Page 98 of Cowboy Dragon's Rose

I grit my teeth. I don’t want anything to do with this man. But if it is between me and an innocent child, then I’ll go. There is no other choice.

“Okay. Let her go. And I’ll come with you. Just—don’t talk about him.”

Michael’s smile turns feral.

“Still got that spark,” he murmurs. “Too bad you used it to burn down everything I gave you.”

“You didn’t give me anything but fear. You’re a parasite. A coward.”

The smile vanishes.

And then he shoves Teresa to the ground.

“Teresa! GO! NOW!” I scream.

The little girl scrambles to her feet and takes off running, gasping for air. Relief floods me, but it’s short-lived.

Michael lunges and grabs me by the vest, his fist smashing into my face with a sickening crack.

Stars explode behind my eyes.

“You bitch,” he snarls, yanking me forward by the hair. “Thought you could run to the cops? Hide in some hick town like I wouldn’t find you?”

I taste blood. My knees buckle.

“What did you expect?” I gasp, dizzy. “A thank-you card?”

“I expected obedience,” he hisses in my ear. “You’re mine, Casey. You don’t leave me.”

I claw at his face, kicking wildly, but he’s stronger than I remember. Like I’m driven by rage and fire fiercer than whatever hellhole he’s crawled out of.

The kids are screaming.

There’s a flurry of motion in the distance.

A whistle, again. A woman shouting.

The kids are safe, and I’m temporarily relieved.

Then—the Dragon’s Rose on my chest explodes with heat.

It burns. Not like fire, but like a beacon.

Like my soul crying out.

I know what this means.

Zeke feels it.

He has to feel it.

Somewhere, he feels me.

My pain. My fear.

And he’s coming. I know it as surely as I know my own name.

“What the fuck?” Michael hisses, looking down at the glowing mark over my heart visible now, since he’s tugged my clothing all askew.

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