Page 131 of The Pacifist
“Are you kidding me, I’ve known him since he was a puppy.” Archer gave me aI’ve got thisand jogged off.
“Is Jonah going to be all right?” I asked Finn who was searching for injuries.
“Hmmm.” Shaking Jonah’s shoulders, he spoke in a demanding tone. “Wake up Jonah.”
To my relief, Jonah stirred.
“Finn, I saw that man kick him hard.”
Slowly, Jonah opened his eyes and blinked as if it was hard for him to focus.
“How are you feeling champ?” Finn stared into his eyes. “Your pupils look dilated but it could just be the lack of light out here.”
“Mila…” Jonah’s hand lifted to touch me and then his eyes teared up. “He was going to shoot you. I had no choice.”
“I know.” Squeezing his hand, I hoped he could see that I didn’t blame him.
“Looks like you got knocked out, but you’re not in any critical condition. You’ve got a bloody nose and a ripped ear, but that’s it, although we should check for a concussion.”
Jonah’s hand went to his ear. “They tried to shoot me.”
“Hey.”
We all looked up to see Zasquash approach.
“Do you need help with the other guy,” Finn asked.
“Nah, not unless you can wake the dead. The dog finished him. Ripped out his throat.”
I paled. “Holger killed the man?”
“Yeah.” Zasquash looked around. “Where is he?”
“He’s chasing another one of the men.” I stood up and whistled for Holger to come back to me, hoping that no one else had been hurt.
“What about the other man?” Jonah asked and looked over to the man he’d shot.
Zasquash followed his gaze. “That one is dead too.” With a frown Zasquash squatted down in front of Jonah.
“What happened to you? You’re smeared in blood.”
Jonah looked down but Finn answered for him.
“Our friend here proved that even a devout pacifist is able to kill under the right circumstances.”
“He was about to shoot Mila,” Jonah muttered.
Zasquash arched an eyebrow. “No need to get defensive. You did what any protector would do. Good for you.”
Hearing the large warrior praise Jonah for killing a man to protect me felt surreal. How had we gone from our wonderful wedding night to this nightmare. My brain was trying to process and replayed what had happened.
“Oh no, Loki,” I shrieked when I remembered how he’d been hurt.
“Mila stay here,” Jonah shouted but I was already running toward the bushes where Loki had fallen.
“For fuck sake, Solo, stop her.” Zasquash shouted behind me.
Solo was fast for his large size and stopped me with two hands to my shoulders. “Whoa, whoa, where do you think you’re going. We’re not done searching the area.”
