake of fear jumping along his vocal cords.He had to keep him talking, had to distract him.The Watsons wouldn’t just sit around after someone stole their property.Surely, they’d come searching.
Dr.Lots yanked his arm back on McKenna’s throat.Her eyes bulged.Her face was red.
“You think I’m stupid.Crazy.I’ve been planning to get rid of this witch for years.She’s a danger to society.I’m doing everyone a favor.Even you.You’ve probably been under her spell, too, like everyone else.”Spit flung from his mouth.
“If you shoot her, I’ll shoot you,” Jaxon said.His voice rang with conviction.
Dr.Lots hooted.In a heartbeat, his smile fell away.“You know,” he said, amusement in his tone, “I think I should kill you first.You’ve ruined my plans to cut this pretty face into pieces.”He shifted the gun from McKenna’s head to Jaxon’s chest.
Jaxon didn’t miss a beat.All he had to do was pray the old bastard wasn’t a good enough shot to hit him in the head or chest—
Dr.Lots’s finger twitched on the trigger.Jaxon threw himself backward.
Crack!
“No!”McKenna’s scream cut through him—but the bullet had missed.He lay on the snow, staring at the sky.McKenna’s sobs were followed by a shriek of pain.He turned his head and watched the old man drag her toward the shed.
Now he had a clear shot of his back...
Jaxon aimed and fired.The doctor’s body jerked, and he howled.McKenna tore away from his hold and fell in the snow.
“McKenna!”Jaxon dropped the gun and leaped to his feet.He charged across the yard.
“Jaxon, stop!”she cried.
He turned his attention to the doctor.The old man staggered to his feet, the gun aimed at Jaxon’s head.Blood blossomed on his shoulder.His hood fell off and the beanie sat askew on top of his hair.
Jaxon’s blood pressure spiked.He’d left the shotgun in the snow several feet away.The doctor could get a shot off before Jaxon reached him.There was a hard glint in the man’s eye.He swung the gun to point at McKenna.His finger moved over the trigger.
“McKenna, get down!”Jaxon leaped for her.
Crack!
He collided with her soft, small body.They slammed into the snow and the sound of the bullet reverberated through his skull.
No more shots fired, but the doctor’s sharp gasp turned Jaxon’s blood to steel.He sat up.
“Get back!Get away from me, you beast.”The mountain lion crept forward out of the shed, its back arched in warning, its tail whipping.Yellow, laser-focused eyes glowed in the night, locked on their target.
“Jaxon,” McKenna breathed next to him.He pulled her against his chest.Her body was racked with shivers, but he couldn’t move.Couldn’t draw the mountain lion’s attention to them.
Crack!
The doctor fired.The cat pounced.Dr.Lots’s screams pierced Jaxon’s eardrums.Then came the sound of teeth sinking into bone.
“Oh my god!”McKenna clawed at his shoulders.He scooped her into his arms and backed away.His heart raced.His feet burned to run, to get McKenna to safety, but alerting the animal to their presence could be the death of them.
He didn’t take his gaze from the sight before him.The doctor’s arms flailed beneath the mountain lion.Only gurgles escaped the man’s lips.Blood and other matter coated the white snow.
Jaxon’s leg bumped into the four-wheeler.He climbed on and wedged McKenna onto his lap.
“We can’t just leave him like this,” she wailed.
He tightened his hold on her.“There’s nothing we can do for him.”Jaxon revved the engine.The headlight coated the animal with its feast.The creature didn’t run.
Jaxon tore out of the woods, leaving the horror behind them.
CHAPTER 15
