Trained to Defend
Autor:in
Christy Barritt
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HarlequinONE
Sarah Peterson quietly opened the back door to her new, temporary home in Spokane, Washington, and slunk inside. The warm glow of delight spread inside her as she reflected on her evening. Maybe things were finally starting to look up for her.
She’d been at an art show this evening, and two people had shown interest in her work. All she needed was one big break, and maybe all of the hardship of these past several years could finally be in her past—and stay there.
Behind her, the freezing rain pounded relentlessly as a mid-January storm claimed the area. Forecasters had predicted the precipitation would soon turn to snow and conditions outside would become perilous.
But now, inside the house, everything around Sarah was dark and quiet with the stillness of the evening.
Good. Loretta must be sleeping.
And, if Sarah was smart, she’d remain quiet so the woman could continue sleeping.
Loretta Blanchard wasn’t the type of woman you wanted to wake up—or even look at the wrong way, for that matter. She was a force to be reckoned with, and if she didn’t like you, she would make your life miserable.
Sarah left her damp coat on a hanger by the door in order not to track any water inside. As she crept through the kitchen, she looked around for Buzz, Loretta’s emotional support dog. The husky always greeted her at the door.
Strange. Where was he?
Buzz was one of Sarah’s favorite parts about this job. She’d never met an animal with such intelligent eyes, and his wagging tail was just the welcome she needed on most days. Her muscles tightened as she wondered where the dog was.
Sarah headed through the dark house toward her bedroom so she could change out of her dress and heels. Her bag slid from her shoulder as she slipped her heels off and carried them up the massive staircase.
Her boss was a scientific genius who’d created a new medication to help people with arthritis. She’d been at the top of her game until ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, had claimed her body and weakened her muscles. However, her mind was just as sharp as ever.
Sarah stepped into her room, flipped on the light and paused.
Something felt off.
Her spine tightened, and she glanced around her room. Everything appeared in place. Her ivory quilt was neat. Her curtains were drawn. Her dresser drawers closed.
But something was different. She was sure of it.
Her mom had always said that Sarah had an eye and an ear for detail. It was probably what made her such a good artist today. She noticed things that others didn’t. Slivers of light hidden beneath barren trees. A shy bird singing among the throng of boisterous ones. The way the sky still turned different colors for nearly an hour after the sunset.
So what had alerted her senses that something was wrong right now?
Sarah’s eyes went to the closet. Was someone in there?
She grabbed the scissors from her dresser. She’d used them to trim her bangs this morning. Holding them like a knife, she stepped closer to the door.
Her lungs froze as she reached for the knob.
This was probably nothing.
Dear Lord, please don’t let this be a mistake.
After lifting the silent prayer, she jerked the door open.
Something leaped toward her. Sarah swallowed a scream and threw herself back.
An oversize ball of fur nearly knocked her off her feet.
Buzz.
Buzz?
As the dog pounced on her, Sarah rubbed his head, sensing something was wrong—desperately wrong. “Why are you in my closet, boy? And you’ve been so quiet.”
Buzz whined.
The only reason he’d be in her closet was if Loretta put him there and commanded him to stay, Sarah realized. But if Loretta, who was in a wheelchair, had gone through all of that trouble, she had to have a really good reason. There was an elevator in the house, but Loretta hated using it.
Buzz whined again, trying to tell her something.
“What is it, boy?” Sarah murmured, leaning toward the canine.
Her words seemed to give the dog permission. He charged toward her bedroom door, nuzzled it open and ran into the hallway. Still gripping the scissors, Sarah took off after him.
The dog ran down the stairs and toward the opposite wing of the house—the wing where Loretta’s bedroom was located.
“Buzz!” Sarah whispered, urgency lacing her voice.
She didn’t want the dog to wake up Loretta. Then again, maybe Buzz knew something she didn’t.
She swallowed hard at the thought.
Sarah didn’t have much time to think. No, she could barely keep up with Buzz.
She caught sight of the dog as he pushed his way into Loretta’s bedroom and disappeared.
The knot in her stomach squeezed tighter.
This wasn’t like Buzz. The dog was usually regal and reserved.
