Page 115 of Her Wolf

It wasn’t as if they were evenly matched—Lars could have tied the guy in a fucking knot—but with a hammer relentlessly slamming into his head, it was impossible to anticipate what Neo was going to do.

A crash resounded through the house, then another.

Would a neighbor call the police after this ruckus? Or was this the kind of street were smashing glass and shouts were ruled out as another little spat between the Mr and Mrs in four?

Seconds later, he got a solid blow to Neo’s jaw with his elbow, and then a knee to his groin.

The man curled up with a moan that rattled in his throat, cursing Lars in what had to be beaner.

Lars sat back, gritting his teeth as his headache paused, and then intensified.

Bailey arrived around the corner, a new gun in his hand. Ana stumbled after him, hair mussed and tear streaks on her face.

Pushing himself to his feet with a grimace and the aid of the wall, Lars pointed absently at the writhing Neo. “Tie him up,”

He made his way to the bathroom, offered a silent plea to any deity that happened to be looking in his general direction, and flung open the cabinet.

He spotted a prescription bottle of Codeine. His breath hissed out of him as he opened it with trembling hands and shook out two pills.

As much as he felt he deserved this agony, the pain had become unbearable.

Lars Eklund: martyr no more.

He slugged down the pills and chased them with a cupped palm of water from the tap.

When he came back to the hallway, Bailey and Ana were busy tying up Neo. He noticed a briefcase standing just inside the study’s door.

“Where’d that come from?” he asked, pointing to the briefcase.

Bailey glanced at it over his shoulder, and tugged hard at the ropes binding Neo’s wrists. “Found it in the safe.”

“Safe?” Lars asked, squinting through another hard throb.

“The one in the study, behind the painting.”

Jesus, he sucked at being a PI.

“We should call Milo. Let him know…” Lars began, trailing off when his cellphone began to ring.

He answered with a curt, “You find her?”

Milo sighed heavily in his ear. There was a moment’s silence so intense, Lars’s skin prickled with dread.

She was dead, wasn’t she? El Lobo had hacked her up and left her for them to find. Milo was a wreck. Would be a wreck for the rest of his life.

Fuck, he wouldn’t do any better.

His chest was so tight, he couldn’t breathe. Even his headache had fled, but he knew it would come crashing back as soon as Milo spoke the words.

“Jesus, just say it!” Lars yelled into the phone. “If she’s dead, just fucking—”

“She’s not here, Lars,” Milo said softly. “She’s…” Another sigh, more like a huff, before Milo added in a tight whisper, “…our girl’s gone.”

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