Page 20 of Dragon in Boots

She was halfway down the hall when she could hear Dash laughing.Laughing!

Shaking, she made her way out of the club and got into her truck. She cranked the engine, wanting to get as far away from there as possible.

Something is very wrong with that man.

Still reeling from her interaction with Dash, Jac pulled up behind her cottage and shut off the engine. She couldn’t comprehend why her flight response had taken over like that. Dash was unfriendly and rude, yes, but that wasn’t enough to send her running off into the night like a damsel in a horror film. Yet, that had been exactly how she’d felt.

It was almost like…like…a subconscious part of her saw him as a deadly predator. A deer didn’t need anyone to tell it that a wolf wasn’t its friend even if the deer had never seen one before. Just like a deer drinking from a pond knew a beaver wasn’t a threat. The hierarchy of the animal kingdom was ingrained into the DNA of all living creatures, humans included.

So maybe Dash is a serial killer.

He didn’t seem like the slasher type, but wasn’t that the case for all serial killers? They were experts at camouflage.

She got out of her truck, noting the quarter moon. It was a gorgeous night, the sky filled with stars—or what she could see of them given the city lights off in the distance.

She started walking toward her front door, suddenly feeling like something or someone was watching. Once again, the animals in the sanctuary began sounding off.

The hairs on her neck stood up. Whatever was spooking them had returned.

She beelined toward her front door as a strong gust of wind swirled around her. Dirt kicked up in her eyes, and she squinted.A dust devil? This time of year?She went for her tranq gun on the coffee table and turned to go back out and check on the animals.

There, standing on the porch was Dash, holding Heebie.

“Fuck!” She jumped back, dropping her gun.

Dash smiled with a sinister gleam. “Hello again.”

“You followed me home?” she spat, about to go for her gun. It had a medium-sized dose meant for a coyote, but it could still take down a man of Dash’s size for a few minutes.

“Heebie seems like he enjoyed himself. Thank you.” Dash turned to leave.

Oh, no. He is not taking that cat. I don’t care if he is a serial killer.

“Hey. Get back here!” she yelled.

Dash kept on walking, but to where? She didn’t see a car. Where had he parked?

“Give me that cat, Dash! I’m serious.” She went for her tranq gun. “I’ll put a dart in your ass so fast, you won’t be dancing for a week.”

“Go ahead and try.” He continued walking down the dirt driveway.

He didn’t think she’d really do it. Probably because she’d bolted like a big fat coward from the club earlier. But what he didn’t know was that when it came to her animals, all bets were off. She would do just about anything to protect them.

Jac fired the tranq gun, hitting Dash right in his back.

Oops.She’d been aiming for his hard round ass.

Dash suddenly stopped and then face-planted in the dirt.

“Meeeyower! Meeeyower!” Heebie cried out in pain.

Oh no!Jac ran to them and rolled Dash over, finding Heebie underneath with a tiny crooked leg.

“Meeeyower!” Heebie howled.

“Oh, shit. Oh, shit. It’s broken. I’m so sorry, little guy.” She picked him up. “I’ll call the vet. We’ll have you all fixed up.”

She looked down at Dash snoozing away in the dirt on his back. The drug would wear off in thirty minutes or so, and then he’d wake up with a killer headache.

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