A groan emerged from the darkness, then a loud, hard crash.
Something was wrong. Really wrong.
Sarah flung herself into Loretta’s room, fully expecting to find Loretta having a medical emergency of some sort. She froze in the doorway and gasped.
A masked man stood over Loretta as she lay on the floor, her wheelchair shoved to the side.
Fear rippled through Sarah.
What was going on here?
The intruder glanced over at Sarah—but only for a second—before Buzz charged at him and knocked him off Loretta and into the wall. The man’s head hit the wall.
The man groaned before his eyes closed and his body went limp. Had he lost consciousness?
Either way, Buzz still growled on top of him.
With her heart beating out of control, Sarah’s gaze slid across the room and stopped at Loretta.
She moaned on the floor, her chest rising and falling too quickly. Rapid gasps sounded at her parted lips.
Sarah hurried toward her, kneeling at her side. Blood gushed from a puncture wound in the woman’s neck.
Tears rushed to Sarah’s eyes. That man had hurt her. She and Buzz had gotten here too late.
“Loretta, hold on,” Sarah whispered, grasping her boss’s shoulders. “I’ll call 911. Help will be here soon.”
“Sarah...” Loretta’s voice was so faint that Sarah could hardly understand it.
The woman tried to sit up, but Sarah gently pushed her back down. She was in no condition to move right now.
“It’s okay,” Sarah said. “Just stay still.”
Loretta’s sixty-year-old face wrinkled with pain that whispered across every feature, a face that had only recently developed fine lines. The woman was always so strong. Seeing her like this...
It made Sarah’s heart twist into knots.
“You’ve...got...to...go,” Loretta rasped.
“No, I need to stay here with you.” A shiver went up Sarah’s spine as she said the words. There was more at stake here than just Loretta’s wound.
The man who’d done this to her was still in the room. Still passed out. For now.
But he could wake up at any time and try to finish what he’d started.
Loretta might be hurt, but her grip was strong as she grasped Sarah’s arm. “Take...Buzz...and...run. Far away. Danger.”
Her eyes closed. She was fading, Sarah realized. Near death. Delirious maybe.
Had Sarah understood her words correctly? Run? Why would she run? She needed to stay here with Loretta.
“Ms. Blanchard—”
The woman squeezed her arm again, her gaze coming alive with a spark of intensity. “Go. Now. He’ll...kill you.”
“What?” The breath left Sarah’s lungs. Hearing the words out loud made a fresh round of panic swell in her.
“Don’t...trust...the...police.”
“But—” What did she mean? If she couldn’t trust the police, then who could she trust?
Loretta’s gaze suddenly locked on to Sarah’s. “Buzz...”
“What about Buzz?”
“Take...him...”
Before she could finish her sentence, Loretta shut her eyes, and her grip loosened—went limp.
She was gone, Sarah realized.
“Oh, Loretta.” Grief stabbed at Sarah. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Urgency pushed her on.
That man was beginning to stir. His limbs jerked, and soon he’d be awake. She felt certain of it.
Sarah stood, dropping the scissors from her hands.
She needed to go. If Loretta had given her those instructions, there was a good reason. The woman was smart, and she must know something that Sarah didn’t.
“Buzz, come on.”
Looking back at the man in black one more time, Sarah tore through the house.
She and Buzz had to get out of here. Now.
And there was only one place she could think to go. However, it was the last place she wanted to be.
Colton Hawk froze as a strange sound pulled him from his sleep.
It was a car. Coming up the gravel lane that led to his home. At four thirty in the morning.
He jumped out of his warm bed and threw on some clothes. After grabbing the gun from his nightstand, he peered out the window. Adrenaline pounded through him.
Unexpected visitors in the middle of the night usually meant trouble.
As a former detective, Colton had a whole list of people who might want to track him down and exact revenge. Apparently, not even moving out here to ten acres in northern Idaho was enough to keep people away.
He watched as the driver cut the headlights as he neared the house. He didn’t recognize the beat-up sedan. But the fact that the driver was being secretive set off all kinds of warning alarms in his mind.
Colton hurried down the stairs to his front door. He stepped out onto his porch just as the vehicle rolled to a stop behind his truck.
