On the Hunt - Page 33

She led the dogs down the path toward the clinic, and before long, she realized they were leading her toward the clinic. The dogs’ daily walks had obviously given them a working knowledge of the area. Kira turned back toward the burning building. Where were Dane and Cathy? Not in there, she was sure. Had they headed for—

“Thank the Lord!” It was Cathy, coming toward her from the direction of the clinic. And Dane was right behind her. “You got the dogs out. We ran down here to the clinic to get help from the soldiers, but they were already on their way to try to fight the fire. That’s where everyone must have gone. The clinic was deserted.”

Which meant that must be where Harlan had gone, too, Kira thought. “I’ll go check.” She was already turning around. “Look, can you and Dane take the dogs back and get them settled in the clinic for me? I’ll send someone to help you as soon as possible.”

“Sure,” Cathy said. “That’s our job. We’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks!” She was running back up the hill, heading toward the housing area. “I have to find Harlan and my dog, Mack…”

Kira found Mack almost immediately, but he wasn’t at the fire. She found him tied securely to a pine tree right outside her tent and howling in desolation.

“Mack? What are you doing here? And where the hell is Harlan?” She untied him, and when she did, she saw the blood on his paws. Not Mack’s blood. She stiffened. Mack appeared to be fine. Harlan’s blood? What had happened to Harlan? She felt a chill run through her. It was absurd to feel this sense of panic. No one could take better care of himself than Harlan, with his military background and keen mind and sheer brilliance.

But none of those qualities could prevent a bullet from killing someone if the circumstances were just right.

And there had been bullets and explosives going off tonight.

Perhaps he’d gotten shot after he’d brought Mack back to the tent. It could be that he was lying somewhere in these hills bleeding. Helpless…

What the hell. Why stand here worrying when she had to do something. When she had to find him.

She ducked inside Harlan’s tent and grabbed a khaki shirt she’d seen him wearing earlier in the day. She stepped out, untied Mack, and let him sniff the shirt. He lowered his head, turned, and started back through the woods, hot on Harlan’s trail!

Damn Harlan! After miles of tracking, he was now just ahead of her, Kira realized. One more turn up ahead on the trail and she’d have him. And she just might kill the bastard. She was almost angry enough to do it. Just one more turn and she’d—

“Got you!”

Two strong hands grabbed her throat and threw her to the ground!

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. Who in the hell was this monster? Her throat was throbbing. Was it Taylor who—

“Kira? Son of a bitch. What are you doing here?”

It was Harlan! Indeed. Yes, she might kill him. She was coughing and still struggling for breath…

In the next instant, Mack had his sleeve in his teeth and shook it from side to side. Harlan finally released his grip on her throat.

Kira raised her palm. “Mack, down!”

Mack immediately released him.

Harlan backed away. “Why the hell are you—? Sorry, are you okay?”

She rolled away and clutched her throbbing neck. “Barely. No thanks to you.”

“You shouldn’t be here. This place could be crawling with Taylor’s thugs. I thought someone was sneaking up on me. I could have broken your neck.”

“You almost did, you idiot. And someone was sneaking up on you. It was me.”

“Why on earth?”

“You didn’t come back.” She was trying to catch her breath as she pushed his arm away and struggled to a sitting position. “And then I heard the sounds coming from the bridge.”

“So you came running straight for trouble,” he growled as he pushed the hair away from her forehead and checked her for any wounds. “Not smart, Kira. Why didn’t you stay put like I told you?”

“I tried. Because it seemed the most efficient thing to do. But then when you didn’t come back right away, I decided to do what I thought best.”

“It wasn’t best.” His fingers were moving over her face, and he stiffened as he felt the dampness. “That’s not blood. Tears? You said you weren’t hurt.”