“My apologies, Miss Winter. To be fair, you may strike me once and I will not move to defend myself.”
Meg rolled her shoulders. The rapt audience collectively stepped back allowing a wider berth for the fighters.
Meg leaped into the air and spun and landed a solid roundhouse kick to the side of Arkdone’s face. She landed in her fighting stance in time to see him fall hard to the ground, landing face down.
A collective gasp echoed through the otherwise silent crowd.
Arkdone pushed off the ground and stood slowly. He dusted the leaves off himself casually before swiping at his split lip. He cast a dark glare at Meg before spitting blood into the grass beside him.
“Shall we begin?” he said coolly.
70 The Coydog
Margo had been watching for them through her bedroom window. As their headlights drew closer, Margo’s heart soared with hope that everything would be all right. Once they were together, they would be all right. As the vehicles slowed, showing caution near the IEDs Meg had planted, Margo burst from her room, ran down the corridor, flew past 17th Company milling around her great room and threw open the front door of her house. She ran toward the moving SUV and laid hands on the driver’s side window as it came to a jerky stop. Theo crammed the gear into park and flung the door wide open.
Instantly, Maze jumped over him and landed gracefully in the gravel. He sniffed the air first and whined nervously.
Ignoring the coydog, Theo hurried out of his seat to wrap his arms around the woman who carried his heart with both hands. Relief flooded them as they held each other.
“Thank God you’re here!” Margo’s voice quivered with adrenaline. She kissed him on the lips quickly before turning to see Cole, Sloan, Kylie and little Danny clamber out. “I’m so happy to see you all!”
Danny came running up to Margo, arms spread wide. “Mommy!”
“Come here, my sweet Danny Boy,” Margo scooped the little boy into her arms. That’s when she noticed Maze.
“What’s wrong with Maze?” she asked Theo.
Maze was pacing nervously. He alternated sniffing the ground and air and holding perfectly still to listen with his sharp ears. He stared due east and whined loudly.
“I don’t know. He’s been acting strangely for about twenty minutes. I thought he just had to find a patch of grass.”
“Something’s wrong,” Margo frowned as she followed Maze’s intense stare toward eastward.
“Maybe he just needs to see Meg,” Cole suggested through a yawn. “Is she inside?” Cole asked.
Rhett Hays walked past the family toward Valen and Nate who flanked the front door protectively. “Has Miss Winter returned?” he asked Valen.
“Sir, no sir.”
Margo’s head whipped around. “What? What do you mean ‘returned’? She’s in her room.”
Valen checked her watch. “Miss Winter left thirty-two minutes ago, Dr. Winter.”
“Where did she go?” Margo felt a wave of nausea and gripped Theo to steady herself.
“She only said she was ‘going out for a bit’ and refused an escort,” Valen explained.
Maze’s whining stopped abruptly.
Margo’s watched the devoted coydog take a long, sorrowful look at the family he spent his life protecting before he lowered his head respectfully. Turning, he sniffed the air once more and broke into an all-out sprint eastward. His thick paws struck the ground powerfully as he propelled himself into the predawn light.
“Maze?” Margo called after him. “Maze!”
Margo was already passing Danny back to Theo.
“Hays, the battle has already begun.” Margo locked eyes with the soldier. “I need an eight-man team to come with us, now!”
“Copy that, ma’am.” Hays narrowed his eyes with understanding and began barking orders into his throat mic.
“Cole, go wake the others! Run!”
“Theo,” Margo whipped around to look at the man who was her rock. “I have to—”
“I know you do. Go finish this, Margo.” He pulled her into a one-armed hug, Danny occupying the other.
“Pray for us?”
“Always.”
A truck pulled up beside them. A line of fully-armed soldiers began hurdling themselves into the back.
“I love you,” Margo whispered against Theo’s lips.
“I love you, too.” Theo lifted her chin to kiss her tenderly.
“That better not have been a goodbye, kiss.”
Theo smiled through his tear-filled eyes. “Marry me?”
Margo blushed and grinned. “Can I finish this first?”
“Okay, but make it quick,” he forced himself to smile through his fear, for her sake.
“Ma’am, we’re ready when you are.” Hays stood at attention, fully armed and ready for battle.
“I couldn’t ask you to leave your Company, Hays.” Margo motioned to his holstered weapons.
“Ma’am, I have excellent seconds in command. Nate Townsend will hold the fort. Valen Springer will come with me and the team.”