Tracker

The canine started barking and snarling.

Then the FBI agent shouted again, “Run!”

Penny grabbed her backpack as she headed into the woods. Her cell phone was inside. She could call the inn and warn Claire.

Gunshots went off. The FBI agent commanded, “Attack!”

Glancing back, she saw Jake roll and then hop up, the gun now aimed at the dog as he ran ahead of the barking canine, shooting to keep him away. But the dog was quick. He nipped at Jake’s booted foot, his teeth sinking deep.

Her ex grunted and let out a string of curses, all the while fighting to get free of Cheetah. But his efforts failed. His pants ripped and he managed to get up and stumble forward, the dog still on his heels.

Penny couldn’t stop to watch.

The whiz of a bullet hit a tree near her. She heard the shots and realized Jake was making good on his word to try to kill her.

She heard more shots and pivoted around. Her crazy ex was now shooting toward the dog.

Zeke began returning fire. The medium-sized dog was becoming more and more aggressive, barking angrily and dancing away from the continuous shots. The animal would gain on Jake again any second now. Penny turned and ducked behind a tree just as the dog leaped into the air and headed toward her assailant.

But Jake took one more shot and disappeared into the woods.

Zeke came hurrying by. “Stay there,” he told her on a rushed breath.

Then Jake shouted from somewhere above her on some rocks, “Call off your partner, Zeke. I have Penny in my sights and I will take out her and the dog. You know I’m a good shot.”

The words echoed out over the woods like an eerie wail. As if to prove he could do it, Jake shot above Penny’s head. She ducked and held her breath.

Then she saw Jake running through the rough terrain in a zigzag pattern. Heard him shout, “I’m taking him, Penny. None of you can stop me.”

He fired another round of shots, causing Zeke to rush toward Penny and push her down, his big body shielding hers.

“Halt,” Zeke called to the canine barking loudly at the rock formation.

Cheetah whirled and stopped.

“Come,” Zeke called again, the reluctance and frustration obvious in his tone.

The obedient dog returned and stood watch, his beautiful heavy fur quivering with awareness.

“Why did you let him go?” Penny shrieked at Zeke while she struggled to get up. But he was still blocking her, protecting her. Then she stared into his chocolate-brown eyes. The anguish she saw there only mirrored what she’d been feeling for the last few months.

Something swift and sizzling arced between them in a flash of emotion.

“I had to for now,” Zeke replied softly as he placed his hands on either side of her shoulders and got up. Helping her to her feet, he added, “I know my brother. He’d shoot you and Cheetah, or he’d ambush us later. He wants you dead so he can take my nephew.”

“Your nephew?”

“Yes,” he replied, defiance in his eyes. “Kevin is my nephew. I have to get to him before Jake does.”

She agreed with him there but wasn’t so ready to accept him as Kevin’s uncle. That sounded way too personal right now.

They’d discuss the rest of this later. “You’re going after him even though you just let him slip through your fingers?” she asked, still in shock and worried about her son, still reeling from Zeke’s touch and the way his dark eyes had probed her.

He placed a gentle hand on her elbow and steered her through the woods and underneath the shelter of a giant rock near a pine tree. “Right now, I’m going after Jake.” Then he turned to the canine. “Cheetah, guard.”

Penny looked from the dog now standing in front of her back at Zeke. “Oh, no. I’m not sitting here while my son is in danger.” She tried to move past him.

Zeke held her back down. “Listen, I’m going up ahead to look for my brother, but we’ve got backup in the area. You need to stay here and wait for one of them to arrive, understand? Now, tell me where your son is right now so I can send someone to check on him.”

Penny didn’t hesitate on that. Holding her hand to her sweat-dampened hair, she said, “The Wild Iris Inn on Elk Rock Road. Just inside the town limits. Claire is the owner and she babysits for me. He’s with her. I need to—”

“Stay here,” Zeke commanded. “Cheetah won’t let anyone come near you.”

“And if your partner here gets shot?”

He pulled a handgun out of his shoulder holster. “Do you know how to use a weapon?”

She nodded. “My grandfather taught me.”

“Good. Then you know what to do with this one. You’ve got seventeen rounds. One already in the chamber, safety off. When the magazine is empty, run as fast as you can to the main road.”

With that, he took off. “Hurry,” she called, thinking she’d go where she wanted after he left. “Jake could be at the inn right now. He said he had a van stashed somewhere.”

“Got it,” Zeke responded, already running away.

Penny tried to move but the dog moved with her. Blocking her. Feeling helpless, she searched for one of the trails. The canine gave her a daring eye-to-eye stare. Too good at his job.

Frustration gnawed at her. What more could she do? Feeling lost and so very alone, she prayed, tears falling fast and hard down her face. Please, Lord, help me now.

“Please don’t let it be too late for my son,” she said out loud. The courageous animal standing in front of her looked at her with doleful eyes, as if he understood her prayers.

Penny reached out a hand, wanting to pull her protector close. But Cheetah was trained to do what Zeke told him. He stood straight and on the alert, his eyes never leaving her face.

Then she heard what sounded like a vehicle to the east. The sound echoed over the quiet woods. Crouching, she whispered to Cheetah, “What if Jake’s coming back?”

The dog turned his head toward the sound but still didn’t move. Penny held her breath and listened, her adrenaline spiking. Could she really do it? Could she use this weapon to kill the father of her child?

THREE (#u3ca50513-3288-5fb6-81ca-7826ef7c1554)

Penny stayed crouched behind the rock, her heartbeat pounding against her temples like a jackhammer. A black van pulled up on one of the trails, and a man wielding a gun got out and scanned the woods. Penny tried to make out his face, but he was too far away and the shifting light was too low. Barely breathing, she watched as Cheetah stayed with her and stood so still she thought the dog had turned to stone. The canine emitted a low growl, the dare in that whisper of aggression telling her she was safe with him.

But the man kept coming, slowly, deliberately, as if he knew exactly where she was hiding. Penny decided she wasn’t going to wait around and find out. Lifting the weighty handgun, she checked the safety and put her sights on the man. She hadn’t fired a gun since Jake had taken her to target practice so long ago. Could she shoot another human being?

Taking another long look at him, she tried to memorize details of his description. He wore dark glasses and had longish, stringy blond hair. He wasn’t very tall but he was brawny and in good shape.

The henchman advanced but Cheetah’s growls grew louder, causing the assailant to glance up in shock and pivot back and forth. He started backing away, a definite fear in his eyes.

Penny used that fear to give her courage. Lifting up, she aimed and shot into the air near where the man stood, hoping Zeke would hear and come back. The man took off running. Cheetah’s barks now turned brutal and loud.