Page 80 of Mine to Protect

Hand against my thundering chest, I watched in fear as they entered the house.

I waited. No gunfire, no shouting or them running out. But something was off. I could feel it.

I gasped.

Benny.

I held a breath, waiting anxiously for his familiar snout to pop out the door in search for me. But it didn’t. Seconds ticked by without a single sign of my furry best friend.

Desperation to see his dark eyes and feel his rough tongue forced me out of the SUV. Shoulder against the door, I shoved it open, damning the consequences Cas would rain down at disobeying his order.

One cautious step, then another, I stalked toward the door, internally begging for Benny to bound out and prove my fears wrong.

A dark shimmer of something wet on the gravel beneath my feet snagged my attention. Not paying the ripping wind any mind, I squatted low and pressed two fingers to the dark spot.

Dread churned my stomach as I held those two fingers toward the light.

Blood.

A faint whimper somehow escaped on a pushed breath. The gravel crunched beneath my boots as I swiveled on the balls of my feet in search of more. Two feet away, there was another small puddle, then another a few more feet from that, all leading toward the dark cover of the forest.

The wind howled, shoving freezing air into my already-burning lungs. Phone in hand, I switched on the flashlight feature to follow the dark puddles of blood farther and farther from the safety of the cabin and the two men still inside. The earlier sleet and dusting of snow highlighted the tracks, making them easier to follow. At the edge of the trees, I paused and turned, debating my next move.

It was precisely the type of situation the killer we were after would use to pull me away from Cas and Chandler. I knew it. My head knew it. But my heart… my heart was desperate to find my only true friend.

A faint, pained whine dissolved any building hesitation.

Ignoring the part of my brain screaming at me to turn around and runtoCas instead of farther away from him, I pushed back the low-hanging branches and stepped into the trees. Naked branches and twigs snagged at my coat and pulled at my loose hair. The light trembled along the leaf-covered terrain due to my nerves and the freezing temperatures.

My lungs burned. Pausing to catch a quick breath, I closed my eyes to heighten my other senses and waited for any hint of Benny. The faint rustling of leaves snapped my head to the right.

Shoving forward, I kept an ear open for Cas and Chandler, hoping they’d figure out I abandoned the SUV and came searching.

“Benny?” I questioned with a sob when the faint light scanned over his bloody, prone body. My knees hit the cold earth, dampness soaking through my jeans and freezing my palms as I crawled closer to him.

A low, pained cry pierced my aching heart as he attempted to lift his head toward the sound of my voice.

My heart shattered as I took in the pool of blood he lay in. The tears I held back up to that point drenched my icy cheeks.

“Shh,” I whispered, pulling him close to my chest. Cold. He was way too cold. Falling on my backside, I carefully pulled his limp body onto my legs to get him off the ground. Ripping off my coat, I flung it over his blood-slick body. “Benny?”

No movement. No response

“And here I thought getting you away from those two would be more difficult,” a man's voice said from the darkness.

Terror locked all my muscles; even my lungs stopped working. My vocal cords were silenced by fear, preventing me from screaming out for the guys.

This was it. This was how it happened. I knew coming out here was a bad idea, but still, I did it.

A low, short growl sounded from my lap. I tugged Benny’s large frame closer, feeling somehow protected even if he could barely move. A branch snapped somewhere behind me, but I couldn’t will my body to turn, too afraid of what I would find. Something brushed through my hair, tugging at the long strands like fingers catching on the knotted mess. A cold deeper than Colorado had ever offered chilled my back, freezing my spine.

“So pretty,” the voice said with an evil chuckle. “Soon. I’m beginning to like the hunt too.”

“Why?” I somehow got out, my voice barely louder than the wind. “Why me?”

“Not bright though.” Fabric-covered fingers wrapped around the back of my neck, tilting my head at an odd angle. “We’ll have so much fun. They all did.” The slide of wet fingers across my face forced my eyes closed and my mouth sealed shut.

I was going to die right there in the woods.

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