Page 68 of Mountain Rescue
Nichole wrapped her in a tight hug. “You’ll be the first one I’ll tell.”
After saying goodbyes, she and Dallas left. When they entered the elevator, no one else was in it. As soon as the door closed, Dallas backed her up to the wall.
He pressed his body against hers, curled his fingers around her neck, and stole her mouth.
And God help her, she was falling in love with him.
Chapter Nineteen
Dallas didn’t slow his run up the mountain as he answered his phone. When he heard what Noah had to say, he stopped. After he finished the call, he turned to Rachel as she ran in place in front of him.
“That was Noah. He and Peyton have a friend, Joseph, a homeless guy who claims a sidewalk spot near their loft. Noah described us and told Joseph to keep watch. Joseph told Noah there was a man hanging around this morning who seemed unusually interested in the people coming in and out of the building.”
“How would he know where they live? Their address isn’t in my contacts.”
“Just a guess, but he must have followed Jack.” He didn’t want to tell her the rest, but she needed to know. “Joseph said that when we came out, the man followed us into the garage.”
She paled. “Oh my God.” She tangled her fingers in her hair. “I forgot to put my wig back on before we left. It’s still on the counter in Peyton’s bathroom.”
And his attention had been on her and not his surroundings. She’d been a little tipsy and more than a bit randy, both with her hands and her words. When they’d arrived at the cabin, they’d barely said hello to Bella and her kitten as they’d raced to the bed. Now they were almost to the top of the mountain, having decided to go for a run before dinner.
“We need to get back to the cabin.” He needed to get her locked inside and then do some recon. Make sure there wasn’t anyone snooping around the area. Once they got out of town and were on the rural road to the cabin, he would have noticed a car following them if it had been close, so they were probably okay. Butprobablydidn’t cut it.
Although Bella wasn’t happy leaving Blue behind, she was with them. He’d hadn’t bothered with a leash, knowing she wouldn’t run off. As soon as they started back down the mountain, she raced ahead, eager to get back to her kitten.
Suddenly, she stopped. The dog that had been afraid of her own shadow not that long ago growled as razor sharp fur stood up along her spine. Her ears were up, and her gaze was intent on the woods to their right. “What is it, Bella?” Dallas didn’t see any movement among the trees, didn’t hear a sound, not even the chirping of birds. That wasn’t good. Someone was out there. Bella took off, disappearing into the woods.
He pulled his gun from the holster. As much as he didn’t want to chase after Bella with Rachel at his side, he couldn’t leave her on the trail, unprotected. He put his hand on her shoulder. “Stay right behind me. If I tell you to run, you haul ass to that cave we found and call the police, then Jack.” He’d rather she return to the cabin, but if Robert and his men had found her, the cabin wouldn’t be safe.
Gunfire broke the silence, then a man screamed. They ran, following the direction Bella had gone. The man screamed again. A few minutes after entering the woods, Dallas came to an abrupt stop, and Rachel plowed into his back.
“Get it off me!” a man on the ground shouted.
Dallas picked up the gun the man had dropped. Because the bastard had tried to shoot his dog, he let Bella get one more tug on the man’s arm before calling her off. “Bella, come.” Although her previous owner had abused her, he’d trained her well. She immediately came to his side, but ready to defend her people again if necessary, her attention never left the man.
He reached down and scratched her head. “Good girl.”
“That’s one of Robert’s men,” Rachel said, stepping next to him. “He was there the day Robert shot Henri.” She pulled her phone out of her sports bra. “I’ll call the police.”
“No, call Jack.” They needed some detectives out here, maybe even SWAT, not a bunch of patrol officers. He glanced around. Were there more men here with this one? Bella’s attention was still on this man, not the woods, so he was going to trust that she’d alert him if anyone else tried to sneak up on them.
Dallas pointed his gun at the man. “Who’s here with you?”
“Fuck you.” The man flipped over and pushed up, causing Bella to growl.
“You try to run, and I’ll let the dog have at you.” He’d shoot the bastard if he had to, but he was damn tired of shooting people.
“Jack’s on the way with Deke, his detective friend.” She tucked her phone back in her bra. “Do we stay here and wait for them?”
“No, we need to get back to the cabin.” He doubted the man was alone, and he wanted to get her somewhere safe, and here wasn’t it. “Walk,” he ordered the man.
“He’s going to run,” Rachel said.
Sure enough, the fool took off. He touched Bella’s head. “Go.” She shot off like a bullet. It took her less than a minute to catch up with the man, and when she did, she jumped, going for his arm. The man screamed when she sank her teeth into his skin, but he kept running.
As soon as he’d let Bella go after the man, he’d grabbed Rachel’s hand, bringing her with him as he chased the Bella and her quarry. No way was he leaving her unprotected. Because of her training and body condition, she kept up with him.
With his free arm, the man swung a fist at Bella’s nose, knocking her away. Dallas saw red. The asshole had hurt his dog, and he’d had enough. He pushed Rachel behind him, then aimed his gun and fired.
