Page 89 of Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra)

We didn’t have a landline. That would mean I’d have to go upstairs, wake up Aunt Sylvia, and call Rafe. She needed her rest, and Rafe would probably tell me they were fine and to stay home.

Running upstairs, I quickly put on some pants and clean shoes and socks, and grabbed an old coat. “Come on, Laddie! Want to go for a ride?”

He scampered out of the kitchen, as I had just spoken his favorite words. This way I wouldn’t be alone, and he would let me know if something was wrong. I opened Old Bess’s door, and he jumped in. Not that Laddie would be any help. If somebody tried to take me, he’d be like, “You’re here to kidnap Genesis? Can you kidnap me, too?”

Laddie ran back and forth along the backseat, barking as we went, clearly thrilled to be out driving with me. His tail wagged so hard I was afraid he might break it off. I had tried to restrain him once, but he had chewed through the harness. And he hated if I used the kennel. I knew it wasn’t safe, but it made him so happy.

As we pulled up to the diner, I rolled down the window. “Stay,” I told him. He sat in my seat, panting. I unlocked the diner door, letting myself in. My phone was right where I had left it, on the counter. I turned it on, but there weren’t any texts or messages. No news yet.

Coming back out, I locked the door again and shoved my keys into my front pocket. I considered calling Rafe, but I didn’t want to distract him while he was rushing my best friend to the hospital.

There was a strange sound that at first I couldn’t place. It came from my truck. It was Laddie.

Laddie was growling.

I had never heard Laddie growl before.

He leapt out the truck’s window, dashing to stand right in front of me. Off to my left, three shadowy figures approached me. “Hello?” I called out. “Who’s there?” The growling got louder, and then Laddie started to bark furiously.

My heart pounded. This wasn’t like him. The shadows turned into men I didn’t recognize.

Until the one in front stepped under a streetlamp. “Hello, Mary-Pauline.”

Chapter 26

Frozen in shock, I couldn’t move.

“Time to go home, Mary-Pauline.” His voice was like a thousand tarantulas crawling all over my skin.

Laddie sprang forward, trying to bite one of the men. At the same time, I ran for my truck, hoping I could get inside before they could reach me.

I wasn’t fast enough. John-Paul grabbed me by the hair, yanking me backward to the ground. I cried out in pain, just as Laddie wrapped his teeth around one of the men’s ankles. The third man hit Laddie with a bat, making him whimper, but he didn’t let go of the ankle.

“Stop!” I screamed. “Leave him alone!”

My phone. I pulled it out of my pocket and pressed the Emergency Call button. I managed to enter the digits and push the green button before John-Paul saw what I was doing. He kicked my hand, and the phone went flying.

“Help!” I yelled as loud as I could. “Somebody help me!”

I hoped the call had gone through and the 911 operator could hear me. “I’m in Frog Hollow, Iowa. My name is Genesis Kelley—”

He dragged me by the hair, my roots screaming in agony, over to my phone and used his boot to destroy it. He stomped it on it several times while I clawed at his hand, desperate to make him let go. “You think you can be with someone else? You think you can leave me for that boy? Tell me you don’t love him. Tell me you don’t love Rafe.”

He was insane. This was insane. And how did he know how about Rafe? How long had he been watching me?

The third man kept hitting Laddie. They were going to kill him. Adrenaline surged inside me, and I kicked John-Paul in the kneecap, making him double over. He let go of my hair, and I ran over to Laddie. I couldn’t let them kill my dog. I kept yelling for help, while I pulled Laddie off, telling him to run.

That stupid, stubborn dog wouldn’t leave me. He was breathing hard, clearly in extreme pain, but he attacked the two men again, this time keeping just out of range of the bat.

Tears kept burning and blinding my eyes. That made me remember my keys. I reached into my pocket with trembling fingers, trying to get my pepper spray out, but John-Paul had come up behind me, encircling my neck with his arms. He pressed against my windpipe, making it difficult for me to breathe. I punched his forearms, but from this angle I couldn’t put much power behind it.

Angling my head, I bit down as hard as I could. John-Paul yelled and punched me in the ear. Stars exploded behind my eyes, making me dizzy. I ran forward, trying to get away, no longer able to think, acting on pure instinct.

“Help! I need help!”

He grabbed my ponytail like a handle, throwing me against the ground, and I skidded along the asphalt, tearing up the skin of my hands and face. I started scooting backward, but before I could get far, he pulled me upright and again positioned himself behind me in a chokehold.

My head swam and my vision clouded, but something about this felt familiar. That class I had taken at school! I slammed my heel into the inside of his foot, elbowing his ribs at the same time, just as my self-defense instructor had taught me. But before I could do more to break his hold, he shoved a damp cloth against my face. There was a sweet, chemical smell, and then the world went black.

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