Page 88 of Searching for Valor

The world spun as Rylan’s truck careened off the road, plowing through the underbrush before coming to a bone-jarring stop against a tree. Pain lanced through his body, stealing his breath. Beside him, Valor whimpered. Blood matted his fur but Rylan couldn’t tell if it was from him or the dog. After that initial jolt of paint, he felt weirdly numb, adrenaline pouring into his bloodstream.

“Valor, you okay, bud?” Rylan croaked, reaching for the dog with his shaking hand.

Valor licked his fingers in response, but his hackles were raised, a low growl rumbling in his chest. Rylan followed the dog’s gaze to see two masked men approaching the wrecked truck, guns drawn.

“Fuck.” He fumbled with his seatbelt, but his prosthetic hand was sluggish to respond and, with the way he was pinned against the steering wheel, he couldn’t reach the release with his left hand. The driver’s door wrenched open and rough hands tried to drag him from the cab, but the seatbelt held him in place.

“Get out of the truck,” one of men ordered. His voice was weirdly familiar, but Rylan couldn’t place it. “Now.”

Valor’s growl intensified as the man reached for Rylan again. In a flash of fur and teeth, the dog lunged, sinking his fangs into the attacker’s arm. The man yelled in pain and stumbled back, his gun clattering to the ground.

The man’s partner jabbed the barrel of his gun against Valor’s side.

“No!” Rylan shouted, but he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

The gun went off with a deafening blast, and Valor yelped, his body jerking as the bullet tore into his front leg.

And for a moment, Rylan was back at that compound on a cold desert night, lifting his own arm to see nothing but blood and bone.

His heart seized, a strangled cry tearing from his throat. No, no, no. Not Valor. Rage and desperation surged through him, overriding the pain. He struggled against the seatbelt, his arm straining.

“Car!” the second masked man shouted.

“Fuck! Kill him.”

Rylan didn’t care. His only concern was Valor. He wrapped his arms around his boy and waited for the shot, but none came. He looked up when he heard the squeal of tires on pavement.

They were gone.

He sagged back against the seat, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Valor whimpered, and Rylan’s focus snapped back to the injured dog. “It’s okay, buddy. I’ve got you.”

With trembling fingers, he finally managed to release the seatbelt. Pain shot through his body as he moved, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it. He had to get Valor help.

Cradling the dog against his chest, Rylan stumbled from the wrecked truck. His head spun, and his vision blurred, but he forced himself to keep moving. One foot in front of the other.

The rescue.

He needed to get Valor to Sasha Scott at the rescue.

A siren whooped once behind him, and he turned, squinting into the too-bright headlights of a familiar Tahoe. The driver’s side door opened, and Ash Rawlings stepped out, his expression as dark as a storm cloud. “Rylan, what the fuck happened? I saw your truck in the ditch back there?—“

Rylan’s knees buckled, the adrenaline that had been keeping him upright draining away.

Ash lunged forward, catching him before he could hit the ground. “Jesus, Ry. Who did this?“

“I don’t know. Masked men. Two of them. Black SUV. Plate was seven, romeo… something.“ Each word felt like broken glass in his throat. “Valor needs Sasha’s help. Now.”

Ash’s gaze dropped to the dog and his jaw tightened at the sight of the blood matting Valor’s fur. “I’ll call ahead and have her waiting. Connelly, too, because it looks like you banged your head pretty good. Can you walk?”

Rylan nodded, though he wasn’t sure how long he could stay on his feet. The world kept tilting at odd angles, and a hot, sticky wetness trickled down the side of his face. He leaned heavily into Ash’s solid frame as they made their way to the Tahoe.

Ash wrenched open the back door. “Get in. Keep pressure on Valor’s wound.”

Rylan crawled into the backseat, Valor clutched to his chest. The dog’s breaths came shallow and rapid, his dark eyes glazed with pain.

“Stay with me, buddy,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to Valor’s. “Don’t you dare leave me.”

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