Page 29 of No Bones About It

Garrett wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him. His hands coasted up and down her back, pulling her into his warmth. “If you were alone, would you quit?”

She sighed in answer, and he kissed her hair. “Let’s give it ten minutes. If we have nothing, we’ll turn around. Deal?”

With a deep breath, she nodded.

Garrett lifted her hand to his lips, then tucked her fingers into his belt loop at the back. With a quick kiss, he led the way into the woods. The man moved like a panther, not making a noise as he moved between the trees. She felt like an elephant following him, and she knew her skill level was high.

Lights appeared in the distance, making her both excited and afraid. Garrett’s pace slowed, and she kept right on his heels.

A dog barking halted them. It didn’t sound like the animal was inpain. Dogs in these camps didn’t face beatings or that kind of physical abuse. They were well-fed and given water regularly.

The abuse came in the form of relentless, unnatural training techniques and in the fights themselves. The dogs were chained just out of reach of each other. A form of mental abuse aimed to keep them frustrated and angry with each other. The chains keeping them apart weighed upwards of fifty pounds, providing strength training every time they moved.

When Garrett dropped to a crouch, she forced her mind off the imagined abuse and onto her surroundings again. She dropped to one knee beside him and tried to figure out what had made him stop. They could see some of the fencing that appeared to surround the entire encampment. Atop each pole sat a camera. These guys didn’t struggle with money to buy equipment. That’s what happened when minimum bets started at a thousand dollars per fight.

Garrett squeezed her hand to get her attention. He pointed from himself to the tree next to him. Then he pointed for her to stay. When she shook her head, he took her shoulders gently in his. He kissed her and shook his head, then indicated he’d only be five minutes.

Finally, she nodded. The view from the tree would be invaluable, but she didn’t have the skills to get up there herself.

He positioned her mostly behind the tree and scrambled up. She barely managed to breathe as he disappeared into the foliage. Then she counted to sixty five times. Each time she started over, her heart beat more fiercely and her tension ratcheted right up with it.

She was halfway through her sixth time when the tree’s leaves moved. Relief had tears pricking her eyes as she squeezed her lips together to keep in the sob that had been building.

Garrett dropped into a crouch beside her and took her hand. He leaned into her ear. “We need to leave. Now. No time for questions.”

Fear rocked through her, and she squeezed her lips more tightly. Garrett stood and hooked her hand through his belt again.

She squashed her questions and the fear ,then put her entire being into following Garrett and not doing anything to put him in danger.

They moved far more quickly than on their way in. He didn’thesitate in the directions he chose, confident in the moonlight and the forest.

An engine started somewhere, and Garrett picked up the pace. Her heart thumped so hard she struggled to suck in air.

When the moon glistened off her truck, she nearly whimpered in relief. Instead, she yanked out her keys and beeped it open.

She jumped into the driver’s seat as Garrett closed the passenger door. “Go, Kimi. Drive.”

He slid open the window in the back of the cab and pulled out a gun she hadn’t realized he’d had with him.

She didn’t waste energy or time asking. She slammed the truck into gear and headed down the path, bumping over the potholes and staying in the middle so the soft shoulders didn’t suck in her tires.

“Atta girl. Don’t slow down unless I say.”

A glimpse of light in her rearview mirror had her squeezing her lips again, but she kept her focus on driving. She took the turn onto the secondary road, mostly on two wheels, and didn’t let up on the accelerator.

This road was smoother but had lots of twists. The headlights behind her bounced in and out of her vision. She kept her eyes away from the rearview mirror to avoid her eyesight being dazzled.

For several long minutes, she drove in silence; the lights playing peekaboo while Garrett kept silent watch. Once they hit a larger roadway, he spoke. “If they get close, I’m going to get you to keep at a steady speed. I’m worried their vehicle is supercharged like everything else they own. If they’re going to overtake us, it’ll be on this road. They’ll be confident, and they’ll believe they can run us off the road with no witnesses. I need them close enough to take a shot.”

Holy shit.

Kimi managed to grunt out a sound that she hoped he took for agreement. Her quiet little life had morphed into a spy movie.

She’d been on the smooth road for less than a minute when the headlights popped up behind her. This entire stretch was flat and empty. No twists or turns to hide them. The lights grew closer and closer, and Kimi couldn’t stop the whimper. She was pushing the truckfaster than she’d ever driven, but the lights behind them grew relentlessly closer.

Garrett’s voice was calm when he spoke. “Okay, settle on a speed and keep it steady. Stay close to the middle line and don’t jerk when I shoot in case I need to take a second or third shot.”

The headlights grew and sweat poured out of every pore on Kimi’s body.

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