With his finger poised on the gun, Colton waited to see what would happen next.
Snow pelted down from above, and the darkness obscured the landscape around him. Nightfall out here in the middle of Idaho’s Rocky Mountains was unlike any Colton had ever experienced. The blackness was so deep, a person felt like they could be swallowed by it.
The isolation was both a friend and a foe.
Colton knew one thing: someone had to be desperate to head out in slick, treacherous weather like this, especially in a sedan like the one in front of his house. The vehicle looked like it could break down at any minute. The front bumper was dented, the driver’s side door was faded, and the tires looked tiny and worn down.
He glanced beyond the car to make sure no one else had followed. He saw nothing, no one—just a dark, empty lane lined with pine and fir trees.
Colton sucked in a breath when a dog hopped from the backseat and into the knee-high snow. A husky.
Why would someone bent on revenge have brought a dog with them?
And then he saw the biggest trouble of all.
Sarah Peterson stepped out and stared across the expanse at him.
He sucked in another breath.
Sarah. His Sarah.
Colton never thought he’d see the woman again, not after the way things had ended between them two years ago.
But there she was. Even in the darkness, he could see that she looked just as beautiful as ever with her shiny blond hair and petite figure. But something about her body language was different. Gone was the lighthearted, carefree vibe that Colton had loved so much. In its place was...terror. It was the only word he could think of to describe the look.
She staggered toward him and collapsed into the mounds of white, icy flakes that covered his front yard.
Colton jammed his gun into his waistband and rushed toward her. The dog barked at him, urging him on, telling him he wasn’t moving fast enough.
When he reached Sarah, snow already encased her limp body.
She was...barefoot? In a knee-length dress?
What was going on? Why would she be dressed like this in such frigid weather? Something was seriously wrong.
Colton gathered her in his arms and carried her inside his house. Despite the craziness of the moment, he still caught of whiff of Sarah’s honeysuckle-scented lotion.
At one time, it had been one of his favorite aromas in the world. It brought back memories of watching sunsets in each other’s arms. Of dreaming about the future while hiking their favorite trail. Of good-night kisses and long hugs on the porch.
Shoving aside the bittersweet memories, Colton lowered Sarah onto his leather couch. She was freezing and had to warm up. He’d call an ambulance, but it would take twenty minutes to get here.
Before grabbing a blanket, his eyes skimmed the light blue sweater covering her arms. Was that...blood on her sleeves?
Colton sucked in a breath.
What in the world had happened to her?
He quickly checked her for wounds but saw nothing. That meant the blood wasn’t hers.
Wasting no more time, he grabbed a blanket and covered her. That blanket wouldn’t be enough, though. He went to the fireplace and added wood, waiting until the blaze fanned and filled the room with more heat. Then he turned up his thermostat, hoping it kicked in quickly.
Colton went back to check on Sarah. He felt confident she just needed to warm up. He’d let her rest for a few minutes before deciding his next step.
His breath caught as he gazed at her. Beautiful Sarah.
He hadn’t expected to see her again. Ever. Not after the way things had ended. Not after she’d chosen a job over a future with him. Bitterness tried to claw at him, but Colton pushed it away. There wasn’t time for that now.
The dog nuzzled his hand, and Colton looked down at him. The husky sat directly in front of Colton, almost as if telling him that he had to answer to this canine.
“What happened, boy?” Colton murmured.
The dog let out a soft growl and stared at Sarah.
“Something bad, huh?” Colton’s stomach tightened. If only the dog could speak.
Colton double-checked Sarah’s vitals. Her pulse was good. She was breathing and didn’t appear feverish.
She must have passed out from exhaustion or shock.
Lord, be with her. I don’t know what happened, but I know she needs You now.
Just as he said “Amen,” Sarah began thrashing on the couch, and her breathing quickened.
“He’s coming,” Sarah murmured, her eyes still closed. “He’s coming.”
Colton’s back stiffened. Who was coming? What exactly had Sarah gotten herself mixed up in?
He didn’t know. He only knew that the woman he’d once loved had somehow found herself in serious trouble.
