Then my foot went through a rotten board, and I stumbled, waving my arms desperately to keep upright. It was too late. He was on me once again. This time knocking me to the floor. Knocking the breath out of me as he crashed down on top of my back.
“Yeah, keep fighting, sweetheart,” he said, and I did. I fought even when he flipped me over and tried to unbutton my jeans.
I fought when he laughed at my efforts.
When he screamed, I didn’t recognize the change in his tone at first. But then he was off me, and Target was going for his throat.
Scrambling backward, I saw Joseph staggering down the hallway, trying to help. But he stumbled forward, falling, then not moving.
Crawling, crying, I went to him, turned him over, checked his pulse.
And when I looked up, Target and the masked man were gone. There was a sharp yip. Then only the sound of boots as the man ran away.
“Joseph, hang in there. I’m calling for help.” I scrambled for my phone.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a movement and sprang to my feet. But it was only the dog. He was limping but looked otherwise alright.
As I called for help, Target laid down next to his master. The man who had fed him even when he couldn’t feed himself.
“Good… boy,” Joseph rasped and turned his rheumy eyes to me. “Take… care… my… boy.”
I took his hand. “I will, but only until you get better, okay. You need to get better.”
But he didn’t.
Joseph died, his loyal dog beside him, as the sirens announced the ambulance’s arrival.
***
I was still numb when the ambulance pulled up to the emergency room. Joseph’s cold hand was in my still trembling one, Target’s leash in the other.
The paramedics had been kind enough to let Target ride along although I knew the hospital wouldn’t be as accommodating. I was arguing with a nurse, fully prepared to reject medical attention rather than leave the heroic dog alone outside, when I heard the screech of tires, then the roar of an engine.
“Eliana!”
Target growled, and I put a comforting hand on his head as I turned to see Kane running toward me. I was so glad to see him that I burst into tears and fell into his arms.
“What happened?”
I was still crying too hard to answer, so the paramedic filled him in. When the kind man finished the story, the grumpy nurse jumped in, “We’re trying to get her treated, but she won’t leave the dog outside.”
“Do you blame her?” Kane yelled. “The dog probably saved her life, and you want her to abandon him?”
I placed my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. I’m not hurt. That’s why I don’t want to go inside.”
He stared at me, looking at every inch of my face. He raised a hand to the bruise on my cheek. “But you are hurt.”
“It’s just a bruise. It’ll heal. I’m okay otherwise. Just shaken.”
Kane looked at the nurse. “Well, you heard her. I’ll take her home.” He looked down at Target. “Guess you’re going home with us too, huh.”
Target growled low in his throat but didn’t seem as threatened when Kane held out his hand for him to sniff. After a few seconds, he gave him a tentative lick.
The dog’s attention changed focus when a paramedic rolled Joseph out of the back of the ambulance. He whined, and I led him over to say goodbye. It was heartbreaking and almost impossible to watch as the good dog nuzzled his good friend. The kind paramedic stayed outside until Target seemed to be ready. With a last whine, he turned away to stand with me again.
“Where will you be taking him?” I asked the paramedic before they rolled Joseph away.
The policeman assigned to the case answered for him. “Coroner will collect him for an autopsy to determine cause of death so that, when we find the person who attacked you both, we can press charges.”
It made heartbreaking sense.
“Where will he be…” I swallowed down the emotion that wanted to assault me again, “buried?”
The policeman shook his head. “His remains will be in the morgue for thirty days, and if no one claims him, he’ll be cremated and his ashes buried then.”
A sob escaped.
Strong hands came down on my shoulders. “We’ll claim him and give him a proper burial. I’ll see to it.”
I sagged back against Kane. “Thank you.”
Kane’s phone rang, and he kissed my hair before stepping away. Target whined as Joseph was rolled inside the hospital. “I know, boy. I miss him too.”
Not really listening to Kane, I tuned in when he said, “No, come to my place. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
I lifted an eyebrow when he turned to me. “Feds?”
When he nodded, my stomach sank. I dreaded going through everything again.
Kane kissed my hair. “Don’t worry, we’ll do this together.”
With Target by our side, Kane led us to his car. When he slipped behind the wheel and closed his door, I remembered something. “Why were you even here at the hospital?” I glanced down at his leg. “Are you okay?”
He blew out a breath before reaching over and taking my hand. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything later.”
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Kane
In the space of a few weeks, I’d gotten a girlfriend turned fiancée, and was in the middle of planning a rushed wedding so I could get hitched before my beloved grandmother took her last breath. My dick had been viewed by nearly five million people, most of which had given it a thumbs up, thank you very much. I was still very disappointed that I’d missed my first road trip — hell, first game — since signing on to the majors.
And now I had a dog.
A big-footed brown dog that looked part Labrador, part Weimaraner, and part terrier. And he was awesome, especially when he got to lay in the bathtub and get his belly scrubbed. He hadn’t once peed or pooped on the floor, and every shoe in the house was still intact.
At first, Target seemed depressed and wouldn’t leave Eliana’s side, but it didn’t take him long to come creeping over to me. Especially when I started sneaking him dog treats on the side. I’d swear he winked when he took them, a little our secret, Dad expression in his honey-colored eyes.
It was the last day of the road trip, and I was itching to get back on the field when the Beasts returned to New York the next day. They’d lost two on the road, taking us back out of being a series contender, but I felt positive that we would get our place back as wildcards at least.
The bruise was now purple and yellow, but the muscle was stretching fine. I was nearly back at top speed when I ran the bases at the stadium today, and although the thigh stung when I pushed off to dive for a ball, it didn’t affect my movement. I was ready.
As far as the crazy shit stuff went, Eliana and I were both laying low as we waited for the agents assigned to our case to discover something new. The autopsy showed that Joseph died from a blow to the back of his brain, which caused a bleed that he had been unable to survive. But he’d survived long enough to open that door and let Target loose. The good boy had done the rest.