Page 77 of Kian

“Bullshit,” Kian growled.

“I think he’s upset, Barney.”

“That’s too bad. He’ll be dead soon, so it won’t matter what he thinks. Let’s go.”

Suddenly, all three men turned around at the sound of a bolt-action rifle cocking. Kian saw Gretchen standing there, aiming the rifle at them.

“Let him go and back off,” she commanded.

“You can’t take us both on, little lady.” One of the men sneered.

“First off, I amnota little lady, and I wouldn’t bet on it if I were you. When I was thirteen, I won a shooting competition for using a bolt-action rifle, and I’ve been using it daily since I was eleven. Now, it’s possible that I can’t take down both of you, but I can definitely get one of you. You can choose which one of you gets shot.”

“I’ll kill him,” the man with the gun said as he pressed it to Kian’s temple.

“And I’ll still shoot one of you. While I’m doing that my dog will have enough time to take down the other one, even if you run. So, either tell me which one to shoot or let him go and put your weapons down.” She stared them down confidently. “Take some time to talk amongst yourselves.”

“What dog?” one of the men asked.

“Lobo,” she called out, causing both men to pale as the dog growled softly behind them.

“I’d listen to her if I were you. Trust me, you don’t want to mess with her. I’ve been on her bad side, and it’s not pretty,” Kian chimed in with a smirk. But Gretchen just rolled her eyes at him.

“You’re still on my shit list, Doyle,” she retorted dryly, then looked at the men. “And believe me, you don’t want to join him.”

“I don’t think she knows how to use that rifle, Jerry,” Barney said skeptically. “She’s just bluffing.”

Kian watched as Gretchen grinned confidently. “It’s a 30.06 bolt-action rifle with five rounds loaded right now. I’ve known how to use it for a long time. Do you want to test me?”

“Yeah, go ahead, test her.” Kian added with a grin. “One of you will get shot and the other will get bit. Pick your poison.”

“Put your weapons down!” Gretchen yelled.

Kian saw the two men exchange a look and he knew they weren’t going to follow her orders. One of them aimed for Gretchen while the other took aim at Lobo, making the dog yelp in pain. Then, they both ran off in different directions. It happened so fast that Kian didn’t have a chance to react, but then he ran toward Gretchen.

“Gretchen! Untie me.” He turned his back to her and felt her untie the rope from around his wrists, then he pulled her into his arms.

“I’m fine. He missed.” She looked past him. “Oh, my God! Lobo!” She rushed over to her dog with Kian following close behind.

They both dropped to their knees next to the dog, tears streaming down her face as she ran her hands through his fur.

“Where did he get hit?” she asked desperately.

Kian carefully checked Lobo and found a slight wound on his front leg, letting out a sigh of relief.

“He’ll be okay. It just grazed his leg.”

Gretchen sat back on her heels and cried. Kian pulled her into his arms for comfort.

“He’s going to be fine; I promise, baby.” Kian reassured her. He watched as Lobo got up and limped over to Gretchen and licked her face.

She hugged him tightly before looking back at Kian. “We have to go after them.”

“You’re going back to the cabin. I’ll call this in and then I’ll go after them.” He looked at his phone. “I have a signal here.”

“No—”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “I won’t risk you getting hurt.” He gently held her face in his hands. “I love you, Gretchen. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

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