Page 11 of Mace

He shook his head, looking amused, “No. While it sounds awesome, you need the dog genes or else they’d be too wild.” He motioned me over. “You can pet him if you like. He’s really protective, especially of women.”

I came to my feet and knelt down beside them. As I reached my hand out to pet him, I asked, “Why women in particular?”

He rolled his eyes, “Because I have lots of women in my family and they’re all girly and squeamish about everything. The noises they make when they’re upset or disgusted with something, make him think they’re in distress. He’s really hypervigilant around them.”

When my fingers landed on the thick fur of his belly, it was so much softer than I thought it would be. I eagerly rubbed his belly, and he just lay there, staring up at us with clear green eyes. This wolfdog was all kinds of cute and petting him was a surreal experience.

I noticed a large toothbrush lying on the floor. The white bristles were tinged with pink. It took me a second to realize it was probably blood. Worried, I asked, “Did Nine eat something he shouldn’t have and injured his mouth?”

Glancing down at the toothbrush, Mace frowned. “No. He likes to run down, kill, and eat small rodents like mice or baby rabbits. I clean his teeth every evening, so bacteria doesn’t breed in his mouth.”

Picking up the toothbrush, he said, “Open up, boy.”

Nine opened his mouth, looking for all the world like he was yawning but held it open while Mace brushed his teeth. His mouth was huge enough to fit a cantaloupe in there. Nine’s canine teeth were easily the size of my index finger. I leaned over to have a better look, fascinated by how straight his teeth were. “So, he eats rabbits, does he?”

Mace pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth, clearly satisfied that he’d done an adequate job. “Yeah, it’s the wolf in him. It’s the same reason he likes to roughhouse with me.”

I smiled at him. “But what I want to know is why do you like roughhousing with him so much?”

He glanced away. “I’ve didn’t have many boys to roughhouse with growing up.” Shrugging, he continued, “I just like it. I use it as a way to stay in shape.”

“One of life’s simple pleasures?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Nine is a simple creature, with simple needs, just like his person.”

Just then Nine rolled over and laid his massive head in my lap. This animal was all powerful muscles and piercing green eyes. But at times he just looked like a great, big, soppy dog.

I glanced up to comment, but Mace was looking down at his watch, frowning. My intuition told me something was wrong. “What’s going on? You look worried.”

His eyes lifted to mine. “My club brothers are late. They should have been here by sunup.”

“What do you think happened to them?” I asked worriedly.

“I don’t know but I’m not getting a phone signal in this bunker and that means I’m gonna have to go out and check on them or at least try to get a signal and call them.”

A chill crept up my spine. Something told me he was going to try to leave me here alone in the bunker, where he considered me to be safe. I wasn’t having that. Not at all. “I’m coming with you.”

“No. You need to stay in the shelter with the doors locked.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” I shot back. “I’m a sitting duck here. If my father finds me, I’m dead meat.”

“Sorry, but I can’t take a chance on you getting caught in the crossfire.” His voice had a note of finality that I didn’t appreciate.

“I’m not going to allow you to abandon me here. Please, Mace. I’ll have a panic attack if you leave me here, I’m getting claustrophobic already.”

He stared into my eyes for so long I thought he was going to say no again, but he sighed and told me. “Go grab a showerand get dressed. You can come, but I’m moving light and fast down to the interstate. Are you gonna be able to keep up?”

His voice tone wasn’t condescending or disrespectful. It was concerned.

I quickly assured him that would. “I can move fast and have endurance. I used to be a distance runner in school.”

“Alright,” he said decisively. “Let’s get ready and meet back here. We’ll eat some energy bars, hydrate, and hit the road.

We scrambled to our feet and went our separate ways. I made short work of showering and getting dressed. Right before leaving the bedroom, I approached the wall of weapons. I didn’t know anything about guns, or knives either for that matter. Still, being outside the bunker without a weapon seemed like a foolish thing to do. I had Alejandro’s gun that Mace had handed me when I first escaped—but holding a firearm scared the hell out of me, so it was at the bottom of the rucksack I’d taken from the cabin. My hand landed on a hunting knife in a leather sheath. I pulled it out. It was large with a serrated edge. For some reason I felt happier about having a knife to defend myself, I quickly shoved it back down into the sheath and then positioned it on my belt.

I turned and walked into the living area. A pile of supplies caught my notice on the coffee table.

“Damn it!” I exclaimed. I instantly knew that Mace has double-crossed me. There were a dozen energy bars and three, liter bottles of water, along with a handwritten note. Reading it only jumbled up my emotions.

---