The guy stumbled closer, tripped on a rock and landed with his hands on Diggs’ chest. Diggs took the brunt and rolled sideways. The guy grabbed his shirt, ripped the fabric, and fell to theground.
Diggs glanced down at his now torn shirt and fingered the flap of blood-stained material. “That your bestshot?”
The guy staggered to a knee, wheezing and coughing. His stench was enough to make Diggs back up a step. “You—” His voice wobbled as he got one foot under his frame and focused on Diggs. “You—” The man’s reddened face paled to ash and his fat lips flapped open andshut.
“What?” Diggs took another step away, not sure what the guy’s new anglewas.
“You’re military,” the guy croaked out, grabbing his chest like he was having a heart attack. Which was a very real possibility considering he had to be over two hundred pounds past healthy and smelled like astill.
“Ex-military.” Diggs glanced down. His dog tags, worn out of habit more than anything else, hung through the tear in hisshirt.
“You stay the hell away from me. Take the damn dog, you two deserve eachother.”
And with that cryptic comment, the guy stumbled across the blacktop and into the woods, muttering incoherently as he bashed his way through the trees and keptgoing.
What the fuck wasthat?
The dog whined and Diggs banished the man from his mind and knelt at his side, almost scared to touch him. The dog’s eyes were closed and his breathing was labored. Every other second, he whimpered. Dammit. Diggs should have killed that bastard. “Hold on, fella. I’ve got younow.”
Diggs ran a callused hand over the dog’s slick blood-soaked fur. Suddenly, the dog opened his dark eyes and stared at Diggs. He’d seen that look before, that shattered panicky look with hollowed-out eyes and ragged breathing indicating this was a creature used to living in constant fear. He’d seen that look on his own teammate’s face when they’d been held hostage byRainier.
Diggs lifted his hand, blood sticking to his fingers. A hollow rage formed in the center of hischest.
His gaze landed on the bat a few feet away. He picked it up and held it for inspection, reading the inscription beneath all the blood.The Boomhad been etched into the bottom of the barrel, right above the words Little League World Series. The ache in his chest swelled, forcing out the oxygen in his lungs, leaving room only forfury.
The drunk bastard had used some kid’s bat to beat the dog. He’d probably used the bat to beat thekid.
A roar of fury ripped from his throat, and Diggs slammed the bat over his knee, splintering the wood in two. Had he let the man stumble home to abuse his son? He’d find the man as soon as he took care of thedog.
But before he could take a step, an olive-green hatchback came careening around the curve in the road, it’s V4 engine straining with effort. The car skidded to a stop about ten feet past him and with the engine still running, the driver slammed out of the door. Diggs took in two facts at once: the driver was breathtaking and she was furious. Her deep red hair swung in long tendrils around her shoulders and bright green eyes glowed withferocity.
“Get away from that dog! I’ve got pepperspray!”
Diggs forced his gaze from her face and down to the leather encased can of pepper spray clutched in her fist. She advanced without caution, recklessly uncaring of her ownsafety.
“I’m giving you one more warning. If you don’t get away from him I’ll spray you!” She kept coming, and he couldn’t help but notice the thick swell of her breasts as they rose and fell rapidly beneath her T-shirt.
Damn, she wasgorgeous.
“I warned you.” She lifted the can of pepper spray and Diggs snapped out of hishaze.
“I didn’t hurt thedog.”
She glanced at the bat, now one piece in each of his hands. “Yeah, right. Drop it and back away.” She kept her pepper spray raised, as if that could stop him if he actually intended to harm her. But clearly the woman put her personal safety below that of the injured dog’swelfare.
“Look, lady, I didn’t hurt the dog. I saved him.” Diggs flung the bat to the ground and squared hisshoulders.
Her eyes flashed and she took another step closer. “Get away fromhim!”
Diggs lifted his arms in a gesture of surrender and took a step back. Standing here arguing with her would only prolong the dog’spain.
She edged closer, hand outstretched and ready to spray. “Who areyou?”
He couldn’t tell her the truth. They’d spent months burying their identities and hiding from the public. Even if she had no idea who he was, his enemies had the uncanny ability to tap into just about any security system, electronic device, or traffic light. Leaving the compound was a risk—standing out in the road wasdangerous.
“Just a guy trying to help an injured animal. I saw another man beating him with this bat. I stepped in to stop him and heran.”
“What did the man look like?” she asked quietly. Her freckled cheeks had lost some of their rosyglow.
