“Okay, thank you.” Her relief at his departure only increased Scudder’s alarm. He wanted to drag her out of there, because now he knew. Her sexy, low-cut costume dress had caught not only his eye, but Ron’s as well, and the man fully intended to fuck her. The unmistakable odor of rut surrounded him like a thick cloak.
Scudder carefully pulled on the leash and got nowhere. Then he gently took her hand in his mouth and tried to lead her away, but Ron was too fast. He returned and handed her a new glass. Scudder knew, from the drink’s odor and from the predatory gleam in Ron’s eye, that he’d drugged it.
Damn it!
Scudder waited until she tried to drink to bolt, yanking on the leash and causing her to spill part of it, but he thought she might have still sipped some.
“Den, no! Don’t do that!” She dropped the slack in the leash and stepped on it, freeing her hand so she could drink without him pulling on her. He didn’t want to hurt or scare her, but Ron’s eyes had narrowed to a reptilian stare. Scudder knew whatever he’d used would work fast. There were plenty of secluded, wooded areas around the large property he could drag her to and rape her.
Scudder whined, pawing at her, trying to get her to dump it, but she shook him off and took a few sips.
Then she met his eyes, and he tried sending her a silent plea.
Tess, baby, please don’t drink it!
Den went crazy. Even when she dropped the leash and stood on it, it was like he didn’t want her drinking from the cup Ron brought her.
“Den, what has gotten into you?” She took a couple of quick sips, and then the dog caught her eye. About that same time a really bad feeling swept over her, a horrible sensation of fear.
There was something in her drink.
Her eyes flicked to Ron, then back to Den, who was begging her with his eyes.
She put the drink down, and that was when she felt the first weird sensation. “Den, car. Now. Let’s go, boy.”
Ron moved to catch her arm, and suddenly, Den was between them, silently baring his teeth.
“Are you okay, Tessa?” Ron asked.
It was an act, and she knew it. Damn it, I should have listened to Scudder in the office!
“I’m fine, but I have to get home. I just remembered that I forgot to give Den his medication.”
The Lab caught her hand in his mouth and gently led her around to the front of the house where the cars were parked. She was having trouble focusing now, even walking was difficult. Whatever Ron had doped her with, it was strong and quick. She was afraid to pass out for fear of Ron doing something.
Ron still followed her a few paces behind. “Tessa, why don’t you let me drive you home?”
“No, I’m okay.”
Den whined, trying to move her along faster. “Okay, boy,” she whispered. “I know. I’m sorry. I should have paid attention to you. You tried to warn me.”
Ron kept up, but his voice had changed pitch, and even she recognized it. “Tessa, I will drive you home.”
They were now hidden from the other partygoers by a thick stand of trees. Den whirled and snarled, curling his lips and baring his teeth.
“Like hell you will.”
She gasped. She would swear she heard Den say that through his protective growl. That had to be an effect of whatever Ron doped her with. Dogs couldn’t talk.
Ron stopped and held up his hands, but he didn’t back off. Trembling, she finally got her finger on the remote and managed to unlock the car. Den stood to the side while she carefully slid behind the wheel. There was a quick movement, and then Den was snarling and barking at Ron, who’d tried to rush the car when the dog’s back was turned.
Ron backed up, an angry look on his face. “Don’t you dare drive, Tessa. You need to be taken home. I’ll take you.”
She forced her eyes to focus on Ron. “What’d you dope me with, asshole?” Den put his front feet on her lap, and she sensed he wanted her to unclip his leash. She finally managed it.
“You’re imagining things, Tessa,” Ron lied. She heard it in his voice. He darted for the car again, and Den was on him, jumping up and bouncing off his chest, knocking the man down and growling at him.
“Stay. Away. From. My. Mate.” Den didn’t do any damage, but ripped at Ron’s Joker outfit, forcing the man into a hasty, scrambling retreat.
She should get the car doors locked and call 911. That was definitely a hallucination. Imagining a dog talking was a really bad side effect.
“Den, come.” He wheeled around and leapt through the open driver door. She pulled it shut and slammed the lock button just as Ron ran up again and yanked on the door handle, beating on the window.
“Tessa! You’ll regret this, goddamn it!”
She fumbled the key into the ignition and managed to start it. Thank God it was an automatic transmission. Fortunately, she’d parked on the far end of the field, and there were no cars in her way. She drove down the winding driveway, out of sight of the house, and when her vision tripled she knew she had to pull over.
She sobbed, putting the car into park. “I can’t, Den. I’ve got to call someone. God, I wish I’d stayed home.” She felt close to passing out.
Her head felt too heavy to hold up on her neck. She closed her eyes, praying Ron hadn’t followed her.
It had to be an effect of the drug that as she finally passed out, she swore she heard Scudder’s voice calling her name and felt his hand caress her cheek…
She heard sirens, barking, agitated voices. Her eyelids barely budged.
Tessa heard the door locks disengage. She tried to swipe at the button to lock them again, but felt Den’s paw on her arm.
Then a strange voice. “Ma’am? Are you okay…?”
Lights…movement…strange voices…
What felt like days later, she finally opened her eyes and realized she was in the hospital. Her boss and a deputy stood by the side of her bed.
“Den? Where is he?”
“He’s okay, Tessa,” her boss said. “My wife has him at our house. Damndest thing, they said he unlocked your car doors when the EMTs showed up.”
She licked her lips and relaxed. “Ron doped my drink.”
“We know. One of the bartenders saw him do it, and they tried to get help, but you’d disappeared by then. Then when the 911 call came in, the responders found you in the driveway. Why did you try to drive?”
“Ron was chasing me. I wanted to get away from him, but I didn’t call 911.”
“No, some guy did. From your phone.”
That broke through the leftover haze. “What?”
The deputy nodded. “That’s right, ma’am. We don’t know who he was, because when we got there, it was just you and your dog locked in the car.”
She lay back and closed her eyes. She was too tired to figure this out now.
“What did he dope me with?”
“Ketamine. He admitted it after we searched his car and found more. You’re very lucky.”
She closed her eyes. “Den tried to warn me.”
“Ma’am?”
“My dog. He tried to warn me. He kept Ron away from me when I went to the car. He protected me.”
It was late the next afternoon when she was discharged. Her boss picked her up and took her back to his house to pick up her car and Den. The Lab happily barked and rushed out the front door, practically tackling her, vigorously licking her face, his tail wagging fast and furious.
She hugged him, burying her face in his fur. “You can’t leave me, boy. That’s twice you’ve saved me.” She cupped his head in her palms. “You’re staying with me forever, got it?”