She hadn’t thought so. “Are you still trying to figure out what that phrase means?”
“No.” He stretched, and the firelight licked along the smooth muscles of his arm. “Jethro will figure it out tomorrow.”
She sighed. Jethro hadn’t returned to the cabin with them, saying he had a meeting at the college. “You’re not sleeping, which means the case is on your mind. Right?”
“Yeah.” He turned to face her, mumbling the quotation they’d found painted inside the dog outline. “The forest watches, the darkness knows, the time is coming—can you feel the change?” He levered himself up on one arm. “It sounds kind of dumb, if you want the truth. I’m more interested in the outline of the dog’s face and the symbols scratched into the rock beneath it.”
Her breath quickened. It was totally inappropriate right now, but with all that powerful muscle so close, she had to force her brain to stay on track. “The symbols might’ve been left by the gangs.”
“Maybe,” Angus allowed.
Roscoe snored softly at the edge of the bed.
Angus studied her, his eyes blazing through the soft light. Tension rolled from him, thick with lust. “Um.”
“Me too.” She met him halfway. When his mouth crashed down on hers the delicious feeling tingled to her toes. She kissed him back, partially pressing herself up against him with her feet trapped on the other side of the dog.
“You sure?” Angus tangled a hand in her hair, his mouth roving wildly over her jaw and down her neck. “This is crazy.”
“I know,” she mumbled against his mouth, running her hands over his hard chest. Desire swamped her and she tried to free her feet so she could scoot closer. She needed to get closer to him. Now.
Roscoe lifted his head. He barked once—low and dark.
She chuckled. “Ros—”
Angus grabbed her by the arms and pulled her out of the bed, settling her on the floor. Her butt landed first—hard—and the cold wood chilled her thighs. Roscoe leapt off the bed and ran for the front door.
“What is happening?” she gasped, trying to stand.
“Down. Stay down.” Angus pulled his gun from beneath the pillow and crouched low, moving toward the front window. The firelight illuminated the scars across his muscled back as he moved silently. “One bark like that means danger. Keep your head down.”
Her gun was on the other side of the bed. She kept below the top mattress and crawled around the edge of the bed to the other side, pulling her Glock from her purse. Then she aimed for the back door, her arms on the mattress.
The front window shattered and something rolled across the floor.
“Grenade!” Angus leapt for it, grabbed it, and threw it toward the broken window before Nari could react. An explosion rocked the front porch, and more glass blew inward.
Nari scrambled away from the front door, rushing for the kitchen with Angus and the dog on her heels. Another grenade sailed through the front window.
She ran out the back door and looked around.
“Trail,” Angus whispered. “Follow Roscoe.” He whistled.
Roscoe bounded into the rainy night, somehow able to see despite the darkness. Nari ran behind him, her bare feet slipping on the wet weeds until they reached the muddy trail. Small rocks bit into her heels, but she kept going. They didn’t have a chance against an attacker with grenades.
The cabin exploded and debris blew toward them. Angus tackled her to the ground and she landed hard, the air whooshing from her lungs. Her bare knees and palms scraped against rocks and slid through the mud. Pain throbbed up her wrist to her elbow. Before she could draw a breath, he manacled her around the waist, partially lifted her, and started running again.
They reached a turnoff on the trail, and he followed Roscoe, setting her down next to a tree trunk. “You okay?” He crouched, barely visible in the dark.
She nodded, her heart hammering her rib cage, mud squishing beneath her thighs.
“Nari?” he whispered, his hand cupping the back of her neck.
Oh. He couldn’t see her. “Yes,” she whispered, shock thickening her voice. “I’m fine.”
“Good. Stay here with Roscoe.” He began to stand. “Roscoe, guard,” he commanded.
“No.” She grabbed his wet arm and tried to pull him back down. Her ears rang and her head pounded. “Whoever it is has grenades, Angus. Who knows what else they have.”
