Page 108 of Tell Me Lies

“Emily, you’re not going to that fucking rescue alone. I don’t know why my men are not answering, but I’m going with you.” They had filled a black sports bag with a few sweatpants and sweaters, and he’d placed money on top of it.

He had fifty thousand in cash to give, if he wanted, but he wasn’t going to pay some fucker who was threatening his woman. Not a damn penny. If he gave in it would show weakness, guaranteeing they’d be a target again in the future.

No, he was going to make sure he saw the person who would dare to threaten his woman, and then he would fucking kill them. Simple as that.

If they thought he had a weakness when it came to his feelings for Emily, they were mistaken. If anything, what had awakened inside him was a monster. He would do absolutely anything to protect his woman.

They walked out to his car, and Emily climbed behind the wheel. Dalton moved into the back and made sure to stay low. Her hands were shaking. “What if I give them the money, and they still torch the place?”

“It’s not going to happen.”

“What if they search the bag?” Emily asked.

“Let them.”

“There’s not fifty thousand dollars in that bag.”

“I know.”

“How can you be so calm?” she asked.

“Do you think this is the first asshole I’ve faced?” Dalton asked. He reached out and put his fingers on her arm stroking her. At first, she jumped, but then she relaxed. “Trust me, Emily. I know this is terrifying, but I know what I’m doing.”

While Emily had gone to the bathroom, he’d grabbed a couple of guns and a few knives. He was loaded up, and there was no way he was going to lose this fight.

“Dalton, I’m scared,” she said. “I’ve never had to do anything like this before. What if they’ve hurt those dogs?” She groaned. “Now I’m starting to feel it’s more than one person.”

He wasn’t going to say anything, but he had already come to that conclusion. There had to be more than one for them to be able to incapacitate his men. This was why he’d loaded up. Dalton had already called ahead for backup, and his men would be waiting.

They arrived at the animal shelter, and he couldn’t see any signs of a potential break-in.

“I don’t know what to do,” Emily said.

“Grab the bag, and we go in.”

“They said I had to go in alone. You shouldn’t even be here.” She ran her hands over her face, and he saw the stress. Dalton had enough.

“Stay here!”

Opening the car door, he didn’t bother grabbing the sports bag, and made his way toward the entrance to the shelter.

At first, he didn’t see any cause for concern, but then he saw the door had been jammed open. Why the fuck weren’t his men dealing with this threat? They were better than this.

He stepped into the animal shelter and saw one of his men at the door, out cold on the floor. Dalton made sure he was alive, then moved him out of the way. He headed toward the main part of the kennel, and as soon as he stepped out of the door, he knew he’d been a fucking idiot.

Emily had questioned her mother’s motives, and Dalton had believed the woman wasn’t capable of exploiting her daughter any more than she already had.

Only, her mother was right there, her hair pinned back, black jeans, a black shirt, and holding a long stick, which had been hitting the side of one of the kennels.

The man holding the big rifle was another matter. Dalton had never seen him before.

“You’re not Emily!” The man held the rifle as if he was ready to shoot it. Dalton was pissed off.

“No, I’m not, but seeing as it’s my money you want, I figured I should be the one to come and see who is threatening my woman.”

Emily’s mother had gone pale, and she rushed toward the man. “We have to go,” she said.

The man shoved his elbow against her, to which she immediately recoiled.

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