Was he hallucinating? He glanced at Rebel, who jerked to attention, straining forward without moving her feet.
It hadn’t been Kensie in the truck. His hands shook so hard he could barely push himself back to a standing position, but he gritted his teeth and tried to get it together. Because from the sound of her voice, Kensie was in trouble.
He ran between the towering storage units, glancing back and forth, checking for threats far less effectively than he’d been trained. But Kensie’s voice had come from the far side of the units; he was almost positive.
Rebel raced at his side, capable of outrunning him, but a loyal partner even now that they were both retired. She understood the Marines’ code as well as he did; she’d never leave him.
“Good girl,” he told her, pushing his leg even harder. Tiny knives danced up his thigh and he gritted his teeth, desperate to get to Kensie. Up ahead, he heard scuffling sounds, but nothing else.
Finally, the storage units ended and he shot out into a dark, dingy parking lot he hadn’t even known was back here. At the far end of it was a dumpster. And Kensie, being dragged toward it by Danny Weston.
He had one arm manacled around her waist. The other hand was over her mouth, with his thumb jammed under her chin. Probably to keep her from screaming again. Or maybe she’d bitten him. He hoped she’d bitten him.
“Weston!” Colter barked, putting every ounce of command he could into it.
The man started, his gaze jolting upward as Colter ran straight at him, Rebel still at his side.
Right before they reached him, Danny swung Kensie violently sideways. She flew out of his grasp, slamming into the dumpster with a sickening, metallic thud.
“Kensie!” He stared at her, desperate to see movement, seeking out blood.
Before he could determine if she was okay, Danny was rushing him, ducking his head low and coming at him like a linebacker.
But Colter had been a Marine. He darted left, flicking his hand at Rebel in a silent command to go right.
She obeyed and Danny didn’t adjust in time, flying between them. Colter spun, wincing at the trembling in his knee, but still ready to pound Danny into the ground.
But the jerk was faster than Colter had expected, already facing him, already realizing his weakness. Before Colter could react, Danny kicked out hard with a steel-toed boot, slamming into Colter’s damaged leg, right above the knee.
Colter hit the pavement hard, face-first. Pain erupted in his head and thigh, and a million spots of light danced in front of his eyes until he thought he might throw up.
But Kensie was still in danger if he passed out, so Colter mustered up everything he had and flipped to his back.
Just in time to see that Danny had grabbed a pipe and was swinging it toward his head.
Chapter Eleven
The growl that emerged from Rebel’s mouth in that moment was unlike anything Colter had ever heard.
Danny froze, pipe in midair, and then shifted, swinging that deadly metal at Rebel.
Colter knew he’d never get to his feet fast enough to stop it. There was only one option and it was going to hurt like crazy. He swung his bad leg as hard as he could into Danny’s knees, knocking the man sideways.
Pain jolted up his leg to his head, then raced back down, until he couldn’t tell what was damaged and what wasn’t. But Danny toppled to his knees, dropping the pipe.
Then Rebel leaped on him, knocking him the rest of the way down. She wasn’t an attack dog, but she was strong and Colter knew she’d do anything to protect him.
But he wasn’t going to let her get hurt for him. Not again.
Colter wasn’t sure he could stand, so he rolled sideways toward Danny, slamming a fist into the man’s groin. He didn’t like to fight dirty, but Rebel’s life was at stake. So was Kensie’s.
Danny yelped and curled inward, making Rebel jump off him. But it wasn’t enough. And Colter wasn’t going to win this battle from the ground. He needed to get up.
Danny was recovering faster than Colter, already rolling to his side and getting leverage to push to his feet. If Danny stood first, it was game over.
So Colter clamped his jaw against the pain and put his palms to pavement. With everything he had, he pushed upward, shoving himself to his feet.
It still wasn’t going to be enough. Through eyes watering from pain, he could see Danny readying himself to deliver a knockout punch, fueled by rage and embarrassment and a dark soul.
His gaze jumped over to Kensie at the same time Colter’s did. Somehow, while they’d been on the ground, she’d risen and crept up on them.
Time seemed to move in slow motion as Danny’s eyes widened and he tried to swivel toward Kensie. But he was too slow.
Her punch was well aimed, despite the slight wobble as she pivoted toward him. It didn’t take Danny down, but it knocked him back several steps and he shook his head, clearly seeing stars.
Colter didn’t hesitate. He didn’t know how long he could stand, but he had one last push in him. And it didn’t matter if he collapsed as long as he took Danny down hard with him. He raced at Danny, ducking his head like Danny had done initially. But Colter made contact, slamming into him hard enough to make Danny buckle and send them both back to the pavement.
Danny landed beneath him, head smacking the concrete with an echoing bang. His eyes blinked open and closed and his arms drooped. Then his eyes popped open again and he shoved at Colter. But his strength was diminished enough that Colter had no trouble holding him down.
Then sirens were screaming toward him. Soon, someone was lifting him to his feet and rolling Danny over, slapping on handcuffs as Kensie talked a mile a minute to another officer.
Colter recognized
