Page 5 of No Going Back

When she reached the end of the bar, she saw that every table had been piled with its chairs and then lit on fire. The curtains blazed, and ribbons of fire crossed the ceiling. Outside, she could hear people yelling but couldn’t hear individual words. If Prince told them not to, no one would dare to call for help.

Hoping the smoke was thick enough to cover her movements, Branna kept low and raced across the room and through the door leading upstairs. The stairwell was clear, and she ran up.

The door at the top had been broken down, and she could see her family’s dining table and chairs on fire in the closest room.

Her mom had picked out that set, loving the patterns carved into the wood. With a sob, Branna turned her phone to record the damage, then raced up the next set of stairs. Smoke poured from the bedroom doors, but she didn’t stop to see.

With tears pouring down her face, she raced up the final flight. The door to the roof was closed, and she took a moment to get her breath back.

She stopped the recording, then sent the file to the cloud. Heat had chased her up the stairs, and her fingers trembled as she pulled up the text she’d coded. With a tap, she sent it. As soon as it went through, she turned off the phone and shoved it in her pocket.

She closed her eyes briefly and cleared her thoughts of everything but the task ahead.

When she was as ready as she’d ever be, she shoved open the door and ran as fast as she could toward the edge of the roof.

She didn’t allow herself to think of the gap or the drop to the alley below. She poured every ounce of herself into the speed building in her arms and legs.

And when she reached the edge of the roof, she leaped.

CHAPTER 2

Flashback

Sean paid the vet bill with an internal sigh. He had enough money stashed away to help him coast for a long while, but Jabba was going to take a literal bite out of those savings.

On the plus side, the huge mutt was now completely debugged and clean. After helping the vet get the chain off, Sean had taken his truck to the nearest car wash and scrubbed it inside and out. No fleas or whatever the hell had been growing on the dog survived the scouring.

When the vet had said Jabba didn’t have a chip and there were no inquiries on the local sites about a lost dog matching his description, he’d dropped another chunk of change at the pet store, getting all the food and items the vet recommended.

He was such a sucker, but he hadn’t been able to resist those pathetically hopeful eyes staring out from beneath the mop of fur. “Any idea what kind of dog he is?”

The vet shrugged. “He’s a bit of a combo platter, I think. Definitely some Newfoundland and probably some Saint Bernard. Wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some Great Dane or Mastiff blood in there, too. On the good news side, he’s neutered. I think he’s over a year old and is probably fully grown.”

Hell, the beast might get bigger? “Let’s hope so. He’s already big enough to eat a whole sheep.”

At least the vet worked out of the same office as a groomer. While Sean paid, Jabba pranced out happily with the groomer, who looked about the same weight. He now resembled a dog more than a highland cow.

With a wave, Sean left with the big dog at his side, no instructions or leash required. He opened the truck’s passenger door and Jabba jumped inside. “Don’t you dare develop arthritis. I don’t want to be lifting you every time we go somewhere.”

Sean grinned as he jumped into the truck himself. He had a dog. And not just any dog. A giant who was going to require frequent meals and water breaks if he was going to recover from the trauma he’d been through.

“Do you know how lucky you are, Jabba?”

The dog grinned at him and woofed. Laughing, Sean put the truck into gear. “Time to get off Bad Choices Road before I end up with an alligator or a hippo. Let’s find Route 66 again. And don’t tell me you get car sick because wherever we’re going, it’s going to take a few days to get there.”

Jabba sat up, watching the scenery. When Sean lowered the window, he stuck his head out and grinned happily at the world going by.

They’d driven a few hours east when Sean’s phone buzzed with a text. Jabba yanked his head back in and nosed the phone where it sat on the console between them.

The phone dropped to the seat and then bounced to the floor. “Smooth move, Jabba.”

The phone didn’t buzz again, but curiosity got the best of him. Sean wasn’t exactly a great communicator, and he didn’t text a whole lot of people. Hell, not that many people even knew his number.

It was probably Epic with more details about his plan. Actually, it probably wasn’t Troy. The man had been exactly right in knowing that Sean’s curiosity was a beast in and of itself. He wanted to know about the project Epic had hinted about.

“Looks like we’re going to need a stop, Jabba. It’s time for you to have another small meal.”

Jabba’s eyes flickered, and he grinned at Sean.

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