But for some heinous reason, God seemed intent on punishing her very existence. First, by taking away the one person she loved more than anything in the world, second, by handing Trigger over to her dad and then thrusting this Greek God in her face, a man that she could neverhave.
She could never fall in love with anyone in the military. Since they were responsible for Jeremy’s death, and she was on a mission to convict those responsible, Diggs would probably end up hating her before it was all over. Being with him was a hopeless pipe dream and one that she needed to give up on fast, whether she wanted to ornot.
Melissa opened the door at the top of the stairs, and they moved Trigger out into the hallway. Audra’s arms were aching from keeping the carrier lifted level so that Trigger didn’t slide backwards on the climb up. Now that they were in the flat hallway, she was able to let him hang down a little bit and give her tired shoulders a break. “Whereto?”
“Second-story, I’m afraid. We gotta go up some morestairs.”
Crap, she hadn’t thought about that. She needed to keep Trigger on the first floor—she wouldn’t be able to carry him down a flight of stairs on her own—but for the life of her, she couldn’t think of a reason to keep him on the main level that would make any sense toMelissa.
They started their journey down the hallway in the mansion, Audra chewing her bottom lip until it almost bled as she tried to figure out a solution. By the time they wound around the corner and through the foyer, they were standing at the base of the grand staircase and she still hadn’t come up with aplan.
Once they reached the top of the steps, she’d have to have help to get him back down. This was her last chance. But she didn’t know what todo.
“I…I think he’s waking up,” Audra saidquickly.
“Set him down, gently. I’ll checkhim.”
With Melissa’s back still facing her, they knelt in formation on the floor. And then she turned and checked over Trigger, all the while Audra was scrambling to come up with anything to get them out of having to go upstairs. All she could come up with was some diehard move of cracking her knuckles over Melissa’s head and knocking her out. But she couldn’t stand the thought of committing violence against someone who had helped both her and Trigger. And she seriously doubted she had the strength to pull it offanyway.
“I think it must’ve just been a muscle twitch, he’s still out pretty good,” Melissa said in a reassuring tone. She stood up and Audra was forced to stand with her, her plans clattering around herfeet.
Suddenly, there was a loud feminine scream from up the staircase. “What wasthat?”
Melissa paled, her dark blue eyes growing wide behind her glasses. “Caroline.”
“Is that Reaper’s fiancee?” Audraasked.
“Yes,” Melissasaid.
“Go! Go check on her; I’ll stay right here with Trigger.” Audra knelt down next to Trigger, praying Melissa couldn’t see the excitement building insideher.
But apparently Melissa wasn’t even worried about them anymore, she was already running up the stairs, shouting as she went, “Caroline, I’mcoming!”
Audra waited until the doctor disappeared up the next flight of stairs, and then she latched onto the handles at Trigger’s feet and began dragging him across the smooth polished marble floor to the grand double doors. Unless someone had moved it, her car would be parked just outside. All she had to do was get Trigger over the threshold and into the back seat. Thank God, he was still knockedout.
By the time she reached the front door she was wringing with sweat from the effort and her adrenaline was pumping through her veins. There was no scanner or key code or any of that here, just a simple deadbolt, which she unlocked easily and pulled the heavy door openwide.
Her car still sat, as beautiful as ever, waiting to take them from thisplace.
Audra managed to get Trigger out of the door without jostling him too much and then opened the back door of her car, cringing when she saw the bloodstains on the cushion. Not because she cared they’d stained her car. Because it was Trigger’s blood. “It’s okay, boy, I’m not gonna let you down again. Iswear.”
He continued to breathe evenly in his sleep, and Audra could only pray the painkillers continued to hold until she could find another way to replenish them. There’s no way she could have taken them out of Melissa’s pocket without her noticing. She’d get him to a veterinary clinic, make up some story about his injuries and get some meds. It wouldn’t be easy but she could doit.
Carefully, she lifted the front of the carrier onto the cushion in her car and then got at the other end and lifted his feet up and slid him slowly across the backseat. The carrier was so long she was scared for a second her door wouldn’t close, but it shut with a couple of inches tospare.
Audra cast one last look at the giant mansion, swallowing back her regret at leaving Diggs without his knowledge, after all he’d done for Trigger. But if he knew the truth, there’s no way he’d let them go. She didn’t have a choice. She and Diggs could never be a couple. As soon as he started digging into the truth, there’d be a target on her head bigger than the size of the state ofTexas.
Resolutely, she marched around to her front seat, got in and hit the start button. Then she quietly pulled out of the drive, circled around, and headed back down the long, overgrown driveway, realizing now they probably kept it that way on purpose forcamouflage.
Before she knew it, the gate was looming up ahead, dark and insurmountable. She slowed as she got closer, her hands gripping the wheel so tight the blood couldn’t get to her fingertips. There’s no way this thing wasn’t locked. Diggs had to punch in some long code on the outside to get it to open. She seriously doubted ramming her smart car into it would even put a dent in the thick wrought iron, plus that would surely hurtTrigger.
She kept driving forward, even as the tendrils of despair wound their way into her heart and robbed her of hope. They would all know something was up if they caught her here. There was no way around it. She was sneaking out like acriminal.
She was within about 30 feet of the gate when she spotted the small silver box. She rolled down her window and pressed the button in the center. The gate started to slowly open, and Audra had to blink, not even believing her own eyes. It was impossible. This place was locked down so tight you couldn’t squeeze a nickel out of it, and yet here she was, driving through the gate, pulling out onto the highway with no one to stopher.
